I thought this was very good and I will have to add this to the shop shelves. Thank you for the chance for us to review.

New series by Gillig, The Stonewater Kingdom, with The Knight and the Moth as book 1. After reading One Dark Window, I was open to trying another title. I had both the audio and physical copy of the book, but felt that the reader was too fast to keep up with the paper. I decided after a few chapters that this book was a me issue and not a writing style situation. This confirmed for me that I am not a fantasy reader where I feel dropped into the world and finding my way around, much preferring to be walked around and adjust to the customs of the world. There will be so many that are excited for this one that my review will just a plop in the bucket. Please take the time to read this one ! Thanks to NetGalley for the ALC of this title.

. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁ ⟡ ݁ . ⊹ ₊ ݁.Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an e-ARC for early review.. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁ ⟡ ݁ . ⊹ ₊ ݁.

3.5 rounded up to 4

I think I have to admit that Gillig just isn't my particular cup of tea. While some of my issues with ODW are resolved with this new title, the blunt and direct yet still lurid writing style made me never quite feel excited during my consumption of The Knight and the Moth.

This overall feels very much like a religious deconstruction, and I'm not aware of Gillig's personal views, but breaking away from your faith to find forbidden love and explore the world that was kept from you ring pretty close to home for me. Literally going out to kill the gods that your psycho mom forcibly drowned you over and over in worship of probably feels really good for someone like Six.

The world building has come along by a league this time, and so has the magic system. I wasn't a fan of either in ODW and this world is dark, dreary, the magic system is succinct and has clearly defined rules. The vibes are very wet, rainy day spent wishing for peace and sun while knowing what the forecast really is.

The characters are entertaining. I wouldn't call this enemies to lovers since Rory was clearly down bad for Six from the start. The gargoyle was bearable as a comic relief. Hamelin is a douche and I hate him. I wish we had been able to spend a bit more time with the other five diviners, since their disappearance is supposed to kick off Six's quest, but some of them are memorable. The villain(s) are easily clocked, I was not surprised by how this ended.

I wish this was a standalone. If it was a hundred pages longer I think it could have been. I really hope it's only a duology, because so much was done in this book that I can't really imagine what could take up more than one sequel.

Overall, my main issue was simply the writing style. I never felt "joy" while reading this, just baseline "hm." That's what I mostly said during this. "Hm." One m. The tone is very steadily "depressing doomed romance." If this book was a colour it would be a grey where you maybe can see a hint of blue.

I recommend this to people who liked The Foxglove King by Hannah Whitten. This one was practically made for you.

I say this with the utmost awe: the knight and the moth surpassed all my expectations. yes, I adored the shepherd king duet. but this new world is something else. It’s more refined, more assured, and <b>more magical.</b> she leveled up her craft in ways that feel seismic. her voice is sharper, the worldbuilding deeper, the atmosphere so potent I swear I could smell the rotting flowers of aisling cathedral through the pages. i wanna go there now!!! take me!!

this book is drenched in mood. It’s gothic and elegant, lush and haunted, dreamlike and jagged all at once. you don’t read it so much as fall into it. the setting. the lonely tor, the eerie cathedral, the ancient gargoyles. all of it feels like stepping into a living, breathing myth. i was literally freaking there!!! It’s romantasy, yes, but it’s more than that. It’s like mystic gothic or divine folklore and that magical atmosphere 🌞

which brings me to what made this book special, its originality!! romantasy feels like they’re all the same. but rachel’s worlds are always a stand out. the diviners of aisling, with their shrouds and number names, the bloody dreams, none of this felt borrowed. It felt utterly, bracingly new. she restores my faith in the genre every time, but this book especially reminded me that romantasy can still surprise me, the whole book hums with the sacred. It’s about gods and dreams and duty, but also about girlhood, identity, and rebellion i loved every page of it!!

the pacing never drags. each chapter builds on a deepening sense of mystery, and the lore is rich without ever being overwhelming or info-dumpy. the mythos of the omens and the stone objects. the loom stone and the chime were all haunting. i’m on my knees!! it made the whole world feel ancient and dangerous in the best possible way.

I usually only listen to dual-narrated audiobooks, but this narrator was absolutely outstanding!! I was pulled right into this world and never left it. Ms. Gillig has created another unique world with such depth in the characters that you can't help but keep going within the story. Rory, oh my gosh, Rory, the struggles with him, and then Bartholomew ... sigh... who knew one could love a gargoyle so much.

The Knight and the Moth is Rachel Gillig’s latest gothic masterpiece, weaving eerie magic, haunting romance, and lush, atmospheric prose into a tale as darkly enchanting as One Dark Window. With its moth-touched mysteries, a knight bound by duty, and a love story steeped in shadows, this book delivers the same spellbinding tension and fairy-tale lyricism that makes Gillig’s work unforgettable. Perfect for fans of brooding fantasy with a touch of the uncanny, I’m already obsessed.

