Anexis Matos

Blind author, content creator, and freelancer

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about

Hi, everyone! I’m Anexis and my pronouns are they/them. Nice to meet you! I’m a blind college student majoring in english with a concentration in creative writing. I’m a content creator who began on YouTube with the channel Videl Blind-The Blind Reader. I now currently run the channel Anexis Matos and no longer post on my old one. I started blogging to share my writing. I’ve always enjoyed stories. I started writing when I was between the ages of 10 and 12. My stories started out as Dragon Ball fanfiction which will never see the light of day because I deleted them. Now, I write original stories that I hope to share at some point. My aim with this blog is simply to share my thoughts on whatever interests me. From reviews to blindness, you’ll see it here.

The Moth and the Flame by Renée Ahdieh: I’ve Read Better YA

Synopsis

It all starts with banter and a challenge. Eventually, it leads to an affair. Then, tragedy strikes.

Things To Know

This is a prequel to The Wrath and the Dawn. There’s also The Crown and the Arrow. You don’t really need to read these in order to go into the duology. I chose to because I like to read prequels first if possible. There’s also The Mirror and the Maze, something you can read before The Rose and the Dagger, but, again, it’s not necessary.

Review

The prose in this story is very beautiful. There’s a lot of focus on description, mood, and atmosphere. It’s honestly the most positive thing I can say about this.

There is no world building. I know exactly what I know in this story and The Rose and the Dagger. Absolutely nothing.

The characters are established, but not developed. The most we get to know about them is their personalities and motives. Even then, it’s only scratching the surface.

There’s supposed to be a romantic plotline. It doesn’t work. The author skips the emotional beats that would connect the reader to the characters. That would make the reader ship the couple. The author doesn’t even do the work to establish romance.

Conclusion

Overall, not the best read. I’ve read better YA stories. This one is disappointing. I rated it two stars. Only the writing saved it from being a one star.

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