Moondance of Stonewylde, by Kit Berry

(pb; 2006)

From the back cover:

"The cracks are beginning to show in the apparently idyllic country estate of Stonewylde, a very special modern community in beautiful Dorset.

"Yul and Sylvie must defy the tyranny of Magus, who holds all the power. Nobody challenges him and survives.

"Now Magus knows Sylvie's secret, but makes a further discovery that puts her life at risk."

Review:

The Stonewylde drama continues, picking up day after the climax of Magus of Stonewylde. Yul's feud with the cruel, arrogant Magus (aka, Sol) continues, to a lesser degree.

Tensions between Yul and the Magus increase when Yul discovers that the Magus, along with Clip, owner of Stonewylde and Sol's kinder but weaker-willed half-brother, are stealing magical "moongazy" energy from his beloved Sylvie via magic-storing stones. Not only is this a moral outrage, but the Magus is greedy, taking as much of Sylvie's life-magic as he can. In doing so, the Magus is slowly, painfully killing her.

It's up to Yul, with the help of Mother Heggy, a Wise Woman with magical know-how, to save Sylvie from the Magus and Clip. But will they reach Sylvie in time to save her?

Berry's writing, once again, is chockful of drama, relying on natural, relatable, character-personality-based situations instead of adolescent histrionics. Reader-hooking passages are simply presented, yet the deeper import of the story, characters, and other writing elements are abundantly clear. The Stonewylde series, thus far, is excellently written, more memorable than much of its published competition, non-clichéd, and, above all, worth owning.

Check out this series, already!

Followed by Solstice at Stonewylde.