Title: Eclipse the Moon
Author: Jessie Mihalik
Series: Starlight’s Shadow #2
Pages: 440
When the search for their former Commander Morten hits a dead end, Kee Ildez decides to spend a few weeks on Bastian to search their internal systems for information. This will also give her a chance to get some time away from Varro, who she is crushing hard on but he doesn’t seem to care. But when Varro shows up on Bastian to be her bodyguard, things change between them. But first they have to deal with another plot to stop the peace between the Valoff and FHP.
This was another action packed story, but focusing on Kee and Varro this time. They uncover a new plot, rescue another Valoff royal, stop an assassination, and start exposing the truth about Morten and the FHP. I was really hooked on everything that was happening in this book, especially since there are still so many unanswered questions about why these attacks are being done and who is actually behind them. All the battles ended up being very interesting because they showcased more Valovian abilities, especially against Sura Fev. Also, I was surprised how strong Kee ended up being.
My biggest issue with this was the relationship. It felt like it got left behind in all the danger they were dealing with, which is fine sometimes, but what we did get wasn’t great for me. There is a constant push-pull to their relationship throughout this book because of Valoff’s culture around protection and injuries. It just led to Varro constantly pushing Kee away any time they made a bit of progress in their relationship. Also these two have issues with communication. From the very beginning there were misunderstandings, all because they just didn’t ask each other what they thought. Basically, while I do like Kee and Varro, I struggled with their relationship because it didn’t feel like they had time to make an effort to be a couple and work through their communication issues.
I am very interested in seeing how this series will end now that they are officially on the hunt for Morten. There are still a lot of unanswered questions about what all is going on between these two groups and why it is happening so I am very interested in seeing how those questions are answered, while getting to know the last couple, Lexi and Nilo.
TW: kidnapping; torture; violence; injuries; war themes;
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Previous books and reviews for the series:
#0.5 Honor and Shadows
#1. Hunt the Stars
Red-Haired Ash Reads 