The Shepherd King duology is god tier to me. I adore Rachel Gillig’s atmospheric writing, as well as the worlds, lore, and magic systems she creates. To say I’ve been excited to read The Knight and the Moth is an understatement!

This book follows Sybil Delling, a prophetess who, after her fellow diviners begin to go missing one by one, is forced on an impossible quest with a devilishly handsome knight whose future she cannot see.

Rachel Gillig’s prose was, once again, lush and lyrical. The descriptions of the town of Traum were so hauntingly vivid, I could picture the windswept moors, the looming cathedral, and each hamlet so clearly. The world-building and magic system were expertly woven, and the lore was fascinating. No one does dark, gothic romantasy like Rachel Gillig.

The pacing was perfection, and the plot had me desperate to know what happened next. As well as the mystery of the missing Diviners, there’s also a perilous quest, dangerous gods, and terrible secrets. This book has the perfect amount of action, intrigue, magic, and emotional depth, as well as a stunning romance and loveable characters.

And, boy, did I love the characters! Sybil was brave and strong, and her journey of self-discovery was breathtaking to read. We also have Benji, the boy king, Maude, the loyal knight, and Rory, the devilishly handsome and sometimes good, sometimes bad knight. My favourite character, though, was the gargoyle. Half adorable cutie pie and half snarky diva, he had me in absolute stitches for most of the book. I loved the found family between the characters, and the witty banter was exceptional.

As for the romance; the tension was exquisite. I LOVE a loathing to love romance, and there were a few scenes where I had to put the book down to screech and kick my feet. This book is a little spicier than One Dark Window, and the intimate scene was achingly beautiful and so well written.

The ending both shocked and broke me, and I’m honestly not sure how I will bear the torturous wait until the sequel is released. However, knowing Rachel Gillig, the wait will be worth it.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Orbit for sending me an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

As soon as I saw the Rachel Gillig was releasing a new book I knew I had to get my hands on it! I adored The Shepherd King Duology and she has absolutely got me hooked once again. The writing style is beautiful and often poetic, and the gothic atmosphere, mystery, relationships and endearingly flawed characters all come together into a stunning adult fantasy!

The story follows a young woman, Sybil or Six, whose name and identity have been washed away with the drowning waters beneath Aisling cathedral in favour of her becoming one of the lands Diviners. She is one of six women foundlings who have been raised and taught by the abbess the ways of the Omens and how to divine their signs. As part of this deal the women serve 10 years in this role before they are free to reenter the world. The sisterhood that exists between the diviners is such a beautifully written and explored relationship and is one of my favourite parts of the story.

We join Sybil and her diviner sisters nearing the end of their tenure at Aisling, when the new boy-king has come to seek his future as divined by the Omens. With him her brings his knights and among them is Rory, a non believer that riles Sybil to no end, she hates that he’s a bad knight, especially as she herself has spent her life following the rules. They immediately kindle a dislike for one another that comes out in some great banter and bickering as the story progresses.

After the king leaves, Sybil’s beloved diviners begin disappearing one by one until she is all that is left. In her desperation to find her lost sisters she seeks out the help of the boy-king who sends his heretical knight in his stead who assists in Sybil’s escape from the cathedral to start her search. A rag tag team of sorts is flung together, the king, Benji, agrees to help Sybil but wants something in return, and so a kingdom wide exploration gets underway between Sybil, Rory, Benji, Maude and Sybil’s batlike gargoyle protector, that will shift the way that Sybil see’s the world she has been taught about from behind the cathedral walls.

Once again, Gillig has created a unique and compelling magic system. This time based around the stone objects linked to each of the omens, each possessing their own magical abilities, and are linked to the kings bargain with Sybil.

I loved the way that each character was so well thought out and had their own stories and reasons behind their actions. Even the gargoyle who confuses his words and seems to talk in riddles sometimes, but is also the sweetest, funniest and most loyal character in the whole book. It’s these characters that really push the story forward. It was so well paced and engaging from the start that I never wanted to out it down! This book had it all, friendship, sisterhood, snarky banter, infuriating tension, slow burn, and an ending I didn’t see coming!

I’m not sure why I thought this was a standalone going into it, but that made the ending to this book shake me to my core! While it could have been rounded off well as a standalone I am so excited that it isn’t, the ending absolutely took me by surprise and destroyed me in the best way and I CANNOT wait to read the next book and see how everyone deals with the fallout of that ending!