The Knave and the Moon Review (The Stonewater Kingdom, #2)
Hello, all!
Let's chat about The Knave and the Moon by Rachel Gillig. You can read my review of the first book here!
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| Pub Date: 9-1-26 Adult - Fantasy |
Sybil Delling's world has been thrown upside down once she learned the truth about her role as a Diviner, and the only home she's ever known, Aisling Cathedral, is left in ruins after a confrontation with its abbess. After being betrayed by someone closest to them, Rory, Maude and Bartholomew are rumored to be dead, while Sybil has been taken by the King and forced into a marriage. Benji hopes that his union with Sybil will fortify his power over the land of Traum, and proposes a tournament to be held throughout the hamlets.
Sybil has spent enough time as a pawn in someone else's schemes, so she's determined to do everything in her power to stop Benji. She's plied with drugs to keep her complicit, but instead, they provide Sybil with strange visions that point to Traum's destruction. Meanwhile, a mysterious knave has quickly risen within the competition, and seems to be thwarting Benji's plans at every turn. Sybil sees this knave as her ticket to stopping Benji, but can they restore the land before all hope is lost?
I loved The Knight and the Moth so much that it almost pains me to say that I found this just okay. Don't get me wrong, there were many aspects I enjoyed, but I didn't feel as invested as I did previously. Gillig's writing is stellar, and I loved getting to see more of this world she created and the magic within it, but something about the plot didn't work for me. It just wasn't super interesting, and I normally love anything with a tournament element. A lot of the plot switches from Rory and Sybil's POVs, and their narratives sounded so similar that it took me a moment to figure out whose perspective we were in, which kept messing with the flow of the story. Bartholomew was, once again, my favorite part of this whole thing, and I'm so happy he got the ending he did. Overall, my expectations were too high, but I still liked it.
Sybil has spent enough time as a pawn in someone else's schemes, so she's determined to do everything in her power to stop Benji. She's plied with drugs to keep her complicit, but instead, they provide Sybil with strange visions that point to Traum's destruction. Meanwhile, a mysterious knave has quickly risen within the competition, and seems to be thwarting Benji's plans at every turn. Sybil sees this knave as her ticket to stopping Benji, but can they restore the land before all hope is lost?
I loved The Knight and the Moth so much that it almost pains me to say that I found this just okay. Don't get me wrong, there were many aspects I enjoyed, but I didn't feel as invested as I did previously. Gillig's writing is stellar, and I loved getting to see more of this world she created and the magic within it, but something about the plot didn't work for me. It just wasn't super interesting, and I normally love anything with a tournament element. A lot of the plot switches from Rory and Sybil's POVs, and their narratives sounded so similar that it took me a moment to figure out whose perspective we were in, which kept messing with the flow of the story. Bartholomew was, once again, my favorite part of this whole thing, and I'm so happy he got the ending he did. Overall, my expectations were too high, but I still liked it.
Rating: 3.5/5
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