Eclipse (Mysterious Powers #3)
by Celia Lake
My Rating: 4 stars
Genre: Cozy Historical Fantasy Romance
Age Category: Adult
Type of romance: m/f
Blurb:
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!
My Review
After reading The Fossil Door I decided to continue the series and read Eclipse next. I had a great time reading Eclipse. Eclipse takes place at Schola, one of the big magical schools in this universe. And despite many of the books I’ve read so far mentioning the school, this was the first one I read that takes place there. I liked Thesan and Isembard and seeing them go from friends to friends with benefits to romance.
I was excited to read a book set at Schola, one of the big magical schools in this universe. And this book really dives deep into that topic, everything from what it’s like to teach there, to how the classes work and also what has changed after the war and how that impacts the school. I liked learning more about the seven houses students gets sorted in as well as the magic of the place. I really liked how this book expanded on what I knew of the world. There’s also more magic and the two main characters use a fair bit of it from day to day.
The story focusses on Thesan and Isembard who are both teachers and they are friends. The book spans the whole school year and this year the two grow closer and eventually become friends with benefits and then toward the end of the book decide to take it further and actually turn that into a relationship. I really liked seeing these two interact and grow closer. I liked the way they could talk to each other and the friends to lovers trope is one I am always fond of.
Both of these characters are interesting ones. I liked how competent Thesan was and how confident in her own skills when it comes to being a teacher and her skills in astronomy. Her passion for the stars and astronomy was fun to read about. Isembard is newer to being a teacher and there to serve as bodyguard to two students as well. I enjoyed seeing him grow fond of the teaching and finding a place to settle after the way the War changed things for him. He has some big decisions to make in this book as well about what he wants his future to be like.
This book has quite a few things going on besides the romance. There is a group of students that Thesan and Isembard notice are doing some magic they don’t aren’t familiar with. They don’t really know who is involved with the group and what they’re doing and they’re slowly trying to figure things out. Then there is a new teacher who’s trying to push her own agenda about what the school should be like and Thesan and Isembard aren’t very pleased with this person.
Then there is Alexander who is a new teacher and who is close friends with Isembard and I liked seeing how he became friends with Thesan as well and how they explained a lot of the things about the school to him. Then both Thesan and Isembard have some of their own things going on, like the upcoming eclipse for Thesan. Isembard is encouraged to run for council and has the two students he’s looking after and one isn’t doing well. All these plot lines gentle progress throughout the book and it was great to see it all progress and play out. I did feel the ending could feel a tad much with all of the plot lines getting resolved then. And I would’ve liked a bit more about Isembard and the two students he’s a bodyguard for and their interactions as there isn’t much about that till the end. But those are just minor issues, mostly I had a great time reading this book.
To summarize: This was another great book by the author. I liked reading a book set at one of the magical schools in this universe and getting to know more about how it all worked. Isembard and Thesan were both great characters to read about, they felt real and realistic and I enjoyed reading about them. I liked their friends to lovers romance, I liked seeing them grow closer and figure out what they wanted. There’s plenty going on besides the romance with some plot lines involving changes at the school as well as some students who are up to something that might be dangerous and them there are some character related plot lines as well. I really liked seeing it all play out, although the ending could feel like a bit much with everything getting wrapped up around the same time. I look forward to reading some of the extra’s that involve these characters.
Lovely review, Lola:).