10 Books Like The Knight and the Moth for Your Next Gothic Romantasy Read
If you finished The Knight and the Moth by Rachel Gillig and immediately wanted another book filled with gothic atmosphere, dangerous magic, slow-burn romance, mysterious gods, and characters who probably shouldn’t trust each other, this list is for you.
The Knight and the Moth follows Sybil Delling, a Diviner who has spent years receiving prophetic dreams from mysterious Omens. When her fellow Diviners disappear, she is forced into an uneasy alliance with Rodrick, a heretical knight whose future she cannot see. Hachette describes it as a gothic, mist-cloaked romantasy built around prophecy, gods, and an impossible quest.
So if you loved the gloomy setting, strange mythology, dangerous faith, banter, and slow-building romance, here are ten books to read next.
1. The Knave and the Moon by Rachel Gillig
Best for: The obvious next read
Before looking for something similar, there is one very easy answer:
Read the sequel.
The Knave and the Moon is the second Stonewater Kingdom book and continues directly after The Knight and the Moth. The stakes are darker, Sybil’s situation has become considerably more dangerous, and a mysterious knave with no memory becomes central to the struggle for Traum.
Hachette describes the sequel as having higher stakes, darker mysteries, and deeper longing while returning to the same gothic Stonewater Kingdom.
Why you’ll like it: same world, same mythology, more Sybil, more dangerous religion, tournaments, memory loss, and the conclusion to the story.
Also read: My The Knave and the Moon guide, review, spice level & tropes
2. One Dark Window by Rachel Gillig
Best for: More Rachel Gillig
If what you really want is more Rachel Gillig, start here.
One Dark Window follows Elspeth Spindle, who lives in a mist-covered kingdom while hiding an ancient spirit called the Nightmare inside her mind.
When she joins a dangerous quest involving twelve magical Providence Cards, she becomes tangled in treason, forbidden magic, and a growing attraction to the king’s nephew.
Hachette calls it a dark, lushly gothic fantasy set in an eerie, mist-locked kingdom.
Why you’ll like it: eerie setting, unusual magic, secrets, slow-burn romance, monsters, and Gillig’s distinctive gothic style.
Also read: My complete One Dark Window review
3. The Foxglove King by Hannah Whitten
Best for: Religion, gods and forbidden magic
This might be one of the closest thematic matches on the list.
Lore possesses Mortem, forbidden magic tied to death. When her abilities are discovered, she is pulled into the Sainted King’s court and ordered to investigate mysterious deaths spreading across the kingdom.
The story combines necromancy, royal politics, religious power, warrior monks, and dangerous attraction. Orbit describes it as a romantic epic fantasy centered on a woman whose secret ability to raise the dead pulls her into the Sainted King’s court.
If the faith, prophecy and questionable gods were what fascinated you in The Knight and the Moth, I’d put this near the top of your list.
Why you’ll like it: death magic, religion, court intrigue, secrets, complicated loyalties and romance.
4. Belladonna by Adalyn Grace
Best for: Gothic mystery
Belladonna gives you another heroine surrounded by death, strange powers and a world where the supernatural is very real.
Signa Farrow moves into the gloomy Hawthorne estate and soon discovers a ghost claiming she was murdered.
To uncover the truth, Signa ends up working with the one figure who has followed her throughout her entire life:
Death.
The publisher describes the series as a gothic-infused world of wealth, desire, betrayal, ghosts, magic and romance.
Why you’ll like it: eerie manor house, supernatural mystery, dangerous attraction, magic, death and gothic atmosphere.
5. Phantasma by Kaylie Smith
Best for: Gothic atmosphere with more spice
If you liked the darker atmosphere of The Knight and the Moth but want something a little more intense romantically, try Phantasma.
Ophelia enters a deadly competition inside a haunted mansion to save her sister.
The rules are simple:
Stay alive.
And don’t fall in love.
Naturally, that second rule becomes complicated when she bargains with a mysterious stranger named Blackwell.
The publisher describes Phantasma as a maze of twisting corridors, lavish ballrooms, demons and temptations.
Why you’ll like it: haunted mansion, deadly games, demons, forbidden attraction and plenty of gothic drama.
6. For the Wolf by Hannah Whitten
Best for: Dark fairy-tale atmosphere
Red is a Second Daughter, which means she has one purpose:
Be sacrificed to the Wolf in the Wood.
Except the legends aren’t exactly true.
The Wolf isn’t the monster she expected, and the ancient forest contains much darker forces.
Hachette describes For the Wolf as a dark romantic fantasy about sacrifice, captured gods, dangerous power and the mysterious Wilderwood.
This is a particularly good choice if what you loved about The Knight and the Moth was the feeling of an old legend slowly turning out to be completely wrong.
Why you’ll like it: ancient gods, strange woods, sacrifice, dark magic, romantic tension and corrupted legends.
7. A Study in Drowning by Ava Reid
Best for: Gothic academia and unsettling folklore
Effy Sayre has spent her life haunted by visions of the Fairy King.
