A Season of Magic by Sarah Courtney - Blog Tour - Guest Post, Excerpt and Giveaway

Happy Friday everybody! The blog tour for Sarah Courtney's new Pride & Prejudice-inspired book, A Season of Magic visits us for its last stop today with an excerpt and giveaway. As you can tell from the title, it has magic, but to learn more let's look at the book description:

Book Description

Everyone knows Elizabeth and Jane’s parents were magical murderers. But blood isn’t everything.

When the girls are forced to reveal their elemental magic, it does not matter to the Mage Council that they did so only to save lives. Their parents were traitors, and the entire magical community is simply waiting for them to descend into evil themselves.

The Council reluctantly admits Elizabeth to the magical university (and unofficial marriage market) called The Season, where she will learn how to control her powers. If she can keep her head down and avoid drawing any untoward notice, she might be able to graduate and finally be accepted as a fire mage.

But fading into the background will be difficult. Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy, nephew to Lord Matlock of the Mage Council and a student himself, is assigned to observe her and report any misstep. One mistake could send her back to her foster parents, the Bennets—or worse, to prison. Yet when that mistake inevitably comes, he stands up on her behalf. Could he be an ally instead of an enemy?

When pranks between classmates become something more dangerous—and potentially deadly—Elizabeth will be forced to depend upon her friends—including Mr. Darcy. There’s something terrible lurking beneath the surface of the Season, and it will take everything Elizabeth has to survive it.

Excerpt from A Season of Magic, Introduced by Sarah Courtney

Thank you so much for having me on Babblings of a Bookworm! I’m thrilled to share with you my newest book, A Season of Magic, a fantasy variation based on Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice.

In A Season of Magic, the most powerful mages are able to control one of the four elements: fire, wind, water, or earth. Elemental mages attend the magical university, the Season. Not only is it an opportunity to learn how to use their magic, it is also the unofficial marriage market of the magical community.

Fire is often considered the most dangerous element, and fire mages are notorious for being hot-tempered. Elizabeth sometimes struggles to keep her temper in check, but years of keeping her elemental magic a secret have given her a great deal of control—crucial, considering the antagonism she must deal with during her time at the Season. Her special talent is metalworking, and she uses this ability to provide for herself and Jane during their time at Longbourn.

Water, in contrast, is considered the gentlest of elements. It is often paired with healing, and that is just the combination of element and talent that Jane Bennet possesses. Her empathy sometimes adds challenge and heartbreak to her healing, but she wouldn’t trade it for the world.

Air may seem less substantial than the other elements, but that does not stop Charles Bingley from saving lives with his ability. It can be associated with lies and illusion, but the light-hearted and cheerful social gentleman fits the more positive aspects of air perfectly with his open temper and amiability.

Earth may sometimes seem the least exciting of the elements, but it is also the most deeply rooted. Fitzwilliam Darcy’s devotion to the land that has supported his family and tenants for generation comes from his earth element. Even the very plants respond to him, and he has his own particular animal talent that lets him delve deeper into the land he loves.

The Season is all about teaching students to work together with the other elements, even if—and when—they personally dislike each other. Through joint assignments, mock battles, and even group projects, the students will learn how to combine their abilities for the good of their country and people.

That does not mean there is no rivalry between the elements—sometimes good-natured, sometimes not. 

***

Emma cocked her head. “It is interesting, is it not, that for both of us fire mages, anger caused our powers to emerge?”

“Or revealed them,” Elizabeth said ruefully. 

“Perhaps it is in the nature of fire mages.” Mr. Darcy looked at her with a half-smile. “They are known for their fiery tempers, are they not?”

Elizabeth worried her lip at the reminder of all the times she had had to keep a tight rein on her fire in the past few months. Those sparks that had longed to leap from her hands when she was furious would certainly prove his point.

“You might say that,” Elizabeth said thoughtfully. “But of course, history is full of passionate fire mages who refused to accept injustice and changed history. Archimedes, Marcus Agrippa, William the Conqueror, Queen Elizabeth, William Wilberforce . . .”

