I was pulled into the story of Rune and Gideon from the first page. I’m obsessed with Rune and the facade she had on, the way she outfoxed Gideon so often. The depth of their characters was really well done, with Gideon feeling so justified in his hatred for witches because of what he experienced at their hands, and Rune heartbroken she couldn’t save them all, fueled by guilt over her grandmothers death. Those peeks we got into their minds and the way they had started to understand each other near the end. I did kind of see the plot twist at the end coming, but I’m very excited for the next book and hopefully some bloody, very justified revenge. On both the hunters and a certain witch. Highly recommend.

Thank you to Netgalley and St. martin's Press for the ARC. Our main character Rune is a witch and she lives in a time of witch-hunters. During the day she is a socialite but a night she is the Crimson Moth. Rune wants to save all witches from death, but she has to get close to the witch hunter in charge. This is a first book in a duology and I can not wait for book 2.

I absolutely enjoyed this book. It was a great romantic fantasy! Set in a world where witches are hunted and magic is waning, the story follows Rune, a powerful witch who must hide her true identity in order to survive. But when a rescue mission goes wrong, Rune must take drastic measures to save her kind and gain valuable information.
The character of Rune is complex and intriguing. As the Crimson Moth, she is a fearless and skilled vigilante who risks her own safety to save others. But as a socialite, she is forced to play a different role and hide her true nature. This duality adds depth to her character and makes her all the more relatable.
The chemistry between Rune and Gideon, the handsome witch hunter, is palpable from the start. Despite their opposing beliefs, they are drawn to each other, making for an intense and passionate romance. Gideon's loyalty to the revolution and his duty as a witch hunter is constantly tested as he gets to know Rune and begins to question everything he thought he knew. The world-building is expertly done, with a perfect balance of magic and political intrigue and its also rich with detail which makes it captivating to read until the end. I highly recommend to fans of fantasy romance.

★ ★ ★ • 3

I ended up reading about 40% of the book before ultimately deciding that I wasn’t going to finish it, and would be DNFing it. I gave the book a three star rating as opposed to a two because the writing itself wasn’t terrible and clearly the author did put a lot of effort into world building… However, that said, the problem for me was that there was not a good balance of plot versus those world building details.

From the start of the book, a new character and/or place is seemingly introduced every other page… Making it difficult to keep track of who and what was relevant to the story, as well as what interactions miscellaneous side characters had with the main character (Rune) were important. As a result of that, it was difficult not to be completely apathetic towards every single character. I wasn’t invested in learning about them or following them through the storyline, because I was instead taking annotations in my best attempt to follow along with who-is-who.

So much of Heartless Hunter is spent on world building that very little of it is actually about anything happening to the characters that at 40% in, you still feel like you’re reading a prologue... Which is why, I decided to set this book aside. The concept and summary genuinely sounded appealing, but this far in it wasn’t enough to make it worthwhile to try and stick around to see if the story picked up at all in the later half of the book.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an ARC for review!

Wow!! What a thrilling ride!

Mark my words, this will be a favorite for 2024! Heartless Hunter will have you hooked from page one and staying up late into the night whispering "Just one more chapter". This was everything you could want from a YA romantasy!

Heartless Hunter was definitely a character-driven story and these characters are MESSY. I mean that in the best way! Rune and Gideon both think they're the cat in a game of cat and mouse. Rune's life turned upside down when the witches in power were overthrown. She's now doing her best to keep other witches from meeting their end without leaving traces of her magic. Gideon is her best friend's brother and the Captain of the Guard. He was a key player in the revolution and is currently responsible for sniffing out witches and arresting them. These two go toe to toe to attempt to get the information each one needs but find they might be in over their head. Sprinkle in a bit of a love triangle, ugh my heart.

We get a dual POV and that was a perfect choice to watch this story unfold. You realize some of the traps each one has set up for the other but you still get surprises and twists. There were moments where I was just like "oh no, you are done you big dumdum!" but just wait. Each POV felt important for the story and I felt like I had a really good grasp on who each character was.

Gideon and Rune both are dealing with trauma in real time for very different reasons. There really hasn't been much time that's passed since the fall of power and you're watching this power structure go from leaning from one extreme to the other and no one seems right. Ciccarelli has built an interesting world and magic system but has left it simple enough that it isn't overpowering the other aspects of this romantasy. The pace was engaging, the writing was coherent and the twists were satisfying.

