Moth and Spark

by Anne Leonard

A prince with a quest. A commoner with mysterious powers. And dragons that demand to be freed—at any cost.

Prince Corin has been chosen to free the dragons from their bondage to the Empire, but dragons aren’t big on directions. They have given him some of their power, but none of their knowledge. No one, not the dragons nor their riders, is even sure what keeps the dragons in the Empire’s control.

Tam, sensible daughter of a well-respected doctor, had no idea before she arrived in the capital that she is a Seer, gifted with visions. When the two run into each other (quite literally) in the library, sparks fly and Corin impulsively asks Tam to dinner. But it’s not all happily ever after. Never mind that the prince isn’t allowed to marry a commoner: war is coming to Caithen.

Torn between Corin’s quest to free the dragons and his duty to his country, the lovers must both figure out how to master their powers in order to save Caithen. With a little help from a village of secret wizards and a rogue dragonrider, they just might pull it off.

Genres: Fantasy, Romance, Dragons, Fiction, Adult, Magic, High Fantasy

368 pages, Hardcover

First published February 20, 2014

About the author

I've written since I was a kid. Fantasy and SF always drew me because of the fun of world-building. I've had lots of jobs and took many detours to publication, but writing is and always will be my real job.

Education (perhaps too much): BA from St. John's College Annapolis, MFA in fiction from the University of Pittsburgh, Ph.D. in English literature from Kent State University, and a J.D. from the University of California, Hastings College of the Law.

Personal: Husband, son, 2 black cats. Major hobby is photography. Foolishly, I support the Chicago Cubs.

A note on ratings: I only rate books that really blew me away and/or are likely to fall off the radar and I want to give a signal boost to. If I don't finish a book or I end up disappointed, I leave it off my list, so anything on my shelves is at least a 3, and many are 4's.

Reviews

[Kathylill · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNFed 15% into the story.

Reason number one:
Apart from the prologue and some vague mentions about Dragons and lost magic, there is no magic / fantasy in this story. Instead you are treated to a highly unconvincing historical, pseudo-medieval romance with insta-love and some such. This was really not what I expected or anticipated.

Reason number two:
The annoying female main character. Tam, wow I hate her. Never thought I would write this ever about anyone but she is so damn perfect, that I had an insta-hate moment there. She is not only “stunning, (…) with the most astonishingly beautiful face he had ever seen”, she is also totally unaware of her attractive looks and an epitome of womanly virtue. Gah!

She was a well-bred and well-educated young woman, even an accomplished one. She spoke three languages besides her own and could draw, sing, play the piano, and do embroidery, all of it inoffensively. She could converse on poetry and morals with equal grace. She had improved her mind by extensive reading. But her education did not end there.
She dressed wounds, mixed medicines, sat by the dying. She helped her father with his experiments and his writings. When he saw something interesting under the glass, it was she who drew the picture for him. She had done other work too, assisting her brother with his accounts, shipping lists.

Of course she can sit so fucking quietly "that a butterfly lighted briefly on the flower in her hair.

Reason number three:
The awful descriptive writing. Never have I ever seen so much info-dumping on the historical facts and semi-poetical, semi-prosaic descriptions.

- There is a whole paragraph dedicated to archaeological findings around the capital only to emphasize Tam’s sentiment of feeling “humbled”.
- There is no escaping the many gowns and fashion accounts or the countless remarks on the countryside, architecture or interior design of the palace.
- There is no difference in the two POVs the story is written in. Tam’s and Corin’s voices are totally alike. Why even bother to write in two POVs when you can’t differentiate between the two characters?
- Last but not least: The many confusing expressions like: ”draw, sing, play the piano, and do embroidery, all of it inoffensively” or “She smelled stone and ice”, which I admit could be useful if you're looking for a cave. The smelling part is really baffling. All in all Tam and her Prince can smell like bloodhounds. A total of 63 times they smell things like damp air, death, water, they can smell if a wind is cold, and they even pick up with their noses on salt in the air. How something can smell salty is beyond me. Things can smell "angular and sharp"? Say what? Apparently even people can be gamey-smelling. Whats wrong with words like rancid or stinky?

So feel free to read it for yourself but be aware that there is not much fantasy!

[Mogsy · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 of 5 stars at The BiblioSanctum http://bibliosanctum.blogspot.com/201...

Updated: Interview with author Anne Leonard at http://bibliosanctum.blogspot.com/201...

Moth and Spark was one of my top anticipated novels of 2014. My gut instinct told me it was going to be a good one, and while my gut might not be the best guide for a lot of things, it has hardly ever steered me wrong when it comes to books. And I was pleased to see to that it was right once again. If anything, Moth and Spark gave me even more than I bargained for.

To understand why I liked it so much, you also have to understand that I've been looking for a book like this for a long time. While I was reading Moth and Spark, a Goodreads friend of mine commented on one of my status updates with: "Fantasy with a romance sub-plot is rare." Indeed it is! Everyone who knows me knows I enjoy a good love story. And I would be reading a lot more romance, except I prefer it combined with other elements, especially from speculative fiction.

What I've always wanted to read was a meaningful and actively engaging romance in a high fantasy, but typically, most of the adult fantasy novels I enjoy merely scratch at the surface of romantic relationships. It's pretty much made me resign myself to the fact that I can only have one without the other. That is until this book came along and filled that void.

Moth and Spark is also different from a lot of romances. Yes, the love between the two main characters features heavily in this book, but at the same time it never lets you forget that both Corin and Tam are organically part of a much bigger story unfolding around them. Their relationship, as suddenly and swiftly as it occurred, is not merely the central focus with just the fantasy setting tacked on; it is part and parcel of the overall plot which involves a rich tapestry of courtly intrigue, back alley conspiracies and impending war, all culminating into a nation hanging in the balance. Together, the crown prince of Caithen and the commoner daughter of a renowned doctor must work together to save their homeland, combining their powers to free the dragons from their bondage to a mad emperor.

That's right, there are dragons. Just when you think things can't get any better, eh?

I think most of all, I loved this book for the wonderful characters that Anne Leonard has created. Call me a softie, but I like it when I see strong and inherently good, decent people find each other and fall in love. I like it when I see lovers like Tam and Corin sacrifice for each other, care for each other, and respect one another. I like that their romance is a partnership, where the chemistry is natural and mutual.

The author is also very adept at world building. She has a way of inserting very detailed information about the environment without encumbering the prose. For instance, I only noticed afterwards that there is actually a good amount of description in the text, but I hardly felt overwhelmed by them at all as I was reading. Anne Leonard accomplishes this by not laying out the background of the world all at once; instead, we gradually get to learn about things like the Empire's history or magical lore as the story progresses.

I could go on and on about a lot of the other aspects that I enjoyed, such as the magic, the dragons and their riders, the king's wizard-assassins (I really liked Joce, who was probably my favorite character after Tam and Corin), the court politics, the formal dances and elegant fashions, the sword fighting scenes and so on, but I should leave some of the more enchanting parts for people to discover for themselves. I will reveal though, that the ending involves quite a gripping scene of a duel on dragonback. Oh yes, this book gets my heart pounding in more ways than one!

Suffice to say I was very impressed with Moth and Spark, which is a debut for Anne Leonard. The novel's story of love and adventure struck the right chord with me, and it's going straight onto my shelf of favorites. I'll definitely be watching this author in the future for more.

[booknuts_ · Rating 2 out of 5]

Original Review found at my blog: www.beawesomebeabooknut.blogspot.com

This was NOT what I was expecting. The story-Great! The romance-eye rolling... I knew there was going to be romance I didn't exactly know or understand that this was a ROMANCE novel.

