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.

Moth and Spark by Anne Leonard

Standalone

Adult/Fantasy/Romance

 2 out of 5 stars

Moth and Spark was unfortunately a case of a book not living up to the expectations set by the synopsis. While the synopsis prioritizes a fantastical conflict between a prince and the dragons he is sworn to free, the book itself prioritizes romance. The beginning of the novel is promising, but as soon as the two lovers discover each other the plot and the intriguing (albeit familiar) world become non-existent. Leonard starts the book with the building of the story's foundation - one with mystery and magic, but this quickly fizzled out into a story incapable of holding my attention.

Unable to decide what kind of story it wants to be, Moth and Spark ultimately does poorly on all fronts. There is a mystery too easily solved. A romance that accelerated too quickly and persisted throughout the story to provide some attempt at a "forbidden lovers" conflict that wasn't really a conflict, considering there wasn't much forbidden about the relationship. The dragons and the magic took a backseat for most of the novel, and when they did get incorporated into the story, they felt too familiar and unoriginal. Had all of these aspects been fleshed out and better woven together, Moth and Spark could have been a more enjoyable read.

I can only recommend this on the grounds that you go into Moth and Spark aware that the book is mostly a romance, and a simplistic one at that. If you're here for the dragons and political intrigue, I'd say this isn't your best bet. It took me months of struggling with this book to finally finish it, which doesn't seem uncommon based on the reception from other reviewers.

There are several scenes with sexual content, so younger readers should be aware of that.

I won an ARC copy of Moth and Spark in a Goodreads giveaway.

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