“what name, with blood, would you give me?”
four stars.

sybil is a diviner stuck in a kingdom where religion isn’t just belief…it’s infrastructure. people look to the omens for everything, and sybil’s whole life has been shaped by visions, duty, and the haunting weight of inherited faith. this book doesn’t go full dune on organized religion, but it’s definitely taking a piss, sometimes literally. it’s a little irreverent, a little uncomfortable, and definitely pokes at the power structures we assign to “belief.”

sybil’s journey wrestles with religious duty, inherited trauma, and whether obedience is strength or just a fancy kind of fear. none of this feels heavy-handed, just baked into her every choice.

bartholomew is a star. he shouts, “take me with you!” and tackles sybil like a loyal golden retriever made of stone. i cheered every time he showed up.

the aisling sisterhood was ride-or-die and deeply funny. at one point five literally says,
“absolutely. he was very mean to six. let’s flatten him.”
and that’s what i want out of female friendships in fiction and in real life. petty vengeance and unflinching loyalty. i would follow the aisling girl gang into war or a group text chain. same energy.

then there’s rory. he’s… there. defiant. brooding. making uncalled-for middle finger gestures. their romance sort of materializes like a moth to a flame, and i did sit back and go “wait, now we’re in love?” but i stuck with it because the dialogue slapped and rory kept saying things like “you could walk over me, sybil delling. throw me down until i am dust. i don’t know what to call it, but i want it. i want you.” and honestly, if someone said that to me during a crisis i would simply perish.

the final stretch had me wide-eyed and whispering “is she going to become a gargoyle?” like that was a completely normal question to be asking

four stars. would return to traum. would get cut for the aisling girls. would let sybil name me with blood.

The Knight and the Moth - Likewise Book Reviews

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