The Knave and the Moon

The Stonewater Kingdom #2

by Rachel Gillig

Rachel Gillig, the queen of gothic romantasy, returns with higher stakes, darker mysteries and deeper longings in this gorgeous sequel to the No. 1 international bestselling sensation The Knight and the Moth.

Aisling Cathedral is in ruins. Rodrick Myndacious, Bartholomew and Maude Bauer are rumored to be dead - and the king has taken Sybil Delling as his bride. To show off their union and solidify his power over Traum, Benji proposes a series of tournaments throughout the hamlets. Captive and drugged, Sybil remains determined to vanquished him as she once did the Omens, even if she destroys the kingdom's faith - and herself - in the process.

But then a mysterious knave rises to the top of the lists, a man with no name and no memory who may just be Sybil's ticket to undoing Benji's power. For in a land where stories repeat themselves, where a king can prove as cruel as a god, the only way to truly destroy the Stonewater Kingdom's faith is to save it.

Praise for The Knight and the

'Dreamy prose, characters so vibrant they breathe on the page, a romance that smoulders, and a spellbinding world to get lost in. Prepare to meet your next obsession' Rebecca Ross, author of Divine Rivals

'The Knight and the Moth delivers pure gargoyles! gods! girls in armour! alongside a serious examination of faith, fealty, and the powers they serve. It's a fairy tale with bruised knuckles, perfectly balanced between the mythic and the desperately human. Simply stunning' Alix E. Harrow, author of Starling House

'Haunting, elegant and lovely, The Knight and the Moth is that rare fantasy both a thrilling quest and an exquisite love story' Tasha Suri, award-winning author of The Burning Kingdoms trilogy

'With the headiness of dreams and the darkness of haunted abbeys, The Knight and the Moth is dazzlingly transportive tale of love, salvation, and freedom that cements Gillig as one of the finest fantasy writers of our age. You will never want to surface from these enchanting, depthless waters' Ava Reid, author of A Study in Drowning

'I'm obsessed with Rachel Gillig. The Knight and the Moth is achingly romantic, richly imagined, and told with a gossamer delicacy that keeps the pages flying' Hannah Whitten, author of The Foxglove King

'A gothic, romantic fairy tale that feels like falling into a dark, strange dream - one you won't want to wake from. Gillig has done it again - I'm obsessed' Amélie Wen Zhao, author of Song of Silver, Flame Like Night

'Brimming with beguiling prose, and a dangerous magical world, The Knight and the Moth sparkles with wit and a slow burn romance that left me breathless and impatient for the next instalment' Isabel Ibañez, author of What the River Knows

'The Knight and the Moth is a lavender-drenched dream. Readers won't be able to put down this adventurous, dark gem of a book' Kalie Cassidy, author of In the Veins of the Drowning

Genres: Fantasy, Romantasy, Romance, Gothic, Fantasy Romance, Adult, Fiction

396 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 1, 2026

About the author

Rachel Gillig was born and raised on the California coast. She is a writer, with a B.A. in Literary Theory and Criticism from UC Davis. If she is not ensconced in blankets dreaming up her next novel, Rachel is in her garden or walking with her husband, son, and their poodle, Wally.

Reviews

[molly lou (I’m back!!)]

Me cutely and adorably staring at Rachel Gillig through her window until she releases this book 🧍🏼‍♀️



ONE MORE DAY LEFT. I REPEAT. ONE MORE DAY!!!! 🏃‍♀️🏃‍♀️🏃‍♀️ (Waterstones if you don’t deliver my preorder in time I will make you rue the day you were born)

EDIT: ITS HEREEEE (MY BOOK ISN’T BUT THE RELEASE DATE IS WHOOP WHOOP. If you witness a Waterstones actively being burned to the ground, mind your business..)

[levi (starboy) (s.ia)]

Pre read: lesssssgoooo

[èvieane]

ㅤ ‍‍‍‍‍‍ ‍‍‍‍‍‍ ᯓ ᯽ ‍‍‍‍‍‍ ‍‍‍‍‍‍pre-release ࿐ ࿔*:･ﾟ
ㅤ ‍‍‍‍‍‍ ‍‍‍‍‍‍ BARTHOLOMEWWWWWWWWWWWW give me this book right now!!!!
ㅤ ‍‍‍‍‍‍ ‍‍‍‍‍‍ we finally have a cover and it is ✨️gorgeous!!!!✨️

[maria]

pre-read
IS IN MY HANDS!!! IM A BUSY WOMAN UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE!!!!!! no but actually I can’t believe I’m finally going to read this😭

_________

ONLY A FEW HOURS UNTIL THIS IS IN MY HANDS!!!!!!!!

