Storms make trees take deeper roots. - Dolly PartonSEASON OF STORMS was first published in 2001. Sourcebooks rereleased this title with the following note from Susanna:This book was first published when emails were rare and nobody I knew owned a cell phone. to update the story's technology would have unraveled the story itself, so I've left the things the way I first wrote them, and hope you'll indulge me.I won this book last summer during a Sourcebooks promotion. Although I enjoyed other books from Susanna, the book's thickness - 504 pages - intimidated me. Last week, I cracked open the book and I could not put it down. Told from the heroine's perspective, Celia Sands (known as Celia Sullivan in the theater world) is a struggling actress with a dwindling bank account and a roommate moving out. Her roommate gives Celia one last reading from the tarot cards, predicting an adventure wrapped in a mystery. The adventure comes as the leading role in Il Prezzo - The Price. Written by eccentric poet Galeazzo D'Ascanio, the play will be staged on the same theater he built for the play's muse, English actress Celia Sands. Alessandro D'Ascanio, the poet's grandson, hires Celia on the condition she uses her given name. The fact that the two actresses share the same name will a marketing ploy to spotlight D'Ascanio's restored estate on Lake Garda, Il Piacere del Vecchio, The Pleasures of an Old Man. Celia enjoys a love/hate relationship with the infamous actress. Her feckless mother gave her the actress' name on a whim. As such, modern Celia refers to her namesake as Celia the First. Modern Celia arrives in Venice with acclaimed director and surrogate father Rupert. They soak up the local sights which influenced D'Ascanio during the Great War. Venice is also where D'Ascanio met Celia the First. As Celia considers how their romance blossomed along the canals, Kearsley plants the seeds of the coming mystery. The story moves to Lake Garda, where cast and crew meet their host, Alessandro. Half Italian, half English, he asks them to call him Alex but remains distant from his guests. The cast begin rehearsals in the estate's ballroom while Alex overseas the theater's renovations. As storms roll in, Gothic elements seep into the story with missing servants, ghost sightings, and clandestine meetings. The mysterious events only intrigue the merry band of actors. Like true thespians, they immerse themselves in the poet's life by admiring his objects de art, including a chalice stolen by the Fourth Crusade's sacking of Constantinople. They discover secrets about the celebrated poet, his muse, and even themselves.The absence of today's technology enabled the characters to engage in the lost art of innocent pleasures, such as an afternoon drink on the terrace, lively debate at the dinner table, and reading classics found in the poet's library. Kearsley weaves the stories of Sophocles, the Fourth Crusade, and the Great War into the plot as conversations topics, inspiring the actors to reflect on their own lives. Recommended read for fans of historical fiction, modern Gothic romance, and Italian culture.
My love for Italy, once again, convinced me to buy a book and although this was an entertaining book to read, I have to say that it wasn't one of my favorites.The story is good, the characters are fun, but the mystery is below average. It might have to do with the fact that I read mysteries on a weekly basis and have plenty of past reading experiences to compare it to. I could see the bad guys a mile away and this resulted in me feeling that I had been robbed of a good ending. I am also a huge fan of Italian love stories and in that department, Season of Storms is lacking. Of course there are the occasional flirtatious eye looks and coy remarks between the obvious characters but for the most part it was a pretty low-key and uninteresting love story. The twists were not as exciting as they could have been and once again I put that up to the author not being able to write a good mystery. I am not sure if any of her other books have a mystery involved but I am going to take a guess that they don't.I did enjoy the history additions to the book in regards to past play writers and I did walk away with a little new knowledge about the theater world which always make me feel like reading the book was worth-while. This was an easy read for me and overall I am glad I picked it up because it has given me new places to add to my Italian bucket list. Also, Max and Nero sound like the perfect pair of greyhounds and I need to hold back from running to the nearest greyhound rescue center...at least for a little while.
What do You think about Season Of Storms (2001)?
Buddy read with JeannetteA lot of mystery and a bit of suspense made this a very good story. It was very different from other books I've read by Susanna Kearsley in that the story set in the past was almost nonexistent. At first I missed the historical part but then the characters and all the mysteries grew on me. I was able to figure out all of the mysteries because the clues are there but that didn't matter because Kearsley's writing always makes the journey so enjoyable. I wasn't sure I would like the theatre parts, but I did. Add in a lovely garden with fountains, a couple of awesome greyhounds, history on the Fourth Crusade and a great love interest and I was quite pleased.
—Diane Lynn
This was so boring. And yet it was boring in an interesting way, because I thought Season of Storms had all the familiar Kearsley elements, but in paper doll form, as if the characters were cutouts tacked onto landscapes, without that final touch to make them live. I can get more specific and point out that the past was very (very) poorly developed and barely integrated with the present; that the conflict and the villain were choreographed from page one; that the characterization was too slight to compel interest. But mostly: I was bored.
—Beth
This is the first book I have read by Kearsley and I hear so much about her stories… When I first saw this book I was captivated by the cover and when I read the description I was even more drawn in….so my expectations were rather high.First, I must say what a great plot and setting for a story! An isolated villa, mysterious happenings, Italy, playwrights, murder, and a hunting past that stays in the present. Themes of an enthralling read. So why wasn’t I hooked in as thought I would be? I felt some scenes were slow or not important to the story and I felt that some things weren’t fully drawn out as they should have been. And the plot took too long to fall into place, the character development could have been stronger in the beginning and middle. Alas, It got better towards the end.I will say it was atmospheric and I love the descriptions of the villa’s surroundings. Don’t get me wrong, I did enjoy the premise but this was an okay read for me.However, I’m not giving up on the author’s books and I look forward to reading more of her stories soon.I have rated this book three stars.Stephanie M. Hopkins
—Stephanie
