“The Knight and the Moth”, Rachel Gillig
Book 1 of The Stonewater Kingdom • Published May 20, 2025
Sybil Delling has spent nine years dreaming of having no dreams at all. Like the other foundling girls who traded a decade of service for a home in the great cathedral, Sybil is a Diviner. In her dreams she receives visions from six unearthly figures known as Omens. From them, she can predict terrible things before they occur, and lords and common folk alike travel across the kingdom of Traum's windswept moors to learn their futures by her dreams.
Just as she and her sister Diviners near the end of their service, a mysterious knight arrives at the cathedral. Rude, heretical, and devilishly handsome, the knight Rodrick has no respect for Sybil's visions. But when Sybil's fellow Diviners begin to vanish one by one, she has no choice but to seek his help in finding them. For the world outside the cathedral's cloister is wrought with peril. Only the gods have the answers she is seeking, and as much as she'd rather avoid Rodrick's dark eyes and sharp tongue, only a heretic can defeat a god.
“You are more special than you realize. I don’t even know your name”—he drew in a breath—“and I would do anything for you.”
Rachel Gillig writes gothic romantasy so well. This story is incredibly enchanting—lush, eerie, brimming with dark and mysterious atmosphere that’s reminiscent of her first series, The Shepherd King. The characters shine brightly amid the grim setting, and the story itself strikes that perfect balance between, romance, dark fairytale, and mystery.
I did not expect to adore Bartholomew, the gargoyle, as much as I did. He is the most loyal, emotional, unexpectedly funny squire. The way he has Sybil’s back all the time is so sweet. And the banter between Rory and Sybil is another highlight; their tension and attraction paving the way for a surprisingly non-toxic romance.
I don’t know when book 2 is coming out, but it should’ve been here yesterday. We end at a wild cliffhanger, and tbh it’s a crime that Rachel Gillig hasn’t announced the sequel release yet.
Content Warnings
Provided by the author on her website
violence/gore • religious abuse • body horror • emesis • sexual content • grief/loss
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