Can The Knight and The Moth Live Up to Rachel Gillig's Debut? (book review)

GENRE: Adult Romantasy

LENGTH: 385 pages

PLOT

Sibyl is a Diviner who drowns to receive dreams/visions from the Omens (gods). When her fellow Diviners go missing, she joins a heretical knight, Rodrick, and others on a quest to find them.

CHARACTERS

Sibyl is the novel’s protagonists. Accompanying her are the new king, Benedict ‘Benji’, two of his knights, Rodrick ‘Rory’ (who is Sibyl’s love interest) and Maude, as well as an unnamed gargoyle from the Cathedral. The novel’s main antagonist is the Abbess.

Sibyl starts out with some sense of superiority due to her role as a Diviner. However, she is also a loving sister to her fellow Diviners. Due to her upbringing she is rather naïve, but also brave. She spends the novel deconstructing her faith.

Sibyl and Rory fit into the enemies to lovers trope. They start out bickering with each other over their opposing worldviews. Yet even their sparing feels like it doubles as flirting. I really liked their relationship. In my opinion, Rory has a gentle heart. He has empathy for the sprites that many consider monsters. One of my favorite quotes in the novel is from him addressed to Sibyl: “You don’t have to be good, or useful, for someone to care about you.” (page 179).

The Abbess was a mother figure to Sibyl, but her love was cruel and conditional and it altered the way Sibyl viewed own worthiness. She came to believe love had to be earned, and I think it’s beautiful how Rory helps her to heal those wounds the Abbess created. Their intimate scene is actually my favorite part of the entire novel because it’s the first time Sybil is truly vulnerable with another person. It’s a testament to how much she’s come to trust Rory.

I don’t have a lot of thoughts about Maude. I liked her character, and she was maternal and sweet. The gargoyle, who is sentient, was my favorite character. He is loyal and protective of Sibyl and serves as a comic relief character. His behavior is very childlike and he calls everyone Bartholomew. The reasons for this are revealed late on in the novel.

Benji was the best crafted, most complex character in the novel. This is a slight SPOILER, but he begins the novel as anxious and uncertain and overtime he gradually grows confident and power hungry. The changes are subtly written and it feels like a natural metamorphosis. He’s the character I’m most intrigued to see again in the sequel.

WRITING

Gillig is an author who I, as a writer myself, admire for her writing talents. Her writing is very lyrical. She constructs worlds and magic systems that are unique and well developed while still being easy for new fantasy readers to grasp. That’s a difficult tightrope to walk.

My only complaint with the world building here is there are some things that aren’t explained. For instance, how does the gargoyle fly when he’s made of stone? Also, Sibyl keeps her shroud on long after she’s lost her faith. This was clearly a plot device that was meant to lead up to this big reveal that is foreshadowed. It came across as really forced, though.

I’d like to learn more about the sprites in the next novel. It’s my interpretation that they are representative of how real life humans treat our environment and wildlife. The humans have hoarded the sprites’ food sources for themselves, and so the sprites have in turn retaliated. As Rory remarks, “If the sprites are monsters, it’s because we’ve made them so.” (page 289).

I’d argue the novel’s primary themes are greed and corruption and how it leads to the subject’s downfall. It also reminded me of another adult romantasy, The Half King by Melissa Landers. Both feature female protagonist who are devout but are faced with a religious reckoning. I’d recommend this book if you like The Knight and the Moth.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Gillig’s debut duology is among my all time favorite fantasy series. So, I was both eager and apprehensive to start a new series by her. I don’t think this one quite matches up to the Shepherd King duology, but it is still very, very good. There are some tweaks I would have made if I had been the book’s editor, but it’s a solid start to a series. The ending made me hungry for the sequel, and that alone is a testament to how much I enjoyed my reading experience.

FINAL RATING: 4⭐️