Courtship and Curses - Hardcover

Doyle, Marissa

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0805091874 ISBN 13: 9780805091878

Publisher: Henry Holt and Co. (BYR), 2012

Synopsis

From the author of Bewitching Season and Betraying Season comes a brand new regency romance with plenty of intrigue--and magic!

Sophie's entrance into London society isn't what she thought it would be: Mama isn't there to guide her. Papa is buried in his work fighting Napoleon. And worst of all, the illness that left her with a limp, unable to dance at the Season's balls, also took away her magic. When the dashing Lord Woodbridge starts showing an interest in Sophie, she wants to believe it's genuine, but she can't be sure he's feeling anything more than pity.

Sophie's problems escalate when someone uses magic to attack Papa at the Whistons' ball and it soon becomes clear that all the members of the War Office are being targeted. Can Sophie regain her own powers, find her balance, make a match--and save England?

Find out in Marissa Doyle's Courtship and Curses!

About this title

About the Author

Marissa Doyle is fascinated by the past and lives in Massachusetts, where she is surrounded by history. This is her third novel.

Reviews

Gr 7 Up-Set in England and Brussels just before the Battle of Waterloo, this supernatural romance features 18-year-old Sophie, a determined young lady who ventures to London to have her formal coming out into society. Polio has left her with a limp and her magical talents compromised. Sophie's idiosyncratic aunts-stern, humorless Isabel and flighty Molly-are as different from each other as they are concerned for Sophie's well being and are watching over her as she makes her debut. Romance blooms for the young witch after a terrible accident at a ball where she meets Lord Peregrine Woodbridge. Their first encounter is not auspicious, but, predictably, their love grows despite rough patches. Lady Parthenope, Lord Woodbridge's cousin, becomes her ally and confidante. The excitement of romance and fancy parties is dulled for Sophie because her own powers have alerted her to the fact that someone is using magic to try to harm her father and other leaders of the British War Office. Sophie hopes to make her abilities stronger so she can save everyone. With vividly descriptive prose and lively characterization, Doyle balances the strands of this novel. Hints and suspicions are raised along the way about the villain's identity, but in the final chapters Sophie comes to believe in herself enough to save the day. All the loose threads are tied together as Doyle leads readers to a neatly worked out solution.-Renee Steinberg, formerly at Fieldstone Middle School, Montvale, NJα(c) Copyright 2011. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

As she did in Bewitching Season (2008) and Betraying Season (2009), Doyle brings romance to British society and adds a dollop of magic. Sophie is making her debut, but she has several things going against her: the illness that killed her mother has left her lame, and she seems to have lost her ability as a witch. But at her first ball, life brightens when she meets the handsome Lord Woolbridge and his irrepressible cousin, Parthenope, who takes Sophie under her wing. Britain’s continuing problem with Napoleon is the backdrop for the romantic goings-on—and the reason that magic comes to the fore when members of the British war cabinet meet with magical accidents. Can Sophie find out who is also skilled in sorcery? Can they be stopped? Similar in style and substance to her previous books, Doyle again provides a read that’s entertaining but also informative (the author’s note discusses European life in 1814–15). Especially crisp is the whodunit story line and the climactic scene of dueling spells, in which Sophie gets her groove back. A nice history and mystery mingle. Grades 8-12. --Ilene Cooper

Edition details

• Publisher: Henry Holt and Co. (BYR)
• Publication date: 2012
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0805091874
• ISBN 13: 9780805091878
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 352