I forgot to leave a review for this, but I really enjoyed it! It's been out for ages, so I won't say much more than I need to for my star rating. <3

I don't know why it took me so long to read Heartless Hunter when everyone was saying how wonderful it was. Kristen Ciccarelli has written one of the best fantasy books that I've read in a long time. It is going to be so hard to wait for book 2.

Rune Winters and Gideon Sharpe are characters that I want to spend more time with. Rune is so clever and Gideon is a match both in cunning and wits with her. Rune's work as the Crimson Moth with the intent of rescuing captured witches puts her directly in the path of Gideon Sharpe, the relentless captain of the Blood Guard. Gideon's past interactions with witches is traumatic so to him the only good witch is a dead witch. Little does he know that his brother, Alex, is best friend with the witch that he's sworn to capture.

What starts as a dance of matched wits soon turns to friendship and even love. But this is not a story that can end happily. Rune is too desperate to rescue who she sees as her people and Gideon is too broken to see that not all witches are bad people. Alex is caught between his devotion to Rune and his brother's past trauma.

This is no recipe for a happy ending and indeed the book ends on a bang.

What I really loved about Heartless Hunter was the devotion to characterization and plot. All of the characters were sympathetically drawn and their mistakes and relationships were written with empathy. Rune and Gideon slowly fall in love and their romance is full of little moments of sweetness. The building blocks of the relationship are there, and they aren't skipped over. The plot points make sense and the little clues left along the way culminate in the full picture. There are no plot holes that I can discern. Every part of the dance is drawn down to the little details, which contributes to the devastating end.

I am utterly bereft. Ciccarelli ruined me for other fantasy novels.

Thank you to Netgalley and Wednesday Books for the arc for review purposes.

I really enjoyed this one! I thought that the characters were interesting and the magic system was well thought out. In fact, I think that was my favorite part. It was the troupes that enticed me, but the writing that propelled me through the story. Looking forward to the next one!

<i> Thank you to the author, the publisher, and NetGalley for providing this advance reader's copy for an honest review. </i>

4.7 / 5.0

Heartless Hunter OR The Crimson Moth (depending on where you live) by Kristen Ciccarelli is a fantastic gender-bend of Robin Hood meets The Count of Monte Cristo. This is an enemies-to-lovers but not, because the whole time one of the characters is knowingly using the other, while themselves knowing (with very good reason) why this such a monumentally bad plan.

The plot of the book is high stakes and somewhat fast paced. The world building and magic system is superb, and I am very much looking forward to more in this series. There could have been more angst, though the heartbreak is exquisite, and I feel the FMC could have a little more agency. She’s like Batman but doesn’t have a very good Bruce Wayne persona, if that makes sense.

Not me realizing I might have just spoiled the whole thing for myself in the future…

Anyways, overall this is excellent, I recommend it to everyone, and if you get your hands on a SE of either title, keep it safe forevermore.

Until Next Time,
MC


Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for letting me review this.

So good! I felt the ending was rushed compared to the slow burn of the rest of the book. I will definitely read the next one. And recommend.

Thank you!

Quick, easy read that left me wanting more! Completely bummed I have to wait a whole year for part two. Definitely more on the YA track but I'm here for it. The story was complex and detailed enough without being too heavy and intense on the world building. Highly recommend if you're wanting a fun, witchy fantasy with a teensy bit of romance (nothing too spicy)!

Exciting and fast-paced, this book sets off at a run and doesn’t let up. The tension is good. The characters are put in dire circumstances in a unique magical world. The blood magic and cutting can be a little tricky for any people that might have dealt with self-harm issues, but it’s pretty up front about this in the first chapter. I have n’t read anything else from Ciccarelli, but I’m looking forward to reading the rest of this series.

Thank you to Netgalley and Wednesday Books for a copy of this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

First off, I have to say that I really did enjoy this novel & will keep reading the series. This sits between a 4 and a 5 stars for me and will be a 4.5 stars overall.

This was very much your witch x witch hunter romantasy/fantasy romance. I will preface by saying the last couple witch x witch hunter novels I read, I was not a fan of. However, I really really enjoyed Heartless Hunter.

The FMC is clever, resourceful and beautiful and outsmarts our MMC at every corner - I love reading stories and novels with a strong FMC like Rune! She had a backstory that made it easy to understand her intentions and motivations.
The MMC was also smart and determined and intriguing to read about. He also had a backstory that made it easy to understand his motivations and beliefs.
Though each side had their own view, it was hard to not side with and understand both characters, which is a rarity for a reader like myself so far!

