I didn’t like this book. It had so much potential and completely missed the mark for me. It’s a really short book but I still had a hard time reading it. It was hard to engage with the characters when the book was so short. I had a really hard time with how it was written too. I knew that when a non-binary character is represented in a book that the grammar can be a little off, but man, sometimes I had such a hard time remembering which “they” was the character and which “they” was multiple people. I had to reread situations pretty often to figure it out. I also ran across some publishing/editing mistakes. Like in one scene Morrie (our non-binary character) is described as a he. To the Flame had an interesting premise, but with no connection to the characters I just couldn’t get into it.

I found myself lost the first half of the book. Didn't connect with the characters or storyline either. But the second half brought me in and found myself not wanting the story to answer.

This is a peculiar yet charming story following Emerson, a first year college student dealing with being ghosted by his mysterious neighbor and having his life saved by a mysterious presence on campus. The story also follows Morrie, Emerson's neighbor. Morrie is trying to learn how to cope with their newly awakened moth person powers and their attraction to Emerson.

The writing in this books is lovely, perfectly balanced between poetic and simple. The chemistry between Emerson and Morrie is palpable, and it really makes you root for them as a couple.

I really liked that the paranormal aspect of this story dealt with a moth person, something that is very unfamiliar to me. I love Morrie's emotional arc throughout the story. They are still dealing with the loss of a loved one and are coming to terms with the idea of loss as necessary and unavoidable aspect of life.

I also loved that this world is so casually queer with no homophobia. Morrie is nonbinary, Emerson is bi or pan (I can't recall if the text uses a specific word), and there are multiple queer side characters.

Overall I enjoyed this story, but I wish there had been more interactions between Morrie and Emerson. As is, the conclusion felt very abrupt and a little rushed. I also wish there was more concrete information about moth person powers, but I do see the charm in just letting those aspects happen without more detail.

I’ve got mixed feelings about this novella.

On the one hand, as a paranormal fantasy, it’s an interesting story with an unusual kind of shifter—a moth-person. (Not a moth-man—Morrie’s nonbinary.) A moth-person with the power of precognition, no less! Morrie’s supernatural nature and the issues that arise from it are unfolded through the use of flashbacks in the narrative, which was very artfully done.

Or it would have been, if the blurb hadn’t given away pretty much everything about the storyline up front. I’m not sure why the author took such trouble to build a nonlinear structure if the point wasn’t to gradually reveal who and what Morrie was through the course of the story. If the blurb was the publisher’s choice, it actually worked against what appeared to me to be the author’s intent in how they constructed the novella. More ambiguity would have served it better.

The blurb also insists on strongly framing this novella as a romance, and that’s where I had some trouble with it. The love story is baked into the fantasy on Morrie’s side, but I wasn’t quite sure how Emerson got to the point of wanting a relationship with Morrie, especially since they didn’t interact all that much, beyond Morrie saving Emerson’s life. (Morrie spends a lot of time actively avoiding Emerson, actually.) At least the book ends with Emerson suggesting that they need to get to know each other, rather than jumping straight to “I love you’s.” If I had thought of the story as more as a fantasy going in, I think I would have been more forgiving of the fated fairytale nature of their romance. As it was, I had the expectation of more of the two of them together than I got.

Even though it didn’t entirely work for me, I’m intrigued enough by the writing that I’d like to read more by the author, so on that front it’s a success.

A copy of this book was provided by NetGalley for review; all opinions expressed are my own.

So... I might be a dummy because I downloaded this without really reading the synopsis. I saw a character had future prediction powers, and it was a romance, but mostly that it's a QUEER romance and I was like 'yes okay sign me the hell up'. And so I had an interesting experience while reading this one. Because suddenly Point Pleasant, West Virginia is mentioned and then our mysterious love interest is hanging out in the McClintic Wildlife Management Area and I was like 'MOTHMAN????? IS THIS A MOTHMAN ROMANCE??????????'

And it is.

And it made me happy. :)

This novella was fun and quick to read and while there wasn't as much romantic payoff as I want from a romance story, there is still a steamy scene and the characters go well together. I wish it had at least a slightly longer page count so we could get more scenes with our Moth-person in moth form and the reveal could have more of a reaction from our main character, but it was still a good time and I especially appreciate HOW FUCKING QUEER this novella is!

