Rune's life changed when a bloody revolution saw witches purged--including her beloved grandmother. In the two years since, she has become a witch known as the Crimson Moth, carefully freeing those captured by the Blood Guard. But to stay one step ahead of her enemies, she needs intel... and she thinks that if she can properly seduce Gideon Sharpe, a Blood Guard captain, then she'll be able to save many more lives. Gideon, on the other hand, has been hunting the Crimson Moth fervently, and when he comes by a piece of information that directs him towards Rune, he pretends to court her back. As their relationship becomes more complicated, Rune has to wonder--is there ever any future between two nemeses?

Witches are, apparently, back in vogue. Much like SERPENT & DOVE and NIGHT OF THE WITCH, HEARTLESS HUNTER features a witch and a witch hunter, perfect enemies embroiled in a love affair. So while the general setup isn't anything new, it can be utterly enchanting if done well. Ciccarelli, drawing inspiration from THE SCARLET PIMPERNEL, has created a cat-and-mouse novel that is less romantic than you may expect. 3 stars.

There were some really great things in this book. And there were some not so great things in this book. Let's start with the former. One thing I liked was that the two main characters, Rune and Gideon, are very morally gray--they are not perfect, and they aren't necessarily righteous. They are both scheming and lying for their own ambitions. And because the novel follows both of them (in third person) we get to see a lot of their complex characterizations. Both of them have difficult pasts, and even at the end of the story, you can't say with certainty that one of them is "on the right side."

Additionally, the magic system in this book is very well-defined. There are no loose ends; it's pretty black and white and doesn't leave you guessing. Magic of all sorts is possible, depending on the amount of blood and whether or not permission for its use was given. That, and the witch has to know the spell symbols. That's it. Beautiful in its simplicity. Refreshing in the way that even the lead character is forced to follow the rules.

However, there was one thing I didn't like, and it was kind of a major thing: the romance. To be perfectly honest, I would have liked this book better if it had not been promoted as a romance fantasy. As a romantasy reader, that feels like blasphemy... but I think it just felt like the relationship between Rune and Gideon was forced to become more real than it ever felt. I could believe that they were just pretending. I would have liked to see where they stayed ardent enemies, without the confusion over emotions or the quick belief that they had fallen in love (within weeks).

Telling me that they started to have real feelings for each other didn't warm my heart in the least. Also, it was hard to root for them when you have Alex, Gideon's brother and Rune's confidante and best friend, who is hopelessly in love with her and makes for a much better partner. Their relationship felt more organic to me, and it's very rare that I fall victim to Second Lead Syndrome. That being said, I would have liked to see more of Rune being the Crimson Moth--not just talking about it and planning for it, but doing--and more of Gideon being the great, cold witch hunter he's supposed to be, instead of romantic bits.

(Review posted to Goodreads on January 26, 2024.)

First thing I want to say is I would considered this book a New Adult due to having more adult aspects to the story. The categories need to be reconfigured for books that might be too spicy or triggering for an audience of 13-18.

Trigger Warnings: Murder, Blood(menstrual and cutting) for magic, mass murder of a group of persons, addiction, sexual abuse, public executions, semi-explicit sex scenes, skinny dipping, touch and kissing.

All that said - I ADORED this book and devoured it. I stayed up late reading it and finished it this morning because I had to know what was going to happen. I enjoyed the characters and the roles that they played through this book and I am a sucker for a witches and witch hunter type story. Ciccarelli chose to write witches that use bloody magic, but I loved the imagery of when they bloodlet to cut designs into their skin leaving silvery scars wherever the blood was taken for magic.

Rune lives her life after having to turn her Gran in for being a witch and how her motivation is to live and save as many witches as she can. She works alongside her friends to save witches from being murdered by pretending to be a socialite with a secret. When her mission of saving a witch, Seraphina, she ends up having to court her best friend's brut brother, Gideon, to achieve her goals. Gideon and Rune try and play one another to find out information about one another and eventually their relationship begins to evolve.

The ending of book has me itching for the next one and I can't wait to see what happens with these characters.

I have began to notice I love an enemies-to-lovers and a slow burn romance and that is what Ciccarelli brought to the table with this book. I was sad about the love triangle just because I adored Alex and thought his was what would be considered the perfect husband-type and it always seems like those characters never get the girl or achieve happiness like they deserve.

