For the most part, I really enjoyed this! There’s action, steam, and a compelling story about fate/destiny and who controls it.

There are some really incredible moments of action when I just couldn’t put the book down. And while the romance is a sorta love at first sight situation, there’s still so much drama and tension that slow burn enjoyers (like myself) will be satisfied. 

The biggest reason I’m giving 4 stars is because WE GET IT, Freud feels GUILTY. Her guilt causes her to make choices that are often silly, but like, sometimes I get it. It’s relatable. But at some point it’s like a broken record. And it leads to a lot of moments, especially in the second half, where Freya’s guilt and anger points her in directions that are just so painfully wrong and I struggled with it because I feel like she has all the same information that the reader has to come to these conclusions herself. And yet…from a character standpoint, I get why her emotions are blinding her, so it’s hard to be TOO annoyed. 

I’m also NOT HAPPY about the ending. Not in a this-book-sucks kinda way, but in a glad-I-don’t-have-to-wait-a-year-for-the-sequel kinda way. 

I wanted to love this. Joan is one of my favorite historical figures. But this is just not what I wanted or expected from a book about Joan. There were some interesting moments, but ultimately the historical timeline of events took the drivers seat as opposed to the characters/plot feeling like they had their own agency. And there were just some bizarre choices about what was or wasn’t included, making what should be an all consuming book rather bland and forgettable. Forgive me, Joan :’)

HOW DO I GO ON AFTER THAT?

Ever since One Dark Window, I knew Rachel Gillig would be one of my favorites. When The Knight and the Moth was first announced, I knew by the title alone that it was ~for me~. And now that I’ve read it, I’m blown away. It’s better than I imagined. With every book better than the last, Gillig has moved mountains with TKATM.

The Knight and the Moth is a story of belonging and purpose, of religious trauma and the weight of legacy, of burning bridges and forging new paths. 

Six, once known as Sybil, is our leading heroine. She and the cast of characters in the book are so full of life, I’m a little amazed at how much they mean to me in only 400 pages. Even the characters who go missing are given ample page time for us to love them. 

And the BANTER?? Oh god, the Rory banter is unreal. I love him, I love them. It’s not enemies to lovers, it’s even better: they love to loathe each other. If you like a slow burn full of tension and YEARNING veiled by snark and quips, do yourself a favor and pick this up. The way Gillig writes men needs to be studied.

The world-building here is also just stunning. We’re plopped into a kingdom that’s not altogether that old, but very steeped in religion and myth. The way that it’s all tangled together is masterfully done. 

This book is for you if you loved how deeply romantic Rebecca Ross’ Elements of Cadence series was, mixed with the quirkiness of the books in T. Kingfisher’s The World of the White Rat.

I’m grateful to have received an ARC. This is my honest review.