'To The Flame' is a relatively short novel written by A.E. Ross about a boy named Emerson who's heartbrokenly crushing on the neighbor next door. Having spent hours together talking alone at a party, a night which found them kissing and connecting, they begin avoiding him immediately afterward. No chatting, not even a bit of eye contact, if at all possible.
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Still struggling with his feelings of resentment and rejection, Emerson keeps finding himself escaping near death situations, all thanks to a stranger's anonymous warnings coming across of all things.. his radio. Much of Emerson's story is spent trying to figure out who keeps saving his life, while distracted by emotions stirred up by his neighbor.

Morrie, having come into a hereditary moth-person ability at a very unfortunate time, is struggling with their own demons. Memories of the moment they came to understand what wielding such an ability would bring them, paired with their own crush on the boy they found themselves drawn to and all the ways they've seen him die, make it almost impossible for them to interact with him. Yet they continue to try to keep the boy alive, those moments making it even more difficult to ignore the spark between them.

This story is so good. Emerson is tied up inside about the sudden distance that comes between him and the person who lives right on the other side of his wall. Every sound, every glimpse of them.. only fueling that fire and the need to push closer.. to try again and again to connect. Each failure seeming to steer him more steadily onto a reckless path.

As for Morrie.. Morrie is sort of a quiet force of nature. Visually, they're edgy in all the right ways, with their long silver hair.. shaved at the sides, stormy silver-gray eyes, black eyeliner, leather, combat boots.. you get the picture. They have this bold.. fierceness at times and then withdraw completely, as if they were never there and nothing ever happened. It's no wonder Emerson can't get them out of his mind.

Their connection is so warm and sweet, that you will spend the entire read wishing for them to get together. The idea of them ending up apart will fill you with angst and you'll constantly be searching for some clue as to which way it's going to go.

Ross is a fantastic storyteller. It's no easy task to manage multiple points of view coherently, especially without losing the distinction between characters or alternately, overdoing the differences so that it's jarring. The narrative however, in 'To The Flame,' flows easily between Emerson and Morrie.

Also, I loved that the relationships in the book all seem really healthy. With the exception of the obvious issue between the two main characters, everyone else is really open and supportive with one another. People are looking out for their friends and loved ones, not just themselves.. and though support sometimes comes in ineffective ways, it's well intentioned and serves to move the story along.

I keep hearing others say that what pleases them most is the inclusivity in the book.. and that really is fantastic to see. I long for the day when we don't even have to call it out because it's become the rule, not the exception.

A quick read. Engaging characters and an interesting storyline made this an enjoyable read.

*I voluntarily reviewed a copy of this book provided NetGalley*

To The Flame is a sweet, short meet-cute with a supernatural twist. The prose doesn't quite live up to its author's ambitions, sometimes smooth and readable but other times missing the mark. The story was short enough that the author could’ve bulked it up and explored the supernatural elements in greater depth without foregoing the pacing, but there was enough world building to satisfy the premise of the romance.

Most of the characters felt a little contrived, for a character driven story - Emerson was the only one who came away looking authentic, but luckily most of the story was about him. I was glad to get into Morrie's head but I thought they could've been more fleshed out.

Overall I'd recommend this for anyone who likes character-driven romance - it's a cute, easy read with a bit of a dreamy atmosphere.

I've always been a little obsessed with the Moth-man mythology... finally a book that fills up my imagination!!!

A.E. Ross has taken an urban legend/myth and made it their own. This novella is about two people who meet one night and are far more entangled with one another than they can predict.

Emerson is a student and after a party one night, he shares a kiss with his neighbour... then that neighbour basically ignores him. At the same time as his heart is being a little bit broken, he's being saved...by a voice on the radio. Literally, he will be walking along and listening to the radio station and will hear "Emerson, don't jaywalk". I absolutely loved this.

Morrie Crisp is Emerson's next door neighbour and dealing with new powers that have emerged.  The thing is that as a moth person, Morrie can see the ways in which Emerson may die. How do you even begin to get your brain wrapped around that? You like someone, and you can see all that bad things that may happen to them.