Thank you to NetGalley and Wednesday Books for the e-ARC for a review!

Not sure how I feel about this one honestly. It's very serpent and dove esque. However I hated S&D. I hate higher hopes for this one. While Rune was a better FMC than Lou, I still didn't love this story. It was good for the first little bit and then just went downhill. Gideon was supposed to be this man in charge and yet was taking orders from someone meant to be an informant. Someone telling him to have sex with Rune to see her completely nude. Pushing for it and you clearly see he is uncomfortable with this. Especially with his background and past with being abused and with SA. Pretty gross honestly.

The concept of the book was great but the execution fell a little flat. Wish we would have also seen more of the magic system and Rune being this Crimson Moth. I felt there was hardly any growth for the characters too. Especially Gideon who clearly needs inner reflection on things if there was ever a chance for him and Rune to be together. I get why he hates witches, but I also feel like Rune didn't try to make him see not all witches are evil.

Thank you so much to netgalley and the publisher for the chance to read the earc in exchange for an honest review. I will not be sharing a review to socials unless Wednesday books gets with the program and denounces genocide.

I truly loved everything about this book up until the 80% point. But even the ending has me absolutely dying for the next book. Unlike many others I’ve read, this book is ACTUALLY enemies to lovers and I found myself contemplating how Rune and Gideon would come back from this. By far one of the best books I’ve read in a long time. The writing was great, I loved the dual POV, the relationship struggles were legitimate and I’m absolutely devastated that I have to wait for book 2.

I LOVED this book! The love triangle, the angst, the deceptions and the friendships were wonderful!

This book had a strong plot, and characters that were so relatable & well developed! I felt like it had a good pace, I enjoyed the shorter chapters and Gideon was hands down my favorite male lead!

It reminded me of the Crucible, where witches were hunted & shunned by the community. I really enjoyed the element of her being a vigilante, and rescuing witches that weee tortured as a way to purge her own conscience for letting her grandmother being handed over to the blood guard! Overall a great book! I will definitely read more from this author!

4.5/5 Stars

I enjoyed exploring this unique post revolution dystopian fantasy world in which witches are persecuted by humans after the humans overthrew the ruling witches. The magic system is based on using blood to draw symbols and how the blood is obtained to draw the symbols may affect the magic strength and after effects. Due to the setting of the book, the magic did take a little bit of a back seat in the plot but I am excited to learn more about it as the series progresses.

I felt like all of the main characters were well developed and had great backstories. I felt for the characters and they were fun to follow. The book focuses on the secret witch, Rune, and the famed witch-hunter, Gideon, as they play mind games and attempt to uncover secrets from another. The author’s writing did a great job in building tension and empathy for the characters. The writing was easy to read and was paced well throughout the book. I also thought some of the romantic lines were very heartwarming and will leave you smitten.

The plot was fairly straight forward as most of the book focuses on the relationships and trying to meet fairly simple goals. I will say there is some mystery that ends up sneaking up on you because the author was so sly in planting hints throughout the book. This is definitely a book that may make you want to reread to see if you can find all the hints.

I ended up enjoying this book a lot more than I expected based on the synopsis. I felt like the tension and romance reminded me a lot of The Jasad Heir but less enemies to lovers and more fake dating and adversaries to lovers adjacent. I’m having a hard time categorizing which tropes this book has because it is such a unique take on a fantasy romance. If you are tired of the typical romance tropes and are looking for something with some tension and intrigue, this book is for you!

I’d like to thank NetGalley and Wednesday for providing me with an advanced copy of this book for my honest review.

So thankful to have received this netgalley arc because I ate this book up. I felt the story was well constructed, the magic system was explained well, and the pacing was good.
I cared about the characters, and the will they won’t they game between Gideon and Rune. The reveal at the end broke my heart and actually shocked me.
I really appreciate when a book can invoke emotions and I’m glad to say that this one certainly did.
4/5 stars

Let’s start with the things I liked about this book:

I thought the world building and blood magic system was really cool. The whole idea of being “The Crimson Moth” at night & a socialite by day.

