I absolutely loved the world building in this novel. I thought the magic system and the historical homages in their society were well done. I loved Rune as a character. She's probably among my favorites. Rune and Gideon were fun to watch together, and I can wait to see where the story goes in book two! Overall, I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a witchy romantasy.

Thank you so so much to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for allowing me to read the ARC of The Heartless Hunter. 🩸🦋

It's been a long time since I've finished a book in 24 hours but I couldn't put this one down. I was hooked with the mysteriousness of it all right from the beginning. I get the hype now. It was well earned.

I can't pin point what my favorite parts are about this book. It's the duality of all of the characters. Or most at least. Or magic system. Or <spoiler>the MMC's lack of awareness about a woman's body that was like the elephant in the room when he was looking for a source for her power haha</spoiler>. Or the misunderstood rooted bickering fests between our main characters. Or maybe it was that this was the first TRUE "Enemies to Lovers" trope I've read in a long while. No matter which it was, I'm so mad for not having been able to pick this up sooner, but I guess better late than never. I knew something was up but I couldn't quite put my finger on it and the ending was not what I expected but excited to see where it goes in the next one!

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Spice: 🌶️
Tropes
• Enemies to Lovers
• Slow Burn
• Hidden Magic
• Rebellion/Political Intrigue

4.5 stars!

This was such a fun vibe! Witch and witch hunter romance! Regency era style living with balls and operas! A main character who sews!!!! I absolutely ate up this book. It was a great romance and a unique fantasy plot and it reminded me that I should read more books with witches. I'm extremely excited by the sequel of this book and I need it in my hands NOW.

Thank you to Netgalley and St Martin's Press for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Heartless Hunter was exactly what I hoped it would be. Fast paced, well-written, and smart. Rune and Gideon were
well-developed characters. I am eager to read the follow up soon!

This is one of those books that took me a million years to pick up where I end up kicking myself a million times for not picking it up sooner. One of my favorite reads of 2024 and combined with the sequel, one of my all-time favorite duologies.

I love how the overall story is built on lies and deception, not only on the part of Rune, but on Gideon as well. A few of the side characters hold their own secrets, and it all combined to give this book an air of mystery and deceit.

There’s a fantastic enemies to lovers/witch x witch hunter romance happening too, which I loved. I also like how this feels like some of my favorite gothic historical romances with the balls and the gowns and the society, only with magic and danger and witches. I think the atmosphere and the setting is my favorite part.

All told, this was fantastic from start to finish and one I’ll recommend to anyone and everyone. 5 stars. Pick this up if you enjoy:

➼ Enemies to lovers
➼ Witch x witch hunter
➼ Deceit and intrigue
➼ Action and adventure
➼ Witches and witchcraft
➼ Phenomenal world and setting


*Thanks so much to NetGalley and the publisher for the e-arc.

Thank you to PRH Audio ( @prhaudio ) for the gifted audiobook and to St-Martin's Press and NetGalley for the ARC for review.

I enjoyed this one a lot! I have been craving a good witch vs witch hunter fantasy with forbidden romance since Serpent and Dove and I'm sooooo happy to have picked this one up. Rune is a strong FMC - she has a tortured past and spends her days acting like a socialite and her nights as a vigilante, the Crimson Moth, saving witches and their sympathizers from certain death. The dichotomy of her day and night persona's made me chuckle - she is quite good at pretending to be vapid ahahah. As for Gideon, he's a classic witch hunter driven by duty and the want to protect his younger brother. Rune and Gideon become entangled in a great game of cat and mouse indeed - just when I think one has a leg up on the other, the power shifts! The forbidden romance in this story is soooo good and hits on multiple levels - not just witch and witch hunter but Rune is also off limits because Gideon's younger brother is in love with her. Let's just say, the tension is high, lingering gazes are fire and touches are electric! I was all in for Gideon corrupting Rune 😈. The ending was twisty and totally gutted me so don't mind me running off to read the sequel!