“Guy Fawkes,” Mr. Darcy said.

Miss Bingley laughed.

“There is no denying the contributions of fire mages and their rather lively contributions to history.” Mr. Darcy rubbed his chin. “But I shall admit to admiring the contributions of earth mages like Cincinnatus, myself. Heroism does not have to come with sparks and fire . . . it can come with quiet steadfast conviction and duty.”

“I do not think I have ever heard societal change described in a duller way.” Elizabeth gave him a wry smile.

“Spoken like a true fire mage. Just be careful to emulate Queen Elizabeth and not Elizabeth Dunharrow.”

Elizabeth frowned. “Elizabeth Dunharrow?”

“The notorious fire mage who set fire to a village hall during a dispute with her husband and ultimately burned down the entire village.”

Elizabeth winced. She could only imagine the woman’s fate after that. She did not ask. “I suppose she must be in the removed chapter of my history book,” she said, shaking her head. “Still, I am sure that all elements have both heroes and villains. Was not Genghis Khan an earth mage?”

This time it was Mr. Darcy who looked taken aback. “Well, yes, so it is theorised, although never proven.”

“We put elemental mages in positions of power,” Elizabeth mused, “because they can do a great deal of good. But the combination of their powerful position with their elemental power means they can do a great deal of evil as well.”

“On the whole, the system has benefited England. There have been a few who have gone wrong, but the safety and prosperity created by elemental mages far outweighs the occasional misuse of magic.” Mr. Darcy met her eyes and blanched suddenly, and Elizabeth was amused that he seemed to have forgotten to whom he was speaking.

“I am glad to hear you approve, cousin.”

Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy broke their gaze to look at Emma, whose smile was bright and contagious.

“After all, it would take an Act of Parliament to change things now,” she added.

Mr. Darcy bowed to them all. “Indeed. Thank you for the stimulating conversation, ladies. Good evening.”

Miss Bingley left the moment he did, hurrying to take his arm for the arduous walk back to the dormitories.

Emma raised her eyebrows. “You like him, Elizabeth!”

“What?” Had Emma been listening to the same conversation? “Not at all! He is arrogant and far too sombre. It was no accident that he compared me to Elizabeth Dunharrow!”

Emma shook her head. “It is not uncommon for a young lady to pretend to disdain the gentleman she secretly admires. And there was such heat in your discussion!” She feigned a swoon. “He is my cousin, so I think I am allowed to say how handsome he is. And he is a good man. I commend your choice.”

***

Author Bio

Sarah Courtney loves to read fantasy, fairy tales, and Pride and Prejudice variations, so what could be more fun than combining them? She currently lives in Europe where she homeschools her six children and still manages to write books, which has to be proof that magic exists!

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Thanks so much to Sarah for visiting with this explanation of the different types of mage in her book and the excerpt. I really enjoyed that bit of banter between Elizabeth and Darcy and am now off to Google some of those historical figures to improve my knowledge! Thanks also to Janet Taylor for arranging the blog tour.

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Buy Links

A Season of Magic is available to buy now in Paperback and Kindle.  

• Universal Amazon Link • Add to Goodreads shelf

Giveaway Time!

Sarah is offering a giveaway with each stop of the blog tour. An e-book of A Season of Magic is up for grabs, and if the winner is based in the US, they can have a paperback if they would prefer. If you already have a copy of A Season of Magic you can choose another of Sarah’s books as your prize. To enter, leave a comment on this blog post by the end of the day worldwide on Thursday 11 August 2022.

If you have any problems commenting please contact me and I will add your comment for you :)

Blog Tour Schedule 

Check out the previous stops on the blog tour to find out more about A Season of Magic! Remember, there is a chance to win a copy of the book at each stop.

July 28 Austenesque Reviews

July 29 My Jane Austen Book Club

August 1 From Pemberley to Milton

August 2 Savvy Verse & Wit

August 4 My Vices and Weaknesses

August 5 Babblings of a Bookworm 

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