Prince Corin has been chosen. He doesn’t remember, but the dragons have chosen him to free them, until he is ready however he will not remember that fact. All he knows is that something happened, and his memory is acting up. Upon his return to Caithen he also learns that war may be coming. Actually, war is pretty certain to come, and there is political intrigue and murder to uncover and investigate. But there is also a girl.
The girl is Tam, a doctor’s daughter who has come to court out of curiosity. She has no real interest in romance or marriage, not yet, but she wants to see what is going on. But when the prince passes her he immediately catches her attention. She doesn’t know it, but she has also captured his.
Moth and Spark by Anne Leonard
Pretty soon I was hooked.
Leonard is great at writing characters. Both Corin and Tam get to tell us their stories, not first person narration but there is no doubt as to who’s POV chapter we are in at any time.
If you’re a fantasy purist then I’m not sure you’ll be totally happy with Moth and Spark, I know I certainly wasn’t expecting quite as much romance as there was. The romance drives the story in many ways, as well as being what a lot of the story is actually about. Luckily I have read many a romance and enjoy them when they are as well written and captivating as this one.
OF course, with the romance and the relationship between Corin and Tam taking centre-stage there is less space for the action and the dragons. I’ll be honest I could have done with a bit more dragon, because the hints here were of really interesting dragons, they had been enslaved in the service of the Empire, and are utterly inhuman, but I never really got a clear idea of them. They are right there on stage yet feel a little hidden, which is a pity.
But even if you don’t usually read romance I wouldn’t turn my nose up at this one. It is very well written, you might find your self surprised by how captivating it is.
Other reviews : Gone with the words ; Layers of thought ; Dear Reader
yes in exchange for a review so not totally free ↩
Oh, this book. I'm really conflicted over it. I really liked it until they started dropping the word "love" and marriage became a thing. I also wanted more dragons than we got. Because clearly dragons are the answer to all narrative problems. Bored? ADD DRAGONS.
I had formatting problems, too, although I paid $15 for the privilege of them. :P
More dragons is, most definitely, the answer to all problems, not just narrative ones. Apart of course from dragon over-crowding. Although if added dragons were cannibals it might be the solution to that problem too ;)
I really enjoyed the first third, the second third I kept wondering when the romance would kick over into action. But I sort of wished that **spoiler warning**
They didn't get married, but instead had to figure out how to deal with that and a possible political marriage. Very difficult to write that properly though.