Last year, I finally read One Dark Window by Rachel Gillig, long after everyone and their mother had read it. Although I wasn’t fully captivated, I still went ahead with Two Twisted Crowns, the sequel and the final book in this duology. My curiosity got the better of me. I still wasn’t too sure. Earlier this year, this author published The Knight and the Moth, the first book in the “The Stonewater Kingdom” series. Did this book suit me better?
About the book
From NYT bestselling author Rachel Gillig comes the next big romantasy sensation, a gothic, mist-cloaked tale of a young prophetess who is forced on an impossible quest with the one infuriating knight whose future is beyond her sight. Perfect for fans of Jennifer L. Armentrout and Leigh Bardugo. 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.
Series: The Stonewater Kingdom #1
Published by Orbit on May 20, 2025
Pages: 389
ISBN: 9780316582704
Genres: Adult, Fantasy, Romantasy
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐
My review
Unfortunately, I have to conclude that this book didn’t suit me well either. After reading so many reviews, I was expecting a really captivating romantasy which was, in all honesty, exactly what I was hoping for. Lately, many book releases have been disappointing and overhyped, so I hoped The Knight and the Moth to be the exception to this rule. I therefore went into this reading experience with high expectations. Even though I had issues with the previous duology, the atmosphere and the unique writing style are undeniable.
The concept of this book is what has drawn me into it at first. A prophetess who is finally seeing the world after ten years, with an unknown man. This could only go wrong, right? Well, it did. Sybil Denning has been at Aisling Cathedral since she was a child and it’s nearly time to leave. One by one, her fellow prophetesses disappear and Six, as she has been named upon entering the cathedral, wants to find out where they are. She needs help and turns to the newly crowned king and his knights with his request, who take her on a quest. So far, so good. However, Six and all the characters didn’t grab my attention. In fact, I barely know anything about them. Yes, I know Rory is a knight, Benji the king, Maude another knight and Six the prophetess, but we hardly find out anything else about them. These characters lack depth, which should be provided by a backstory. And these backstories are missing. The romance therefore is unbelievable, there is simply no chemistry. Furthermore, the sexual tension is too little for a romantasy; this book therefore can’t be cathegorized as one. I had the same problems with the “The Shepherd King” duology, so I wasn’t too surprised. However, I still hoped that Gillig would have shown some growth here.
Another element that didn’t resonate with me is the plot. A lot is happening, but nothing at the same time. Until the very end, it’s pretty predictable. The book needs a long time to build up, but eventually, the story doesn’t really pick up. I didn’t feel any tension and wasn’t too intrigued. At some point, I was just reading for the sake of finishing this book, without caring about these characters and their quest. There’s not much room for character growth, something I highly value in my literature. This book therefore is plot driven and I haven’t read such a book in a while. Nevertheless, the fact that this plot isn’t too captivating cannot be disguised. I missed the vibes, the atmosphere and the world building the aforementioned duology has. That was pretty atmospheric with quite a good worldbuilding and magic system, which was quite non-existent here. There is a magic system though, but it feels more like a copy of the other one and I just didn’t resonate with it.
The writing was less poetic and lyrical than in the “The Shepherd King” duology. It was more straight forward, which makes this book more of a smooth read. However, the little rhymes and riddles is what make the other duology feel more unique. That feeling of reading something unique was completely absent this time around. This book therefore feels more straight forward and mid, something I did not expect. I decided to read the Dutch version on purpose, due to my past reading experiences.
Well, as you might already have noticed, The Knight and the Moth by Rachel Gillig was not the book for me. It was not too bad, but too good either. Whereas this author’s previous duology has more vibes and more unique selling points like the rhymes and riddles, there was nothing here. No vibes, no chemistry, little to no romance… It’s not a romantasy. In fact, it feels more like a young adult fantasy than an adult one. I had a mediocre reading experience where I, at some point, just kept on reading for the sake of finishing this novel. This book has been hyped too much and I don’t think I will continue this series in the future.
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