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vigil 's review for:
The Knight and the Moth
by Rachel Gillig
adventurous
dark
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
this was a strange read for but not a bad one. romantasy is, generally speaking, not at all in my wheelhouse, but to try this one out. ultimately, i’m glad that i did.
,
my experience reading this book was odd, as it existed both in a genre i was and wasn’t familiar with, so i was semi-frequently thrown off as different conventions and stylistic quirks from fantasy and romance came together. it is very slow paced, as the first 70% is mostly character exploration and prep. that is not to say that there are no plot developments in that time, but that the plot is secondary to our protagonist and her motivations. rachel gillig has a very tight grasp sybil, giving us a very very close first person point of view throughout the novel. i felt a lot of the same uncertainty and confusion sybil did at the various twists and turns of the plot. this did however make for a somewhat muddied middle, as the plot felt as aimless as sybil did, even if i do think it was intentional.
i really enjoyed the worldbuilding here, especially surrounding the aisling cathedral and the diviners, both of which were easily the best portions of the novel. gillig’s prose and clear love for fantasy as a genre (not just as a vehicle to romance) worked well together. sybil’s scenes of divination in the cathedral are some of my favorite in the entire novel.
sybil was evidently the standout for me, as i love prophet girls and dark coming of age stories, but i also liked maude and the gargoyle of course. the men were less interesting, but i did like rory and did not care about benji one iota. he was well written, but i found his general demeanor to be off putting. i loved watching sybil interact with the diviners, no matter how short it ended up being.
honestly don’t have much of a strong opinion on the romance with sybil and rory, which is probably the best opinion that i, known hater of love and romantic plotlines, could have. i did like them, but i’m a hard sell on relationships built on banter and unresolved sexual tension, which they have in buckets. throughout the early and middle sections of the book, i was wishing they’d just drop the quips and tension and have a sincere conversation. which is why i think the back half of the novel held my favorite interactions for them, as sybil and rory began to mutually open up to one another. grand declarations of love and sexual attraction are fun and all, but i loved watching them actually start to have good conversations and make a stronger connection, which actually made the banter fun after that.
i was mixed on the plot for the middle portion of the book, for the reasons i stated above, but everything before and after that i loved. overall i think the back half of the novel is meatier than the first half, which is what edges out my enjoyment. the book doesn’t quite get going until that last 30% but it is excellent when it does.
overall, i had a good time! i’ll definitely be reading on in the series, and checking out her shepherd king duology in the meantime.
,
my experience reading this book was odd, as it existed both in a genre i was and wasn’t familiar with, so i was semi-frequently thrown off as different conventions and stylistic quirks from fantasy and romance came together. it is very slow paced, as the first 70% is mostly character exploration and prep. that is not to say that there are no plot developments in that time, but that the plot is secondary to our protagonist and her motivations. rachel gillig has a very tight grasp sybil, giving us a very very close first person point of view throughout the novel. i felt a lot of the same uncertainty and confusion sybil did at the various twists and turns of the plot. this did however make for a somewhat muddied middle, as the plot felt as aimless as sybil did, even if i do think it was intentional.
i really enjoyed the worldbuilding here, especially surrounding the aisling cathedral and the diviners, both of which were easily the best portions of the novel. gillig’s prose and clear love for fantasy as a genre (not just as a vehicle to romance) worked well together. sybil’s scenes of divination in the cathedral are some of my favorite in the entire novel.
sybil was evidently the standout for me, as i love prophet girls and dark coming of age stories, but i also liked maude and the gargoyle of course. the men were less interesting, but i did like rory and did not care about benji one iota. he was well written, but i found his general demeanor to be off putting. i loved watching sybil interact with the diviners, no matter how short it ended up being.
honestly don’t have much of a strong opinion on the romance with sybil and rory, which is probably the best opinion that i, known hater of love and romantic plotlines, could have. i did like them, but i’m a hard sell on relationships built on banter and unresolved sexual tension, which they have in buckets. throughout the early and middle sections of the book, i was wishing they’d just drop the quips and tension and have a sincere conversation. which is why i think the back half of the novel held my favorite interactions for them, as sybil and rory began to mutually open up to one another. grand declarations of love and sexual attraction are fun and all, but i loved watching them actually start to have good conversations and make a stronger connection, which actually made the banter fun after that.
i was mixed on the plot for the middle portion of the book, for the reasons i stated above, but everything before and after that i loved. overall i think the back half of the novel is meatier than the first half, which is what edges out my enjoyment. the book doesn’t quite get going until that last 30% but it is excellent when it does.
overall, i had a good time! i’ll definitely be reading on in the series, and checking out her shepherd king duology in the meantime.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, Injury/Injury detail