The Knight and the Moth by Rachel Gillig

I’ve been reading a ton of fantasy/romantasy lately (I finally finished The Plated Prisoner series and ladies, it did NOT need to be almost 4,000 freaking pages long.), so when a customer suggested I get into Rachel Gillig, I was like, “I’m not sure I can handle the investment of world building and diving into all that new lore.”

But.

Yes, there was romance (And a pretty cute, tame one - there’s really no spice in this tale.), and world building, but the main story is all about Six/Sybil, one of the six revered 'Diviners’ who are drowned in a magical, stagnant pool in spooky Aisling Cathedral to recieve visions from the five Omens, predicting the futures of whoever has the money to pay.

Diviners are brought in to serve 10 years in Aisling Cathedral, and for some reason no one questions at first - none of them have any memory of who they were before they came to the abbess of the cathedral. And this group of Diviners are a few weeks away from the end of their service…but no one knows what happens to them when they’re done…

There are a lot of memes poking fun at the heroines of romantasy giants like ACOTAR and Fourth Wing, so I was expecting the same deal. But here, instead of being a rage-filled teenager, Sybil comes across like a wise old Gen X soul - practical, wary, thoughtful - but also, completely clueless about the world outside the little cottage she shares with the five other Diviners. She’s focused on being the best of the bunch - but missing the horrific clues right in front of her face.

I totally immersed into the gothic feel of this book (Which will be the first of a duology - so not a huge investment.) - but what I loved the most is how Six/Sybil goes from being kept in the dark, totally dedicated to her work - to finding her freedom, true purpose, and claiming her power wihtout losing herself or having magical superskills. She is powerful because she knows herself, she trusts her instincts and she’s not afraid to use her brain.

Plus there’s an anthropomorphic gargoyle sidekick and a sexy heretic knight love story woven in. Worth the read!