Moth Dark by Kika Hatzopoulou — Gender-Fluid Fae, Urban Fantasy Intrigue & a Romance That Defies Time

Moth Dark by Kika Hatzopoulou is a breathtaking blend of urban fantasy, nonlinear time, gender-fluid fae, and a love story that bends fate, identity, and reality itself.

Today we’re reviewing Moth Dark by Kika Hatzopoulou, and let me just say — I was so lucky to be on the street team for this release and receive an ARC. And wow… this book was something special. There were so many layered elements that pulled me in — from gender-fluid fae, to a romance that refuses to exist in a straight line, to an urban fantasy Manhattan riddled with portals to a dark realm. It’s easily one of the most fascinating, inventive fantasies I’ve read this year.

A Romance That Bends Gender, Time & Reality

I’m famously not a romance reader, but the romance here? Loved.Sascia is already a complex and compelling protagonist, and when she meets Nugau — the fae royal who can literally shift their gender at will — the dynamic becomes electric. Their people wake up one day male, another day female, or something in-between, based purely on how they choose to identify.

It’s not treated as spectacle — it’s normalized, respected, and woven beautifully into worldbuilding and relationships. You don’t need to be gender-fluid to feel seen by this book. Even for me, someone who loves both my femininity and masculinity, something about this representation hit home. It’s powerful, validating, and refreshingly original.

Urban Fantasy Meets High Fantasy

What makes Moth Dark so compelling is the blending of worlds. We’re in modern Manhattan — Times Square, subway stations, streetlights — yet pockets of darkness open like portals to a shadow realm. Out of them emerge dark griffins, dark dragons, dark basilisks — fantasy creatures twisted through shadow.

Sascia is obsessed with the dark realm, and that fascination becomes the heart of the story. The worldbuilding is sharp, eerie, cinematic, and cinematic enough that you can see the glowing, moth-winged fae in purple light.

Nonlinear Magic, Time Dilation & Masterful Structure

This book is linear and nonlinear at the same time, and somehow it works effortlessly. Sascia’s story moves chronologically — but every encounter with Nugau does not.

First they try to kill her.

Next time, they don’t remember her.

Then they remember only one of the encounters.

The reason is brilliant — time moves differently between realms. A month for Sascia can become years, or minutes, for Nugau. It’s sci-fi woven into fantasy, urban-folklore mixed with Greek mythology (Ariadne and the labyrinth echo throughout), and memory used as emotional storytelling rather than exposition. It’s unique, surreal, and so easy to follow even amid complexity.

A Deeply Human Core Beneath the Magic

For all the portals and monsters, the most striking thing about the story is how human it is. Sascia battles self-doubt, constantly convinced she’s not enough — not strong enough, not capable enough, not worthy enough.

And who doesn’t relate to that?

Most of us cycle through that same insecurity daily — parenthood, relationships, work, life — and Hatzopoulou captures it with sincerity, not melodrama. Sascia’s emotional journey grounds the magic and gives weight to every decision she makes.

Final Thoughts

Moth Dark is emotional, atmospheric, thoughtful, and unlike anything else on the YA fantasy shelf. The nonlinear time, gender-fluid romance, and urban-dark-fae world are unforgettable, and that ending… haunting and hopeful at the same time. I want more — more of Sascia, more of Nugau, more of the dark realm. Whether we get a sequel or not, this story has carved out a space in my brain and heart.