Betraying Season, by Marissa Doyle

Betraying Season, by Marissa Doyle
Young Adult, 2009

In this sequel to Bewitching Season, Penelope goes to Ireland to study magic with her ex-governess and friend, Ally. Persephone is happily married, and Ally is sick with pregnancy, so Pen soon finds herself accepting the friendship and attentions of the Keating family. Niall Keating's job is to court Pen so that she falls in love with him and will help him regain a connection with his father - but Lady Keating's motives are much much more dangerous than that.
I was very frustrated by one particular point - Penelope has the same personality that her twin Persephone had in the first book. On top of that, Niall (who ends up being a good guy in the end) is such a patsy. Seriously, he can't seem to get the guts to stand up to his mother or tell Pen what's really going on until the very end. I know he's supposed to be a good guy and all, but it just makes him look like a coward. I wanted to see more of Mary Margaret and Corkwobble, and there really should have been some conflict with the love - perhaps a blooming friendship between her and one of the other students? At any rate, I was a bit disappointed. I'd still recommend it if you read the first one. I will say this - her sexual tension was very good, which meant the chemistry between the main characters was good too. Graded a B-.