I really enjoyed the start of this new series and am excited to read what happens next. The ending had me on the edge of my seat and I loved and understood both Gideon and Rune and their history.

Thank you for the early copy!

i dont even know what to say except 😍! really loved it. i think everyone will love this book it’s literally soo so so so good!!

Heartless Hunter by Kristen Ciccarelli is a thrilling and
immersive story that combines elements of enemies-to-
lovers, forbidden romance, and witchcraft. Set in a world
where witches are hunted and persecuted, the book
follows the charismatic protagonist, Rune Winters, who
leads a double life as both a society heiress and the
vigilante known as the Crimson Moth. The intricate
character development and morally complex portrayals
make this story a standout in the genre.
One notable aspect of Heartless Hunter is the presence
of a well-crafted and balanced magic system. The
prevalence of checks and balances, as well as the
consequences of wielding powerful spells, adds depth
and realism to the story. This innovative approach to
magic sets the book apart in the realm of YA/NA fantasy
and demonstrates the author's creativity and attention to
detail.
With its fast-paced plot, intense cat-and-mouse scenarios,
and a tantalizing romance, Heartless Hunter is sure to
satisfy fans of fantasy romance. The chemistry between
Rune and Gideon, the hunter determined to capture the
Crimson Moth, is electric, and their relationship unfolds in
a captivating manner that keeps readers on the edge of
their seats. This book is an exciting start to what promises
to be a captivating series, and readers will eagerly
anticipate the next installment. It's is a fast-paced and
enthralling tale that weaves together elements of fantasy,
romance, and suspense. Kristen Ciccarelli's skillful
storytelling and intricate world-building create an
immersive reading experience, while the complex
characters and forbidden romance add depth and
intensity to the narrative. Recommended for fans of
fantasy romance and anyone seeking a thrilling and
unpredictable journey.

The central romantic relationship was well drawn and compelling and theoretically, I could see the scarlet pimpernel and revolution-era France inspirations working well to give both protagonists a genuine stake and side. I think, though, the class conflict that was hinted at meshed poorly with the "only women are witches" traditional structure and that blend muddied both the world-building and sympathy for Gideon, who was otherwise very compelling. The ending as well fell apart for me, as did the character of Alex. All that said, I could see myself recommending this to someone looking for a new romantasy series.

This book started off strong for me, especially with how easily accessible the world building is. The political intrigue and forbidden romance hooked me immediately. However, about halfway, the book started to fall a little flat for me. I especially wanted more from the final conflict. In terms of plot, it felt rushed and underwhelming outside the romance. The plot twist, too, didn't surprise me or satisfy me in the way I wanted. Even still, if you're looking for your next enemies-to-lovers, romantasy book, I would recommend giving this one a try. It's a duel-POV, forbidden romance that promises a pining next installment with an added layer to Rune and Gideon's relationship.

Thank you NetGalley for this eGalley in exchange for an honest review!

This scintillating forbidden enemies to lovers romance between witch and witch hunter should be up next in your romantic fantasy stack!

Rune Winters adored her grandmother who raised her and also happened to be a witch. After the witch hunters purged her, Rune vowed to protect the rest of witch-kind as best as she could. As she inherited her grandmother’s fortune, she plays a socialite by day and the Crimson Moth witch vigilante by night with the help of her close friends Alex and Verity. But the witch hunters are hunting the Crimson Moth and trying to uncover her identity. And first in line is Gideon Sharpe, Alex’s brother.

So Rune and Gideon find themselves in a cat and mouse game. She’s falling for him even though she knows he’s hunting her secret witch identity. He doesn’t know if she’s a witch or not, but does know that she’s the perfect match for him. Together, they navigate the twists and turns of this incredible story that make you root for their forbidden love and anxiously await the sequel!

Thank you to NetGalley and Wednesday Books/St. Martin’s Press for sharing this ARC with me in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you @netgalley for giving me the chance to be an early reader on @kristenciccarelli ‘s CRIMSON MOTH (UK Title)/HEARTLESS HUNTER (US Title), due to hit the shelves on 2/20/24 (US) and 2/29/24.

I really enjoyed this Scarlet Pimpernel meets Serpent & Dove mash up. Inspired by the classic about a rogue undercover operative who rescues members of the aristocracy from the guillotine during the French Revolution, CRIMSON MOTH/HEARTLESS HUNTER, imagines a society where a corrupt Witch Queen aristocracy was overturned by the people in a revolution that now pits Witchhunters against Witches. Rune is a secret witch who uses her status as the revolutionary darling who turned in her own grandmother to be purged in order to rescue witches as the Crimson Moth. Gideon is the witch hunter who slaughtered the reigning Witch Sister Queens after enduring years of abuse and trauma at their hands. What ensues is a game of cat and mouse, as Witch and Witch Hunter seek to seduce the other in order to gain intelligence for their opposing sides.