One thing that I felt could have been fleshed out more is that we are told that Rune has been successful in her missions but we aren't really shown The Crimson Moth being slick enough to pull all of this off. The one time we are on a mission with her, I couldn't help but thinking "wow, you're both walnuts" and wondering how she's gotten this far. While Rune has to keep up the appearance of a vapid party girl, I think her character might have suffered a bit by not having *something* else going on in her day-to-day life. I'm not sure what that could have been but it just felt like there was a gap that needed to be filled.

This actually ended up being pretty steamy for YA so I would put it at the higher end of the spectrum. I'm not sure if it's because I'm 31 and reading YA so my perception is skewed but there were a few moments of dialogue in the beginning that came off as a bit juvenile but this didn't really happen again once the story got moving so I do think adults who still enjoy YA will like this.

All in all, this story felt fun, dangerous, and FRESH! There was a simplicity to Heartless Hunter but it was original and didn't try too hard to work in popular tropes and trending themes that often leave a plot a mess of confusion. I'm really on the edge of my seat wondering how we're going to get to a happy ending after how this wrapped up. I cannot wait for book two!

PS. I require emotional compensation for what happened there at the end. Yeah, you know the thing.

Book: Heartless Hunter
Author: Kristen Ciccarelli
Rating: 5 Out of 5 Stars

I would like to thank the publisher, Wednesday Books, for sending me an ARC. I am going to be honest. This is one of my anticipated reads of 2024, so I was very happy to have the chance to read it early. I’m glad I did. While this may not add anything new, I had a great time with it.

In this one, we follow Rune and Gideon, who live in on an island. Witches once ruled this island. A revolution happened and now being a witch is illegal. The Blood Guard, of which Gideon is a captain in, hunts down witches and ends them. The people must turn in anyone who is a witch. If you don’t, then you will face the wrath of the Blood Guard. The Blood Guard is on the hunt for a prize: the Crimson Moth. She is a witch helping other witches escape the Blood Guard and death. Gideon lives for the hunt. The only thing is that it’s Rune he is hunting. Rune is a party girl and enjoys high society. She is a witch. While she puts up this front of being a high society girl, she spends her nights getting witches out of the island. She knows her time is coming; she knows that she is suspected of being the Crimson Moth. Then, something unexpected happens: she and Gideon end up falling in love. Now, the cat-and-mouse game just got a bit more dangerous.

This is a young adult romance fantasy. It’s a trend that I know some people are getting tired of seeing, but I hope it doesn’t go away soon. While I don’t love it whenever the romance is the sole focus, I think it adds more to the fantasy genre. In this one, we have two people who are trying to avoid each other at all costs, but, yet, they end up being brought together. They did not intend to end up as a couple, but it happened. I love seeing the progression and formation of this relationship. I also happen to love enemies to loves, which is the trope this book leans heavily on.

Not only do we have the romance-fantasy bit going on, but this one happens to be very fast-paced. However, it’s not fast enough that the plot and the world-building are lacking. Now, keep in mind that this is YA, so its world is not as developed as some adult titles. We don’t get a lot of the world right away. We know that there was a revolution and that witches once were on top. At first, we don’t know what really happened and the end still has holes. We do know that witches mistreated some people and people thought they were too powerful. Again, it’s kind of vague until we get into the meat of the story as to what happened. I’m not going to go into details about what happened because I do want to keep my review spoiler-free. Once it is revealed what happened, we can see why certain people turned against the witches. It also explains why some characters are the way that they are.

While we do have a romance, the other characters add so much to the story. Rune has built up this core group of friends, who will do anything for each other. It is through this core group of friends that Rune and Gideon are familiar with each other. Seeing how woven everything shows me how well thought out and plotted this story is. We get glimpses into the characters’ pasts and get to see how their interactions with others moulded them into the people they are in the story. Some of them have a shared past. I mean, Gideon and one of Rune’s best friends, Alex, are brothers. They have a shared background but have handled the past differently. Rune has her scars and it is these scars that turned her into the Crismon Moth.

This book did not disappoint at all. It’s fast-paced, exciting, and full of high stakes. This one deserves to be hyped and deserves to be a bestseller. Don’t let the fact that it is YA turn you away. It reads like an upper level of YA. With that being said, there is content here that is not suitable for younger YA readers.

Overall, yes, I am very pleased with this book and glad that I got the chance to read it before its publication date.

This book comes out on February 20, 2024.

Youtube: https://youtu.be/7AhHa2ZdGcw

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for an arc of this book.

I absolutely loved this book! It gave me the same thrills of reading Serpent and Dove but this story is done in its own unique way. Every time I thought I could guess what was happening, I was proven wrong and completely surprised. I also liked that this book actually stuck with the enemies to lovers while it being actually true enemies. This is definitely a slow burn and I can’t wait to see how their relationship develops in the next book.

