This book falls under the SMP boycott, so my review is withheld for now. Wednesday Books falls under this boycott as an imprint of St Martin’s Press

This book oh my... Rich in characters and story this book absolutely swept me off my feet! I loved Rune and her story and her determination to help other witches. And Gideon matches her perfectly even as a witch hunter. Their story was swoony and frustrating all at the same time! This was a fast paced read filled with so many emotions and such strong world building. By far one of the best fantasy books I've read in a long time. And that cliffhanger ending... Grrr! I want more!

I have no idea how this book crossed my radar, but I'm so glad it did. It was a fresh approach to the witch theme, focusing less on the spells a witch conjures, and more on the witches themselves.
How does one discover their power?
Who supports them?
Who wants to destroy them and why?

Most of this story takes place at a time when witches are believed to be the root of all evil. Did some witches become obsessed with power, take advantage of that power in a very bad way, giving all witches a bad name? Yes.
But our heroine, Rune Winters, is not a bad witch. Still coming into her powers, she is trying to right the wrongs that led to her grandmother's death. And while she has good intentions, it puts her in the crosshairs of a man trying to right his own wrongs, by ridding the land of all witches.

At first, I didn't care for Gideon Sharpe, head of the Blood Guard. However, with time, we get his story and why he hates witches so much. Everything made sense, and I actually felt myself siding with him. So where does that leave Rune? Stuck in a big clusterfuck, including a love triangle, which all comes to a head near the end of this book.

As book one in a series, this does end in a cliffhanger. There are so many open questions, and I'm eager to see where this story leads.

Witch lovers, make sure to add this to your TBR!!

Note: for fans of retellings, this is loosely based on The Scarlet Pimpernel.

First and foremost, I want to give the biggest thank you to NetGalley and St Martin's Press for this arc in exchange for an honest review!

”She was drowning, and he was air. She hadn’t even realized how much she needed him until he was gone.”

The Heartless Hunter is a cat-and-mouse duet that will have you hooked from the start and I truly hope it receives the hype it deserves in 2024 because this book had me internally SCREAMING on all parts and ends on such a flawless cliffhanger. If you enjoyed Bridgerton and like reading bout witches, this book is for you because it is a perfect mix of the two.

Kristen Ciccarelli creates a story that surrounds two MCs with a dual POV, Rune Winters, and Gideon Sharpe. Rune is a ditsy socialite by day and a witch vigilante who protects witches from being captured and purged by night. Gideon is a witch hunter within the Blood Guard set on purging witches and finding the bane of his existence, the Crimson Moth. Finally, Gideon discovers intel of a merchant ship that smuggled two young witches out of the New Republic and it leads him to none other than Rune. The two MCs decide to court each other to use the other to their advantage. Rune, to use Gideon's position for intel to help her protect her identity and save more witches, and Gideon for wanting to catch the Crimson Moth. But what happens when the facade becomes real?

I am normally not one for YA novels, but Ciccarelli manages to write the book in a manner that does not make it feel as though it is shallowly written for high schoolers with cringy spice scenes that most YA novels have. My rating for spice level is 2/5 but I enjoyed the slow burn of The Heartless Hunter and hope to see more in the second book.

"It shocked her out of her stupor. Rune was no longer the mimic spider, luring her victim into a trap. She was inside her own trap . . . about to be devoured by her prey."

I wholeheartedly believe that Gideon Sharpe will be a 2024 favorite when it comes to morally grey boyfriends because he is a character that you will love to hate, but also want a happy ending for when you discover more and more about him. This enemies-to-lovers trope is such an unexpected but welcomed plot that keeps you on your toes and I am here for it. I also appreciated how many layers Ciccarelli gave the characters, rather than making them one-dimensional. The banter was exceptional and I was constantly on the edge of my seat from how fast-paced this book is. The amount of unexpected twists and turns leave you wanting more, especially the ending.