This novel is written from duel perspectives, mostly Corin's and I did like that. The world building can be a little slow at first and a bit dragging but the author did a great job of making sure you understood everything about her world and what is going on. She made sure you understood each character and their part in the plot and their back story.

The romance was a bit ridiculous in my opinion, and too fast it was disappointing. Corin and Tam are all over each other within 24 hours of meeting and after LITERATLLY five days they are in love and eternally committed to each other by taking vows and making promises which made it all too fast and really disappointing, and I gagged a few times and did a TON of eye rolling. So much for character development in that arena. And what's with all the sex and innuendos! totally took away from what could have been an EPIC romance, in my opinion.

The story starts off with an amazing bang as revelation of a prophecy involving freeing the dragons from the emperor comes about which complicates everything in Corin's life, his quest to free the dragons and his duty to his country. Prince Corin has been chosen to release the dragons from the Empire and free them from bondage, but even though they've given him some of their power, they didn't give Corin much or any of their knowledge. Which complicates things. Yet, what was interesting was no one, not the dragons or their riders seem to know what keeps the dragons in the Empire’s control. huh. weird.

Tam started out sooo interesting, she was smart, strong, stubborn, beautiful, curious, and we later learn that she is a Seer-COOL! However, I felt she lost all sense of herself when it came to her romance with Corin.

So Tam and Corin try to work together in order to save their kingdom of Caithen from oncoming war.

Overall the fantasy side of the story was GREAT and well written! It had everything, prophecy, power, mystery, war, political intrigue. it was awesome! The romance killed it for me.

Sexual Content: heavy (lots of sex initiated from the female character)
Language: moderate (PG)
Violence: moderate (PG)
Drugs/Alcohol: moderate (PG)

*Thank you to Viking publishers for mailing me a copy of this book to read for an honest review.

[b.andherbooks · Rating 1 out of 5]

Forget the glossy, beautiful hardcover; this should have been published as a mass market paperback in the romance section.

I was cautiously optimistic when I cracked this supposedly epic fantasy novel and found (yay) a map! But, when the author frequently mentions cities, countries, and other geographical features that I could not even find on said map what, really, is the point?

Frustrating.

Tepid world building, some dragons, some sort of magic, nothing really well explained, and of course a hot prince who falls insta-in-love with the most beautiful woman he has ever seen.

Prince Corin, most eligible bachelor, is caught up in a struggle between the Emperor that rules his country, some dragons who no one really knows too much about, some wizards, and an invading barbarian horde.

Corin is hot stuff and he knows it.
"The table-maid appeared a few minutes later and refilled the glass. his fingers brushed against hers as he took it...their eyes met. He thought she would not slap his hand away. He wondered if she knew who he was. He was tempted, but she was too young and too ignorant. It would not be fair."
Gag.

He also has had a bevy of lovers, including his current (married) mistress, but he quickly ousts her when he sees the most beautiful woman in the whole wide world, a girl who turns out to be a "commoner" (in fact a wealthy daughter of a doctor, just not a noble). Tam of course is unaware of her extreme charm and besides being gorgeous is a paragon of virtue and talent. Cue romance, balls, dresses squeeee, and long talks and smoochies. Tam falls desperately in love, and she can barely restrain herself from bonin' the brains out of Corin. So they don't wait very long. Honor and country be damned (don't worry it will all work out in the end).

Oh wait, what about the dragons? Apparently after getting the hots for each other, both Tam and Corin find out they have POWERS. Cue epic battles, lots of love making, worries about the future, and oh now the king says we can be married, yay happily ever after.

What just happened? I'm still not sure.

[Branwen Sedai *of the Brown Ajah* · Rating 5 out of 5]

"I am not a poetess. Patient. Either brokenhearted or engaged. A good archer or rider. A spendthrift. A faithful correspondent. Uneducated. An older sister. Kind or a drunkard." She stopped. "Is that enough?"

"And which of those is a failing?" he looked amused.

"Lack of kindness, I suppose," she said. "I am not a nice person."

He grinned, a splendid and amazing smile that made her want to do nothing but look at him. "Of course you're not. Most of us aren't. You try though, don't you?"

"Yes, but sometimes it just slips out."

Corin is the crown prince of Caithen who has been destined for great things from birth. His destiny is somehow intertwined with the fate of the dragons that are imprisoned by a Hadon, a distant ruler who controls everything with an iron fist. Tam is a young common born woman with a keen mind and a sharp sense of honor. When they meet by chance, it seems like fate. Attraction sparks. Friendship flourishes. Love blossoms. And yet the dragons grow restless to be freed from the tyranny that enslaves them. Corrin has no idea what he is meant to do to save them, but with the help of his new love Tam, who has powers of her own, he just might stand a chance. Which is good because he is going to need all the help he can get; for war is coming.

"You know, I loved you from the moment I saw you, before I even knew who you were."

There are so many wonderful things for me to say about this book. First I want to talk about the aesthetics. I had no idea what this book was about or that it was even published until I came across it by chance when I was in the bookstore last a couple of weeks ago. The cover caught my eye and I was almost immediately mesmerized by its soft texture and beautiful image of a candle with black moths formed out of the smoke. When I read the back and learned it was about dragons I was immediately sure that I would love it. I mean, c'mon, dragons always guarantee a book to be amazing, right? :) Also I was intrigued that it was a stand-alone novel, since those are few and far between in the fantasy genre.

I was definitely not disappointed in my choice here, because this book was just a pure delightful read from start to finish. As much as I wanted to race through it (like I usually do when I find a book that I love this much) I found that I couldn't. The beautiful writing and fully descriptive scenes forced me to slow down and savor every single word on each page. There were a few passages that I ended up earmarking and then going back and re-reading them over and over because of how much I loved them. I wanted to disappear into this world, this world of dragons and wizards, of castles and true love. It was almost as if there were various storylines together intertwining into one beautiful and poignant story. There is the story of the dragons and how they were enslaved and the lengths that Corin has to go to free them, there is the story of the war, and there is the love story between Corin and Tam. But one part of the story didn't dominate any others, and that was another thing I loved about this book. You don't have to be a hardcore fantasy fan or a hardcore romance fan to enjoy this. I truly believe that it has something for everybody! :) There is just so much going on that kept me engaged and riveted and so excited to find out what happened next. I loved the writing style, loved the dialogue, loved the characters, and especially loved the dragons!

I loved this book so much! This is a must read! I would highly recommend it to anyone who loves fantasy books and/or romance books.

He burned for her, and she for him, and it was as unstoppable as rain in spring.

[Cheryl · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is another book that is supposed to be one of the most hyped about books of 2014. So I again had to check this one out. Ok, let me just say that all the talk in the world can not help a book if it can not stand up to the hype. I really wanted to like this book because it sounded intriguing, however I got to chapter four and put it down. It took me several days to come back to this book. Then when I did pick it back up, I was only semi interested. I skimmed chapter five and it was then that I made up my mind that I could not read this book any further. Maybe some day down the road I might pick this book up again and try to finish it. There was way too much dialect and not enough fantasy. Which is what I thought I was getting when I picked up this book. In fact after stopping this book, I still did not have a clue what was so special about the dragons and why Corin needed to free them.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

At the end of the day you’ll want to read this book because you’re in the mood for some touching fall-in-love action between two characters that are inherently good. The added bonus is the vibrant, well-realized, believable, astounding court culture that Leonard subtly crafts throughout her book. The magic system and dragons takes some time to really matter too much, but by the end of the book, that will be as interesting as everything else you’ve read. If the ending suffers a little, Leonard makes up for it with some astounding writing, and a story that you can really sink into. This is one of those powerful debut novels that is unlike anything you’ve ever read before, while being exactly what you expect.


