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Summary: The delightful excursions of two "ladies of quality".
Review: A wonderful story depicting the intriguing adventures of two mischevious and enchanting cousins. The girls, Kate and Cecy, are seperated for the season. Kate is in a London that accepts and is happy about magic. While there she befriends an "odious" marquis, is nearly poisoned, and plagued by her Aunt Charlotte. Cecy (Cecelia), is forced to stay behind at Rushton Maner where she encounters a good many wizards, Dorothea, who has a very stange affect on men, and James Tarleton (who seems to be spying on her)
The books are set up in a series of letters in which plot is never discussed, therefore, you are in a guessing game of coincidences that could be connected. A brilliant collaboration of magic, historical fiction, and romance. It's a great read that will have you entranced as you try to sort out this mystery. I highly reccomend this book, and am currently reading the sequel "The Grand Tour". I have no praise high enough for this wonderful book, I absolutely love and hope you've found this helpful, and will enjoy it as well!
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Summary: When you need a Mysterious Marquis....
Review: "Sorcery and Cecelia," an epistolary Fantasy Regency Romance (*phew!*), has quickly joined the ranks of my "novels to read when you want to stay up all night and languish all morning." Quite simply, the book is charming. Rarely do collaborative efforts seem to work, but "Sorcery and Cecelia" most assuredly does! Following the adventures of two cousins - the inept Kate in her first season in London, and the headstrong Cecelia as she discovers her sorcerous abilities - the reader is swept into a world of danger, mystery and intrigue (and the never fully explained story of WHAT in the world that adventure with the goat was about) that makes the pages turn of their own accord! The historical research is solid, the content wholesome and exciting, and the romances (Kate's especially) to sigh for. In short, as the others have said before me, this is *fun*.Unfortunately, good novels seems to be out of vogue today, and you'll have an either difficult or exorbitant time buying it. For those who have read Wrede's other two Fantasy Regencies, "Mairelon the Magician" and "Magician's Ward," "Sorcery and Cecelia" is a must-read. For those with slim purses, interlibrary loan is a beautiful thing.
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Summary: fun and engaging read
Review: A few years ago I read Patricia C. Wrede's Enchanted Forest Chronicles and loved them (I think they were the books that got me really hooked into fantasy). I had originally been fascinated with this title - and the fact that it was a Wrede book - so I encouraged my younger half-sister to buy it, with the intention, of course, that I would have an excuse to read it. I was thoroughly suprised at how fun a read it was, and found myself laughing out loud on several occasions. The book is made up of a series of letters sent back and forth between two cousins concerning their respective adventures in different parts of England during the early 1800s (and of course their adventures become intertwined). The historical nuances of society were so accurate and well written (I've read numerous historical novels before) that I found myself suprised and slightly upset when magic was mentioned - and I'm a die-hard fantasy lover. (Although that's not to say the magic happenings were completely unrelated and out of sorts.) I was even more intrigued by this book when at the end, during the Afterword, I discovered that Cecy and Kate's letters were actually real letters written back and forth between the two authors as the characters, which they then later found they could develop into a book with a few slight alterations. It brought a whole new light to the situation and now I think I may just have to go back and read it again (also for the humor, of course). I absolutely recommend this book to any fan of Wrede, historical, or fantasy books.
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Summary: Great Book!!!
Review: From the very first page of this delightful book, I was sucked into the wonderful world of Cecelia and Kate. A very exciting book filled with romance, adventure, and fun! The way it was written, made it even more interesting. I could relate to the characters and their mischeif. Well there's nothing else to say, just read the book and you'll see what I mean!!!
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Summary: Re-released horray!
Review: I have had my copy of Sorcery and Cecelia for about 10 years now and I must admit it is getting quite worn. I am so happy they re-released it. Highly recommended as a smart fun read for girls. Although when I first bought it it was considered fantasy not young adult, so some of the language may be considered a little difficult for younger readers( I was about 15 when I first read it. I have yet to read the follow up and am looking forward to it.
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Summary: A book to read, and reread a few times over.
Review: I simply love this book. It's fantastic. The way it is writtten -in letters- makes this book exciting to read. The two heroines; Cecy and Kate, are witty and charming. They somehow find themselves sucked into a whirlwind of events that circles around an enchanted Chocolate pot.
Needless to say, I really enjoyed this book, and think you would too. Therefore... read this book!
