When the Sun was in Love with the Moon
House of Eclipses
Young Adult Fantasy
August 13, 2021
Kindle E-book
Capture his heart.
Steal his crown.
Noor is the unwanted, unloved third born of the Aten, chosen vessel of the sun goddess, Sol. While she has no chance at inheriting her father’s title, what she truly longs for is peace from his unrelenting hatred. Hope builds that she may finally be able to claim that reprieve when a missive arrives from the House of the Moon.
The new Lumin, chosen of the moon god, Lumos, seeks to broker peace with the Kingdom of Helios for the first time in ages. He envisions open trade routes and an end to archaic rivalries. His dedication to this cause extends to visions of a union between the two families by marrying one of Aten’s daughters, if one of the matches is a fit.
Driven by his own twisted agenda, Noor’s father is willing to sacrifice his daughters as pawns to steal the crown for him to further his despotic reign, pitting sister against sister in a brutal battle for power. But Noor must come out the victor, either by capturing the Lumin’s heart or stealing his crown. For whomever wears the crown of moonlight, holds the power of the moon itself. With such strength at her command, she could finally defeat her tyrannical father.
Yet this endeavor cannot be accomplished without great sacrifice. As Noor learns more about Lumin Caelum, guilt over her betrayal consumes her, burning hot as the sun itself. If only he wasn’t kind, and selfless, and exactly what she wanted. If only she had greater dominion over her heart…
Can Noor carry out her plan and end her father’s vile reign? Or will unlikely alliances allow a new day to dawn?
For the Moon so Loved the Sun that He Would Shield Her from Harm
Casey L. Bond is a true master at taking a familiar story theme and crafting it into something that is emotionally complex and gripping. In House of Eclipses she has delivered once again: using the mythology behind the long-ago love affair between the sun and the moon, and crafting it into a sweeping saga of murder, pride, duty, and hidden identity, tempered by an honest blossoming of young love. The story takes places many generations after the forced separation of the sun and the moon into separate spheres of influence, at a time when a third of the planet is shrouded in perpetual night, a third in constant dusk, and a third frozen at unrelenting high noon. The peoples of the House of the Moon and the House of the Sun have been suspicious of each other for as long as anyone can remember, with the land of dusk serving as a long-unused point of neutrality. All of that changes when the House of the Moon proposes a merging of the two through marriage and renewed trade, to be arranged through a treaty brokered in the dusk lands. Each side naturally comes to the meeting with a hidden agenda and beliefs, while the House of Sun is further complicated by internal scheming and near civil war.
The main characters in House of Eclipses, Noor and Caelum, are marvelously complex. As the story arc develops, they must weigh their strong sense of duty and allegiance to their people, against their undeniable feelings of instant and abiding love for each other. Their romance is complicated by the machinations of their siblings, who each have their own hidden motivations and quests regarding the fate of their kingdoms, which are at least partially complicated by their mutual attraction (cue a brutal cliffhanger and much anticipated sequel). Meanwhile, the antagonist, Noor’s father, is a truly despicable character, whose evolution from ardent follower of the Sun Goddess, to murdering despot is tragic and total. The further cast of supporting characters, from Caelum’s mother, to the priests of the Sun Goddess are richly drawn in their own right, and stand as less complicated pillars of strength for the protagonists and their respective kingdoms. All in all, this is a cast of characters that is easy to love and revile, making the story a true page turner.
I devoured House of Eclipses over the course of two days– which is no small feat with a six month old puppy and three year old kiddo running around the house. But, it was genuinely so compelling, that I found it difficult to put down. If you read my past reviews of her books, it’s no secret that I am a fan of Casey L. Bond, but this book truly surpassed my lofty expectations, and I cannot recommend it strongly enough. I suggest that you go and preorder your copy immediately!