Read my full review here:

http://www.bookwormblues.net/2014/02/...

[rachel, x · Rating 2 out of 5]

➸ Trigger warnings for sexism,
blood depiction, murder by poisoning (on-page), animal attack, war themes.

Blog • Trigger Warning Database • StoryGraph

[Sarah · Rating 1 out of 5]

Buddy read with Sammee (who also DNFed the book but she didn't even make it past the first chapter!)

I'd like to point out that I HATE not finishing a book, I'm stubborn like that and I can nearly always find something positive to say about the books I read. I'd actually consider myself a fairly forgiving reader but you may not believe that after reading this review.

I picked up Moth & Spark expecting an awesome fantasy story full of dragons and magic but in reality I got an incredibly boring, overly detailed story about court politics and an insta-love romance. Considering I made it to page 161 out of 368 (even if it did take me nearly a month to slog that far) I think I gave this book a fair shot. If you bear in mind that this story is supposed to be about a boy (Corin) who has been tasked with saving the dragons from slavery I think you'll be as surprised as I am to discover that nearly half way in there have only been three (yes I said THREE!) interactions with the dragons. Once in the prologue, then there is one incident where we see them flying in the distance and then a third slightly more exciting occasion when Corin actually gets to ride a dragon. What might surprise you is that while this book over describes every single thing that happens down to what everyone is wearing and what they had for breakfast, the event where he RIDES A DRAGON is over within a couple of pages. I can't even begin to tell you how disappointed I was - I'd waited so long to get to the good stuff and it was glossed over as if it was completely unimportant.

If I wasn't irritated enough by the complete lack of dragons the insta-love between Corin and Tam was enough to make me want to throw the book across the room. If you don't believe me on how quickly this romance happens here is a bit more information about their first 4 interactions:
1. He saw her across a crowded room and was impressed by her beauty (they didn't speak and were in the same room for less than 2 minutes).
2. They had a VERY brief conversation in the library (I'm talking less than 5 minutes but probably not even that).
3. After their five minute conversation he can't get her out of his head so he invites her to dinner where they spend a couple of hours talking and of course share a goodnight kiss.
4. The very next morning they meet in the garden and he's already ruminating on how madly he loves her (Quote from the book: "He had never been so bewitched by any woman as he was by her. Before they'd even finished eating he had known he was hopelessly, entirely, in love" That was obviously quite some dinner the night before!).
From there onwards the couple can't keep their hands off each other and they're both constantly thinking how unfair it is that they are so in love but can never be a proper couple because he's a prince and she isn't a suitable bride.

I tried pushing on past that, you will never know how hard I tried, but another 40 pages in and I'm so bored I want to stab my eyes out with a fork just to stop the torture. Obviously looking at the other reviews you'll see I'm in the minority here so I don't want to put people off giving this a try. What I would suggest is getting your copy from the library so you haven't wasted your money if you end up disliking it as much as I did.

I had such high hopes for this book, I'm obsessed with anything dragon related and I couldn't wait to dive into this series. It pains me to write such a negative review but this book really is NOTHING like the blurb suggests and I was left so incredibly disappointed because of that.

[James · Rating 3 out of 5]

Anne Leonard's debut novel, Moth and Spark , is an enjoyable surprise. I'm not sure what I was expecting when I read the blurb that described it as '... The Princess Bride meets Game of Thrones ... with a dash of Jane Austen.' but once i was reading it, it felt more like Game of Thrones meets Pretty Woman. Maybe that's because I've never read The Princess Bride or Jane Austen Yes, I know that's a bad thing, but there is a sort of valid reason – sort of. – although Jane Austen is thanked at the end of the novel for dialogue pointers. But, I've definitely read Game of Thrones and I've definitely seen Pretty Woman.

The Game of Thrones connection is obvious: it's fantasy, there are dragons, and it's got a prologue that has little, if any, connection to the rest of the novel. There's even a chap called Bron. Corin is the prince – wealthy, powerful and successfully avoiding marriage, or love, this far in his life. Tam is smart and sassy and not at all used to the social structures of court. Although they're from different worlds, they're destined to meet and fall in love. But obviously they cannot marry each other – an badly kept secret affair is all it can ever be. There's even a moment where the prince borrows an expensive necklace for Tam to wear to the ball – Pretty Woman.

The first few chapters felt a bit slow, but this is where the world building takes place. The characters are introduced and we find out who they are and what makes them tick. The dual narration style follows both Corin's and Tam's separate stories until the 'events' force their paths together. Tam witnesses a murder and suddenly finds herself with access to some of the highest people in court. The book really takes off at this point and Leonard's story really captures the imagination. Yeah, there are still some pacing issues; yeah, there is still some weirdly awkward dialogue; and yeah, the book sort of peters out at the end. But, I forgive her. It's a debut novel, and the story pays off in spite of those flaws. We have wizards and dragon-riders, dragons who exist outside of time, princes and commoners, and a remote evil empire. What's not to like?

My copy was an advanced copy – a rather poor PDF to Kindle conversion – but, the publisher was keen to point out that this was not the final version. The book hadn't been through it's final edit cycle, so not only would I absolutely expect the formatting problems to be resolved, I might well hope that some of the pacing and dialogue might even be tightened up in the final print.

[Althea Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

Awww, that was awfully sweet.

Tam Warin is a doctor's daughter who's been invited to the Season at Court through a family connection. However, she doesn't fit in very well with all the giggling well-bred girls in search of husbands.
Wandering idly around the palace on a rainy day, she happens to become a witness to a violent death, and unwittingly is drawn into a mysterious intrigue.

So far, so good. I loved it. Great set-up.

Then, a handsome man strides into Court, still rough and dirty with the grime of a long road... Tam doesn't know this man is the Prince - and supposedly far out of her league - but her interest is caught. And in turn, Prince Corin falls headlong in love with her.

Here, the book takes an abrupt turn into romance. And it's pure fantasy romance: Two beautiful, intelligent, talented people in true love, complicated only by the circumstances surrounding them (and even then, only a little bit). I can see how some people would criticize this, but honestly - I wholly enjoyed it. I thought it was sweet and sexy, and I found myself captivated and rooting for the couple all the way. I would've loved it even more if I were a young teenager.

Then, 3/4 of the way through1t the book, another abrupt turn is taken... War is declared, a long-hinted at plot involving dragons and dragonriders comes to the fore, and our protagonists develop magical powers. I have to admit, it lost me a bit here. The magical powers just weren't necessary, and the scenes didn't feel nearly as well-drawn as those at the beginning of the book.

As a whole, though, I really enjoyed the book and would wholeheartedly recommend it to anyone looking to be drawn into a hopelessly dreamy fairytale romance.

Copy provided by NetGalley - thanks for the opportunity to read!

[Keertana · Rating 3 out of 5]

Moth and Spark is fantasy-lite. While it contains a plethora of intriguing ideas, the world-building, dragons, and magical elements aren't as deeply explored as the romance is. Quite simply put, though this could have easily been molded into an intense, political fantasy novel, it remains focused on the love story at hand. For an adult novel to push aside the intriguing political machinations of its universe, keeping its best qualities - dragons and magic - at bay, only compels it to dim in light of other fantasy novels. Leonard's writing and characterization are rich, but not rich enough to warrant remembrance. Not a bad debut, just a little different from what I expected...

[Anya · Rating 3 out of 5]

Moth and Spark by Anne Leonard tells the story of a commoner and a prince falling in love while war brews and mysterious prophecies about dragons come to light. If you are a fan of historical romance, then you will probably really enjoy the court intrigue and romance in Moth and Spark and this could be a great chance to try out some light fantasy ;-). While Moth and Spark takes place in a world with magic and dragons, it has a very strong romance plot, with the consequences of war and dragons only emerging in the last third of the book, just so you know.



