This book was a 10/10! No notes! I loved every second!

Rachel Gillig is an auto-buy author for me after The Shepherd Kind duology and I had no doubt that this new book would be absolutely fantastic.

I was obsessed with Six/Sybil and Rory! The banter was so fun and I was giggling and kicking my feet from the very start. The gargoyle! THE GARGOYLE! I can’t! We must protect him at all costs! I will not survive if anything happens to him.

Rachel knows the exact recipe to create an incredibly unique and beautiful story. I have never read anything like this before and even though some of the plot was easy to predict, I will still hooked and needed to know more and what happened next.

Loved this and so so grateful to have received an advanced copy.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for an e-ARC in exchange for my honest review

I didn't think I'd love another highly original fantasy world as much as the one in Gillig's One Dark Window, but the Stonewater Kingdom has enchanted me completely. The magical system of holy waters and Omens and dangerous sprites, the religious zealotry of the true believers, the lonely life of the Diviners. It all came together to create such a unique setting. And the characters? Once again another slightly grumpy, possibly possessed character becomes my favourite. I would die for the bat-winged gargoyle tbh. Then there's the diviner herself, our FMC Sybil, who's incredibly strong not only physically but mentally too. I love her journey of discovery in this book. Of course, I can't fail to mention Rodrick Myndacious - the most ostentatious name for an MMC and one that suits him so damn well. Gorgeous, terrible, perfect.

There are a couple of twists that I saw coming, yet others that hit me like I'd run into a wall! The cliffhanger is frankly cruel and I'm now going to be insane waiting for news on the sequel.

If you enjoy your fantasy with a large helping of darkly whimsical folklore, witty banter, found family and breathtaking romance then this is the book for you.

Firstly an ENORMOUS thank you to the publisher for reaching out with an ARC of this book - what a treat to get to read it so early, but what the hell am I supposed to do now while I wait for the sequel?! In the land of Traum upon a vast tor sits a holy place where people from across the land travel to meet the diviners to see what the Omens have in store for their futures. Five stone Omen statues sit outside and represent different hamlets across the land as well as the overlooking Gods who protect them. The abbess is in charge of Aisling Cathedral and the 6 female diviners within who are trained to read the meanings behind visions they see while dreaming in the holy spring within. The diviners have no names, only numbers from One to Six and have their eyes covered at all times by a gossamer shroud.

One day the King and his retinue arrive at the cathedral and basically everything is flipped upside down ever after. Did I forget to mention there are talking gargoyles?! Well one talking one anyway who is a special delight.

I can't say more without giving away aspects of the story that I felt were wonderful to gradually unfold as I read it, but what a follow-up to The Shepherd King duology!! I am so excited for part two of this series, there were so many things that happened at the end of the book that I NEED to know what happens next with.

Rachel Gillig does it again and delivers my first FIVE-STAR full-length read of the year.
I had so much fun with this book. The world is incredibly well-built, atmospheric, and mysterious. The vibes are on point, just like with The Shepherd King duology. Speaking of duologies, I knew The Knight and the Moth was the start of one, but the story was going along feeling like it was gonna get wrapped up by the end of the book, until THE END. Oh my god. It wasn't entirely unpredictable, I had my suspicions, but sooooo well executed. Truly cannot wait for the sequel... and this one isn't even out.
This is a romantasy without a shadow of a doubt, but what I love about Rachel's books is that the fantasy aspect is never overlooked in favor of the romance. The two are seamlessly intertwined. And again, Rachel Gillig delivers a slow burn with DELECTABLE tension.

Thank you NetGalley and Orbit for the ARC.

One if not the best ARC I’ve ever read!! Just absolutely loved everything in this from the characters, to the plot, and especially the magic/ world building. I also loved the romance brewing between two of the characters, it felt very natural and I so wanted them to have a happy ending. And speaking of endings, how can Rachel do that to us!!!!! This was so unique and Rachel really excelled with her writing here, it felt like she’d grown in confidence writing this one!

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Rachel and orbit for this

This story is unlike any I’ve read before. It’s a fantasy book, woven with romance and heartache. It feels almost like a fairytale with a mystical touch.
It took me about three chapters to be truly hooked but as Sybil’s world started to expand I couldn’t put this book down. I love the way Rachel writes in the most profound way and she really made me question all the characters intentions and motivations.
The world building felt original and the slow burn romance suited the couple perfectly.
Rory was a character that grew on me the more I learned about him and I loved how he was a softy under all that outward appearance.
The gargoyle added a layer of warmth and humour to the story that I wasn’t expecting. Maude brought together both strength and softness portraying a perfect mixture of female attributes.
And Sybil herself was a fantastic lead. Her character growth throughout the book was so lovely to see and I loved seeing her grow in knowledge and confidence in herself and others.
Really looking forward to seeing how this series develops after that ending!!
Thank you so much to Orbit books for sending me this Arc.

