Kristen Ciccarelli's Heartless Hunter is the first installment in the authors' The Crimson Moth duology. Heartless Hunter is loosely based on Baroness Orczy's The Scarlet Pimpernel. The book alternates between Rune Winter, the witch known as The Crimson Moth, and Gideon Sharpe, the most dangerous witch hunter around. Rune lives in a world where witches are hunted and purged. It has been 2 years since the streets ran red with the blood of witches.

It has been that long since Rune made the fateful decision to listen to her grandmother and betray her to save her own life. As the story opens, Rune is searching for the witch called Seraphine who her grandmother wanted her to find so she could learn about her magical abilities. Unfortunately, Rune discovers Seraphine's hiding place too late and learns that the Blood Guard has captured her. Rune spends her days pretending to be a vapid young socialite.

After all, she inherited all of her grandmother's wealth. By night, she spends her nights as the Crimson Moth, a vigilante witch who rescues other witches when they are caught by the Blood Guard. When Seraphine's rescue goes wrong, she decides to throw the witch hunters off her scent and gain the intel she desperately needs by courting the handsome Gideon Sharpe - a notorious and unforgiving witch hunter loyal to the revolution - who she can't help but find herself falling for.

Gideon loathes the decadence and superficiality Rune represents, but when he learns the Crimson Moth has been using Rune’s merchant ships to smuggle renegade witches out of the republic, he inserts himself into her social circles by pretending to court her right back. He soon realizes that beneath her beauty and shallow façade, is someone fiercely intelligent and tender who feels like his perfect match. Except, what if she’s the very villain he’s been hunting?

The fact that both Rune and Gideon are lying to the other, but are also suspicious of the other’s true intention means that there are a lot of lies, scheming, and pretending to be what they think the other wants them to be. To add even more intrigue, the author throws Gideon's brother Alex Sharpe into the mix. Alex has been helping Rune for the past several years. And, if he is found out, he will be purged just like the witches Gideon hunts. Except, there is yet another mystery that you better pay close attention to, otherwise you won't see the end coming.

This story is a cat vs mouse game of intrigue with some romance kicked in to make the story more entertaining. Sadly though, we don’t see much of her doing actual Crimson Moth work. It’s mostly about her planning, and trying to ensnare Gideon to gain intel on the witch she is trying to save. Giden is a character who has had a very traumatic past when it comes to witches. His experience spurred him to take part in the revolution which allegedly killed the Witch Queens, and created the Republic.

The book also ends on a heartbreaking cliffhanger ending. It's a good thing this is only a duology so that we don't have to wait several years to see how the game between Rune and Gideon plays out.

Heartless Hunter is a magical game of a cat and mouse chase between a witch and a witch hunter and I am absolutely here for ittttt!!!

This is my first Kristen Ciccarelli novel and it has far exceeded any expectations I had, I am utterly obsessed with our Love Interest characters, their chemistry and the way they can’t help being vulnerable and open with each other as they develop feelings despite the fact they are trying with all their might to play one another in a tense game of hide and seek.

In the past books about witchy romance have been very much a miss for me as I find them to modern and cheesy giving me the ick, but this book is absolutely perfection. It has a historic timeless vibe to it, but everything is easy to follow, dialogue included and it feels fun and fresh, a new voice that we have been missing in this genre until now.

I have nothing but high praise for this book. I love all the characters, the games of misdirection had me on the edge of my seat just waiting for somebody to get caught out.

The pacing of the chapters flowed perfectly, I loved the swap between his and hers POV, getting more information into the history of each LI whilst watching their clever plots play out in real time.

This is an easy 5⭐️ for me, an absolute must read, I cannot wait for the rest of the books to come in the series!!

Thank you to the author, st martins press and NetGalley for an advanced copy. This book is available for purchase now on BOTM website; or is released on Feb 20th 2024! You absolutely must get your hands on this one, don’t miss out!

YOU GUYS i did expect this to be that good. now, is it the greatest piece of american literature? no, but it served a delicious lil enemies to lovers moment and was exactly what serpent & dove was trying to accomplish (but much, MUCH better). it also had the tiniest sprinkles of acotar in there but what fantasy these days doesn’t- it doesn’t effect the plot or reading experience whatsoever so don’t getcha panties in a twist and get them in this book instead 😌 (i heard it too and i’m proceeding with it)

february 20th y’all!!! i better see this flooding my page!!!!

Language: R (18+ swears, 7+ "f" + British swears); Mature Content: R; Violence: PG13+
Basically, the story is that the main characters are attempting to seduce each other in order to further their own purposes. I wanted more of their magic and solving the mystery, but no. So I stopped reading.
The mature content rating is for alcohol use, innuendo, mentions of drugs and menstruation, nudity, groping, and sex. The violence rating is for blood, assault, gun use, suicide, and mentions of torture and murder.

