Eclipse

E

Thesan loves the stars.

As the Astronomy professor at Schola, Albion’s leading magical school, she’s made a life full of teaching, observation, and research. She wants what is best for her students, all of them.

Thesan is looking forward to a year of learning, and the magic of the coming near total solar eclipse.

Isembard has lived in the shadows.

Younger son of a noble family, he’s always felt second-best. Last year, he agreed to act as bodyguard to two young men from noble families, as well as teaching at Schola. His second year should be easier.

Only, it doesn’t seem like that. One of his mentors has come back as a teacher, which is wonderful and infuriating, often in the same conversation. Another new teacher seems determined to drag the school back to the 1800s. A group of students are definitely up to something suspicious. And one of Isembard’s wards is stubbornly set on a course that is going to get him killed sooner than later.

That’s before you get to the rest of the school year, full of a musical revue, staff meetings, expectations, and the fact Isembard has invited Thesan to a series of extravagent parties over the winter holidays.

Eclipse is the third book of the Mysterious Powers series, exploring the institutions of Albion during and after the Great War. A staffroom romance between teachers, it is full of astronomy, progressive education, and coming to grips with your past. Enjoy this charming romantic fantasy with a swirl of sex set in 1924 and 1925 with a happily ever after ending!

Content
Hero served in the Great War, with lasting curse damage and deep regrets about some of the actions he took (not described in detail). Issues of class, particularly around what family background, and privilege mean for education and opportunity. Academic politics, including an unpleasant faculty meeting. Friends to lovers trope. Heroine is autistic.

Reviews:Catherine Heloise on Smart Bitches, Trashy Books wrote:

A thoughtful, lengthy SQUEE review on the site, with a wonderful analysis of Eclipse and what it's doing.

***

"Eclipse did that for me. It was a book that felt as though it had been designed precisely for me, from the thoughtful worldbuilding to the tenderness of the romance, from the teachers and students and friends that made up the rest of the story’s cast, to the astronomy metaphors and, yes, even the faculty politics. And then there was the description of the eclipse itself, and the feeling of magic gathering in the air as the light changes and the sun disappears just made me shiver with delight."


By Celia

New and exciting!

Upon A Summer's Day

Explore my blog posts

Explore posts about each book

Get in touch

My contact page has all the latest on where you can find me (and a form if you'd like to email me directly).