Rating: 4.25/5 stars

I enjoyed this book way more than I thought I would. I was immediately sucked into the story and fell in love with the characters. I am a sucker for a good witch story and this one was definitely it. I can’t wait to read the next one.

I’m not a huge fantasy reader but this book ignited my curiosity in the genre.

Thank you to @netgalley @smpromance and @Stmartinspress for a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Kristen Ciccarelli's "Heartless Hunter" is a captivating dance of deception and desire between a witch and her hunter, and I was utterly enthralled. This marks my introduction to Ciccarelli's work, and it has far surpassed my expectations.

The chemistry between the love interests is electric, their vulnerability and openness a stark contrast to the high-stakes game they play. Ciccarelli masterfully crafts a timeless, historical atmosphere, avoiding the modern clichés that often plague witchy romances. The dialogue is sharp and engaging, and the story feels refreshingly original. The intricate plot, filled with misdirection and suspense, kept me on the edge of my seat. The alternating perspectives between the witch and the hunter provide valuable insight into their motivations and histories, enhancing the tension.

The pacing is impeccable, making "Heartless Hunter" an easy 5-star read and a must-read for fans of atmospheric fantasy romance.

5 stars

#books #bookishlife #booklover #readingisfun #iowabookstagrammers #iowabookstagram #netgalley #stmartinspress #heartlesshunter #kristenciccarelli #smpinfluencers

Gosh I loved this one! A cat and mouse story between a witch and a witch hunter. But who is the cat and who is the mouse? Enemies to lovers but backstabbing at the same time. I loved how this one progressed and can’t wait to read the next!!!

I absolutely LOVED this book! The push and pull, the cat and mouse game, enemies to lovers to enemies again! That ending! This was a total rollercoaster of emotions and I enjoyed every moment of them.

Rune is a witch, in a world where witches are persecuted. Gideon is the captain of the witch hunters… and these two have collided in the most thrilling and delicious way. All their interactions are calculated, full of secrets and doubts, and yet they can’t help the attraction they have first each other. That sizzling chemistry. This is exactly why I love the enemies to lovers trope. It was done so well in Heartless Hunter. These two had me at the edge of my seat. I couldn’t trust anyone while reading and had soooo many theories running through my head. By the end some were proven correct, but I was way off on many - it just made it that much more entertaining.

“This is a game, he reminded himself, his chest tight. It means nothing. But if that were true, why did he feel like he was walking straight off a cliff, hoping he wouldn’t fall?“

The next installment in this duology cannot come soon enough!

A huge thanks to NetGalley, the author, and publisher for providing me with an eARC for review. All thoughts are my own.

This is solid Romantasy and I had such a great time reading it. The character development was on-point and I especially appreciated the discussion around male abuse survivors. The complex dynamics of two morally questionable revolutions and the fallout of both was done so well. There were a few times that outcomes were predictable and I saw them coming before the MC's did, but it didn't spoil reading this for me. I also really enjoyed the development of Rune's and Gideon's relationship. I'm definitely looking forward to the sequel.

Heartless Hunter by Kristen Ciccarelli
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On the island where they live, Rune must hide who she is to survive. By day she is a vapid young socialite but by night she is The Crimson Moth, a witch vigilante who rescues other witches. In order to save a witch in custody she must get close to Gideon Sharp, witch hunter.
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I slept on this one forever, and finally was able to borrow the audio from my library. It was really good. I think I listened to it all in less than 48 hours. It was such a consuming read, once I started it I was fully immersed in this world and didn’t want to stop.
The stakes are high, the tension is thick, and Rune and Gideon don’t want to be attracted to each other but very much are.

I loved where this story went and how it left us at the end. I am very much looking forward to The Rebel Witch and hope that I can read it soon.
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4⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I loved reading this book! I've really enjoyed her other books, and the set up for this one sounded so great! I had to read it and get to know Rune and Gideon, witch and witch hunter, pretending to court one another to get information from the other! It was so delicious and amazing to read!