Now the things I didn’t like as much:
I did not buy Gideon as the love interest. I was expecting a lot more banter and scheming between them but only got that maybe one time in the mine. I didn’t really see how they both suddenly went to loving each other, it didn’t feel like a smooth transition. Gideon also reminded me of serial killers who are traumatized in their youth who then go on to murder woman “because” of it… which doesn’t necessarily make me like him as a love interest.

I also would’ve loved to see Rune as the Crimson Moth more, we only get that one time in the whole book.

Despite all that I do really think the next book in the series has a lot of potential so I’ll be continuing the series when it comes out.

Rune Winters is a witch in hiding. After the fall of the Sister Queens, most powerful witches in history, witches are being hunted and purged. Fighting in memory of her grandmother, Rune becomes The Crimson Moth, a vigilante saving fellow witches from the Blood Guard and helping them escape the island. In order to get information on the whereabouts of a powerful witch, Rune will need to court a witch hunter, Gideon Sharpe. Believing Rune is an aloof socialite, Gideon plants clues to catch The Crimson Moth and soon suspects they are one and the same.

Heartless Hunter was alike to Bridgerton with witches and a slightly gothic background, featuring the popular romance trope enemies to lovers. Although I liked the setup and atmosphere, it was very repetitive and slow paced at times. Especially in the first half in regard to different spells and blood magic, very simple system to follow so it didn’t need to repeat as much as it did.

Like many YA novels, this book doesn’t develop to include many characters that are older than the demographic, it seems like the government is ran by young adults. I found many themes problematic. Witches are presented as female only, a menace to society making them out to be evil and dangerous (ie. to men), at the same time the only way for them to use their magic is by self harm.

I wished there was more world building overall, it was very small and the romance felt forced. I didn’t think Rune and Gideon had chemistry or characteristics to make them stand out amongst the plethora of Romantasy novels on the market currently. The book was disjoined making it seem like two different novels from the first half to the second, ending in a lot of chaos and violence.

Trigger warnings: self harm + scars, blood magic (a lot of talk about blood), death

Thank you to the publisher for an early copy to review.

I could not put this book down— it completely stole my heart, and I’m dying for a second already! I love both Rune’s and Gideon’s characters so much, and I love the gray area found in the warring backdrop of this plot. I love that the battling sides weren’t so black and white, and I love how the book caused me to question which side I was on as we learned more and more of the lore. And the twist at the end— wasn’t expecting that at all.

I think this is going to be a popular book once it releases! A game of cat and mouse between a witch and a witch hunter, Heartless Hunter was a fun fantasy ride with characters and story I can’t wait to keep reading about. Both Rune and Gideon were written so well. I loved getting insight into their backstories and seeing their dangerous relationship grow. The magic system here was really interesting and I liked getting little descriptions about the different levels of spells throughout the book. The pacing was pretty steady. There was a lot of action and events happening to keep things interesting. The big twist I definitely didn’t see coming and it was such a cool one. I’m really looking forward to the rest of the series!
CW: murder, violence, mentions of addiction

Thank you to Wednesday Books for an advanced digital reader’s copy in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you Netgalley and Wednesday Books for the chance to read an ARC of Heartless hunter by Kristen Ciccarelli. The author has been on my TBR list, and I am so happy I started with Heartless hunter (Crimson moth #1) I was totally drawn into the book at the very beginning. The main character Rune, is a witch, hiding in plain sight as a frivolous socialite during the day, and witch vigilante, the Crimson moth at night. Standing in her way is Captain Gideon Sharpe, who vows to eradicate all witches. As Rune and Gideon enter in a subtle game of cat and mouse, will both of them fall into the dangerous trap of love?
I was really intrigued by the world building of the YA fantasy; how casting magic has a price, and the love triangle between Rune, Gideon, and Rune's best friend Alex, who is Gideon's younger brother. There are some fabulous twists, and I can't wait until the 2nd book comes out.
While this is described as a YA, I feel it is more for older teens.

Wow wow wow this took grip of my fantasy heart and stole it. This book is SO good! I couldn’t put this book down - a strongly recommended read! I need a physical copy the moment it comes out - need me a physical trophy!!!

3.5 stars

A quick and enjoyable YA. While I thought the plot and twists were predictable, I liked the back and forth between the two main leads. The love triangle was trite, but (spoiler) the ending sort of resolves it. I am looking forward to the sequel.