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Summary: Jane Austen meets J.K. Rowling: Intriguing and Fun
Review: Okay, here's another book that I snagged off the shelf for its gorgeous cover. I loved the idea of an enchanted chocolate pot and perhaps was even more overjoyed to find that it was written by two of my favorite authors, (Wrede, of the Enchanted Forest Chronicles, and Stevermer, of A College of Magics.) and horrified that I hadn't read it before, as this was simply a republication of the original, published in 1987! Already holding high expectations from the book, I was suprised when it started out slow. Used to the fast paced Harry Potter or the action-to-the-minute Enchanted Forest Chronicles, it took me a few chapters to really connect with the characters. Written in letter form between two cousins, Kate and Cecelia, the book takes place in an alternate (magical) universe in England 1817. The two are well-born girls; Kate is off having a Season in London while Cecelia stays at home in the country. Kate feels pushed aside by her beautiful sister Georgina; Cecelia is put out by not being allowed a Season of her own. But the plot soon picks up as the two girls' stories intertwine. In the country, ordinary Dorothea becomes irresistable to all men. Clever Cecelia befriends her and starts to unwind the mystery behind the weird attraction. Meanwhile, in London, Kate is almost poisoned by an "old" lady in a garden and befriends an "odious" Marquis to whom the retrieval of the the Enchanted Chocolate Pot is quite important. The language and the magic in the book speak for themselves; I was completely drawn into this unique world. The intrigue and mystery were believable and definitely kept me turning pages. Kate and Cecelia's letters are witty and funny as they dabble in sorcery and try to save the Marquis of Shofield and themselves from the clutches of the estranged sorcerers Lady Miranda and Sir Hilary. So...I would definitely reccommend this novel. IT WAS FABULOUS! This review really doesn't do the book justice. YOU HAVE TO READ IT! If you have any respect for fantasy novels, you simply must purshase this book. Consider making it a part of your permanent library. (You'll be wanting to read it again, I promise!) Happy Reading! And watch for a its sequel, The Grand Tour, which might be out this summer!
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Summary: Thanks for the reprint!
Review: One of the wonderful things about the success of J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter series, aside from those wonderful books themselves, is that it has publishers rushing to their backlogs and slush piles for more magical children's books. That's why this novel, originally published over ten years ago, finally has been reprinted, along with a sequel called The Grand Tour. I had long heard about this novel, having had it recommended to me by the automatic recommendation service at Alexandria Digital Library, and having that recommendation seconded by a number of AlexLit's patrons. Every time I was in a used book store, I would check the shelves for this book and never finding it, so I was overjoyed when I discovered this reprint on a table at a local science fiction convention.
As the longer title indicates, the format of this book is epistolary (i.e., a series of letters between the two main characters). That format can be difficult for readers, as it tends to put a distance between the reader and the action by adding a time-delay, but the two authors (in their major character guises) are excellent at drawing you into each letter and the story. It turns out, from an afterword here, that the two authors wrote this originally as a game, each writing actual letters to the other which the recipient had to use when writing their own. Because these two women were excellent authors to begin with (having previously published books individually), their game turned into a highly enjoyable novel.
The setting is an England in the post-Napoleanic era, made famous in literature by Jane Austen. And Austen is who first comes to mind when you read this, as much of the feel of the book has that comedy of manners and social slights that Austen excelled at. Then you throw in the fact that magic works, from lowly "charm bags" that require excellent needlework to full-scale necromancy that can claim lives. London parties, country dances, and the machinations of mothers and aunts combine with this magic to create a novel where you simply need to read the next letter to find out what happened. I read this in a single day while on vacation, unable to put it down. I then gave it to a twelve-year-old girl at the resort I was at who proceeded to devour it the next day and immediately ask if I had the sequel, which is about the highest recommendation for a book I can make.
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Summary: Talking with... Letters
Review: Patricia C. Wrede has written so many good books (Enchanted Forest Chronicles, Marileon the Magician, the Raven Ring, the Lyra Novels, and more), so I picked this book up a few days after having listened to a long lecture from my sister on how great it was. I looked at the cover, said, 'Nice cover,' and set it down to start later - which I did. I had hopes it would be good, I didn't doubt Patricia C. Wrede, but I didn't want my hopes to get to high and be disappointed. Well, it turns out I needn't have worried. This book is seriously the best book I've read all year (except perhaps the Harry Potter's, and the Witches of Eileanan's, both series are fantastic), and that's saying a lot.
It's about these two (women) cousins, Cecelia and Kate, and the story takes place many years ago in Britain. Kate goes to London to be introduced to Society, but Cecelia is in disgrace because of a goat incident (which it never fully explains). The whole story is in letters from one cousin to the other, and they discuss social events, politics, fashions, family, and... wizards.
One very interesting thing about this book is the way it was written. The two authors, Patricia C. Wrede and Caroline Stevermer, played the 'Letter Game' - they sent real letters to each other, pretending to be their character. They never discussed the plot (well, once, a tiny), though they did discuss the characters, and then at the end of (I think) 6 months, they looked at the letters together and decided to make a book.
It's a very hilarious book, with a great plot and wonderful characters, and anyone who likes fantasy - or even Jane Austen - will enjoy this book; unless you like battles with guns or swords, because this book doesn't have that. Otherwise, it is certainly worth it to get this book.
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Summary: Best Ever
Review: This is an amazing book. I love history and usually I don't like alternate universe type things, but this book is a huge exeception. It is about two cousins and one is having her season in London while the other stays at home. They are hilarious, though I must admit that Thomas is my favorite. He is funny. The authors do such a wonderful job with this book. It is in letter format and that can get really bad with some authors, but not Stevermer and Wrede. I read this book right when it came out and it has been my alltime favorite fiction book since.
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