When she earns a place working on the estate of her favorite deceased author, she travels to a decaying manor perched above the sea.
There she meets another student who suspects the famous author’s legacy may not be what everyone believes.
This one is less traditional romantasy and more gothic fantasy with romance, but the atmosphere is excellent for readers who loved the eerie dreamlike quality of Rachel Gillig.
Why you’ll like it: crumbling manor, rain, folklore, unsettling mythology, academic rivalry and romance.
8. A Far Wilder Magic by Allison Saft
Best for: Quest + romance
Margaret and Wes are an unlikely pair who team up for a dangerous magical hunt.
Margaret is reserved, practical and skilled with a gun.
Wes is charming, ambitious and very good at getting himself into trouble.
As the hunt approaches, the two uncover dark magic that may give them an advantage—if they survive long enough to use it.
Macmillan describes it as an atmospheric fantasy centered on an unlikely team, a deadly hunt and a growing romance.
This is a somewhat softer recommendation than some of the others, but it captures the quest + banter + reluctant partnership side of The Knight and the Moth particularly well.
Why you’ll like it: magical quest, reluctant allies, slow romance, atmospheric world and dangerous competition.
9. Heartless Hunter by Kristen Ciccarelli
Best for: Enemies-to-lovers
Rune secretly rescues witches.
Gideon hunts them.
Neither should trust the other.
So naturally they begin pretending to court one another while both are secretly trying to discover what the other is hiding.
Penguin Random House describes Heartless Hunter as a high-stakes witch-and-witch-hunter romantic fantasy built around deception, political upheaval and forbidden attraction.
If you enjoyed Sybil and Rory’s constant tension and sharp exchanges, this gives you another relationship where trust is a very bad idea.
Why you’ll like it: enemies-to-lovers, hidden identities, dangerous beliefs, political conflict and strong romantic tension.
10. The Serpent & the Wings of Night by Carissa Broadbent
Best for: Darker, more action-heavy romantasy
Oraya is the human daughter of a vampire king living in a world designed to kill her.
Her chance to gain power comes through the Kejari, a deadly tournament run by the goddess of death.
To survive, she forms an alliance with a vampire rival she knows she shouldn’t trust.
Macmillan describes it as a dark fantasy romance involving vampires, dark magic, bloodthirsty intrigue and a deadly competition.
This is less gothic and more action-heavy than The Knight and the Moth, but readers who enjoyed dangerous gods + romance + characters forced to work together should feel right at home.
Why you’ll like it: deadly tournament, gods, betrayal, enemies-to-lovers, slow burn and lots of danger.
Which Book Is Most Like The Knight and the Moth?
If you’re trying to narrow it down, I’d use this guide:
| What you loved about The Knight and the Moth | Read next |
|---|---|
| Rachel Gillig’s writing | One Dark Window |
| Sybil’s story | The Knave and the Moon |
| Religion and strange gods | The Foxglove King |
| Gothic atmosphere | Belladonna |
| Dark romance + haunted setting | Phantasma |
| Ancient legends | For the Wolf |
| Dreamy gothic setting | A Study in Drowning |
| Quest + banter | A Far Wilder Magic |
| Enemies-to-lovers | Heartless Hunter |
| Dangerous competition | The Serpent & the Wings of Night |
What Makes a Good Book Like The Knight and the Moth?
For me, it’s not enough for a book to simply be fantasy romance.
What makes The Knight and the Moth distinctive is the combination of:
Gothic atmosphere — moors, cathedrals and an almost dreamlike sense of unease.
Strange religion and mythology — the Omens and the faith surrounding them are part of the actual mystery.
Slow-building romance — Sybil and Rory have plenty of friction before trust begins developing.
A quest — the story continually pushes the characters into the wider world rather than keeping everything inside a royal court.
Magic with consequences — prophecy isn’t simply a fun supernatural gift.
That’s why these recommendations lean toward atmospheric fantasy rather than simply listing the ten most popular romantasy books.
More Rachel Gillig Books
If Rachel Gillig herself is what brought you here, I’d read her books in this direction:
The Shepherd King
- One Dark Window
- Two Twisted Crowns
The Stonewater Kingdom
- The Knight and the Moth
- The Knave and the Moon
Hachette currently identifies The Knight and the Moth as part of the Stonewater Kingdom series and The Knave and the Moon as its sequel.
You can also visit my 10 Best Dark Romantasy Books for Gothic Fantasy Lovers list for even more books in this same wonderfully gloomy corner of fantasy.
Final Thoughts
What I like most about The Knight and the Moth is that it doesn’t feel like romance pasted onto a generic fantasy world.
The strange gods matter.
The prophecy matters.
The cathedral matters.
And Sybil’s relationship with Rory grows directly out of the dangerous journey they’re forced to take together.
That’s the quality I’d look for in your next read too.
If you want the closest possible experience, go straight to The Knave and the Moon or One Dark Window.
After that, The Foxglove King, Belladonna, and For the Wolf would be the first three I’d put on your TBR.