The Negatives: I do agree with other reviews that mention how the world-building could have been better, but I am desperately hoping we will see more within the next book. Ciccarelli focuses a lot on the characters, but I needed more in the plot because I have many questions. Specifically, why is it that witches are being purged only in the New Republic but live in harmony with others in Caelis? Are they truly accepted in other parts of the world? What are the power dynamics like among witches? Why mention Rune's merchant business but not explain what it entails? My only other qualm with this book is that it seems to lack diversity. Again, hopefully, this is something we will see within the second book, but I wish there had been at least some.

All in all, I do strongly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys romantasy novels and witches. I truly hope that Ciccarelli receives the hype and success she deserves from this book because it is such a wonderful story that I did NOT want to put it down and read the entire thing in one sitting. This book is dark, emotional, tense, and still manages to give you hope. I am thoroughly excited to see what comes next for Rune and Gideon!

*spoilers*


The plot, writing, and ending were good..

But I also don’t care for Gideon. I see his perspective but he’s giving …storm trooper vibes, idk. I empathize for his past and how he got to be so loyal to his position, but unlike Rune, I’m not so quick to forget what he has done in that uniform and what it stands for! I typically love a grumpy to everyone-but-her, brooding, dark haired love interest.. but I just wasn’t buying their relationship and didn’t develop a crush on him.. and book crushes are important.

The witch vs witch hunter storyline got away from itself, probably to develop the romance.. which happened REALLY fast, but despite my genuine sadness at the end.. I do like how it came back around tenfold in the end. I’m here for them being true enemies now. Not just by their titles and awkward history.. but after what happened in book one, it’s personal.

Rune might have been “more than meets the eye” but I still didn’t find her entirely likable. I spent a lot of this book thinking about how Rune is oblivious/doesn’t deserve Alex.. and I felt that way up until the last page. I am more devastated about him than she was. If Rune knew Alex was in love with her, but wasn’t interested at all… you have to respect thats her choice and you can’t force something that isn’t there. But to claim she NEVER KNEW ..never saw it.. girl, come on. But okay, he’s your best friend. He tried to put boundaries with her about his brother in multiple ways, which she disregarded. And then she’s immediately skinny dipping with his brother who she has exchanged minimal words with for years.. and none of them pleasant.. to like a week later being in love and losing her v sleeping with him? Even as a friend to Alex, she was being selfish and shortsighted for that.. no matter her ultimatum. He makes her feel safe, he’s her oldest friend, closest thing she has to family.. and yet she didn’t see him truly, when he is the only person who saw her truly. And that’s sad!!

Her unfair treatment of Alex + the instalove is really what’s holding me back from being a bigger fan of this book. Even in the end she’s like “Alex ☹️……so sad………………… I wish Gideon was here because without him hunting me I feel incomplete” like please be for real.

Will I read the next one? Yeah probably. I do want to know what happens next. Hopefully Rune grows up and Gideon is less of a boot licker.

𝑻𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒌 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒔𝒐 𝒎𝒖𝒄𝒉 𝑵𝒆𝒕𝑮𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒆𝒚 & 𝑺𝒕. 𝑴𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒔 𝑷𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑨𝑹𝑪!

“A steamy game of cat and mouse”

and that it was!

This story captivated me like no other has. One page in and I was immediately hooked. It also.. broke my heart a little because WHAT was that ending?!?!

I’m a sucker for a good Enemies to Lovers trope and she did not fail to deliver! The drama never ended, and the deception never seemed to end, either. The twists and turns really kept me hanging on!

This was hands down my favorite book of 2024, and I’ll excitedly be waiting in anticipation for the next part! 🤍

Y’all the way I ate this up. What a rollercoaster this book was and I really wish book 2 was about to come out.

I honestly loved every bit of it, I saw this was going to be like the serpent and dove book since you know witches and witch hunters but oh my, I was not ready for this book and I don’t think any of you all are haha. It was just that good!

The slow burn and chemistry between Rune and Gideon had me melting lol they’re such good characters. Both with tragic backstories and you cannot help but feel for them. I really loved how both of them were scheming for their own gain and were victims to their own trap. Every single scene they were together it was perfection. Like the romance was so well thought and I will never say again I don’t like certain tropes. I mean I don’t like fake dating trope but the way this one was done it was just amazing. So is not the trope y’all, it’s about how it’s done. You guys GIDEON AND RUNE GIDEON AND RUNE y’all are going to love this couple!