Absolutely phenomenal! The Shepherd King duology is one of my favourite series and I was so excited when this book was announced.

The world building is absolutely incredible and so immersive. The characters are well written and fleshed out, and each of them are so unique.

The story was so exciting, I couldn't put it down! I can't wait to read the next part, especially after that ending

Huge thanks to NetGalley and Little Brown Book Group UK for providing me with this arc

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

A HUGE thank you to Orbit and NetGalley for sending me this eARC in exchange for an honest review - I was so excited to read this book, and my expectations were exceeded.

I absolutely adoreddddd The Shepherd King duology, and with this masterpiece, Rachel Gillig has well and truly cemented her place on my autobuy list (let’s be real, she already had cemented her place, but this just confirms that position).

I finished this book late at night after trying (and failing) to stretch it out. In the end I just kept going, as I HAD to know what was going to happen next (the same thing happened with the Shepherd King books, so I’m sensing a trend here, haha). Then I woke up still thinking about it - this doesn’t happen very often for me these days, only with books that have had a big impact.

I loved so many things - here are some of them, in no particular order:

1. The intrigue (some resolved, some not yet) - for example, what happened to Sybil’s eyes? Will she ever tell Rory and the others her name? What is Rory’s story? Will they, won’t they?
2. General character development - so artfully done, without the characters acting like school children.
3. Related to point 2 - the FMC and MMC are perfectly flawed. They grow and learn throughout the course of the book while maintaining the core of who they are, and I loved watching their relationship develop. They also acted like adults and there were no instances of unnecessary miscommunication, thank god.
4. The ✨SLOWBURN✨ - holy crap, everyone take note please. The yearning just slowly killed me (in the best possible way).
5. The gargoyle - omg, every time he appeared I was so excited to see what he was going to say and do. (Imagine me kicking my legs like a little kid and giggling behind my hand). He is just such equal parts sweet and hilarious and made me laugh out loud several times.
6. The pacing - as with the Shepherd King duology, just absolute perfection. I never felt bored or rushed at all.
7. Found family - I just adored the side characters and how they grew to care for each other, and the fact that even they were well fleshed out characters just added even more to the experience.
8. The cliffhanger - the twist at the end was foreshadowed, so didn’t really surprise me, but it was very well written so I’m in no way disappointed by this.

I cannot WAIT for the next book to find out what happens!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the digital ARC!

I loved Rachel Gillig's first duology, and this book is a solid start to a new series I loved! The author has such a fantastic way of writing that allows you to absorb the world fully. It's slightly poetic and almost dreamy, giving everything a real fantasy feel. I think if you loved her first duology, then you'll also love this one!

Sybil is a Diviner - a girl who can see the future through premonitions featuring omens. In practice, this means she's drowned after being asked a question and taking the blood of the asker, before experiencing a series of visions featuring the six Omens, which will give either a positive or negative answer. She's one of Six Diviners, and no one can see her eyes-not even her fellow Diviners. Sybil is an interesting character in that she's obedient, but is more dedicated to her fellow Diviners than anything else. When they go missing, she has no hesitation in seeking answers and trying to find out what happened to them.

Our MMC is Rory, or Rodrick, a knight close to the new king. He's surly, grumpy, and exceptionally loyal to those he cares about. He doesn't care that Diviners are supposed to be precious and treated with respect (almost fanaticism), and has no problems telling Sybil where to stick it (don't worry, she gives back as good as she gets). Despite this, he also proves to be loyal and protective of her. In reality, he's a sweetheart with a golden heart, and I loved the banter between them both. Rachel Gillig writes fantastic interactions between characters, and I enjoyed how they both annoyed each other, yet how secretly infatuated they were with each other. It was a slow burn, but I loved every moment of it.

The side characters were equally fantastic, and you got to know them enough to really care for them, too.

You'll notice I'm not mentioning much of the plot, and that's because I think you should go into this blind. The only thing you'll know going in is what's on the blurb - that Sybil is a Diviner, and her fellow Diviners are going missing. The rest of the story didn't go where I thought it would, and I enjoyed it all. I finished reading this on the plane to Tokyo, and I remember being confused about what was going on towards the end because I was like '...isn't this the first book? How will there be a second book?' and then BOOM.

