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!

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC!

i absolutely loved this and had so much fun reading it! I can’t wait to read the next book!

A romantasy filled with interesting world building.</strong>

I'd give this a 3.75 rounded up.

I liked this story and at times it was incredibly captivating, but it didn't ensnare me like I was hoping it would. Its no throne of Glass.

This story was a little better than OK for me. I was able to sniff out some of the plot so I took off a star for predictability and storyline cohesiveness. There were just a few lapses in believability and logic so that slightly annoyed me.

The storyline overall was good, and I liked the way the characters personalities came together. I am looking forward to reading the second book in the series and hoping it has a tightened up storyline structure. Overall this was a fun read and I liked it. It wasn't intense but held some good suspense and mystery. I think its worth the read and if you're looking for a feel good romantasy with a little suspense, this one will do the trick nicely.

Due to the hype and excitement around this book online, I was very excited for a new fantasy romance.
However, this one for me was a bit of a letdown.
The writing felt very juvenile and clunky, and the beginning felt like a giant info dump.
The initial relationship dynamic setup in the initial scenes felt very trite and overdone, and that made it very hard to be interested from then on.
I really wanted to like this one, but unfortunately it just didn't quite hit.

I knew this book was going to be exceptional just a few chapters in. The writing is superb, and it features my favorite theme: witches. This book captivated me so much that I am already planning to reread it in the near future.

A regency setting? I should’ve known I would love this book! I have not stop thinking about it since I finished and I read it SO FAST. Witch and witch hunter, who both want something from the other one. The fashion descriptions in this made me need to order a ball gown asap.

This was one of my top read books in 2024! I have been eagerly awaiting Rebel Witch and am so thankful I got to read this book 🥹 the world and story building + character development had me wrapped around their finger. Rune is a special character and I loved her as our FMC

I really enjoyed this and felt it was a strong romantasy with all the witchy vibes.

Rune Winters lives a double life and is always on the edge of both sides. I really saw a strength in her character even if I didn’t always like what she chose.

I love a good enemies to lovers and Gideon really fit the enemy role well. This was giving passion and danger in all the right ways.

This story started out well, with an interesting premise. I wanted to know more about how the Queen Witches fell out of power and about the magic itself. I liked Rune at first but all too soon, I found her lacking and I kept waiting for her get stronger which didn’t happen. The magic as well didn’t turn out to be impressive either.

I was more intrigued by Gideon, whose backstory was heartbreaking and I understood him better. I liked the moments when he opened up and I did enjoy some of the romantic scenes.

However, I was annoyed by the love triangle, which seemed unnecessary and pointless. The enemies-to-lovers angle was also lacking. Both main characters were portrayed as hating each other even after falling for each other and the emotional angst was sadly lacking.

I also saw the plot twists coming, which I found predictable and poorly executed. The ending itself left me disappointed, especially over Rune’s actions and her emotions. Sadly, this book was over-hyped in my opinion.

That said, the idea of this story was a good one and it had the potential to be much better.

Everyone was right about how much I would love this one! I keep saying that I’m done with YA, and then something like Heartless Hunter comes around and shows me that I’ll never outgrow it.

I loved the magic system, and how much the romance and fantasy plots were tied to each other. Not only was the romance forbidden because Rune is a witch and Gideon is a witch hunter, but also because Gideon’s younger brother has been in love with Rune for years. I loved all of the characters so much, and the twist at the end totally surprised me. I can’t wait for the sequel to come out!

I was given an eARC for an honest review. I ended up not finishing this book and walking away from it because I did not mesh well with the main characters or their mindsets.

4.75 ⭐

The way that this book kept my attention more than anything. I was so sad whenever I didn't get to read more of it.

I absolutely loved the back and forth between Gideon and Rune, but the third act break-up hurt my soul like it always does. It made complete sense but the whole situation, the whole ending hurt my heart! The plot twist with Verity though?!?! OH MY GOODNESS! I thought something might come up but that didn't cross my mind.

I am so excited to see everyone's journey in Rebel Witch, and I sincerely appreciate Net Galley and the publisher for sending me a copy of this book to read.