There are some quick flashbacks in this novella that gives a bit of back story for Morrie. Ross has developed a tiny bit of background for the moth person mythology... but I wanted more! That's not a criticism; I really wanted to read more of the world Ross touched on in this novella.

The descriptions of Morrie as a moth person were a little cryptic and teasing, and I really enjoyed them. Ross' writing allowed me the room for my imagination to contribute a bit in terms of what Morrie's existence must be like. The characters were well written and I felt as though I got a great idea of what their differing personalities were like despite the brevity of the work.

Loved the diversity in this. I really love reading along and just having diverse characters there on the page... no explanations... because there's none necessary. I'm probably not putting the in a way that makes sense. But, I just love the fact that some books are starting to have diversity just as part of it without expiation. That is what I want.

I received a free digital copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

A good queer representation in a sci-fi fantasy novel? Yes please! I enjoyed this book. I thought the queer community was very well represented and the story line was great. The pacing of the story was wonderful as well. I was hooked from page one and couldn't put it down.
The book was a bit long, but other than that enjoyable!

I’m thoroughly impressed with A.E. Ross’ beautifully written novel To the Flame. Unique and creative, and just plain lovely To the Flame is the best thing I’ve read this year.

The précis does an excellent job of explaining the plot, and if that doesn’t intrigue you please take my word for it, Ross crafts a wonderful story. The characters are so unusual, and the whole thing just unfolds so perfectly… I know I’m gushing, but I’m honestly just blown away.

Being as that I've lived my whole life in West Virginia and have heard many stories about Mothman, I HAD to read this story! First off, I expected this to be a full length novel and it wasn't. It was more of a novella or just a longer story. I read the whole thing in about an hour. It was odd and unique. I can say it's the only moth-creature romance I've ever read!

Things I liked: The book was a good representation of non-binary individuals, and mentioned queer and trans characters as well. I also feel that it's worth noting that the author themself is non-binary. I liked that the book featured things natives of WV can relate to: Flatwoods Monster, Mothman statue, Tudor's Biscuit World, etc.

Things I didn't care for: The length was awkward. It would have felt more real to me if the characters were drawn out more and we had more time to get to know them. The romance in the book felt rushed (again because of the length?) and because of that was almost an insta-love thing. Also, the synopsis didn't leave much of the story untold. Being that it was so short to begin with, the synopsis gave nearly everything away. Also, I had to suspend belief for a bit as there isn't a college campus in Point Pleasant...it's a very small town. In fact, just about the only college a pre-med student would go to in WV would be Morgantown.

(English Below) 3 sobre 5 estrellas

(Gracias a Netgalley por la copia a cambio de una opinión sincera)

Tengo sentimientos encontrados con el libro. Por una parte me ha gustado la historia, pero por otra parte creo que al ser una historia corta (de apenas 80 páginas) todo sucede de manera atropellada.

En principio me llamó la atención por sus personajes principales. Llevaba tiempo buscando un libro con representación no binaria y esta historia la tiene, además con capítulos desde sus puntos de vista.

El toque paranormal hace interesante la historia, pero como he dicho antes, si hubiese sido más extensa le hubiera dado más juego a la trama y a los personajes.

Una buena lectura corta para cualquier momento del día.

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3 stars

(Thanks to Netgalley for the copy in exchange for my honest review)

I have mixed feelings with this book. I liked the story, but I think that the problem with being a short story (barely 80 pages) everything happens really fast.

the first thing that caught my attention were the main characters. I've been looking for a book with non-binary representation for some time and this story has it, as well as chapters from their point of view.

The paranormal touch makes the story interesting, but as I said before, if it had been a more extensive book it would have given more play to the plot and the characters.

A good short read for any time of the day.

This was a pretty easy and satisfying read. I managed to finish it in a couple of hours.
The characters are great... and I love the non-binary rep!
I do wish it was a bit longer though, because it felt a bit rushed sometimes.
Other than that, it was just a solid read and I can highly recommend giving this a go!

This was an excellent and intriguing novella, that felt like a complete story in only 20,000 words.

