Moths to a Flame

by Sarah Ash

[nannah]

(3.5)

I love Sarah Ash. Her books always have this great atmosphere and plots you can really sink your teeth into. I think if I read Moths to a Flame before most of her other books instead of after them, I would have loved it more. As it is, I can't stop comparing it to her other works (such a bad habit, I know)!

Book content warnings:
pretty horrific decaying/insect scenes? (almost horror)

Moths to a Flame follows the twins Laili and Lai stolen from their island of Ael Lahi and sold to the city of Myn-Dhiel as slaves. Lai is sent to fight for his freedom while Laili becomes the new mistress of the Arkhan (the ruler of Myn-Dhiel). But Laili and Lai aren't the only ones who have come over to the city from Ael Lahi. Moonmoths, sacred to their island's Goddess, swarm the city and bring a highly addictive new drug with them--literally in the dust on their wings.

The very last line on the book's back haunts me: "This is the fall of the House of Memizhon." (the Arkhan's dynasty) Don't go in expecting some lighthearted fantasy or easy-to-follow adventure plot; this book is dark, and Sarah Ash doesn't shy away from any gory details. It also has the same readability as her other stuff--aka, it's nearly impossible to put down.

I do wish her characters (especially the women) were developed a bit more. The book is packed full of characters, and the book might not be large enough to give them all the attention they need, but overall male characters get a lot more development than the women do (and especially on-page development). I'm also a bit upset that again, the LGBT romance gets cut off and an unhappy ending due to death. Please, Sarah Ash, write a happy ending for LGBT characters, I beg you! As a wlw, I beg you. ;___;

If I hadn't read this book after I read most of Sarah Ash's others, I most likely would have loved it more. But her other books are so strong that this fell a little flat for me.