_______

big lover of the gold in the cover😌

________

NO ONE NEEDS THIS BOOK MORE THAN ME!!!!!! and I mean that😩 everyone knows how obsessed I am with tkatm. How am I supposed to wait a whole year for this?🧍🏻‍♀️

What kind of sorcery I need to do to get an arc of this?😭🤚🏻

[SK]

SO EXCITEDDDDDD 😍😍

[jasmine ☆₊⁺🦢🪽₊⁺★]

ᝰ.ᐟ🌑 ⌗ pre read┆started august 31 | finished ˎˊ˗
MAMAS GOT HER COPY A DAY EARLY!!! I’M SO SO SO EXCITED!! i seriously don’t want this end guys 🤧 and i’m actually so pissed my classes started today because i just want to binge this 😩 but this is getting read within the week no matter what!

—
pre-release
rachel the knight and the moth is feeling lonely without this book on my shelf 😕 release it now? PLEAK 🙏🧎‍♀️‍➡️ the cover is so beautiful 🥲

[Robin]

rachel gillig said hot lady knight fall is over it’s time for knave autumn 2026

also love yelling “knave!” we should bring it back

(shoutout to sarah for coining the knave autumn bit💕)

Bookstagram | Blog

[Liana Gold]

Bartholomew, oh how undignified. Did anyone see me fall?

Priorities. Reading this just for YOU, BARTHOLOMEW.

(Yes, yes The Knight and the Moth was my 2 star read. Don't come for me! In the words of Bartholomew.. I'm simply saying what's in my heart!)


This is SO MUCH better than book 1.

[angelinabvby ۶ৎ]

࣪ ִֶָ☾. 𝓻𝓮𝓵𝓮𝓪𝓼𝓮 𝓮𝓿𝓮 🌼💛✨🌙🪞⚡
BUDDY READ WITH GABRIELA ONCE IT RELEASES BC IM ON THE WEST COAST 🥹🥹🥹

⋆˙⟡ 𝓹𝓻𝓮𝓻𝓮𝓵𝓮𝓪𝓼𝓮 :･ﾟ✧:･.☽˚｡･ﾟ✧:･.:
book one had me cackling, sobbing, and kicking my feet. you better believe im gonna eat this up on release day 😇

[Clace]

Lets see how this goes 😗 The covers so damn pretty tho-

Buddy reading with Hoda.

[Shaz ♡]

Pre-read:
Time to be reunited with my yearning Knight and his slutty earrings 🥰 Let’s goooo Rory!! ⚔️

[Mya ♜]

WE BETTER GET THE ENDING WE DESERVE!!!!!🦅🦅🦅🦅

[Taskin⋆彡⭒]

pre-read
:･ﾟ✧:･.☽˚｡･ﾟ✧:･.:
MUEHEHEHEHEH, I have the book. I need to find outtttt

[Booksblabbering || Cait❣️ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bartholomew remained my favourite part. 
Warning: you may cry, you might laugh, you’ll probably want to dress a statue in a pink dress. 

NON-SPOILER review for the SERIES:
Rachel pulls off the pacing well. Despite the trepidation I had at the suddenness of book one’s ending, the sequel picks up straight after and despite the slightly shaky and rushed (end and) start, the characters pull you along. 

"A hare?" 
"Not one hair, a great many, and all upon an adorable little creature." His fingers trilled excitedly. "I want to catch it and put it in my mouth and let it build a nest there."

Whilst not as atmospheric as One Dark Window, Rachel leaned into the current romantasy obsession with knights. Book one was about the rake, the sequel was about the knave. 

This was less descriptive and jumped from scene to scene. This kept it fast-paced even if the action scenes left something to be desired. 

"a story is like the moon. Every night, she is a little different, but ever beautiful, and ever to remain." Another sprite soared above me, dropping its shadow upon the tor. "I think," I said, grinning, "that a story is a kind of gargoyle. A multifaceted body, hewn facts and falsehoods—and made stronger for it."

It is hard to write a review for the sequel with the ending of book one being what it was. However, it had a satisfying ending. My favourite part was actually the last few pages because Rachel closed it off beautifully. 
3.5-3.75 stars.🌟 

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Tiktok

[Gabriela]

Pre: ”To those who look upon the world and feel despair. I promise there is hope to find, yet. Love to spend, yet. There just has to be.”

Buddy read with my mom and the lovely Angelina 🖤

[DianaRose]

this cover is stunning 🤩 going to be stalking netgalley/edelweiss for bartholomew's conclusion🩵

[ClaudiaTalksFilm]

Love u rory men should take notes and wear messy eyeliner irl

[hater ★]

aaaaaaaa pretty cover

[hailee]

ORBIT!!!! ORBIT, HI!!!!!!! I KNOW YOU HEAR ME KNOCKING

[Alya ( 20 comments restriction ) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thoughts
Oh I do hate binge reading ☹️ not ready for this world to come to an end -- It was a mixed emotions kind of ending to say the least 💔 I can't explain how much I love this duolgy -- the characters; the world building -- this book was genuinely everything I wanted and more! Rory!!!💘 oh lord where does one begin??? This man 🫠 the way he's so ALL or nothing for Sybil 😭 or should I say ALL for Sybil and nothing for everyone else attitude 😂 he's just so dedicated, so supportive it melts my heart 🥹
Sybil's character development was just so beautifully done, watching her gain confidence in herself, her strength as well as seeing the other side of the strong personality.
One of my favourite things about this author's writing is how much she focuses on the details whether it's the characters or the world itself she'll always have you feeling as though you're experiencing the journey or the world, at least that's how immersed I get into her books and one of the things that make me love this genre thanks to the way she delivers!