This is such a fantastic book, and I'm so thankful the publisher reached out to let me read this early. I can't wait for the second book, and I hope Rachel keeps getting inspiration to write books for many years because she comes up with such innovative and unique magic systems alongside characters you grow to love and care about, alongside perhaps one of the best writing styles I've seen in a while!

So, TL;DR - this book is fantastic, read it.

This book I must admit was not for me. It is well
Written and done people would love it. Please give it a go and see just because it wasn’t for me doesn’t mean you won’t like it.

I read and adored the first book series by this author. And somehow this was surpasses even those. The vibes were perfect and I was hooked from the first chapter. New favourite author!

5 ⭐️

"To tell a story is in some part to tell a lie, isn't it?"

No one creates an atmosphere quite like Rachel Gillig. It only took the prologue to sell me on it. By 30%, I was obsessed and feeling slightly uneasy. I found i couldn't help but read certain part out loud. The audiobook for this is bound to really add to the atmosphere.

I loved all of the characters. Sybil has an excellent character development, and I like that while being viewed as a damsel, we learn there's more to her than that. Rory is somehow both sweet and a devil and perfect for this tale. Our villain is very well built. You definitely grow to hate them as the story goes on.

The echoing of the bonds between the six diviner and those between the knights was a nice touch. I loved a certain Hoziers yell moment for sybil. The found family really makes the emotional aspect of this one.

But of course, I will now be needing my own personal gargoyle. The show stealer, an excellent use of humour to break up the uneasiness. I will never see the name Bartholomew the same again. It is forever associated with "I say Bartholomew..." He's loyal and meddling, and I just love him so very much. He's also very, very quoteable.

I enjoyed the romance aspect. I think they're very well suited to one another, and the chemistry was very well done. Rory really shines in their sweetest moments, cementing himself as an excellent book boyfriend.

Plotwise, I loved it. It was horrifying. It was emotional, I did cry at the end. I did predict the major twists, but in a way, I found I enjoyed. They were still devastating blows, but I found myself gasping with a sense of satisfaction that I was right rather than being bored.

I can't wait to read the next one. In fact, I'd rather like to just go straight into a reread of this one. I received an advance review copy of this book, and this review represents my honest opinion. Thank you to netgalley, the author, and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book.

"To tell a story is in some part to tell a lie, isn't it?"

First of all I wanna thank Netgalley and Orbit Books for giving me the opportunity of reading this book and providing me with this e-arc.

I've been a fan of Rachel's work for the past two years and when this book was announced I proceeded to lose my mind completely, so imagine my face when Orbit Books reached out to me and invited me to read The Knight and the Moth...I was about to combust.

Now back to business: this book has been everything I wanted and more, every expectation was met and exceeded, I laughed, cried and yearned, I enjoyed it just like I'm supposed to enjoy a fantasy book and let me tell you, that's not a feeling I experience often, it's that book you find after a block, after you've been reading ten books and none of them makes you feel anything, but I'm not gonna lie, I had no doubts about this one and when I started the first chapter I immediately recognised Rachel's writing and fell in love with this book just like I did with One Dark Window and Two Twisted Crowns.

The Knight and the Moth is a story of faith, resilience, love and fear, but it's also a story about friendship and self-discovery, I loved Six and her little gargoyle deeply, I actually loved them so much I sobbed into my pillow at the end, but I guess that was to be expected since I had already known a sequel already accounted for, but still it hurt like hell (and I do love suffering).

Once again Rachel's writing captivates you and pushes you into the realm of magic and fantastic and there is no way you can escape it, if you loved her previous works, you're gonna love this just as much if not more.

This book is also about grieving and loss, and if that's what it takes, then I'll grieve and suffer alongside Six.

Now give me book 2 before I bang my head against the wall !!

"My armor may dent, my sword may break, but I will never diminish."

Beautifully written and emotionally stirring. I love gargoyle and his adorable turns of phrase. I want one of my own.

4.25-4.5
I have been excited for this book ever since Rachel started teasing it, which might have been around the release of Two Twisted Crowns back in late 2023.

What can I say..Rachel did not disappoint with this one!
The vibes were vibing. The atmosphere was atmosphering.