The worldbuilding was not very in depth, and gave just enough to understand the characters and the plot, making this a fun and easy read.

The writing, in my opinion, is great, it clearly is a YA novel and it’s easy to read and digest - and with the plot moving as quickly as it does, it was easy to keep track of what was going on. The book moves quickly and enough is explained so I don’t feel as though I was missing out or missing information. My one gripe is that I didn’t love the ending of the book and the dynamic between the MMC and FMC, I also didn’t like a particular twist in the way the FMC was going to handle something towards the end of this novel - as it felt slightly out of character for Rune.

Overall, this is a fun romantasy read that is fast paced, flirty and a bit spicy. I enjoyed it and will be coming back for the next one!

This was a very interesting ride to say the least. I love the writing the most it's what pulls you in. The disappointing part was the enemies to lovers portion of the story even though I do enjoy getting both points of views of our two characters. I do wish we got more in the way of world building.

I NEED BOOK TWO!! This was such an amazing read. From page one to the very end I was sucked into the story. I devoured this book. Run and Gideon and Alex.. characters so well done and so easy to love and want more of. And the ending??? Oh my. I need more.

I laughed and cried and was left in utter shock at times. I audibly gasped when the twist was introduced. This book was so well written. This is a book for the collection. The is one you will want to own and go back to from time to time because you know it’ll cross your mind. I almost wish I could reread it for the first time again. A must read!

Huge huge thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC.

This book was absolutely fantastic. Rune was extremely likeable. I found myself rooting for her and Alex to get together. I finished this book in under 24 hours because it was so engrossing. The games between Gideon and Rune were so fun to read. I loved the dual POV, it was really written. I can’t wait for book 2 to come out.

A great start to this new Kristen Ciccarelli series. I loved the ending of this book, so many surprises and I cannot wait to read the next book in the series. I feel bad for Rune; she worked so hard to free everyone and nothing turned out the way she wanted it to.

No major plot spoilers!

Rating: 4.75

I’m going to start this review off by saying that I absolutely loved this read! It was so good that after I finished it, I didn’t know what fantasy book to read next because I simply need another tension filled enemies to lovers situation! I mean, I did stay up late to read 70% of the book so I clearly enjoyed the story.
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Rune: I was immediately intrigued that her childhood best friend is part of her vigilante act of rescuing young witches, but his older brother is a well-known witch hunter… The drama, and the tension was *chef’s kiss*. How could you not sense the love triangle, that would come, and a brothers one at that! I’m glad that Rune had two close friends she could confide in with her secret - you need an outlet with a secret that big.
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Gideon: Gideon making Rune a dress…no words other than me squealing and kicking my feet in bed! I mean, I let out the weirdest sound out of my mouth when he wrote “ PS I promise to go slow this time”. Like what?
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Gideon & Rune: I found that sea scene very steamy and I simply enjoyed the tension between these two. What’s not to love about a witch and a witch-hunter trying to play each other but end up falling for each other?
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The Love Triangle: While I adore Alex for how he treated and looked after Rune following the discovering that she’s a witch, I’m obviously rooting for Gideon because we love the enemies to lovers and the tension. A love triangle between brothers always gets me - I mean do we remember the Vampire Diaries!?
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The Writing: You know I’m not a fan of the miscommunication trope but it worked well in this book. There are quite a few plot twists, and I’m always wearing my detective hat so I was able to pick up on some of them.
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I need to know what curse Cressida put on Gideon! Also, not sure I trust Harrow - she felt very icky with pushing Gideon to sleep with Rune; I was uncomfortable. Overall, I love an enemies to lovers, but an enemies to lovers back to enemies!?! Give me the sequel right now please!

This fantasy realm brims with witches, magic, and peril, woven into a captivating enemies-to-lovers narrative with intriguing dynamics. Ciccarelli's writing is both propulsive and enthralling, skillfully depicting Rune and Gideon's inner conflicts and deceptions as they navigate treacherous paths in pursuit of their goals. The alternating points of view offer a deep dive into their struggles and insecurities, keeping readers hooked until the gripping cliffhanger conclusion. Overall, a four-star recommendation for a riveting read!

Holy moly. I don't even know how to review this book other than to say I'm obsessed. This is easily my favorite Scarlet Pimpernel retelling ever. I'm a little mad that I read it so early since book 2 doesn't come out for almost a year. But it's one that I will absolutely be rereading in the future!



*Strong language including f-words, one skippable open door scene, gore, violence, mentions of previous abuse and assault

A friend had suggested I read this book. I don’t read descriptions going into things 😅 and fantasy isn’t really my thing. But I did enjoy this one! It kept me interested!