Plot Summary
With Aisling Cathedral destroyed and several key figures presumed dead, Sybil finds herself imprisoned and forced into marriage with King Benji. Determined to bring him down, she looks for a way to break his hold over Traum. Her hopes rise when a mysterious, nameless man with no memory emerges as a powerful contender in the king’s tournaments. Together, they may have a chance to challenge Benji, but saving the kingdom could be the only way to destroy the faith that gives him power.

My Bookstagram

[Catie]

~pre-read~
I am so excited for this

[°❀⋆.monica ೃ࿔*:･]

IT'S HAPPENING EVERYONE STAY CALM 🤩 (I'm not calm)

[liz · Rating 5 out of 5]

That was one of the most beautiful, agonizing, inspiring, torturous, all-encompassing things. I have so much I want to say about the magnitude that this was for me but I will never have the words.

The allegory to the current state of the world and what we do to the planet and to people and the dehumanization of groups. The themes of hopelessness and depression and feeling out of control. I can’t.

“To those who look upon the world and feel despair. Things will be better than they are. I promise there is hope to find, yet. Love to spend, yet. There just has to be.”

240 highlights.
I’ll never get over this.

[Grace Harper]

pre-read 🥹

Starting in the morning!! Yayyyyyy

[aqsa · Rating 4 out of 5]

did I skip my very important Calculus I lecture to read this? yes, yes I did.
was it worth it? obviously.

★★★★ | 4 stars

“I wanted her so badly, I'd let her hurt me. I'd let her do anything to me.”

oh my GOD. I genuinely don’t even know where to start because this book had me completely hooked. I flew through it. like, “I have responsibilities and places to be” flew through it.

First of all, Rory. I need everyone to understand that I am deeply unwell about this man. his devotion to Sybil!! the way he has so much faith in her even when she struggles to have faith in herself. and I just love his careless attitude towards everyone and everything else. 😛😛 I’m sorry, but that is MY kind of fictional man. he’s so loyal while still having his own personality, and every time he showed up for Sybil I was just sitting there likeee 🧎‍♀️🧎‍♀️🧎‍♀️🧎‍♀️

And Sybil. I loved watching her throughout this book because she is such a strong character, but her strength never felt effortless. she has fear, doubt, anger, and moments where she has to figure things out, yet she keeps moving forward. watching her grow and seeing her become more confident in herself was one of my favorite parts.

AND THE GANG GETTING BACK TOGETHER??? maude. the gargoyle. sybil. rory. MY PEOPLE. I missed them so much. seeing them all together again gave me that exact feeling of being reunited with characters you’ve gotten attached to over the course of a series. I was so happy to have them all in the same place again.

the ending. so beautiful and bittersweet. I don't even have the words to describe it tbh

this plot and duology were so unique. the worldbuilding, the characters, the weirdness, the dark humor, the romance… it read like nothing else I’ve read. i love when a series actually feels like it has its own identity instead of feeling like a slightly different version of ten other fantasy books. this one was creative, strange, romantic, dark, and somehow hilarious all at once.

my favorite quotes: (SPOILERS)

“I couldn't escape from thinking how perfect she might look if she plunged her hand into my chest, removed my heart, and gnawed through its toughened tissue between her teeth until her clothes were stained red”

“Stone eyes, then.” My voice hummed against his armor. “If only you were pretty enough to be a Diviner.”
Rory spun me, then pulled me back against his chest. “You’re pretty enough for the both of us.”

“Oh, Bartholomew, I was forlorn without you. What a marvelous capability for love I have.”

“Still got decent balance, or are we out of practice?”
“Does walking all over you count as practice?”

[luna ♡]

⋆˚𖤓˖° pre-read

after doing my endoscopy this morning, my mom treated me with buying the physical copy of this book. i'm a lucky girl. 🤭❤️

[⋆˚୨ৎ˚⋆ Kim ⋆˚୨ৎ˚⋆]

⋆˙⟡ 𝒫𝓇𝑒-𝓇𝑒𝒶𝒹 (9/28/2025): the fact we need to wait a little less than a year for this book to come out is diabolical work. I needed this book like, 5 months ago.

[jenny reads a lot]

I need this immediately. Directly straight into my veins.

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[Ri ♡]

pls i need this like right now 😭 why 2026 so far awayyy

[⋆⭒˚.⋆ Eloise⋆⭒˚.⋆]

Pre-read: *Immediately adds to tbr* EXCUSE ME?! THIS COVER IS STUNNING IM ACTUALLY ON THE FLOOR WAITING FOR THIS BOOK TO COME OUT 🙇‍♀️🧎‍♀️