Plot

I opened this book not knowing much. I scanned the blurb but realized it had a mystery aspect so didn’t read it in detail since I like to be surprised. The plot of this book was intriguing from the first page. The idea that Emmerson is receiving warnings of his death through the radio is such a unique, fun concept and it was executed really well. I loved the backstory we were given for Morrie slowly throughout the book, letting one piece fall into place a time. It really kept me on the edge of my seat.

Characters

All of the characters in this book were incredibly fleshed out considering how short it is. Emmerson was great. We had such a great insight into his mind, especially since the book was in third person, and his emotional range was portrayed really well. I enjoyed Morrie a lot; they were such a mysterious character, but in an incredibly endearing way. I wouldn’t have expected much in the way of side characters, but I thought Alex was great.

I especially enjoyed that having a nonbinary character and several LGBTQIA+ characters was just such a normal aspect of this book. It wasn’t treated like a plot point; it was just who these people were and that was really wonderful to me. This is the benefit of reading by Own Voices authors and A. E. Ross did an incredible job creating characters that I was able to fall in love with in just a few chapters.

Writing Style

The writing style was perfect for me. It was casual, like the characters themselves were actually speaking, in the way that actual humans speak today. That’s the kind of writing I gel with most. Everything was well paced and well executed and, though I could have read 500 more pages of these characters, everything fit in, fell into place and was resolved without feeling rushed.

Overall Thoughts

I’m not ordinarily a fan of novellas, but this felt like a complete book and I would be anxious to read more by this author in the future.

I really liked the plot and the characters But it was too short and didn't give enough information, which made it kind of confusing.

I gave this book 3.9 stars.

To the Flame was so surprising. I wasn't expecting to like it so much or to be so upset when it ended like that because I wanted more.

I'm disappointed with a few things though.

This is essentially a long short story and I was expecting a longer story with a bigger/clearer conflict. I'm still not sure what exactly constituted this part of the story....

Secondly, the synopsis essentially reveals the ENTIRE story. And knowing everything made it harder to enjoy it. Although the premise made it seem like such an intriguing story.

Furthermore, the romance part moves a bit too fast and...? It didn't really work well for me, like something was missing. There was the attraction, physical and mystical, and apparently Emerson and Morrie talked all night once. And then suddenly Emerson is obsessed with Morrie and doing a really stupid and dangerous thing to get their attention despite not having been treated very well.

There was still a lot I liked, though.

The characters were refreshingly diverse. There was a nonbinary character, a trans character and almost everyone was not heterosexual to the contrary of most books where you occasionally get one gay couple or two.

The writing was very detailed and I could really picture the eerie yet lovely Fall atmosphere the book has going on. It was the perfect setting! The mothperson thing is kind of really weird, but also pretty unique. I would've liked to find out more, though. The only thing we know about it/they is that it's part of the local legends and that they have precognitive abilities, and possibly soulmates?

Overall, this was a intriguing and interesting story, with the potential to be even better and I think it would benefit from being turned into a full-lenght novel. The predictability affected my reading experience, though and it's mostly the reason why I didn't like this book even more.

SO MUCH LGBTQ+ REP!!! Homosexual, pansexual, trans, aaannnd non-binary people!! Written by a non-binary author (which also explains why there was nothing problematic about the LGBTQ+ characters, as opposed to when this kind of book is written by cis, straight authors). So you can guess how much I wanted to love this book, and why I requested it on Netgalley.

The general idea of this book was interesting, with a mix of contemporary and paranormal genres (based on West Virginian folklore, which is super cool). BUT. When I was reading this I just felt like I was missing out on some very important information, and I just didn't really get what was going on. Some elements were odd and confusing, leaving many questions unanswered. And really, when I reread the synopsis after finishing this book... the synopsis pretty much sums up the entire book. Leaving nothing for the reader to discover.

I loved it so much it hurt that it's this short. The ideas and characters are amazing, the style made me feel I was immersed in Emerson's world, and the descriptions were just as good. I just hope the author writes more about these characters!

This was dark and sexy and mysterious and I absolutely loved it! I wish it was double the length, because I could live in this story for longer than the one reading session it took for me to read this. Such amazing enby rep! this gave me extreme No. 6 vibes