Honestly I really struggled getting into this book. I felt like a lot of the plot was a stretch and the characters weren't very likable. I found myself hoping both of them would fail. The magic system seemed a bit confusing for me, it seemed inconsistent and I feel like there were a lot of options for how to obtain the blood needed. I don't know that this book was for me ultimately, so take my review with a grain of salt.

One of my favorite tropes is enemies to lovers, throw a little magic, fantasy, and witches in there and you’ve got me completely hooked. I will admit I was nervous going into this one because it was more on the YA side than the other fantasies I’ve read in the past, but that didn’t deter me at all. I couldn’t stop reading. The pacing was on point, fast and never feeling like it was dragging on or too slow. The world building wasn’t too complicated and I loved the uniqueness of the magic. And the spice & tension was definitely there! I really enjoyed it and can’t wait for the 2nd one.

A huge thank you to the publisher, Netgalley, and Kristen Ciccarelli for this e-arc!

Heartless Hunter by Kristen Ciccarelli ♥️
The Crimson Moth, Book 1
Duet

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
♾️♾️♾️♾️♾️
NA • Fantasy Romance
ARC Review
411 pages
🗓️ February 20th

🦋 romantasy
♥️ enemies to lovers
🦋 witch/witch hunter
♥️ cat/mouse game
🦋 best friend’s brother
♥️ barely-there love triangle (you know me so you know this had to be exquisite for me to be praising a love triangle 🤌🏼)
🦋 dual POV

📍“I want all of you, Rune. Not just tonight, but every moment from now on.”

Please, read this book.

Please, read this book.

Please, read this book.

📍“What if we fight all the time?”
“I’d rather fight with you than do most other things.”

Please, read this book.

Please, read this book.

Please, read this book.

📍“I’m afraid you’ll be the end of me, Gideon. Maybe you already are.”

Please, read this book.

Please, read this book.

Please, read this book.

*That’s the review.

P.S.: He played her. She played him. Love played them both.

This was a much anticipated read for me and I am so happy I snagged the BOTM copy for my shelf. I love enemies to lovers so much and the trope was strong with this one. A witch and witch hunter with some forbidden romance 😍 There were some plot twists in this one that I did not expect but loved. I think there was a brief moment when I found myself asking if this was going to be YA but it quickly turned into an adult fantasy again. It was very fast paced and I loved that. The world building was simple and the magic system was very intriguing. I love witches casting spells! Now I just need to know when we can expect the sequel because I need to know more about Gideon and the Crimson Moth!

This is a unique true enemies to lovers, best friend's older brother slow burn romance. The Witch and Witch Hunter both trying to seduce the others deepest secrets out of each other. Rune trying to save as many witches from their death as she can and Gideon trying to discover who is the Crimson Moth who keeps stealing criminals out from under the Blood Guard's nose.

Well, if it has witches, you can bet I am going to read it. I was so excited for this one and it did not disappoint!! Thank you for the arc, Netgalley!!

If you love enemies to loves and slow burn, put this one on your TBR immediately!

I had the opportunity to read Heartless Hunter by Kristen Ciccarelli thanks to NetGalley and I really enjoyed it. This story is a fantasy with a 'will they or wont they' romance mixed in. In this world Witches are outcasts and hunted, our main character goes to great lengths to save any remaining witches with the constant threat of being caught herself. Is there anything she will not to do save her kind? The infamous witch hunter suspects her and he happens to be the brother of her best friend.

Ciccarelli does a great job at depicting the intricacies of the relationships in this story without drawing it out- she does a lot with he 400 pages and the story is always pushing forward. As someone who reads high fantasy often I wish there was more world building and additional historical context. Ciccarelli is a fantastic writer (no overused phrases that one usually encounters in romantic fantasy) and put out a story that leaves me wanting more. I look forward to book 2.

PARDON???

literally crying and furious at the same time because how dare you kristen! break our hearts and then just end the book on that? i’m not emotionally okay

anyways, this book was amazing and i did not expect to be this head over heels for it. i loved rune and alex’s friendship and i loved the actual enemies to lovers tension between rune and gideon.

this book has actual stakes that made me have goosebumps while reading and tender moments that made me blush and swoon.

well done. now i need the next book soon okay?

**Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC. This review is my opinion**

Bruh... There's something about the enemies-to-lovers trope, especially with a witch and witch hunter, that gets me. I was so excited when I got this book early, and it did not disappoint! It has a smooth slow burn romance, which just makes things seem more realistic. Insta-love is a one-way ticket to me DNFing a book. Rune, our main gal, is a witch who must hide because her kind is hunted. I love that by day, she is one thing, but at night, she becomes this badass vigilante that rescues other witches from the hunters. When a woman fights back, it just hits me in the heart. I cannot stand wallflower or weak little damsel in distresses. Gideon, our hunter and love interest, is just as compelling as Rune. When they get entangled, the book takes off.

I look forward to Kristen Ciccarelli's next book!