Is this pretty much exactly what I expected from a YA enemies-to-lovers novel? Yes. Did I still enjoy it? Yes. Go in knowing the tropes are gonna trope, have a fun time anyway.

The story centers on Rune, a young witch who acts like a simpering debutante by day and spends her nights saving other witches as the Crimson Moth. Witches are being hunted down and killed in her world, so Rune is risking certain death by trying to save others and keep up appearances that she's nothing more than a society simpleton. She runs into complications in the form of a Gideon, a damaged witch hunter who has all the information she needs to save a particular witch — he's also, of course, super hot and her best (guy) friend's older brother.

Rune is, honestly, not that compelling to me as a main character. Action seems to happen to her throughout much of the novel, rather than her propelling the action herself. Also, I find love triangles — especially love triangles involving one girl and two guys who are brothers — to be tiring. The world building is kind of pushed aside in favor of the romance. I'm hopeful, especially since the love triangle is resolved at the end of this book, that the next one will delve more into the world and that Rune will gain more agency.

I did enjoy the romance. Yeah, it's toxic and they're both liars. They're also both broken people, and hey, I love when broken people find each other. I found Gideon's actions somewhat harder to swallow than Rune's, but his backstory does make him a Sad Boy you want to root for. He would be irredeemable in real life, but this is fiction, so we'll just say he's trying his best. I understood Rune's motivations until the end, when she appears to team up with a character who is definitely not worthy of her trust....but I will hold out judgment on how that turns out for the next book.

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC.

This book has skyrocketed to the top of my list of favorite reads in 2024. Holy cow! Heartless Hunter by Kristen Ciccarelli is the enemies-to-lovers fantasy I didn’t know I needed. This Scarlet Pimpernel retelling was fabulous! It held my attention from start to finish, keeping me guessing at every turn. The magic system was unique and the characters were well developed. I loved the dynamic between Rune and Gideon and can’t wait to see where their story leads in book two. The sequel to this story can’t come out soon enough!

Note: contains some language and an open door scene.

Thank you to Netgalley, Kristen Ciccarelli, and St. Martin’s press for an e-arc of this book. All opinions are my own.

Wednesday Books does it again!

Fantasy and YA are two genres I haven’t given a fair chance. 1. I’ve never been drawn to magic, dragons, or witches and 2. being an adult, I’ve always thought YA topics would be out of reach…but @wednesdaybooks has changed my mind! There have been quite a few books I’ve read from this publisher and any time I get a chance to read books published by them now, I don’t think twice about it.

In Heartless Hunter, witches are hunted and persecuted. Rune Winters, witch in hiding, masquerades as a champion of the revolution, supporting these hunts. In truth, she aligns herself with leaders of the revolution to gain intel and save the witches — a vigilante known as the Crimson Moth.

Gideon Sharpe is a ruthless witch hunter and the brother of Rune’s best friend Alex. He wants nothing more than to find the Crimson Moth, which has managed to evade him for two years and put a stop to her. He suspects Rune but isn’t sure, so he decides to court her. They begin a game of cat and mouse to get info from each other until things go awry.

I loved all the plot twists and was shocked by the cliffhanger at the end! The characters were very relatable. I loved Rune’s fearlessness, resilience & tenacity and liked her friendships with Alex and Verity. Gideon has been through a lot, and even though he’s jaded, I liked that he still possessed a soft side.

The only downside was that I found some parts to be repetitive but it wasn’t a deal breaker for me. Looking forward to the next book in the series!

Read if you like:
❤️‍🩹 Enemies to lovers
🧙🏽‍♀️Witches
🔺 Love triangle
✴️ Dual POV
🤯 Cliffhanger ending

Thanks so much to @wednesdaybooks and @netgalley for the e-ARC.

Thank you to NetGalley, Wednesday books and Kristen Ciccarelli for the opportunity to read Heartless Hunter. This is my honest and unpaid review of the book.
The first thing I noticed about this book was the gorgeous cover! Once I read the synopsis I thought it sounded like a great story. And it was! I'm so glad there's another book coming to continue Rune's story. There are so many things I enjoyed about this novel. The descriptions, especially the clothes, the magic (subtle but present), the characters' relationships with each other. I was a bit confused at the start about what was happening and what had happened in the past but I quickly caught on and liked the history behind the current events. Without giving away too much information, I thought the romantic developments in Rune's life were very intriguing and I'm curious to see what will happen as the story continues in book 2!