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The Flame and The Moth (Etherea Book 2)
by
by
Vivian Mayne
The cover didn't draw me in at all. I loved the rich chocolate colour but the design, picture and silhouette of the person was nondescript to me. All it made me think of was the genre history, and The Flame and the Moth is as far from history as you could get.
The title was intriguing: it told me of something dangerous (the flame) and something vulnerable (the moth) and of course it's book 2 of a book that I've already read: The Curse of Fin Milton. The theme is magic, sorcery, ghosts, adventure and a family feud. It isn't a light read and it's in multi viewpoint, which does make it difficult to stay in tune with the main character.
The look inside got straight into the story with Fin Milton astral planing (a sort of out-of-body travel. Beats rush hour, that's for sure!) through New York. The first line made me think of impending doom for this strong character: It wasn't the first time Finn Milton had astral planed through New York city, but it would prove to be his last.
Finn has many magical abilities: astral planing, reading minds and heightened hearing. He lives alongside others with his abilities in modern England in the seaside town of Cornwall. An excellent location because Cornwall is steeped with folklore legends.
Finn's now with his sweetheart, Ellie, and she's heavily pregnant. Together they travel back to Cornwall because Finn's father had been involved in an incident, which has put him in a coma in hospital. Finn was shocked to hear this news, so I couldn't understand why it took him several more days to visit his dad, albeit he sent someone else (Branna) before he'd even left New York, but still, once back in England Finn slept, ate and chatted about NY before seeing his dad.
And again, when his beloved wife went into labour, he spent more time with new friends instead of rushing to her side. These characterizations make Finn a little cold, and I don't think that was the author's intention. Also, there was a lot of talk about Finn being powerful, but he didn't come across like that to me. He was a likeable character, but he relied on too many people to be 'powerful'.
Branna was a character that was powerful, however. She didn't seem to need anyone, and she is one character who stayed with me since book 1. She was the reason for the family feud beginning by killing her evil father and brother in book 1, but they were the bad guys so they had to go.
Other than my nitpicks, this is an interesting story of a family at war with one another, and I was so batting for the Milton's!
The Connelly's (the baddies) are an evil bunch and don't care who they hurt to get to Finn Milton. The book seemed to come alive the more madder and crazier Cillian became. He was one scary person!
The book was addictive, and I couldn't once predict the ending. It had lovely friendships between the characters and The Flame and The Moth truly was bad verses evil.
A few typos, mainly the speech mark being inside punctuation, but nothing spectacular. The men in the story, with an exception to Cillian, appeared a little effeminate but otherwise great characterisation.
The mixed POV took away some of the story's power and needs to be contained, or even eradicated completely, to make this an excellent book.
Overall, an interesting story which would probably appeal to the YA genre.
Blurb:
A violent family is bent on revenge using enchantments and mind control. This time Finn needs help. Aside from mastering soul light and telekinesis to astral planing to a deadly spiritual realm filled with Sentries, he is getting married and having a baby.
Welcome to the crazy world of Finn Milton!
Set in modern day New York, London and Cornwall, England, this enchanted ghost story follows the trials of Finn Milton and his fiancée Ellie Morgan who are about to start a normal family life. But a dark omen has proven they will always have a part to play. For all parties, breaking from their past has grave consequences.
After Finn's destruction of Shannon Connelly’s talisman the year before, another one surfaces. Its existence and unknown location threatens the lives of all Finn cares for. At the same time he is targeted by a ruthless nemesis who is attracted by his unique and powerful soul light. This time Finn needs help and forms a possé. Aside from mastering soul light and telekinesis, the choice he makes has massive repercussions.
When I started writing The Flame and The Moth I wanted it to be a solid follow-up to The Curse of Finn Milton. For this reason alone there are more ghosts, new characters and a spiritual location far far away in the distant cosmos. As with the first book, I undertook intensive research into the local history of Cornwall. Wartime in St Ives caught my imagination and found itself fused within an integral flash back. – Vivian Mayne, 2015
Set in modern day New York, London and Cornwall, England, this enchanted ghost story follows the trials of Finn Milton and his fiancée Ellie Morgan who are about to start a normal family life. But a dark omen has proven they will always have a part to play. For all parties, breaking from their past has grave consequences.
After Finn's destruction of Shannon Connelly’s talisman the year before, another one surfaces. Its existence and unknown location threatens the lives of all Finn cares for. At the same time he is targeted by a ruthless nemesis who is attracted by his unique and powerful soul light. This time Finn needs help and forms a possé. Aside from mastering soul light and telekinesis, the choice he makes has massive repercussions.
When I started writing The Flame and The Moth I wanted it to be a solid follow-up to The Curse of Finn Milton. For this reason alone there are more ghosts, new characters and a spiritual location far far away in the distant cosmos. As with the first book, I undertook intensive research into the local history of Cornwall. Wartime in St Ives caught my imagination and found itself fused within an integral flash back. – Vivian Mayne, 2015
Previous review: GBU Reviews: The Curse of Fin Milton