Note: I received Moth and Spark from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Moth and Spark by Anne Leonard
Published by Viking Adult on Feb. 20th, 2014
Genres: Adult, Historical Fantasy, Romance
Length: 384 pages
How I got my copy: Publisher

A prince with a quest. A commoner with mysterious powers. And dragons that demand to be freed—at any cost.

Prince Corin has been chosen to free the dragons from their bondage to the Empire, but dragons aren’t big on directions. They have given him some of their power, but none of their knowledge. No one, not the dragons nor their riders, is even sure what keeps the dragons in the Empire’s control.

Tam, sensible daughter of a well-respected doctor, had no idea before she arrived in the capital that she is a Seer, gifted with visions. When the two run into each other (quite literally) in the library, sparks fly and Corin impulsively asks Tam to dinner. But it’s not all happily ever after. Never mind that the prince isn’t allowed to marry a commoner: war is coming to Caithen.

Torn between Corin’s quest to free the dragons and his duty to his country, the lovers must both figure out how to master their powers in order to save Caithen. With a little help from a village of secret wizards and a rogue dragonrider, they just might pull it off.

Strengths:
Moth and Spark starts with a bang with the revelation of a prophecy involving freeing the dragons from the emperor. I’m obviously a huge dragon fan so this was a premise that I adored ;-). The prophecy was just the right amount of vague and mysterious to have me instantly interested in what was going to happen and what it really meant.
On top of the cool prophecy in the beginning, Prince Corin has some rather mysterious memory problems right in the beginning of the book. The description of how thoughts about certain subjects (dragons!) just slip out of his mind had me so intrigued!
I really enjoyed the ending of Moth and Spark and it honestly significantly improved the book for me. It was appropriately epic and magical and dragon-y, haha.
So there is a lot of sex in Moth and Spark, which I wasn’t exactly expecting, but whatever. However, a pleasant surprise was that a lot of that sex was initiated by our heroine Tam. I love it when female characters are allowed to actually have a sex drive, girl power!

Weaknesses:
I’m not a big romance fan, so the fact that the first half to two-thirds of Moth and Spark is pretty much a historical romance with occasional references to magic and dragons was disappointing for me. The romance also is kind of ridiculous in my opinion. These two kids are all over each other within 24 hours of meeting and after about five days they are in love and eternally committed to each other (ie making vows and promises they probably shouldn’t be making). I’m not even exaggerating, Corin thinks to himself how it had only been FIVE DAYS!
Since so much of Moth and Spark is spent canoodling, the world-building suffered quite a bit. We don’t get to find out much about the world outside of the palace including the other countries that are potentially going to attack, the dragons and their history, etc. The last third tries to expand some of this since Corin and Tam actually leave the palace and see more of the world, but I would have liked that a lot sooner.
I really question Corin and Tam’s priorities. There is a day when they have sex three times (good for them, I guess, under normal circumstances) when all sorts of bad things are happening in the world! Given the effect that everyday stress has on all of us in the modern world, I have a heard time believing that they would be thinking about those things when they are trying to figure out how to save everyone they know and love from utter destruction.
This is definitely a me thing, but if you aren’t super into court intrigue and romance, you will likely have the same problem: the romance and court intrigue was just dull. There are only so many times that Corin and Tam can be interrupted right before they would have gotten caught canoodling ya know? I think I counted at least five times that that happened….
I’m still pretty unclear on some plot elements, though it is entirely possible that I just missed them. Things I wonder about: what did happen in that nighttime courtyard scene at the beginning? When did Tam learn uber special knife skills besides that one mention? How could the king have possibly thought THAT was a good idea?????? (That’s just me being grumpy about the romance again, don’t worry, haha.)

Summary:
Moth and Spark had a lot of promise between the dragons and the mysterious prophecy, but in the end it just wasn’t the book for me. If you don’t mind a very heavy romance element (i.e. I really think that was the main plot of the book and the prophecy was closer to a subplot), then you will probably enjoy Moth and Spark far more than I did. However, be prepared for a book that is over half romance with an epic fantasy adventure at the very end. This one was actually a bit difficult for me to rate since the first half was a 2-star for me, but the ending was a 4-star, therefore, I averaged ;-).

[Nathan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fantasy Review Barn

With a possible marriage proving important in Moth and Spark, debut novel of Anne Leonard, I decided to pigeon hold it into an old wedding superstition. Something old; a love story at the heart of war. Something new (at least to me); dragons that are not fully tied to humans nor completely independent, but rather a bit of both. Something borrowed; well, there is nothing completely original about rebellions, love stories or even dragon riders, is there? And something blue. Um, I think lead female Tam wore a blue dress to the ball, didn’t she? If not go with the cover, it has a lot of blue on it

Immensely readable, hard to put down, and short in length – this is the type of story that I used to read in a single sitting when I actually had time to do so. Following only two major players; young prince Corin and his soon to be love interest Tam, the book fills the pages with a lot of happenings without any rush or bloat. We are given not boring build up; Corin is stopped by a dragon rider in the first few pages and it is soon known he shall lead them in a rebellion against the Emperor who controls them. From there we join him on a quest of war, rebellion, and love. Oh, and we meet a few dragons along the way.

By following only two characters a lot happens in this world but we only get to know what Tam and Corin know. This is not a book that forces you to memorize a map, know troop movements, or follow anything outside of these two characters world. This is a good thing; it allows the aforementioned short length without forcing a rushed ending and doesn’t make the world feel small by forcing the main cast to take care of everything. Tam and Corin must take care of their own important task while the world moves around them.

What I really appreciated about this book was the way it flirted with familiar tropes. It never actually left them behind, nor tried to subvert them entirely, but instead danced with them; using them when they were not broken and stepping outside of them when needed. I appreciated seeing a royal court that wasn’t pure back stabbing politics and cruel pranks on the new girl. Tam ran afoul of a few to be sure, but never did the court fall into ‘these people are evil’ and ‘these are the good people who will befriend our protagonist.’ Tam fits the action girl trope herself, always the smartest in the room and ready to speak her mind. But she stays believable throughout; in a world based around a patriarchy she does a lot and has no lack of agency; but does nothing that makes her seem like the exception to the gender-status rules. Tam is quick to take charge but isn’t suddenly swinging a sword around and fighting off trained soldiers. And the dragons themselves, though hard to talk about without spoilers, are manipulative without actually being unlikable.

There is a love story here which I am of two minds about. On one hand it is very rushed and requires a bit of a personality change in the prince that I am not sure about. But on the other hand I have no hard time buying that two people so young could have an infatuation as strong as they felt that would lead to every action they took. And as the entire story takes place in a fairly short time, without any annoying ‘happily ever after’ prologue, I am not forced to buy the fact that this was ‘one true love at first sight.’ So I am going to call this a success.

I must comment on how strongly this book managed to wrap up what was looking like too many threads into a conclusion that answered a lot of questions in a hurry without ever feeling rushed. Little plot points I was finding implausible suddenly made since; there was tension without throwing in something unexpected or implausible, and we got real resolution to the major story arc while letting us know that the author is well aware that not everything was solved but that was for other players in the game to deal with.

I have only a few quibbles. While I can’t call it a plot hole because the explanation was in there I am still confused on how the dragons became beholden in the first place (though how they were kept under control after was perfectly clear). And maybe it was intentional but there were a lot of real world allusions that raised an eyebrow; they shared a very similar set of fairy tales as we do for instance.