Her take on witches was unique and I really liked the little world building tidbits given at the beginning of some chapters. Overall, I can’t wait for the next book and I’ll be sure to read more from the author in the future.

The only complaint that I have is that this feels like it should be more NA than YA.

Really fun start to a series - I will definitely be picking up the next one! I really enjoyed the two main characters and their backstories as well as the alternating perspectives. I hope in the following books, more side characters get their stories fleshed out more, as it was hard to connect with most of them here. I also enjoyed the world building - not too hard to jump into as a fantasy novice.

A wild game of cat and mouse. A witch, known as the Crimson Moth, seeking atonement for a sordid past, and a witch hunter, a member of the Blood Guard, seeking revenge. Who is the hunter and who is the hunted? Enemies to lovers or lovers to enemies? It’s a risky dance and the lines are blurred.

Gosh! Maybe I’ll stop crying long enough to coherently review this, but forgive me if this review is a bit disjointed. From the beginning of the book to the ending, the only consistency it kept was entrapping me as a reader and leaving me wanting more. The magic and how it worked was explained, the plot was well executed, the characters were easy to connect with…it was an amazing read. The plot twists were crazy and just when you thought you figured out what was next, SURPRISE, you had NO idea. The ending left me SOBBING! I’m not sure how to move on from this. This will be the next BookTok/Bookstagram sensation, mark my words.

I need the next book in this series now.

Thank you to Net Galley, St. Martin’s Press and Wednesday Books for providing this ARC for me to review.

This book really surprised me. I loved the premise and the twists since some of them were really shocking. The romance was extremely compelling and I liked the minor love triangle. The main characters were really well-developed. The reason that this was not a 5 star read, even though it started that way, was that the last couple chapters lost me and seemed a little abrupt. I am still really excited to read the sequel.

Thank you Wednesday Books and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book was so fun! I love a witchy story and this fantasy romance was full of witchy intrigue and drama! I loved the romance building between the witch and the witch hunter, both hunting each other and trying to overcome their traumatic past. I liked that they both got into their work in different ways but begin to see that there are more layers to the story than the initially thought. The ending was so dramatic and left me wanting more! The second book can’t come out soon enough!

Thank you to NetGalley and Wednesday Books for this ARC in exchange for my honest review!

This was SO good! I love anything witch related and the enemies to lovers witch and witch hunter dynamic was fantastic. Maybe I am just the exact target market for this but it was one of my favorite ARC books I’ve read. The characters felt really flushed out and nothing felt rush. It was fast paced and some great twists. 5/5 stars and I think anyone who is a fan of romantasy/fourth wing/SJM books will love this

I will be withholding all reviews and promotion for St. Martin's Press titles and their imprints until the publisher addresses the concerns of BIPOC and Muslim creators who are being stalked, harassed and feel unsafe due to the actions of a racist employee.

I am going to start off by saying I screamed when I was approved for an early copy of this book and I was not disappointed! I absolutely loved this book! I stayed up all night reading this one. The cat and mouse - witch and witch hunter aspect delivered. The characters were amazing and everyone was so fleshed out, everyone had their own voice, motive, and personality. I have a feeling I just read my favorite fantasy book of 2024 and the year just started. If you like enemies to lovers and lovers to enemies this one is for you!

I greatly enjoying this! It reminded me a lot of Serpent and Dove at first but it quickly changes and you can see the differences in the story. I fell in love with Gideon very quickly and just loved his dedication to his cause, even if I didn't agree with it. He was a convincing character and I liked how he really resented Rune at first but then you can slowly see his feelings start to turn. I do wish there was a little bit more plot going on as the whole time Rune is just trying to find the other witch, but there are a few other things going on that kind of make up for it. The scenes where you get to seen Rune in her element were some of my favorite and I wanted to know more about the witch queens, but I am hoping there will be more information about them in the next book. Overall, I really enjoyed it!

5 stars!!

Heartless Hunter IMMEDIATELY sucked me in. It is superbly paced. Even with the world and magic system building, I didn’t feel like I was getting information overload at any point. Speaking of the magic system, I love the magic system. I love that it is limited and there are consequences. I hate when authors take the “easy way out” and at the final battle scene, a character saves the day with a random unknown power. Yes, it’s fantasy, but somehow it makes it more realistic!
I also love that it’s a REAL slow burn and that we don’t get any real Rune/Gideon scenes until 80%.
One thing I wish wouldn’t have been apart of the story, was Harrow pushing Gideon to see Rune naked so often. I get the point of the casting scars, but the way she was pushing him to sleep with her was just really creepy. Gideon found other ways to see her body without clothing, which I enjoyed, but still… I gave this 5 stars because I loved it, but I do have a problem with that.