The romance is steamy, which will make this either very much your thing or not. The main characters are 18 and 19, so this book falls into the category of older teen or new adult. I had my doubts, frankly, when I started reading as to whether I was willing to fall for the concept, whether it would be too campy, etc. What I found was that this book gets better and better as it goes on, with an epic conclusion that left me desperate to read the next one.

(I will say though that I prefer the UK title and cover)

This book is such a refreshing take for the romantacy genre. Sure, a lot of our beloved tropes are there but it has a new and fresh spin on things. Rune is cunning and sly and I am utterly obsessed with her. Heartless Hunter grabs you from the beginning with the high stakes and takes you on an absolutely wild emotional roller coaster unlike any other book I have read in the genre.

For me as a reader I have to be involved in understanding a main characters motives. Who are they? Why do they they do the things that they do? Rune's story fulfills all of that need for me. She has deep secrets that guide the way she moves through the world. I don't want to say too much as it is much more fun to find out for yourself - but I highly recommend anyone who loves witches, secrets and fantasy to pick this up!

Heartless Hunter is the first in a planned fantasy romance series, and it definitely checks all the boxes for a gripping read where the fantasy world is immersive and the romance is *chef's kiss*!

So much danger that you can't look away or put the book down! This tale pits a witch against a witch hunter - their dislike toward each other is only matched by what they feel toward themselves. Both have so much fear and regret, both have turned away from their families ... both feel that the future rests in their hands. And yet Rune and Gideon find a suitable match in each other. - once their bias is stripped away, their motivations are not so different. While becoming close through deceit, each trying to infiltrate the group they are against, their chemistry is undeniable. Could they be wrong about each other? Could they change each other's point of view? This is high stakes subterfuge, where the victory of one means death for the other. This is not your typical enemies-to-lovers tale. This slow burn eventually explodes like a powder keg, leaving Rune and Gideon emotionally bare at the end ... the same can be said of the Revolution. This book ends with the explosion: Rune against Gideon, Witches against Witch Hunters, and the grounds are shifting. I can't wait for the next book in the series!

Heartless Hunter was a fun, witchy read. These is an enemies to lovers situation taking place amidst a world where witches are hunted by the Blood Guard.

Rune Winters is herself by day and The Crimson Moth by night. She works to rescue witches from being purged.

This is the first book in a duology and it does end on a cliffhanger.

Thank you for the e-arc Wednesday Books. All opinions are my own.

First, thank you to Netgalley and St Martin's Press for an advanced copy of Heartless Hunter by Kristen Ciccarelli. Let me start by saying I have been a fan of Kristen Ciccarelli's books for a long time and I was so excited to be able to read an advanced copy of this book. Overall I loved the book, could not put it down, and would recommend it to anyone as a solid fantasy novel.

This is a story of Rune, a witch living in a time where witches on her island are hunted and purged. She spends her time working with her friends to rescue witches before the Blood Guard can arrest and imprison them before their deaths. In order to find an important witch who was taken by the Blood Guard she has to face the challenge of enticing Gideon Sharpe, a high ranking witch hunter, to give her information. But Gideon is also using Rune to find the Crimson Moth.

The story was well written, dialogue was engaging, and I was kept on the edge of my seat until the end. This is definitely a slow burn, enemies to lovers back to enemies novel. There is only one scene with any spice and it is near the end of the book.

My only complaint is that I felt the world building was rushed and not fully fleshed out such that I could understand the motives of the other players in the novel. Hopefully we see more on this in the next book.

Overall, I give this a 4.5 out of 5 stars and I cannot wait to read the next installment!

Wow. This book captured my attention from the beginning. I couldn’t put it down!

The author masterfully weaves the two perspectives of Rune and Gideon, the witch, and the witch hunter. There are always two sides to a story and victims on both sides. In this book, we are slowly exposed to each story. There is a good mix of action and the story proceeds at an even pace. The characters are well developed and believable. I was drawn into their narratives and as their background stories unfolded, I could feel their emotions in my chest.
So many books have predictable storylines. This book surprised me with several unexpected twists that kept my attention and interest. I didn’t know what was coming next in a good way. I love that about a book and this one did not disappoint.

This story threw me for loops, had my stomach in knots, and left me with tears. I can’t wait for book 2!

Thank you NetGalley, St. Martin's Press and Kristen Ciccarelli for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Wow! This book is amazing! The enemies to lovers was done to perfection. The push and pull between the witch and the witch hunter, the tension, and the battle between heart and mind, had me feeling all the emotions. I was constantly excited to find out what was going to happen next. I am so invested in these characters.

Thank you to the publisher for my arc

This seemed interesting but hugely predictable and I didn’t end up caring about any of the characters

This was a mesmerizing journey through a world that was apart by revolution and prejudice. This is takes place in a backdrop of a society where witches are hunted and their magic is suppressed. The main character was Rune, who is forced to conceal her true identity. The narrative felt thrilling and emotionally charged. Tension is when her Rune's rescue mission goes awry.