I rare book that I felt could be a bit longer, but solid throughout. Perfect for a lazy afternoon if you are a person who still finds time for those. It is somewhat rewarding to read a book that I know nothing about, and always cool to see a debut that shows so much potential.

4 Stars

Review copy provided by the publisher. All opinions are my own.

[Charlie Lovett · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the nice things about being an author is that sometimes I get asked to read a new book before it comes out. That was the case Moth and Spark by Anne Leonard. The book is published by Viking, my hardcover publisher, but it was my agent (who also represents Anne) who asked me to take a look at this fun and beautifully crafted new novel. It’s Anne’s debut, and I have to say it is really impressive. The novel is something like a Russian nesting doll: it’s a Jane Austen novel inside a Princess Bride type fantasy romp inside a much darker Tolkein-esque story of politics, war, magic, and dragons.
Anne is brilliant at creating the world of the novel—and she’s created everything: the details of rooms as varied as the sumptuous royal apartments in the palace to the simple cottages of the Wizard’s Valley; the landscape and geography; the costumes and customs. She not only gives us a world (something like medieval Europe) that we can see and hear and touch and smell and taste—but she gives us a thousand years of history leading to political entanglements that are imminently meaningful to our two heroes. And she creates a social order inspired (as she says) by Jane Austen, yet uniquely adapted to her own uses.
But it is really in the character of those heroes— the prince Corin and the commoner Tam—that the book is at its best. After I set Moth and Spark down, breathless from the pace of the thrilling conclusion, I had a long think about why I liked these to characters and their relationship so much. I think part of it is, as readers of The Bookman’s Tale will know, that I am something of a hopeless romantic and the love story woven between these two characters if both hopelessly romantic and romantically hopeless. But the likeability of these characters extends deeper than that. I think it’s that they are the sort of people that we all wish we could be. Yes, they love deeply and without selfishness, but they are also brave and afraid. They are practical yet dreamers. They are stubborn only in doing what they know is right and they are both willing to make supreme sacrifices—for each other, for their country, and for peace.
There is a lot in this book to talk about: dragon lore, a dying race of Wizards, intrigue at court, swordplay, weaponry, a mysterious murder, and the ordinary human process of courtship—with all its attendant conniving, backstabbing, and double crossing (though never for our heroes). But always at the center are these two remarkable young people—whether alone or together—whose characters and relationship draw us deeply into the narrative. Because we care so much for them, we care for everything else. Everything from the dragons to the politics becomes much more that just an exercise in world creating because we see all those things through the twin lenses of Corin and Tam.

[Victoria · Rating 1 out of 5]

At first, this novel feels like a classic fantasy story - one of the main perspectives is that of the heir prince of a land bent under an oppressive empire. The dragons that belong in Corin’s country have been stolen away and on top of their quiet rebellion, a greedy neighbor threatens to conquer the country. Meanwhile, Tam, is a young woman (at one point 27 years old, another 20 years old...) with a wide range of experience and knowledge despite her commoner status. When her sister-in-law invites her to spend the summer at the Palace, her curiosity inspires her to leave behind her job working for her physician father. Unfortunately, once the two main characters meet the detail of setting up a classic fantasy landscape falls away to descriptions of architecture, gowns and wine. The instant love between Tam and Corin at first seems like lust, but on their second meeting, they are trading secrets like lifelong friends (probably not the best activity for the Heir Prince, but by this point the book resembles a bodice-ripper more than a fantasy novel and the only dragons that appear in this section are in the decor).

The immediate sensuality to their relationship seems almost at odds with all of the careful time and action of the previous pages that set up Corin’s country on the precipice of war. Even as the conflicts facing the country become more serious, it is obvious that readers should be more involved in this three day old romance. There are some odd references to fairy tales (Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty) that almost make this book feel like it had originally been drafted in a setting more mundane. The relationship between the characters, though, is boring. There are few conflicts and the main class difference is hardly apparent and seems easily overcome (and don’t worry, it is).

Once their relationship is completely secure, the latter half of the novel suddenly picks back up on the war and with the dragons. The battle scenes that involve physical action are much more convincing and engaging than the confused scenes that deal with magic. Leonard’s odd version of magic makes little sense and the climatic scene falls flat accordingly. The epilogue neatly wraps up every aspect of the plot and though it isn’t a poorly written novel, it is not an enjoyable read. It feels bereft of any genuine conflict and the characters have no depth at all. The dragons are alien creatures that fail to charm readers and I wish that the focus had been less on the romance and more on the other aspects of the book.

[Junkie for the Written Word · Rating 1 out of 5]

I read about 65% of this before giving up.

High fantasy, courtly love, and.... dragons! You would think I would have loved this book, *I* would have thought I would love this book, but sadly we would both have been mistaken.

Here's why I didn't:
* The story drops you off in the middle of an intrigue you don't know anything about and then doesn't make you care about it. Lots of description of the intrigues of court without making you want to know more. Like a fact sheet of shit you could care less about.
* The love story, or whatever it is. Of course the hero and heroine fall in love instantly because that is a thing that happens all the damn time in romance novels and so why the hell not.
* The hero and heroine are both beautiful, talented, perfect, and I hate them.
* The world building. What the fuck is happening here? Get lots of description of smells but no real sense of the world at large. It's medievalish with dragons, but there seems to be indoor plumbing and Cinderella and gaslight... but none of this stuff is expanded upon, just mentioned like, "She went to run a hot bath." And then nothing else is said about it. What? Is there indoor plumbing? Did she literally run the hot water up the stairs in great big buckets? Or is "running a bath" a euphemism for some thing I don't know about. You can't have a story set in a the middle ages and then have indoor heated plumbing without explaining some shit. Or at least a little world building to let us know what technology they have.
*Whar logic? Whar? Nothing happens logically. It all just happens for no apparent reason. And not just illogical plot elements to move the story along because the author needs them to. Illogical random things just happen, just because.

So all this together made me not like the book but if it hadn't be for such a perfect and tidy "love story" I might have persevered. The "romance" was the camel that broke the straws back for me. It was just so perfect and sickening I wanted to punch someone in the face.

[☼Bookish in Virginia☼ · Rating 5 out of 5]

If Jane Austen wrote high-fantasy she might have penned MOTH AND SPARK.

Honestly, this book was so well written, I simply love it. It is, however, a Romance. So if you aren't in the mood for a romance, don't pick it up.

There are brilliant characters, wonderful world-building, and sophisticated politicking... not to mention, dragons and magic. But ultimately what is at heart of Anne Leonard's novel is a wonderful romance between a prince and a commoner.

I love the use of language in this book. I love the intelligence of the plotting and the twists and turns. There's also, I thought, a certain steampunk feel to the tale.

If you are sick and tired of YA book with the same old 'special little snowflakes' and insta-lurve, read this book. It is NOT YA. It is for Adults. And the heroine is richly portrayed, brave and a lover of science and reason. Can't wait for Leonard's next book. She's brill.

[Seeing Double in Neverland · Rating 2 out of 5]

2 out of 5 stars

I couldn't finish this book, it was not what I was expecting and was to drawn out!

[Anzû · Rating 1 out of 5]

Too few dragons.

[Misty]

DRAGONS AND JANE AUSTEN, THIS CLEARLY BELONGS ON MY BOOKSHELVES.

[Ashley · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have soooooo many thoughts about this book. Which I will give to you now. REJOICE, PEASANTS.

The first thing I want to say is that I wish the image of the cover was bigger because it’s gorgeous, and when you shrink it down it goes all dark and you can’t see the detail. That candle in the center, and the moths coming out of it, and the colors and and the textured details: it’s just lovely. I also really like the title, although, as I’ll get to later, I don’t feel the book lives up to the promise of that title.

