Whispers and Wings: A Review of The Knight and the Moth

Whispers and Wings: A Review of The Knight and the Moth

Dark magic, courtly shadows, and the kind of storytelling that clings to your bones 

 

✨ A Highly Anticipated Read

From the moment Rachel Gillig announced The Knight and the Moth, I was ready. I preordered the moment it went live and counted down the days until release because after One Dark Window and Two Twisted Crowns, I knew I was in for something special. And I was absolutely right. This book is haunting, lyrical, and brimming with everything I love about Gillig’s work: morally grey magic, richly textured characters, and prose that feels like a spell. The cliff hanger is perfect, because it literally has me in a choke hold for the next epic part. 

What made The Knight and the Moth so good was how masterfully it balanced emotional depth with immersive atmosphere. Gillig didn’t just write a plot, she forces the reader to envoke feeling while you travel the various hamlets of Traum. The entire book feels like you’re walking through a palace of mirrors: every conversation layered with meaning, every glance hiding a wound or a secret. 

The protagonist’s internal struggle is heartbreakingly real, especially in the way they wrestle with memory and identity. Her use of symbols, like the moths and masks, isn’t just aesthetic; it’s thematically rich and just one example that you'll find along the way. 

And the dialogue? Quietly devastating. There’s a scene where a character asks, “Do you believe the truth can still matter, after everything?”and it stayed with me long after I put the book down. The banter in this book was sooooooo good not only between the MFC and MMC, but between the MFC and her companion (“Oh, Bartholomew. He’s dreamy 😍” had me rolling!!). It had me laughing, which I welcomed. Every page is deliberate, and yet nothing feels forced. It’s the kind of story that doesn’t just entertain it lingers. If it's not on your TBR list, it should be! 

 

✍️ Gillig’s Writing: Familiar, Yet Evolved

If you loved the poetic cadence of the Shepherd King duology, you’ll be thrilled to know Gillig’s writing has grown even more confident. The prose in The Knight and the Moth is both sharper and more lyrical, less dreamy, more deliberate, with the same undercurrent of dread and longing. She knows when to wield beauty like a blade and when to let silence speak for itself. This book was most certainly worth the wait, just like I know the next part will be too!

🕯️ Themes & Aesthetic

This book is a symphony of grief, memory, identity, and legacy. Where the Shepherd King duology felt gothic and fairy-tale soaked, The Knight and the Moth leans into courtly intrigue, psychological unraveling, and the heavy burden of secrets. It blends dark academia with medieval fantasy in a world where stories are sacred currency and the past is both a prison and a compass.

The aesthetic? Think:

Candlelight flickering in mirror-covered halls, embroidered sleeves concealing knives, Velvet drapes gather dust in the corners of libraries filled with unread books and sealed letters. It's a place where truth is hidden behind beauty, and every step feels like walking through a dream you’re trying to wake up from. Mothlight catches on steel blades. There's always a chill in the air, not from weather, but from the weight of memory and betrayal.

 

🏰 Worldbuilding: Shadows, Sigils & Secrets

Gillig excels at immersive worlds without overwhelming exposition. Here, we’re introduced to a realm built on a fractured system of bloodlines, old vows, and forgotten powers. Where the court is a stage of illusions and everyone wears a mask....both literally and metaphorically.

Magic is present, but restrained and mysterious. Woven into inheritance, ritual, and ancient texts. There’s a haunting sense that the world is bigger than what we’re shown, and that the truth lies just beyond reach. The reader gets to explore Stonewater Kingdom with Six, and it's impressive how much details Gillig spares on world building. Gillig details each hamlet in such a crisp and direct way. They each feel so unique but essential pieces to the overall Kingdom and they blend and bleed well into each other.  

💭 Final Thoughts

I don't often struggle to write these, but this one was such a struggle because I couldn't blab on about all the moments I loved in the book, for fear of spoiling it! Trust me when I say, there are sooooo many deliciously crafted moment in this book. It was everything I wanted: atmospheric, beautifully written, full of heartache and hidden strength, and quips. It’s the kind of story that lingers like a dream dark around the edges, but with something hopeful burning at its center.

If you loved One Dark Window, you’ll be enchanted all over again with The Knight and the Moth.

Until next time,

🖤 Brittny

 ✨ Shop It Here: 

The Knight & The Moth:  
Hardcover:https://amzn.to/3GotnKQ
Kindle:https://amzn.to/4nvGytT

*If you use my link, I may earn a small commission—thank you for supporting Brittny Tried It! 💕 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Reusable Seedling Starter Trays

Image
For as long as I can remember, I've always loved being outdoors. It's no surprise that in my 30's one of my absolute favorite summer hobbies is gardening. Over the years, I have learned what works best for me and while I'm no expert gardener, I have had some success with my backyard veggie garden. Living in a place that actually gets snow and cold winters, and very little spring, I've learned that starting my seeds inside gives me a jump start to the season. I've tried a bunch of different ways to start my seedlings, and the reusable seed starter trays are my favorite, and here's why: With the erratic temperatures, I typically don't officially transplant the seedlings until the end of May. These trays afford a good amount of space for the seedlings to start growing in before I can actually get started outside. I have not experienced the seedlings outgrowing the trays yet.   I am pretty impressed that so far I have gotten 3 years out of these bad boys. I ...
Read more

Tennessee Orange, Savannah Nights 🎤: My Megan Moroney Concert Review

Image
🎤  Tennessee Orange, Savannah Nights  🎤 Brittny Tried It: Megan Moroney Concert Review 🎶 Why I Tried It 🎶 Anyone that knows me knows that I am obsessed with music and I rarely say no to live music. So when one of the nicest and funniest women I know called me up and invited me to meet up in Savannah, Georgia to see Megan Moroney in concert, I said take my money nowwww and I'll see you there on the spot...even though I truthfully could not name a single Megan Moroney song in that moment. Luckily, Spotify had me covered and I quickly learned as many of her songs as I could, and was even more pumped to go! Cowgirl emo?? Say less and count me in!!!  ❤️What I Loved ❤️ Savannah showed up big time for Megan. The venue (Enmarket Arena) was buzzing with energy, and the crowd sang (and at times screamed) along to every word like we were all old friends at a backyard bonfire. Megan opened with my favorite, “Man on the Moon,” and from the first line, it was game on. She played ...
Read more

Tribesigns 47-Inch Farmhouse Console Table

Image
This spring, I decided to finally tackle the living room in my house. I've been in the house for 3 years now, and it's the one room that I haven't been able to decide what to do with. After tons of research, we found a modular couch that had everything we wanted from it. We love having the flexibility to create the right seating arrangement for the day. With the couch i can fit so many more people than my previous one. I knew that I wanted a sofa table to go between the sofa and the wall so that everyone would have a place to set their drinks, phones, keys, etc. I finally settled on the Tribesigns 47-Inch Farmhouse Console Table and ordered it from Amazon. The dimensions were exactly what I was looking for:   Here's my thoughts: I purchased it for ~$120.00 and it arrived in 2 days. The packaging was great and there were no damaged pieces upon arrival, although the box was pretty beat up! The table comes with labeled parts and detailed instructions, making the assembly ...
Read more