I feel like many of the more mainstream and "hyped" books have been falling very flat for me recently, especially in the romantasy genre. This book sounds like something I would have been absolutely thrilled to read when I was college-aged, but now, at almost 34, I feel like I've read this book before, and it was better written the first time. Loosely based on The Scarlet Pimpernel (a book I absolutely loved in high school), this novel follows a witch undercover, sneaking persecuted witches out from under the nose of a (hot and sexy) witch hunter. In order to gain insider information on where incarcerated witches are kept, Rune (our heroine) decides to court Gideon (our morally grey hero). In order to follow a lead on the Crimson Moth (our Scarlet Pimpernel, see what they did there?), Gideon decides to court Rune. Everything a reader could possibly expect to happen, happens; both characters are irresistibly sexy, they are suspicious of each other but decide to get naked and make increasingly stupid decisions. The writing style was fine, but I never really got a sense of the world or the plot. The characters were poor portrayals of Pimpernel characters, and everything felt too easily figured out. The ending read so rushed, I almost couldn't believe the last few chapters were all we got. I didn't hate this book, exactly, but I was disappointed because there was a lot of potential here. Also, was this YA or NA? I was actually having a hard time figuring it out.

Thank you to Wednesday books for sending me the Netgalley widget of Heartless Hunter for me to read and review! This review is entirely my own thoughts and opinions based on the unfinished advanced digital copy of Heartless Hunter provided to me by the publisher.

*ੈ✩‧₊˚༺☆༻*ੈ✩‧₊˚

Heartless Hunter is a breath-stealing, thrilling Fantasy Romance of the hunted and the hunter, their dangerous cat and mouse game, and the dangers of emotions tangling into the mix. It's a story written to set you on the edge of your seat through the whole read, watching with utter fascination as the Rune and Gideon fall prey to another hunter—their own emotions.

*ੈ✩‧₊˚༺☆༻*ੈ✩‧₊˚

My Thoughts:

This story kept me thoroughly anxious from start to finish, I'm not kidding. Rune is the kind of main character I generally dislike. The kind that are so guilt ridden that they continue to put themselves in harms way in foolish attempts to absolve themselves of their "sins", even when better, healthier paths exist. But then we wouldn't have a thrilling tale to read if they did so, here we are. Gideon, however, is fantastic. Grumpy curmudgeon that I'm pretty sure gives the absolute best cuddles. His conviction of hunting down witches is understandable, especially once he opens up to Rune and reveals his history with the former witch queens. Together, their cat and mouse game and reluctant falling in love made for a tense read where Rune was one wrong move away from being caught and purged.

The writing was fabulous. Ms. Ciccarelli is an excellent storyteller. Despite the slow start to the book, she kept a tense atmosphere that perfectly fit the high stakes Rune was gambling with. And it was that tension that kept me turning the pages. Worldbuilding wise, Ms. Ciccarelli kept things simple, allowing for the tale to focus more on Rune and Gideon's romance, and allowing the reader to learn of their world through their actions, thoughts, and dialogue. It was well done and kept me purely focused on their romance and the mysteries surrounding Gideon and Rune.

All in all, this was a wonderful story that I'm so happy to have in my collection. I would highly recommend this for any fans of Romantasies, especially those that enjoy a good dark fantasy.

Wow I flew through this book, it’s was simply amazing. It gave me the same feels as serpent & dove but even better!! I can’t wait to learn more about this world and our main characters!

I cannot recommend this book enough if you love a good enemies to lovers to enemies? A witch and a witch hunter!!

This was a fun, quick, read about a witch, Rune, who lives in a world where witches are outlawed. She spends her time rescuing witches and ends up falling for a captain who is hunting her. Warning that it ends on a bit of cliffhanger. Definitely in the romantasy realm, and a slower-burn enemies-to-lovers. I didn't love the leading guy, and the world-building was a bit thin, but I did like the fact that the main character had to deal with some moral quandaries. Thanks to Netgalley and St Martin's Press for the ARC.

Okay if you throw regency romance, witches, witch hunters, and a whole lotta mystery into a blender you get Heartless Hunter(aka it’s SO good). The last 10% had me ready to throw my kindle out a window (I know I know it’s the first of a series I should have expected it) and by that I mean hand over the next book IMMEDIATELY.

This book has basically everything I enjoy: witches, scheming, romance, and a great plot twist. Also, I adore a duology- I think it's the best multi book format because it allows for so much action to be packed in! I already ordered a physical copy for myself and my mom because I know she'll enjoy it!

Thank you for the ARC!

This is a pretty solid Romantasy. It’s very much in the same vein as Serpent & Dove- which I really enjoyed, but HH didn’t feel as YA to me as S&D. If you like enemies to lovers, slow burn, cat and mouse, witch and witch hunter vibes- this is right up your alley. The world building isn’t overly complex, the characters are strong and the storyline had me hooked from the beginning. I really liked Rune. She’s a badass little vigilante trying to save her fellow witches while also trying not to fall for Gideon, captain of the witch hunting Blood Guard. Saucy. The last few chapters legit had me shook and after that cliffhanger, I am reallyyy looking forward to book 2.