I was a big fan of Rachel Gilig's debut, One Dark Window, and knew I had to pick up her latest book.
The premise was so intriguing and while it didn't go the way I expected, I was enthralled the entire time. Incredible atmospheric, listening to The Knight and the Moth felt like a dream. But also kind of like a nightmare that I didn't want to wake up from.
While not like the abundance of romantic fantasies circulating, this book was unique in all of the best ways.
A magical narration from Samantha Hydeson.

Wow Rachel Gillig continues to blow me away. This latest story was beautifully written and once again created a world that was unique and completely drew me in. This story centers around a young woman that is one of six Diviners that help people see their futures in her dreams. Near the end of their 10 year service the Diviners begin to disappear one by one. She must find them and finds herself asking the rude, brutish knight, Roderick for help. The friction between the two is palatable as they track down Omens and look for her Diviner sisters. As much as they are at odds the two find themselves fighting the undercurrent of attraction that creates some great tension. This was well paced, well narrated and has cemented Gillig as one of my favorite fantasy authors.

5 ⭐️

This was my first read from Rachel Gillig, though I do own and want to read her Shepard King duology.

This book has such rich atmosphere and gothic descriptions. I absolutely adored it! There was a great blend of character development and plot. The plot made me want to constantly pick up the book to see what was coming next, but I stayed for the amazing characters.

The romance and yearning were there, but it did not take away from either of the characters. The romance added to the characters.

I can't wait to reread this book before the next one comes out. I just know there will be so many hints that I missed in the visions and details.

Thank you NetGalley, Hachette Audio, and Orbit for this alc

3.5/5 stars rounded down

Mild vague spoilers

I was really really enjoying this book - the setting, the mystery, the quest, the romance, the found family!- but as it went on it got more and more predictable. I was really hoping the end wasn't going to happen how I was thinking, AND YET. Here we are, with this cliche twist that feels rushed and almost lazy. Especially after all the reveals leading up to this event! The story was enthralling and had so many layers, I just am so annoyed lol.

The narrator did a fantastic job though, 10/10, and i love Bartholomew plz give me some short stories of him like admiring flowers and being all sweet 🥺

Slow start but once it kicked in for me, I was seated. Just a fantasitc fantasy. Loved every character, I was rooting for the team. I was terrified of the Omens. I would bend the knee for the Gargoyle.
I need the sequel more than air, that ending. Speechless.

The narrator was great! Her voice held an amazing range of emotion and depth. I will definitely look for other books with her as a narrator.

I loved One Dark Window so I was very excited to start The Knight and the Moth by the same author. This is a character driven medieval fantasy that focuses on a mysterious religion. There is a sassy gargoyle that steals the show and I already they know will be everyone's favorite character. The mmc is a consent king and the fmc is strong mentally and physically, which is a breath of fresh air. I've been reading a lot of light, fun reads so it was nice to have something with a little more meat on its bones. The sarcastic banter is 10/10.

This one started off pretty slow (it began to pick up around the 23% mark) and took me a little while to get into. Even so, I loved the gothic, atmospheric setting of this book and how well it tied into the story’s themes of the deconstruction of religion and faith. I also really liked how it explored the dangers of blind devotion, both to religion and to one another. Its commentary on how leaders can use religion to manipulate and coerce people was also a highlight for me.

I also enjoyed the FMC Sybil’s growth over the course of the book, both her grappling with her faith and getting to experience the world she’d been shut off from for almost ten years. Of course, as many other reviews have mentioned, the standout character was the gargoyle, whose humor balanced the darker and more somber aspects of the story quite well.

That being said, my rating reflects two things I really disliked. The first was the romance between Sybil and the love interest, Rory. I felt like their relationship didn’t get enough time to really develop and therefore felt rushed. It seemed like there was no time at all between them hating each other and suddenly being in love and devoted to one another, without much time actually passing between those two stages. I also disliked the ending, which felt rather anticlimactic and far too easy. I really wish this had been longer and that the final battle had been more developed. I also think the story could have wrapped up nicely as a standalone; [I thought the final scene at the end was too convenient a way to set up the next book.

Thank you to NetGalley and Orbit for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you NetGalley and Orbit for the audiobook ARC! Sybil is a foundling girl who traded a decade of service as a diviner for a home in the cathedral. In her dreams, she receives visions and can make predictions based on what she sees. But as she and her sisters are approaching the end of their services, the other diviners start to go missing one by one. Sybil embarks on a mission with Rodrick, a handsome and heretical knight to find them. Throughout their journey, the two become closer and Sybil starts to discover who she truly is. Romantic, sweeping (yet contained), with many secrets revealed, The Knight and the Moth is sure to please both fans of Rachel Gillig and Romantasy.