The second thing I want to say is that the entire presentation of this book makes me think Viking as a publisher has never before read a fantasy novel, or at least not many. I wasn’t even aware they published fantasy. These are the same guys that published Grapes of Wrath, Finnegan’s Wake, Death of a Salesman, The Satanic Verses, and yes, Bridget Jones’ Diary. They seem to be treating it as this lovely, original, striking piece of writing, when really it’s just pretty okay, standard fantasy. It has its interesting moments, certainly, and overall it wasn’t a bad way to spend a couple of days, but I’m of the opinion it needed a serious editing whack upside the head, and by no means is it worthy of being treated like literary fiction. I can name at least five other fantasy authors off the top of my head who are writing seriously great fiction and largely being ignored by the literary community for their troubles. Viking’s credo, from their official website:

“To publish a strictly limited list of good nonfiction, such as biography, history and works on contemporary affairs, and distinguished fiction with some claim to permanent importance rather than ephemeral popular interest.”

It may just be me, but I seriously doubt Moth and Spark will lay claim to “permanent importance.” Oh, wait. Some quick googling has reminded me that Viking publishes Lev Grossman’s Magician’s series. Well, there you go. For those of you who’ve read those books, I think you’ll agree with me that (even if you don’t like them) they are deserving of that credo up there. They challenge the genre in a way that isn’t done by any other other books, and they do it with intent and purpose. And if you haven’t read them, I guess just trust me on that. Moth and Spark is not in the same league as The Magicians, although you can see that it’s trying really really hard to be. If The Magicians is the major leagues, then Moth and Spark is your local high school’s baseball team. There’s potential there, but no innovation, and most of the talent present needs a bit of seasoning.

Moth and Spark has two POV characters, both told in third person limited: Corin, crown prince of Caithenor (oy, the names in this), and Tam, a commoner who has The Sight. The novel opens with the dragons (there are dragons! but don’t get too excited! they’re barely in it!) bestowing Corin with a mysterious gift that is then wiped from his memory. Meanwhile, Tam takes a dreamspirit journey or whatever in a dragon. So the reader is clued in from the beginning that Corin has been chosen by the dragons and that Tam has the sight, although it takes both of them half the book to catch up. This is frustrating for a number of reasons, and was the first thing I noticed about the book. If she had simply deleted that prologue, Corin’s struggles to figure out what’s going on and Tam’s mysterious visions would have actually been, you know, mysterious. And full of tension! This is only one example of the problems an editor who was actually paying attention could have fixed.

But back to the plot. There’s three main things to be concerned about, and they’re all intertwined with one another. The first is a super confusing and honestly sort of boring war that’s happening in Corin’s country, Caithenor, thanks to two neighboring countries, one of which is ruled by the most horrible human in existence, but that doesn’t even matter because we never actually get to meet him. The other is the seat of the Empire, ruled by this asshole called Hadon whose great great grandfather stole the dragons from Caithenor and enslaved them. So here’s where the dragons come in. They’ve chosen Corin to free them from their five hundred year slavery. This part was actually okay when Leonard bothered to feature it, but mostly it was just the war. And the romance, of course.

Just so you don’t think I completely hated this book (three stars! and maybe only half of that third star is me being generous and just really liking fantasy stories with dragons in them!), I did really enjoy when Leonard’s characters interacted with each other. She has a nice sense of character and her dialogue is great in places, and actually makes implausible situations sort of believable. This is fortunate, since her brain creates a bunch of those for her to overcome, the largest of which is the fact that her protagonists meet, fall in love immediately, and then marry in the span of five days, all the while “overcoming” the challenges presented by her being a beautiful, intelligent commoner (which is basically none except that princes can’t marry commoners). I mean, she really emphasizes this. Princes CANNOT MARRY COMMONERS. But then Tam is just so amazing and everyone loves her, including the king (and she is pretty cool, which is in itself a problem, but more on that later). So SPOILER, because everyone just loves her so much BOOM out of nowhere the king is all FUCK IT YOU CAN GET MARRIED RIGHT NOW. And marries them right then. As a war is starting.

I had to put the book down for a while after that.

I had a bunch of other issues with this book that all basically boil down to one thing: me reading and getting my enjoyment up, and then my enjoyment being batted away like a fly or an annoying small child when something in the text made it impossible for me to remain in that magical bookspace that makes stories come alive. Lots of clumsy little details that could have been fixed by an editor contributed: comma splices EVERYWHERE. I mean it. EVERYWHERE. The fact that she has nobility incorrectly addressing each other, mostly Corin. Several times, she has characters call him ‘prince.’ Not ‘my prince,’ just ‘prince.’ Granted, I’m not 100% up on this but I know at least from Game of Thrones that kings and princes are never ‘my lord.’ It bugged me, and it hurt Leonard’s credibility. Not to mention that every time she started in about the politics of the war, it felt like she was an amateur playing at a professional’s game. It’s like she was focusing too much on the stuff she was weakest at, and not enough on the stuff she wasn’t (dragons, dialogue, interesting characters, character interactions). The romance was cliche to the extreme; it was only saved by the skin of her teeth by her dialogue and the characters themselves. By COME ON. Five days? FIVE DAYS!? (This is termed ‘insta-love’ in the blogging community, but I utterly despise that term and refuse to use it.) Plot happenings were more often than not fueled by nothing more than coincidence.

Even the greatness of Tam as a character was problematic. She was so great from the start she had nowhere to go. Her character arc isn’t so much an arc as it is a flat line. In fact, none of the characters in this book grow or change at all. They meet each other, they have adventures in places, they almost die and stuff . . . but none of that changes them internally. Only their external circumstances differ by the end of the novel. That may fly for some readers, but it doesn’t fly for me, and it certainly doesn’t fly with they type of fare Viking prides itself in publishing. All of this combined with Leonard’s poor understanding of how to build, maintain, and then satisfy tension in a story. Which leads me to the final problem I had with this novel: none of it was original. That’s not necessarily a crime. And don’t quote me that ‘there are no original stories’ bullshit. I don’t care. What I do care about is that if you are a writer and you are writing standard and predictable stories, you better damn well make sure your characters have it going on internally. It’s characters and their arcs that are important when plot is standard.

Writing it down like that validates my original intent to give this book two stars, but like I said, I was feeling generous, and I do so like a good fantasy book. The other thing is that while I was reading, I could tell Leonard is an author with lots of promise, like maybe once she gets this shitty predictable story out of her system and gets herself an actual editor, she might start producing stuff worth recommending to less generous readers than myself. Oh my God, that last sentence sounds so egotistical now that I’ve typed it . . .

Meh. I stand by it.

[Felicia Caro · Rating 5 out of 5]

"A woman in one village had the Sight and predicted doom. There were always such stories somewhere; natural philosophy was still the province of the rich and educated. The poor would have their gods of tree and stream and hollow, their hedgerow cures and charms. But those things were not usually tossed about in tavern gossip. For them to come out now meant fear of something else that was too hard to face. He had seen the hex signs, the wardings, on the farmhouse doors and the roofs of barns. On the sides of the roads were little primitive pyramids of stone for guarding and shrines with offerings of food. People expected evil. It made no sense, not even accounting for the uneasiness the dragons cast... it was the newness of it, he decided, made from raw fear and not unthinking custom." (p. 8, 10)

Anne Leonard's Moth and Spark (2014) tells a saga of old magic's renewal in desperate times of unknowing and obscured discernment within the kingdom of Caithen, a country both medieval and Victorian, primordial and civilized, ancient and modern; a complete fantasy with dragons, dragon riders, wizards, and Seers. There is a prince, of course, named Corin, who is as charming as he is sensible and brave, yet who has burdens - deep, potent burdens - concerning the people over which his father's kingdom rules. There are other royalty, dukes and princesses, and there are commoners, one of which is our main character, Tam, a clever and passionate doctor's daughter, sent to Caithen to find a husband, yet she lets her curiosity of more important things take over once she's within the castle walls.

