A good teacher is always learning something new.

Thesan has loved the stars since she was five. Now the Astronomy professor at Schola, she has a wonderful life full of teaching, research, and all the books and star charts she might ever want. However, her late nights and teaching obligations don't allow for much of a personal life. Besides, most of the other teachers at Schola are decades older with their own passions and problems.

Isembard never expected to find himself as a teacher. A year ago, he agreed to teach Protective magics at Schola and act as bodyguard to two children of Council Members. He knows that he should be preparing to challenge for a Council seat himself, find a suitable wife, and produce children. Teaching at Schola means he can put those decisions off a little longer. Even better, Isembard is looking forward to the chance to catch up with his long-time mentor for the first time since the Great War.

Thesan and Isembard expect the school year to be the usual mix of teaching and projects, along with a rare upcoming solar eclipse. Instead, they find themselves dealing with a difficult new teacher bent on returning the school to the 1800s, students up to something mysterious and possibly dangerous, and the never-ending question of how to get their students to start thinking for themselves.

Eclipse is a friends to lovers romance full of astronomy, academic politics, the question of what makes a good teacher, unanticipated magic, student dramatic productions, and all the things an eclipse reveals. Set in 1924 and 1925 at a magical school off the coast of Wales, Eclipse is 110,000 words with a happily-ever-after ending.

Celia Lake