Format: ebook
Published: April 25th, 2023
Age: Young Adult
Genre: Regency Romance
Goodreads
Rating: 2/5 Stars
Some genres/subgenres don’t translate well to Young Adult, and unfortunately I think Regency might just be one of them. For starters, Regency often does deal with young adult characters because of the historical context, and it’s also the reason you might get a younger female character paired with a slightly older male character in a way that wouldn’t work in a contemporary setting. It’s not always the case, of course, but Adult Regency heroines can be anywhere from 17 and older. Younger men historically also wouldn’t be seen as serious prospects, but as a romance subgenre, Regency relies heavily on sexual tension – the risk of scandal, forbidden touches, the possibility of crossing a line that could cost a character so, so much.
It doesn’t translate well to YA, and An Improbable Season does a good job of demonstrating why. Historical fiction can work well in YA, and for a contemporary audience, seeing teenagers ‘just like them’ in historical settings is part of the charm, but the characters still need to remain rooted in that setting. Here, we have three main characters; Thalia, Kalliope, and Charis, who neither read like contemporary heroines or historical ones. They come across as too young to even debut, bickering and sniping at each other in a manner even Downton’s Mary and Edith would frown upon. They don’t read as fully fleshed out characters – at one point, one even makes the comment that one is a scientist (Charis), one a writer (Thalia), and the other is a domestic (Kalliope), and these remain their defining characteristics throughout.
The plot itself is really messy. There are suitors for each girl, of course – Kalli ends up in a bit of a love triangle, after a mistake that could result in scandal ends with her engaged to her sister’s friend, but she likes this other gentleman who likes her back. Charis makes a big deal out of ‘scientifically studying’ the act of courtship, which sees her growing closer to a man who is also interested in science, and Thalia is drawn to a guy who I think is supposed to be a bit of a rake? The problem is none of the relationships feel solid, at all, and it’s clear we’re supposed to dislike Thalia’s beaux because of the horrendous red flag of him trying to give feedback on her writing, which she absolutely insists on sharing with him. The feedback consists of advising her she needs to work on it and maybe it’s useful for her to be around other writers. (Shock horror at actually giving her ways she could improve!)
Most of the time, this book feels like someone has just discovered Austen and Regency Romance, and tries to squeeze in as many of the tropes as possible without forethought as to why these elements work in the setting. Now, before I say my next point, I want to add that I have read plenty of historical romances from American writers, and often it’s very, very clear they have done their research. There might be the odd misstep or mistake, but usually nothing more than you’d expect in any historical fiction. This book comes across as painfully American. The word ‘missish’ crops up at one point, and is used so frequently in the next few paragraphs it was like the writer just discovered it and decided it had to be used as often as possible.
I gave this book two stars. I don’t think Eves is a bad writer, but I don’t think Regency Romance is the right genre for what she’s trying to do. The writing itself was fine, but in general it was the historical aspects and characterisation that really let this book down. Rosalyn Eves does write in other genres, and I can easily imagine her excelling in these, but An Improbable Season, on multiple levels, just doesn’t quite work.
Reading Challenge
Disney Reading Challenge 2024
Prompt: Baloo – Man, That’s What I Call A Swinging Party! – a book with a celebration or party
Progress: 6/40 Completed
Unwrapping Words 