The magic system was so good too! Like at the beginning it felt weird because of what was needed to do magic, specially what Rune uses to do her spells but the more you read the more it makes sense so it wasn’t something that bothered me.

My friend and I were texting making up assumptions of what was going to happen next while we were reading and although we figured one of the twists instead of being annoyed I was extremely excited because there was so much we did not see coming.
Also beware this author will make you fall in love with some characters and then rip your heart out and that should be the main reason for you to pick up this book lol.

If you love witches and with hunter romance, forbidden love, magic, enemies to lovers and a well done story. This is for you!

If you are looking for a witchy, enemies-to-lovers, Dual POV fantasy romance you will be delighted by this book. Rune is a socialite by day and rescues witches by the dark of night. Gideon is definitely a heartless hunter and will do anything in his power to catch the infamous Crimson Moth. Rune and Gideon find themselves playing each other to gain information and end up with a deadly attraction to one another. Can they make it work or will their secrets ruin them? The scenes with Gideon and Rune had me on the edge of my seat wondering if one of them would slip and let their deceit show. Rune was masterful at outsmarting her potential captor but he captures her heart instead.

This is a wonderful new romantic fantasy that will have you begging for the next installment. 4.5 stars

Many thanks to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press, Wednesday Books and Kristen Ciccarelli for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I’m just going to start this review off strong and say I LOVED this book!
I have been in a bit of a book slump and this book finally pulled me out of it. I wish I knew the exact things that make me get hooked into a book, and become immersed in the writing, but whatever it is - this book has it.
I loved the premise, the story, the push and pull between Rune and Gideon. The pining of Alex and the overarching sense of duty that compelled Rune at every turn.
The writing was so smooth and beautifully descriptive, without being drawn out or overwhelming. I loved that the world building didn’t feel forced, but rather naturally fit into the descriptions and discussions between characters.
My only issue now is that I need the next book!

Thank you Netgalley for this arc in exchange for an honest review. I completely devoured this book. It took me less than 48 hours to finish this book. I was in love with the characters and the world and I’m completely obsessed! I love a dual POV enemies to lovers and this brought that and so much more. Seeing inside of Gideon and Rune’s minds added extra layers to the story that made it so hard to put down. Though I guessed some of the twists I was very surprised by different parts of the story. I can’t wait for this series to continue and I’m a bit sad that I read the arc so I have to wait even longer 😂

Wow. I loved this book!

This story follows Rune, who is a witch in hiding in a republic where being a witch is punishable by death. She is also a vigilante known as The Crimson Moth who frees captured witches before they can be killed by night and masquerades as a wealthy shallow socialite by day. When a witch who was her grandmothers best friend is captured before Rune can find her, Rune is desperate to free her.

Gabriel is a witch hunter who has been trying to discover the identity of The Crimson Moth for 2 years. He suspects Rune and decides to court her to determine if she is the vigilante witch. Rune has also decided to seduce Gabriel to try and find out where her grandmothers friend is being held.

As they both try to get information from the other, their feelings grow.

Anyone who loves stories about witches or loves fantasy romance will absolutely love this story. The world is very easy to follow and the characters are all well developed. The dynamic between Rune and Gabriel is sizzling and the plot twist, though heavily foreshadowed, was great.

I received an ARC from Netgalley but all opinions are my own.

I was immediately drawn in, thought it was fairly fast paced and the plot twist had my jaw drop! Rune is so fierce and clever, and I just adored her. There was great tension between her and Gideon, and this is another example of where I think enemies to lovers was done right, mostly because each character has very valid reason to be at war with the other. I enjoyed their cat-and-mouse games so much, especially as they both tried to extract information but ended up falling in love instead. The ending was absolutely heartbreaking and I really don't know if there will be an HEA for Rune and Gideon! With the way it ended, it sounds like there will be another book and I can't wait!