Of the more "important things" is a disease called Blood-Dust, not an ordinary sickness by any means. When Tam witnesses a horrifying death by the consumption of blood-dust (part of which is the release of black moths from the infected person's mouth), she is determined to find out how it happened. Naturally, she tunes in even more finely to her acquaintances banter, to the small scenes happening around her in the castle, and seeks knowledge in the library. Meanwhile, Corin has to figure out mysteries of his own, such as decoding his strange connection to the dragon beasts flying high and mighty in the land's skies with no place to call their own, Corin must also comprehend what to make of new enemies, such as the Sarian warriors who are against him.

"The heaviness of it settled in him. He had been told that history had tides, but this felt more like a chain, one cold thick link added at a time." (p. 27)

Though Moth and Spark is Anne Leonard's debut as an author of fiction, the novel, as you might have already been able to tell, is a mesmerizing work of solid and skilled world building, the kind a good fantasy story deserves. There are the dragons, but also witches and wizards:

"The Basilisks were Aram's secret servants, not called upon for ordinary matters. They were remnants of the race of true wizards, nothing like the conjurers and magicians who claimed to be able to cast spells and tell the future. Every village had its witch who murmured over potions and laid the cards to no effect. In cities men tried secretly to conjure up the dead and find the path to immortality and got nothing for their trouble but a reeking mess of oils and entrails and candlewax. It was not so with Joce and his people. A thousand years ago, longer, they had been able to do all manner of things: change into animals, call the wind, speak mind to mind, see in a puddle of water what happened miles away. They needed no incantations or tinctures of antimony." (p. 27-28)

It is this one wizard, Joce, who helps Corin understand his connection to the dragon-world and also how to ride them. The scenes in which Leonard describes how connecting to a dragon and riding one feels are some of the most enchanting I've read, something out of a vivid dream, ethereal and uncanny and wondrous. Moth and Spark is worth reading for those scenes alone, but there is quite a lot more involved with the already thrillingly complicated plot. But, fairy-tale elements emerge prominently alongside the fantasy-driven action, such as the slower, more subdued scenes in which Tam, the more homely, less-"wealthy" lady, becomes acquainted with the palace in which she is deigned to stay for a few months. Her character a little bit like Belle's (or Beauty's from Beauty and the Beast), Tam brings in some of the atmospheric qualities within Leonard's writing:

"Age itself did not impress Tam; her own city in Dalrinia was dotted with buildings that were hundreds of years old, and some of the roads were even older. Caithenor too, she was told, had its share of ruins and overgrown rich-fields. Civilizations had risen and fallen for millennia. Remnants of walls and foundations were scattered across the landscape, buried, built upon. She had been to the City of Silence in the west, where no grass grew and the only things that moved were the tiny dust-devils in the streets, and every stone house was full of stone people. There was no record, no memory, of what had happened there, only stone and dust. Coins, knives, shards of pottery, the rubbish of the past, were constantly being unearthed as fields were tilled or foundations were dug. A gift from the Old Ones, people said, flinging them aside. The past was everywhere in Caithen, and therefore unremarkable. But here there was continuity to it; the building continued, through time, but the roots were ancient and undisturbed. If she could strip off the graceful layers she would find something unmovable and strong. For a thousand years, long before warring lords had been united under a single king, this place had been a center of power. She could not help feeling humbled." (p. 37)

Scenes such as this, and others full of romantic, clever dialogue and lovemaking tinge the pages with an added joyous emotional quality, even while a darker, brutal, and menacing world threatens to arise in the midst of all of it. By the end, evil takes full force, and Tam doesn't take on any less of a role: she goes into war with Corin, not just idly standing by on the sidelines. It is not much of a spoiler to say that Corin and Tam become an item by the middle of the book, and not without many complications (on this, Corin sweetly muses: "What she could not have by law she could have by fact." p. 156). Both of them, their strength of character, the idea of *building true character* through arduous trials, that a woman without much money but with more wealth in compassion than most could find her way to the throne righteously, and that a prince could really be courageous, intelligent, and wise, not vain, pompous, and fearful - are all part of the fairy-tale dreamwork of this tale.

Back to magic. One of the themes recurrent within the book, as mentioned at the beginning of this review, is the idea that something very, very old, perhaps something even timeless, had been hidden for a very, very long time and was again awakening... in a vision Tam experiences while visiting a witch at a carnival with Corin, the narration remarks:

"There was something old, old, old rousing itself, its hour come around." (p. 147)

Throughout the chronological narrative, the unfolding of that narrative's history reveals itself in meta-narratives soaked with all its' feudalism, all its' petty, dangerous wars, it's stolen goods and grudges held. And it comes to Tam and Corin; the weight of it lays on those two in strange ways, in visions and interactions with a realm correlated to, but apart from, reality itself. Tam says:

"'I think maybe it's like looking at water under a lens, it's full of living things, moving, in their own world, and they're there even when we can't see them, they've been there all along and only in the last two centuries have we learned to see.' The righteousness of what she said was like a force. A difference in seeing. The world itself was unchanged... he kissed her." (p. 172)

If anything, and there should be many things should you decide to read this fantastic tale, Moth and Spark offers a wide-eyed gaze at the world underneath the contemporary one of today. In this deeper world vibrating with conflicting histories both theological and secular, Old World and New, there is strength found in honing in abilities of intuition, wisdom, and virtue, though not through conventional means. Liko, another character in Moth and Spark, tells his audience this:

"The spells, the rituals, they focus the mind, that's what opens it. It doesn't matter what color candle you burn or where you burn it or how the planets are aligned, it's the attention to the flame that counts. Trance is the same." (p. 234)

So while there is tedious work being done, such as the medical work Tam so lovingly learned from her father, or the political work Corin so judiciously learned from his father, there is still more work that, no matter hard life tries to escape it, is always after us, asking us to remember it without fear, to remember it to quell rogue power. Read this book with that in mind, read it to find out how madness is not the only way to see the dark place, read it for thrilling adventure, for its fantastic dialogue as skilled as soldiers sparring, and for its really delicious bits of lasting ardor and affection, all enough to reach each corner of every kingdom.

[Molly Mortensen · Rating 4 out of 5]

For all the promise of dragons they were barely in the book! Which is a shame because the dragons were one of the best parts! There's obviously an Anne McCaffrey influence, but they're still unique.

This could've been an excellent book, because the world and the plot were really interesting. As was the magic. It had all the ingredients of a great epic fantasy, but instead the author decided to write a romance. And a love at first sight romance. Literally. They get married five days after they met! (And there were too many making love scenes.)

Corin wasn't bad, but Tam was far too perfect, a complete Mary Sue. (I hate that saying, but it's true) How many times were we told how absolutely amazing she is? I didn't see it. I found her to be rather dumb.

Still it's rare to find a good fantasy standalone. And Moth and Spark felt like a complete story. Nothing was cut short or condensed and everything wrapped up well. You just have to know going in to expect romance not dragons.

[Online Eccentric Librarian · Rating 5 out of 5]

More reviews (and no fluff) on the blog http://surrealtalvi.wordpress.com/

Moth and Spark was an interesting read: a mature, intelligent, Austen-influenced romance in the middle bookended by solid fantasy at the beginning and end. Unlike so many of the books written in either of those genres, the decisions made by the main characters are intelligent, there is a lot of admirable 'show, don't tell', and the romance aspect doesn't get soppy or over the top. With dragons, a touch of magic, and a lot of interesting politics, this makes for a solid and very human set of characters and plot.

