A CIRCLE OF MOONLIGHT

Two sisters face death-defying challenges both in reality and fantasy in this novel.

Recovering from a traumatic brain injury, former athlete Ashlyn Revere struggles emotionally while learning to walk and talk again at a rehabilitation center in this second volume of Edmonds’ Circle saga. Meanwhile, her younger sister, Penny, who has dealt with cystic fibrosis her entire life, finally receives the double-lung transplant she desperately needs. While the sisters wrestle with their medical hardships, they both escape into fantasy. Ashlyn travels to Summervale, the realm where she serves as the Marshal of the Eastern Marshes, aided by her lieutenant, a talking black rabbit. Penny visits 10 years in the future, where she lives in New York City with her young daughter, Jennifer. Unable to help a comatose Penny, whose body is fighting her new lungs in reality, Ashlyn crosses the Hudson from Summervale. Assisted by a reluctant warrior named C.J. Valentine, she invades Manhattan, seeking to rescue Penny from the Dark Lord who rules the borough. In the real world, Ashlyn suffers medical setbacks and falls for a man in rehab only to discover that he’s engaged. Penny ultimately rebuffs Ashlyn’s efforts to save her, unwilling to leave behind her happy fantasy family for medical uncertainty in reality. Edmonds hammers home the central theme of persistence in this thriller. Both Ashlyn and Penny have to overcome multiple complications as the author effectively details the long road they’ve had to travel following their auto accident in A Circle of Firelight(2019). He colorfully tells Ashlyn’s and Penny’s stories, real and fantastic, present and future. He occasionally features the voices of supporting characters, but they soon exit the stage. Compared to the first book, Edmonds’ sequel spends more time in the real world and less in magical Summervale, which is disappointing since he has developed such a vibrant place. Instead, he centers on the Revere sisters carrying on after such a dark period in their lives. In his afterword, the author indicates that this work is likely his last novel. If so, he bids goodbye with a flourish in this enchanting story.

A sweet, gripping tale about a pair of memorable sisters.