I'll be sharing an official review on my Instagram page during relase month, but below is a link to where I already started talking about this book on my page and shared the synopsis with my followers.

Top tier romantasy enemies to lovers!! At LEAST 5 stars! Rune is such a complex female fantasy heroine, I love her so much and she was relatable (even though she's a witch lol) in so many ways that made me love her even more! Gideon is everything I wanted him to be and he has such a way with words that makes me teary to think about!! Only reason I'm sad that I read this as an ARC is that that means I have to wait even longer for the sequel! Just means I will have to reread a lot until then!

I really loved this book! I totally felt the draw between the characters and the tension from the storyline and character chemistry. The overall plot was great though I was able to foresee some of the twists earlier on than Id prefer. It was well written, world was clearly described and a page turner! Very very excited to see where book 2 will go!

Oh my gosh, I loved this book! It had everything I was looking for and more. The characters are amazing and well written and the story. Ooh, it was so good. I read this so fast!

I wanted to finish this book in one sitting and had to force myself to breathe in between chapters because I was completely immersed in this world. The writing is so clever and the pacing was extremely easy to follow. I absolutely loved the magic system and the whole development of it was so enchanting and thrilling. There wasn't a moment in the book where I felt like things were getting boring. I really loved the way the author set up reveals in the story and the development of both Gideon and Rune, both individually and together, was so entertaining. It was easy to sympathize with both characters, but this also made it incredibly nerve-wracking to guess how their story ends. There's definitely an emotional layer to this story as we get to know more about both main characters' backgrounds and the author did a great job showing the complexity of both characters. Rune is such a strong and smart character and I'm very curious to see how she is going to work everything out. I also really liked seeing the humane side of Gideon. This book is full of tension and intricate twists and there is such a fantastic game of cat and mouse between the two characters. I'm really looking forward to seeing what happens and while I'm nervously waiting for the sequel, the unpredictability of it all makes it far more exciting.

4.5⭐️

I knew it! I knew the author had to be a fan of the Scarlet Pimpernel because as soon as I was done with the last word, the first acknowledgement was to the author of the Scarlet Pimpernel. This book is everything that I loved about Scarlet Pimpernel, the cat and mouse chase between opposing forces, spearheaded by the clever ruses of Rune Winters. There’s magic, heartbreak, choosing sides when there’s no one good side.

I enjoyed reading this so much that it makes me sad that this is only an eARC (thank you NetGalley) of the first book. I’m ready for book 2. I am going to buy this book and put it in my classroom for my students to borrow.

Rune spends her days pretending to be a vapid socialite, but her nights as the Crimson Moth, rescuing her fellow witches in danger of being purged by the Revolution. Witch hunter Gideon loathes everything that daylight Rune represents, but suspects her true powerful secret identity. They each conspire to court the other in order to discover valuable intelligence for their own side.

I do enjoy a good enemies-to-lovers trope, but the characters in this just didn’t have enough depth to make it interesting. The romance sort of fell flat; I wanted to know what happened in the story without actually feeling invested in any of it.

I think the book will still appeal to a large segment of romantic fantasy fans, and the cover design is one of the most beautiful I’ve seen.

Thank you so much to Wednesday Books and Netgalley for the book to review!

Thank you to Netgalley for an ARC of Heartless Hunter! All opinions are my own.

This was such an easy 5 stars. I LOVED this book. I loved the setting, loved the world building, loved the characters, loved the magic system and rules. I loved (hated) the heartbreaking ending and cliffhanger. I loved the realistic enemies to lovers romance, and the way the various characters felt torn by their feelings for each other and their morals. I did not see the twists coming. I thought this book was so well-written, from the plot, to how the characters thought through their conflicts and indecision, to the world building and fantasy elements. I cannot wait for book 2! But I am also scared for book 2, ya know?

This book is beyond amazing! Each page drips with magic and enchantment. I read it in just a few days, because I could not put it down! Witches and Witch Hunters and an ending that will take your breath away! The characters are so well developed and unexpected develops leave you spell bound with the story! I am so excited for Book 2! Thank you #St. Martin's Press and #Netgalley for this magical book!