Moonspell is the second of the two books in this series written by Gwen Hansen (actually Ellen Steiber), the final book of the series, and by far my absolute freaking favorite.
I have no idea if this book was actually intended to be the last (is there anyone out there who does know?), but several important things happen and certain storylines are wrapped up in a way that suggests real finality. Fortunately, Moonspell also leaves the door wide open for more.
And, like most fans, I would be thrilled if there was more, even all these years later.
Someone on another site wrote that this book felt "older" than the others, and I'd have to agree. I mentioned on the Sun Blind page that this author didn't often "write down" to the readers, and this book is really the prime example of that. Everything feels distinctly older and more serious, and that, coupled with the upped romance factor, pretty much cemented this baby as my favorite.
Anyway. First things first.
I liked and even appreciated the character of Micula. Although she appeared with next to no background or explanation, she was still a much more multi-dimensional sorcerer than I ever found Laric or even (especially) Mardock to be. I also liked Jeno. It was a fun little scenario to have one of "the enemy" actually turn out to be a friend, and snark is always a good thing.
It's during Moonspell that Sheila shows the first inklings of any sort of magical ability, and eventually casts a few spells of her own (not because she wants to, really, but because she has no choice). What I liked specifically about that was that she didn't suddenly become some great sorceress overnight. Most of the time she couldn't get the magic to work at all, and when she did, it tended to knock her out.
What I really ate up about this book, though, was all of the Sheila/Darian stuff. Moonspell is mostly about the two of them, when you get right down to it, and I loved that.
Still, there's one part of the story that's always baffled me, and I'm hoping somebody out there can shed some light. On page 82, Dr. Reit accidentally appears in the cave where Sheila and Darian are hiding from the Tomai, and finds her sick and weak on the floor. After she tries to explain that this condition was caused by casting a spell (she thinks), Dr. Reit notices Darian approaching and garners a "totally mortified" response from Sheila by exclaiming, "What an extraordinary coincidence! I do believe it's that young man of yours."
To which I always replied: "WTF?"
Seriously. Just what exactly was he implying there? Maybe I've just been incredibly dense all these years, but I have yet to get that. Please, somebody, help me out with this.
So anyway, in the end, Sheila does eventually return home again, this time entirely under her own (magical, albeit completely accidental) power. And what's the very first thing she wants to do as soon as she gets there?
Return to the land of the Unicorn Queen.
Well. My feelings exactly.
MY RATING: 
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