Bewitching Season

April 21, 2008
Doyle's debut novel is a Georgette Heyer–style, light-as-a-feather romance with supernatural overtones. Ball after ball and visits to Kensington Palace and brushes with royalty await twins Persephone (Persy) and Penelope (Pen) in their first season “out” in early Victorian London society. But when their beloved instructor of magic/governess Miss Allardyce (Ally) is kidnapped by a handsome stranger as part of a devious royal plot, her two devoted wards set out to discover the truth about Ally's disappearance and save the day. Luckily, the plot relies little on magic (it's difficult for “cloaking spells” and cries of “repellere statim!
” not to seem like pale imitations of Harry Potter), except as a device to conjure court intrigue. The story hinges instead on the will-they, won't-they budding romance between Persy and her handsome, all-grown-up childhood friend, Lochinvar (Lord Seton). This diverting melodrama will likely please older middle-grade readers more than teens reared on Gossip Girl
—its bubbly heroines, however spirited, are innocents, not schemers. Ages 14–up.