Of Sleuthing and Arranged Marriages • The Season

The Season by Sarah MacLean
Publisher: Orchard Books
Publication Date: March 1, 2009
Source/Format: Bought || Kindle e-book

Seventeen year old Lady Alexandra is strong-willed and sharp-tongued — in a house full of older brothers and their friends, she had to learn to hold her own. Not the best makings for an aristocratic lady in Regency London. Yet her mother still dreams of marrying Alex off to someone safe, respectable, and wealthy. But between ball gown fittings, dances, and dinner parties, Alex, along with her two best friends, Ella and Vivi, manages to get herself into what may be her biggest scrape yet.

When the Earl of Blackmoor is mysteriously killed, Alex decides to help his son, the brooding and devilishly handsome Gavin, uncover the truth. But will Alex's heart be stolen in the process? In an adventure brimming with espionage, murder, and other clandestine affairs, who could possibly have time to worry about finding a husband? Romance abounds as this year's season begins!

I love YA novels. I also love historical romances. Leave it to Sarah Maclean to combine both of my favorites into one splendid novel! I adored the Love by Numbers series, so I'd been meaning to read The Season for ages, and I kind of wish now that I hadn't waited so long. The Season was exciting, funny and filled with intrigue - obviously, I loved it.

This book was carried along quite well by its plot - there's a mystery, a London season and romance combined seamlessly into one story. Part of the reason I enjoyed it so much was because there was never a dull moment to e had with Lady Alexandra and her friends.

I adored Alex completely and I like that we share a name. I feel like if I had been born in that era, I would've been just like her! She was sassy, adventurous, witty and just plain likable. I love how she showed concern and affection for everyone she cared about, which is essentially one of the qualities that endears her to everyone, including me! And Gavin, well, he's definitely a cutie. Though I didn't crush on him as hard as Alex did, I loved their relationship and how it transformed throughout the entire book. In fact, there's one particular part at the end that I couldn't help reading over and over again - it still gives me butterflies! I also loved Alex's friends and family, who provided entertaining moments in the book as well. I would love if we got a chance to find out Vivi and Ella's stories someday, because I get the feeling they'd be just as fun and entertaining as Alex's story was.

Sarah MacLean has done it again, managing to completely captivate me with The Season! If you're looking for a fun romance read with a mystery tossed in and lovable characters, then this is definitely the book for you. I highly recommend it!