Series Review: House of Eclipses Duology by Casey L. Bond

Series Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5

Best Book: House of Eclipses (Book 1)

Summary:

A long time ago, the Sun goddess Sol and the Moon God Lumos loved each other, but after a falling out Sol rules a land of sun and sand in the north, while Lumos rules over a dark and icy kingdom in the south. Noor is the third Atena, a princess who has the potential to inherit her father’s position as Aten, Sol’s chosen vessel on Earth. But Noor knows she will never be the next Aten; her father hates her, and her sisters are constantly putting her down in order to avoid their father’s wrath and manipulations.

One day, the new Lumin – chosen of Lumos – proposes a truce. He wants to start trade between the two kingdoms again and marry one of the Atenas to strengthen ties between them. Noor’s father sees this as an opportunity to trick the Lumin and take the power of the moon for himself. He threatens Noor to seduce the Lumin to steal his crown, but Noor has other ideas. She finally has a chance to gain power herself and defeat her father, freeing her people. But that all hinges on her getting closer to the handsome, charming Lumin.

Reaction:

These books are perfect for those who like the fantasy genre, but don’t like to wade through entire chapters of world-building before the plot begins. Instead, the settings derive from connotations of the two Gods Sol & Lumos and let the character’s motivations & relationships drive the story. I felt like the first book was Romeo & Juliet meets Game of Thrones. There’s the clear setup of the FMC & MMC coming from two groups who have traditionally been in opposition, but each of the characters from the groups have their own motivations for their actions. Making alliances with any other characters even in their own camp is dangerous at best. The second book has a change in FMC & MMC, so it’s a change in pace, but continues with the same style and settings.