“The Knight & the Moth” started a bit slow, picked up slightly after the first 20% but I still would say the pacing was more on the slower side, which usually isn’t my thing, but didn’t mind with this one.
The writing felt different and at the same familiar to what I know from Rachel’s previous series. Overall very complementary to the vibes.

I enjoyed the world and the magic around the omen. If you read The Shepherd King Duology, you might find that there was a similar approach to the magic system.

The book is written solely from Sybil’s pov and though I prefer multiple pov, it somehow made a lot of sense for it that way. If the sequel suddenly were to have more than one pov, I certainly wouldn’t mind.
While the chemistry between Sybil & Rory is definitely there from the very first time they meet, the romance doesn’t really pick up (almost at all) until the second half, which I really liked.

Having a gargoyle as an animal companion was a different kind of superior choice. I couldn’t really grasp him in the beginning, nor was I sure if I even liked him and this might be because his personality was so different to almost everything in the book, but I thoroughly enjoyed having him around and being an actual (and important) side character.

I enjoyed the plot, however, with maybe one or two exceptions, I can’t say that a lot of the revelations were surprising, but they also didn’t feel flat or disappointing.

Now, as much as I liked this book, I do think you need to be in a certain mood for it to enjoy and vibe with it. I also can see people feeling a certain type of way about the writing.

If you enjoyed Rachel's previous Duology, you will probably like this one too.
If you’re an audiobook person, I do think this will be great to listen to!

I will very obviously read the sequel!

This was amazing!
Perfectly gothic while simultaneously being hilarious.
So atmospheric and eerie, I loved every aspect of this story from the setting to the characters and the plot.

We are following Sybil who is a diviner meaning she tells peoples fortunes based on the visions she gets from the Omens (the Gods in this world)
However diviners are going missing and she vows to find out where they have gone.

The author did a great job or building a sisterhood between the diviners before they start disappearing so I really understood why Sybil felt so distraught and why she teamed up with Rory (the bad knight) and co.

All the characters were compelling especially my favourite the Gargoyle who was hilarious, witty and really provided some comical relief in what is quite a dark story.

I am excited for book 2 and where this story is going to go

Superb dark twisty gothic romantasy, Rachel Gillig is a true story teller, I can imagine her as a intinerant story teller by the fire on a dark evening gathering her customers around her and spinning a tale that grabs the imagination. She gives us a story that is not clear to start with, of a cloistered girl, ready to escape into a new life. Six, she is known by; a diviner of omens, good and bad. But her life is about to be thrown into turmoil, as secrets are revealed and a quest begins. Big twisty turns, and a second book to follow.. I look forward to being entertained once more. Thank you to Little, Brown Book Group Uk and NetGalley for the ARC. The views expressed are all mine, freely given.

I don’t quite think I would have enjoyed this book half as much without that gargoyle. He was the comic relief I didn’t know I needed.

Extremely likeable characters and the Maude, Benji, Rory and Six dynamic was really enjoyable. I can’t say there was a single character I didn’t thoroughly enjoy learning about which is a surprise and they all seemed very fleshed out in such a short time.

Overall whilst very different from the utterly perfect Shepherd King duology I can’t fault this book as being anything less than what I expected from the author. Waiting for the next book will inevitably be torturous but I will endure.

The Knight and The Moth is one of the most beautiful hauntingly told stories I have read in a very long time, with it's gothic and eerie atmospheric setting of crumbling castles and omens that completely consumes you from the very first page to the way the story is seemlessly weaved throughout by such amazing and vivid in detail writing that has a way of pulling you into the lives of these characters and at times their heartbreaking storylines.

The plot is unique and the romance is a beautiful slow burn of epic banter and all the possible yearning you could ever want, it was so enchanting to see the romance develop over the course of the journey both the FMC and MMC take.

The star of the book for me is the gargoyle though, whose narrative of lighthearted moments throughout what is otherwise a tense and atmospheric read is one of my favourite things ever, I adore this gargoyle immensely.

I honestly can't recommend this book enough it has become one of my favourite books of all time. I cannot wait to reread it all over again, It's truly amazing.

Wow. What an amazing story. With Gillig's books you have to trust the process, everything will slowly begin to make sense.

This story feels like the kind of fantasy that's been missing from shelves for a while now. It's not about romance or being the badass female hero. It's a story of morality, self-worth and faith.

Gillig's writing is absolutely beautiful. She has such a concise style that reads like poetry but every single word is there for a reason and it doesn't make it a difficult read at all.

It's been a long time since a book gave me physical reactions but I cried so hard over Sybil and Bartholomew.