Moon & Sun Book 1
The Ruby Key (Moon & Sun, Book 1)by Holly LisleI feel like I have had this book on my shelf forever, and yet, I really have only had it since January. The problem is that it came out in hard cover in 2008 and I waited (im)patiently for it to come out in paperback and when it did - my stores never stocked it. By the time I should have been able to get it and read it, the second book went from hard cover to paperback and I still didn't have this here first book. So I broke down at Christmas and picked it up when I was using all my Christmas book money. Of course then I never picked it up off my own shelf for about 5 months. Oops.I don't know why I waited. This book is fantastic. So much so that even though I have been sleeping almost every possible waking hour this past weekend, when I took the book up to read before bed I ended up reading the entire 370 pages and then collapsed into unconsciousness, exhausted. (I am convinced that NYC gave me the plague!)This fantasy novel is unique with engaging characters and a plot that makes you turn pages as fast as you can so you can figure out what is going to happen next. I am a fan of Holly Lisle's adult fantasy novels and I will admit to being a little wary of the foray into middle grade literature. To be honest, the only thing that makes this a "young" book is that the oldest character is 14. Oh, and there's no big love triangle or sex. Other than that? It's like a regular adult fantasy. The writing is not dumbed-down and the plot is FULL and rich and you are hooked for all 370 pages without any lagging parts or unnecessary bits.I have a ban on buying books right now due to some dire financial issues, but I honestly think I will break it to go buy the second book in this series because it was that magical and adventurous.This book has nothing to do with the "real world" or faeries or paranormal whatnots, this is pure and perfect fantasy. Even the characters names are non-real world and I love that about the book. It really helps immerse you into the realm of Nightlings and Sunkind.Sometimes it's just nice to get out of your head for a while and visit a fantasy realm, even if it has its share of dark and dangerous places.Moon & Sun series