The Knight and the Moth by Rachel Gillig
The first novel in Rachel Gillig's second series, The Knight and the Moth came out in May of 2025 and the cover is so cool. It drew me in right away although it did take me some time to get around to reading it. Luckily, I finished it just before The Knave and the Moon dropped on September 1, 2026 so I was ready to go for the second novel in The Stonewater Kingdom series. Rachel has grown quite a following with her first series, The Shepherd King, and The Knight and the Moon was an instant New York Times Bestseller. It was nominated for the 2026 Libby Award for Best Romantasy. It deals with child abuse and death, emotional abuse, violence, blood, grief, murder, classism, animal death, and death of adults as well, although there is nothing I would consider graphic at all. This is a review for The Knight and the Moth, if you are looking for an in depth recap, please see our series page for The Stonewater Kingdom.
Sybil Delling is nine years into her ten year commitment at Aisling Cathedral, where she was chosen to be one of six Diviners. As a Diviner, she is kept sheltered from the rest of the world - even her eyes are hidden behind a gossamer shroud. Diviners perform an important service for the rest of Traum. They serve as the bridge between the people and their gods, known as Omens. When a Diviner dreams, she receives visions that allow her to predict if it will be good times or strife ahead for whomever she dreams for. It is hard work, but Sybil is proud of what she does. Which makes meeting Rodrick Myndacious so hard. Rude and irreverent, the knight rubs Sybil the wrong way. Yet, when the other Diviners go missing one by one and Sybil worries that she is next, it is this heretical knight that comes to her rescue.
This book is quite fun! Rachel has a nice way of worldbuilding, it is new and interesting but not particularly confusing so you can jump right into the story and not feel out of place. The world feels very gothic and dark, a similar feel to The Shepherd King series while not being similar at all. The magic system she implements uses a finite number of objects to control magic, but in a way I've not seen before. The characters, while repeatedly being called ignoble and bad, are charming and full of dimension, even if that makes them not always always likeable. I loved the secondary characters as much as the primary characters - the batlike gargoyle won me over immediately. Sybil herself is full of spirit, despite being thrust into circumstances she does not understand.
I'm giving The Knight and the Moth 4.75 stars out of 5 with a spice rating of .75 - it's pretty tame. All in all, I really liked it and I'm excited for the follow up, The Knave and the Moon, which I'll be reading in September. I believe they just turned this series from a duology to a trilogy, the last novel won't be expected until late 2027 at the earliest.
For more from the author, check out https://rachelgillig.com/
Pairs well with rye bread and never smothering your urges to say peculiar things!
My favorite quotes:
"'For the next quarter hour, every time you feel the compulsion to say something peculiar, smother it.'"
"The gargoyle batted his eyes. 'Oh, Bartholomew. He's dreamy.'"
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