I listened to the audio book and the narrator for the book was perfect. She had the whimsical tone that the story deserved. You could feel the emotion in her voice and she kept me engaged the entire time I was listening. I highly recommend listening to the audiobook as it just adds to the story.

As for the story itself, I’m going to be thinking about this book for a while. The writing was beautiful and whimsical (very much like her Shepherd King’s series) but also so funny. The world building was so good and well-paced. The setting is dreamlike but yet gothic, medieval and eerie. It’s really the characters that drew me into the story though. I was rooting for the fmc the entire time and loved seeing her growth throughout the book. The mmc was perfect and had me kicking my feet multiple times. But by far the best character was the gargoyle. I’m so attached to this little stone bat now. Book 1 does end with a huge cliff hanger and I will absolutely be reading book 2 the day it comes out. Please go read this one if you haven’t already!

The world building in this story is absolutely decadent. I loved immersing myself in the world and following the twists and turns as they were revealed to the audience. The romance was the perfect slow pacing that had me anticipating when it would shift, but did not feel like it was taking too long. The characters well rounded and fascinating. Highly recommend for anyone wanting a gothic fantasy romance!

I really liked this one. I had read Rachel Gillig's other series but just found something was missing and had trouble really connecting with the characters and world but this one was just amazing. I loved everyone in it and the magic system. The world was so rich and the narration was so well done. I hate/loved how it ended mostly because I am dying to find out what happens next.

“Sadness, like birch bark, had all the appearance of frailty. And yet… The tree prevailed.”

Novel Itself - A magical tale of tragedy and hope, The Knight and the Moth follows a young woman searching for her fellow Diviners. Friendship, humor, and suspense grace the pages. The ending was so gripping that I read/listened to the last 20 percent in one sitting.

Narration- The narration is crisp, clean, and precise. Different characters are easily distinguishable from one another. The audio version of this novel is easy to follow.

Rachel Gillig has done it again and honestly, I don’t know how she keeps outdoing herself. The Knight and the Moth is a masterclass in gothic fantasy: lush, lyrical, and so atmospheric you can practically smell the damp stone and candle smoke. If One Dark Window wrapped itself around your soul and Two Twisted Crowns haunted your dreams, this one will possess you entirely.

Let’s talk about Sybil, stoneworker, dream-diver, and walking embodiment of quiet strength. She’s a woman made from muscle and grit, shaped by years of hard labor and harder truths. Her journey is not one of transformation, but of revelation, of learning she’s already enough, already powerful, and doesn’t need to shrink herself for anyone. Not even for a broody knight with three gold hoops in his ear and a martyr complex so intense it could be medically diagnosed.

Speaking of…enter, Rory Myndacious. Yes, that’s really his name, and yes, he lives up to it. He’s everything you want in a morally gray love interest: sharp-tongued, dramatic, emotionally constipated—and absolutely feral for Sybil in the quietest, most repressed way possible. Their dynamic is electric. Tension? Off the charts. Banter? Whip-smart. The kind of slow-burn that leaves you gasping when things finally, FINALLY ignite.

But. Let’s be clear. Bartholomew the Gargoyle. Stole. The. Show!!

This charming, deadpan, delightfully over-it chunk of carved stone had me laughing so hard I had to pause the audiobook. He’s got the existential dread of a philosophy major, the comedic timing of a seasoned stand-up, and the emotional wisdom of a retired therapist. He delivers punchlines with the gravity of an ancient prophet and makes you feel things in the same breath. His commentary is half snark, half soul. Truly, a scene-stealing icon.

“No one actually beats dead horses, gargoyle. It’s an expression.”
“Really? How morbid.”
Tell me that’s not Oscar-worthy. I had to pause to tell my husband and was annoyed when he didn’t find it as humorous as I.

Beyond the characters, the world of Traum is a triumph. Haunting cathedrals, whispers of gods, a kingdom teetering on ruin—it’s all painted in prose so rich and eerie, you almost forget it’s fiction. The magic system, woven through dreams and relics, feels both ancient and alive, pulsing with mystery.

And while the romantic subplot had me kicking my feet, the book’s heart lies in its relationships: Sybil’s painful reckoning with those in power, the found families that form in unlikely corners, and the bittersweet ache of love reborn in impossible circumstances.

This isn’t just a fantasy novel. It’s a gothic fever dream stitched with hope, grief, desire, and a stone gargoyle who deserves his own spin-off series. I laughed. I cried. I wanted to crawl inside the book and live there forever.

Rachel Gillig has solidified her place on my auto-buy list. And if she doesn’t give Bartholomew a monologue in the next book, I will be filing complaints.

Loved this audiobook! Loved the narrators as well as the story… the gothic setting was also perfection!