In a year stuffed full of big releases, the world of literature and fantasy books just keeps providing its fans with hit after hit. Rebecca Yarros delivered a heavy hitter with the third installment in her Empyrean series, Onyx Storm, Book 2 of the Wicked Games series, Enchantra, hit bookshelves in April, and we’ve gotten to follow Emily Wilde on another foray into the world of Faerie.
With several highly anticipated releases expected before the end of 2025, such as R.F. Kuang’s Katabasis, and Callie Hart’s follow-up to her wildly popular Quicksilver, it’s safe to say that romantasy fans – particularly those of the darker variety – are having their cups filled over and over again.
And luckily for us, this month brings us a brand new start to a series from a viral fantasy author. That’s right, Rachel Gillig is kicking off a brand new series, and the first installment drops May 20th!
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What Is Rachel Gillig’s New Book?
This month, New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Rachel Gillig is treating us to the first entry in her brand new series, The Stonewater Kingdom, with this first novel titled The Knight and the Moth.
Gillig shot to fame in 2022 after the publication of her novel One Dark Window, the first in her Shepard King duology. She would follow this up with the sequel, Two Twisted Crowns, in 2023. The atmospheric, dark gothic fantasy duology blew up in the BookTok sphere, and Gillig quickly became a household name in the fantasy literature space.
The Knight and the Moth takes readers into a gothic and fantastical world of prophets, called Diviners. Sybil Delling traded 10 years of service to the kingdom as a Diviner in order to escape her life as an orphan. Diviners are housed in a grand cathedral and receive visions each night in their sleep from six figures known only as The Omens. These visions allow them to predict the future.
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As Sybil and her fellow Diviners near the end of their decade of service, a rakish, handsome, and frustrating knight named Rodrick (known as Rory) arrives rather mysteriously.
In spite of her frustrations with him, Sybil will have no choice but to team up with him when the other Diviners begin to vanish one by one. As Sybil and Rory set out to seek answers from the Omens themselves, they’ll be thrust into a perilous journey that will put Sybil’s every belief to the test.
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As a lover of the darker side of the fantasy genre, I’m more than ready for a dark gothic tale teeming with mystery and intrigue. Rachel Gillig has proven that she’s a master of atmosphere and world-building, and I believe that we’ll see all of that, along with some impressive character development, with this new series.
Her previous work allowed her to establish a voice, and The Stonewater Kingdom will most likely allow for more world-building and additional character arcs. Fingers crossed we get at least a trilogy here!
If you appreciated the gothic tones that Gillig delivered in her Shepard King duology, this will be right up your alley! An epic fantasy adventure, a gothic atmosphere, and enemies-to-lovers banter all rolled into one.
The grand setting, lovable characters (there’s a particularly popular gargoyle character thrown into the mix), and a slow burn, beautiful romance, there’s a ton to look forward to with this new series.
The Knight and the Moth is out on May 20th, wherever you buy your books!