Thank you for the ARC, full review will be posted to Goodreads upon release.

In a society where witches are hunted, Rune (the FMC) is a witch in hiding. Along with her bff, Alex (MMC #1), they strive to save others from the Captain of the witch-hunters, Gideon (MMC #2).

Rune realizes that seducing Gideon might be the best way to gather intel on his witch hunting escapades. Gideon suspects Rune may be the elusive witch-saver (not a word), the Crimson Moth. So, uh-oh! He's gonna have to seduce her right back. I was rubbing my hands with anticipation, because we're about to get 👏 in 👏 to 👏 it 👏.

However, I found the romance a little too "fade to black" for my liking, but the spicy embers are there and I did like Gideon and Rune's romantic interactions. But also, my heartstrings were pulled every time Alex tried to pour his heart out to Rune, as well.

🌶️/ 5

✨ Witches 🔮
✨ Enemies to lovers 💞
✨ Slow burn romance ❤️‍🔥
✨ Fake dating 👰
✨ Love triangle 🔺

I didn't catch onto the twist until it was pretty much staring me right in the face 🤷‍♀️. The end of the book moves really fast, as pieces of the puzzle start to fall into place. The book ends in a cliffhanger and I'll definitely be reading book 2.

* Thank you to St Martin's press and. NetGalley for my eARC in exchange for my honest review *

Enemies to lovers fans unite. The Heartless Hunter was a fast-paced, great romance that not only focused on the romantic aspects of the story, but the world its set in. Ciccarelli did a great job building the world out and providing the reader with understanding of just how the magic world is set up.

I quite enjoyed this book. I found the pacing to be well done, and the romantic chemistry was definitely there. The magic system was interesting if not terribly unique. The idea of witches creating artistic scars with their magic use was quite a lovely visual for such a grim task. I found myself compulsively turning pages, but the book did have some issues. Still, I tend to rate books based on how much I enjoyed them, so I'm still giving it 5 stars.

My biggest beef with this book is the timeline. The revolution only happened 2 years prior. They morphed from a monarchy to a republic seemingly overnight. It just didn't make sense to me, and it kept drawing me out of the story. New governments aren't exactly smooth sailing, so I feel like things should have been a bit more chaotic. It isn't really well explained what the current government looks like/how it functions aside from hunting and killing witches. It also isn't really explained what the witches were doing that was so abhorrent that the people would be cool with carving letters into the foreheads of children who were mere descendants of witch sympathizers. Gideon is 18 at the time of the revolution, then 2 years later he's the captain of the guard. He was a tailor. It is described that he learns to box but that's it. Eh. It just didn't add up for me. It gave me this negative vibe the whole time I was reading it, like something was not quite right.

I also felt that Alex and Verity's storylines were a bit contrived and convenient at times.

Also, why is it that Rune enchants a cup of wine, holds that cup of wine and experiences nothing until she drinks it, causing the spell to activate, yet she can use that same spell on (ARC so subject to change) "A coat. A shoe. A watch. I could enchant a thimble and slip it into his pocket." She ends up enchanting a jacket with the same spell, a jacket which is subsequently worn, but IIRP there wasn't anything mentioned about an effect from that. It was just confusing.

There's a point when Rune is asked to slit the throat of a witch. She fears that if she refuses she will essentially out herself, but she's been masking herself as a vapid rich aristocrat, so I would argue that it's much more likely that she would actually have refused if she stayed in character. Plus, it's taking place at a fancy dinner, and she's in a fancy dress, expected to slit the throat of a witch with a knife. I assume knives cease to be knives when they're big enough to avoid getting blood splatter on your gown when you use them. If it were big enough, why would anyone expect that a slight young woman would be able to wield it? The logistics don't pan out for me.

Still, I devoured it. I found it entertaining. I would absolutely recommend it. I definitely want to read the next one.

To quote David from Schitt’s Creek, I’m OBSESSED with this. Huge thanks to Netgalley and Wednesday Books/St. Martin’s for letting me read this e-arc! This is the first book I’ve ever read by Kristen Ciccarelli and I have no notes, this was perfect and exhilarating and wonderful and heartbreaking all at once. I fully intend to buy both the US AND the UK copies because they’re both gorgeous and I have no self-control. I’ve also heard rumors that some special edition book boxes (plural!) will be featuring this as well and I’m breathlessly awaiting them. There is no way to overstate how excited I am for the second half of this duology, and if that sequel does get put up on Netgalley please please please approve me for that one too, I’m trying not to foam at the mouth, I want it so badly.