Story: Corin is a prince in a kingdom that has become a vassal to a larger and more powerful state. His family walks a tight political line, one about to be shattered when an invading horde begins to decimate neighboring countries. He had thought the dragons were done with his people, long since stolen away in the past. But they are back and he has been caught in a web from which he will have to fight to survive. At the same time, a quiet but intelligent daughter of a local doctor, visiting a sister who has married up in society, will find herself firmly thrust into the maelstrom of political and magical machinations. And the love of a man she can never marry. But she also may be key to discovering the need of the dragons.

In the acknowledgements section, the author notes that she borrowed Austen language liberally. This book has that feel - a quiet maturity that draws you in. Other than an unfortunately too-fast romance that teeters too closely to instalove, the romance never gets in the way of the plot and the characters never forget the dangers and whole picture in their interaction. If anything, they are painfully aware throughout, which is very refreshing in a sea of fantasy and urban fantasy romance in which the main characters seem to forget everything as soon as the cute guy comes along.

I've waited a long time for a book like this - a successful blend of romance and fantasy. Neither take back seat to the other and within each genre lies the strength of this book. The book may not be perfect but I enjoyed it greatly. Although this is a stand-alone title, I certainly hope the author writes more of the same in the future. I eagerly look forward to her next book.

Received as an ARC from the publisher.

[☕️Kimberly (Caffeinated Reviewer) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Leonard told the tale using dual POV’s, and it was brilliantly done. Unlike, high fantasy, the secondary characters were kept at a minimum. Some were fleshed out and others just enough for us to understand their role in the story that unfolds. Tam and Corin were wonderful as our hero and heroine. Both are young but share a love of knowledge and logic. They played off each others strengths and trusted in each other. All of this made their friendship and romance feel genuine. Their relationship developed quickly, but since she is a commoner and he a Prince both go into the relationship aware of its limitations. War, dragons and quests kept the flames burning but Leonard allowed them to develop a relationship beyond attraction and lust. The King and Queen were wonderful both as leaders and parents. Those attending the Summer Court added interest, conflict and humor to the tale. Corin’s security team and the wizard community added substance without pulling us away from our couple.

I love fantasy, and forbidden or impossible romances and Moth and Spark delivered. The countryside, dragons, court and castle, came to life in panoramic detail without slowing the pace. While there is a war, alliances, magic and quests our couple remain at the center of the plot. I adored both Tam and Corin as they worked together. They reminded me of Claire and Jamie from Outlander. Leonard’s description of the Dragons and their riders left me breathless. Communication between beast and man was beautiful, and I shall forever dream of flying. The world-building regarding the quest and war was well done and kept the tale light. The front of the book contains a map which further helped me see the fields, mountains and forests. For me, this was the type of novel that I didn’t want to end, EVER. I was disappointed that this doesn’t appear to be a series or trilogy. The climax and ending were beautifully render, and threads tied up but, and this is a minor but; I felt it was a tad rushed. For me at least this book could have handled another two hundred pages.

Fans of Austen, Outlander and romantic fantasy will find magic within the pages of Moth and Spark. Oh and there are Dragons! I want more, plain and simple and look forward to Anne Leonard’s next novel.

Copy received from publisher in exchange for unbiased review that originally published @ Caffeinated Book Reviewer

[Jess M. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this review on my blog! --> Review: Moth and Spark by Anne Leonard

Moth and Spark was a different kind of read for me. I don’t read as much fantasy as I should. Especially since I enjoy it lots and lots. Moth and Spark is adult fantasy and I’ve yet to venture into that much but I’m totally game now!

I loved that the love story was so central to this fantasy story because it’s definitely what kept me glued to the end. I loved the main characters, Prince Corin and Tam, and immensely enjoyed their fast and intense courtship. They were so well matched and I found it refreshing that, even though he was a prince and she a commoner, things didn’t go badly for them. I expected lots of heartbreak for those two but was happy it didn’t turn out that way in the end.

There are dragons in this book, but maybe not so much as some may anticipate or want. They play a central role in the plot, but since it’s also about Corin, we see them mostly in the beginning and end. The war is also a big part of the story, but it’s not in the forefront of the story. I was ok with both of these things because I was so invested in seeing Corin and Tam being together and fighting to be together.

Don’t expect a fast pace book in Moth and Spark. It took me longer to finish than most books this length, but it was because I wanted to absorb all the details and imagery. The world-building was also really intricate and interesting. After a while it became pretty unputdownable for me though, and then we were moving right along. I really enjoyed Anne Leonard’s writing and I hope I can read more soon.

[Cosima · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was just all over the place. I should have known I wouldn't like it when the beginning failed to pull me in. I had to keep forcing myself to pick it up and then force my eyes to stay focused on it because this book made me feel like I had ADHD.

There was entirely too much romance (read: foreplay, sex, and more of the same sex… in the midst of a bloody war no less), entirely too much vagueness/mysticism about the aspects that mattered, and entirely too many details about the things that didn't matter. I can generally tolerate books that have a lot of telling and not enough showing, but even I have a limit. The overly analytical dialogue didn't help; if anything it made things confusing and exposed the inconsistencies and poor plotting.

I won't say that I disliked the whole book, but I disliked the majority of it. The middle (oddly enough the part with the most romance) gave me hope that I might enjoy the rest, but the last third of the book was a real struggle to finish. It didn't go straight downhill afterwards but there were far more valleys than peaks and I gave up hoping for better story-telling.

Overall it was a flimsy, awkwardly prosed story that was trying to do too much all at once. If there were less fantastical details dumped into the mix then the remaining ones could have been better developed. Instead the “magic” of the story felt forced and borrowed.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Full Review: http://tenaciousreader.wordpress.com/...

This is very much a love story. It is about freeing dragons, saving the empire and winning love. And I won’t say that it is the boy’s story to do these things, because in this the romance is also a partnership. Together, what can be accomplished is much more than individually.

Dragons are being held and forced into servitude. The Emperor that holds them has gone a bit mad and Corin has been selected by the dragons as the one to free them. Only, he does not know how to accomplish such a thing. Tam has also had brief moments to show that there is more to her than one might think. Their romance unfolds and strengthens as they work to solve problems larger than what the court might think of them as a couple.

I very much enjoyed this because it was a refreshing change of pace from my normal books. Leonard did a great job with the characters and also in keeping an appropriate balance between romance and how it plays into the plot. I also enjoyed that it was not the story of just ‘winning the prince’ but rather winning love together in the process of trying to free dragons and save the empire.

[Jennifer · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really didn’t like this book. I’m about to rant, because I read it on a plane and failed to bring another book with me. Therefore, I was forced to read past the point where it got boring and wound up hate-reading the rest of it. Usually, I just drop a book when it isn’t working for me.

It started out all right (not great- for some reason the writing didn’t really grab me). I was interested in the setup with the dragons and then the political intrigue with the kingdom being threatened on two sides from an invading army and the Empire.

But then everything came to a screeching halt for the tedious romance. It was insta-love, which I’m not a fan of, followed by descriptions of boring dates. No spark, no tension, no banter (unless you count when the heroine uttered the cringe-worthy phrase “Flattery will get you everywhere.”) Even the “meet-cute” (I didn’t find it very cute) was a cliche with the whole bumping into each other thing. I also thought that Tam and Corin (or Snore-in as I kept calling him) didn’t have much depth of characterization. They were pretty much cardboard. By the time the plot rolled back around again, I’d given up caring.