That they're both using each other, Rune to gain information to help the witches, and Gideon to find out if she's the Crimson Moth or not, yeah, I adored their dynamics so much! They've both been harmed by the other group, they're on opposite sides, not that he's sure about that, and oh, their chemistry was so wonderful to read!

That she turned her grandmother in as a witch-that her grandmother planned it with her-yeah, that was a really hard thing to do. But Rune was strong, and it lead her to become the Crimson Moth, so she'd be able to help other witches, which was good. Something that the governments in this world need to learn, is balance. Because some of the witches were bad, no question. But killing all of them? Yeah, that's a step too far.

Oh, but that ending though? With all those reveals, and everything that went down! That was such an evil ending! I need to know what's going to happen next, with where we left these characters, and how they'll deal with what had happened!

Absolutely loved reading this book, and I can't wait for the sequel!

This was an quick and easy read. A witch and witch-hunter are engaged in a deceptive battle to outsmart the other before, while also trying to deny their growing attraction.

The characters were doggedly determined to stay in their roles of witch and hunter, to the point where I felt those facets were all that made up their characters. We get tragic backstory on each, which is supposed to explain their dedication to their respective vocations, but it didn't feel particularly compelling to me, and they lacked depth.

The world-building was rudimentary, the politics were simplistic and the magic system was more often discussed or explained rather than actually shown, so I didn't really feel fully immersed in the world.

The book kind of lagged for me until the halfway point, and then the action picked up. There were some interesting twists at the end, and I am definitely intrigued enough to want to read the second book.

the enemies to lovers book we TRULY deserve 😤

tbh I put off reading this book for over a year and GOD I wish I picked it up sooner. I loved everything about it, especially the worldbuilding and the romance. it has the morally grey worldbuilding of my dreams and characters that feel fully fleshed out. I loved the twists and turns, even when I predicted what would happen. the writing is delectable and I CANNOT wait to read the sequel!

Such a solid read overall. I yearned for the yearning and that was delivered tenfold!!! I loved how cunning the FMC is, and how she kinda walked circles around the MMC. The high society setting mixed with fantasy is something I really enjoyed. Can't wait for the second one!

Omg I loved this book so so much and am so excited for book 2! I know this is a super late review but honestly I'm here to hype it up alongside the release of the second book this last week.

I absolutely adored the FMC, Rune, because she is badass while also not being some magical creature of perfection who is here to save us all. Instead she is far more realistic and that makes her beautiful. And then we have the Sharpe brothers - Gideon and Alex. They are both fascinating characters who add so much depth to the story and our FMC.

The magic and lore of this world are unique and that made it a refreshing read! I definitely recommend this book!

When I saw that this fantastic romance was billed as a twist on “The Scarlet Pimpernel,” I was immediately curious as that is one of my favorite classics! This tale did not disappoint and it definitely leaves you eager to read the next volume! One of my absolute new favorites.

Thanks so much to NetGalley and Wednesday Books for providing an eARC in exchange for my honest review!!

I love the character Rune, who pretends to be a dim bulb to prevent suspicion that she is part of the resistance. This is an enemies to lovers romantasy that ended on a cliff hanger. I cant' wait for part 2!

Thank you to Wednesday Books for the review copy. My opinions are my own.

I read this in a single sitting and was entranced by the story from the first chapter. I loved the twists and turns, the dual perspective, the magic system, the politics that were so crazy, the society that created the crazy, I am sorry that I waited so long to read this, and I have to say that it was worth the wait. I am now really excited for Rebel Witch.

Rune is making the best of a very bad situation for her, but she's a little on the naive side and also aware of the delicate balance that she is hovering over, that any wrong step will result in her death because of the fact that she's a witch in a land that hates witches. Gideon is kind of a stick in the mud, but getting his perspective also explains a great deal of what's going on in the world.

Read if you enjoy:
- magic
- witches
- witch hunters
- enemies to lovers
- ditzy society girl persona
- betrayal

Highly recommend!