Witches are no longer welcome in the kingdom and have been systematically rooted out and brutally killed. Rune is more than she appears - vapid socialite to most, but witch rescuer to others. But has she bit off more than she can chew when she decides to try to ensnare Gideon Sharpe, the kingdom's most relentless witch hunter, into her social circle? Or will he instead ensnare her? Swoony scenes will steal your breath, while you wait for the trap to be sprung. Recommended for high school and up

🤍 Thank you for @wednesdaybooks the e-arc of Heartless Hunter by @kristenciccarelli ! 🤍

This. Book. It was dazzling, gritty, exciting, addictive, and romantic. Also, it was so much fun to read it with my book bestie @and.a.good.book!!!

Gideon and Rune were two such strong characters. A lot of darkness has defined most of their lives, shaping them into destined enemies.

But when they are together?! It was an explosion of angsty chemistry.

A witch and a witch hunter. What could go wrong?

If you love:
• enemies to lovers
• fake dating
• Scarlet Pimpernel retelling
• first in a duology
• so. much. tension.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★/5
Steam: one open door scene
TW: blood, violence, death, physical and s*xual abuse (off page)

Heartless Hunter/The Crimson Moth was absolutely captivating from the first page to the very end.. Some of my quick thoughts:

- Ciccarelli's characters were so well flushed out, Our two main characters were equally cunning and clever, which made the Dual POV enjoyable to read. The cat and mouse game between the witch x witch hunter was absolutely addicting. Every time I thought one character had the upper hand on the other, the tables kept turning and turning.

- THE MAGIC SYSTEM. One thing I stan in fantasy books is a hard and well-thought out magic system. I liked that this one was so unique. (TW: blood, self-mutilation) The use of fresh blood and even Rune's menstrual blood was a little ick, but I liked the clear distinction of spells causing a different effect whether the blood was 1. fresh or old and 2. if it was given freely or forcibly taken. The witches also having distinct casting scars and signatures/smells really upped the stakes with them being hunted and purged.

- I agree with a lot of my fellow readers that this book may not have been placed in the correct genre. It definitely felt a new more NA than YA, in my opinion- especially with the traumatic history of Rune and Gideon and some of the subject matter. The amount of chemistry/angst though was just the right amount. 👌🏼

- The overall pacing of the book was pretty consistent- the last sentences of each chapter made it difficult to want to put the book down, which is always a great thing. The last 10% of the book really ramped up and hello?? that ending 🥹😮‍💨. I can honestly say I have no idea how the next book will unfold, but I'm here for the ride.

Thank you Netgalley and Wednesday books for the early copy in exchange for my honest thoughts/opinions. In solidarity with the SMP boycott, I will be withholding from posting my review on Goodreads and instagram until the demands of the boycott are met.

NO. NO I REFUSE TO BELIEVE ANY OF THE ENDING. NO THANK YOU PLEASE.

BRING ALEX BACK.

LET RUNE AND GIDEON LOVE EACH OTHER.

TELL VERITY/CRESSIDA TO BE NICE

4.5 stars for Heartless Hunter by Kristen Ciccarelli!

This books had me hooked quickly. I loved the deception of Rune and getting to see the dual POV of how the main characters were attempting to manipulate and play off of each other. The plot had a great pace and the twist at the end took me by complete surprise. The world building in this was great and fairly straight forward, which I think makes it a great novel for new and seasoned fantasy readers alike . I am very much looking forward to the second!

I could not take this book seriously.

Immediately, I just had a problem with the characters, specifically the love "triangle" between Rune and the brothers. It was a half-baked idea and so extremely unwise and unlikely that Rune would trust Alex with literally anything when she knows how loyal he is to Gideon. Why does she not marry him and then use the intel she could get from him? At one point, it's stated that it would be "impractical" for her to "freely glean" information from him. I'm sorry: In what world does that even make sense? I'm supposed to believe that Gideon is such a ruthless bad boy (at 20, mind you) from his (mishandled) traumas and yet Rune, who was forced to turn in her own grandmother in order to carry on her underground witch rescues, isn't made more ruthless by her own trauma? And yet she has no idea how Alex feels about her but will string him along for help with her witch rescues? How cruel is that??? The emotional stakes are absent.

So many tropes and nothing interesting done with them. And with a name like 'Rune' how is she not suspect no. 1 for the Crimson Moth?

This one was not for me.