The relationship between Rune and Gideon is layered with deception and attraction. The tale of suspense and romance kept me on the edge of my seat, turning pages to figure out what was going to happen next. The world-building is vivid, immersing you into a landscape where magic is both a source of wonder and fear.

It does feel like the ending was left open for a possible duology, it left me with some unanswered questions, which I feel like would be answered in a possible second book. The pacing was well-executed, with moments of intense action balanced with quieter, more character-driven scenes. Highly recommend this for readers who enjoy tales of forbidden love, magical intrigue, and the enduring power of the human spirit.

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Wow, I was blown away by this new high fantasy romance. I loved this game of cat and mouse! There's something to be said about an enemies to lovers trope that's part of a fantasy world, because I think it just heightens it and this was just so good. There's witches, witch hunters, magic, romance, fantasy... this book has it all! The character development and plot was so well written! There's a lot of political intrigue too, which I think is missing from some fantasies and I thoroughly enjoyed that aspect as I think it really elevated the story. I loved Rune and Gideon and how they go from hating each other to helping each other and eventually falling for each other. I can't wait for more books in this series!

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press/Wednesday Books for the eARC of this book.

man, did i enjoy this book. absolutely jam-packed with some of my favorite tropes, enemies-to-lovers, star-crossed lovers, intriguing magic system, the conflicted hero, and the perfect amount of miscommunication that takes place in a fascinatingly dystopian yet fantastical setting. it took me two reads to sit down and devour this novel. the characters are so beautifully complex, and since the book is written in third person with a dual point of view, the reader is able to see both sides of the story and to sympathize with these two characters who, at surface level, could not seem more different to one another. it further adds to the angst and tension of the book that both characters hold completely opposite worldviews that are equally ignorant and absolute, which is especially frustrating because neither of them is fully right.

in a world post-revolution, the life of a witch is a hard one. it is not easy for a witch to disguise herself as mortal—the silver bloodletting scars they bear in order to be able to cast their spells immediately out them as witches, for which the punishment is death. similarly, any citizen of the ‘new republic’ who is found sympathizing with witches is also subject to forfeit their life.

rune winters, eighteen, has two reputations. one, as a ditzy and shallow heiress who is praised for the part she played in the revolution—turning her own nan into the infamous blood guard (witch hunting soldiers) to be slaughtered. the revolution was the event in which citizens of the republic—oppressed and often tortured by witches—killed the three witch queens and took the kingdom for themselves in hope of a better future. it was this movement that flipped the tables on the witches, who now were not only oppressed, but forced into hiding. rune hadn’t known that she was a witch at the time of the revolution and her nan’s death, but rune had been at risk of being killed if the blood guard chose to label her a witch sympathizer. so rune, at her nan’s encouragement, turned her grandmother in to the blood guard in order to protect herself. at parties and glamorous balls she is nothing more than another socialite who despises witches, but in secret she is the infamous crimson moth, a heroine that saves witches in the night.

rune is an amazing main character. she’s so beautifully human while also being fiercely convicted of the cause of the crimson moth. she was young when the revolution occurred, and her nan had only ever loved rune unconditionally, so when it comes to the wicked deeds that the former witch queens performed, she is a bit naive. to her, saving witches from execution and smuggling them out of the new republic is the only way that she can make things up to her grandmother. with the help of her best friends and partner’s in crime, verity de lune and alex sharpe, rune has been able to use her status among the elite as a means of gleaning information and saving those who she believes are innocent. at the beginning of this novel, rune is on an especially important rescue—to save her nan’s childhood best friend, seraphine. but she’s unfortunately too late—the captain of the blood guard, gideon sharpe (also alex’s older brother) has already arrested seraphine.

gideon sharpe is our second main character, and where rune is naive to the deeds of the witch queens and others like them, gideon knows the horrors firsthand. when the opportunity of the revolution came around, he seized the chance to take down the reign of the witches, using his anger and trauma to fuel his hatred and harden his heart towards the race of women. to him, there is no black and white—every witch is as bad as the one who hurt him, and nothing could possibly change his mind. he very obviously has some form of ptsd and he uses his hatred of witches as a way of keeping himself safe from having to relive the horrible things that happened to him.

when rune winters takes an interest to him after the arrest of seraphine, he is simultaneously presented with a tip as to who the crimson moth could be. but to figure that out, he needs to get close to rune. and here is where ciccarelli has taken a new spin on the fake dating trope—rune and gideon are both fake dating one another in order to serve themselves, but neither of them know it. for both of them, it’s strictly business…until it isn’t. gideon has always thought of rune winters as a conceited and stupid, just another snobby rich girl who couldn’t care less about the poverty happening in areas of their kingdom. to rune, gideon has always been a brute with a superiority complex, the older brother of her best friend who obviously didn’t like her.

as the book progresses, rune and gideon play a delicate balancing act with one another, both trying to stay committed to their missions while also attempting to keep their feelings uninvolved. as the two get to known one another more and more, turmoil is beginning to stir in other parts of the new republic, tension only builds and both rune and gideon’s lives are hurling toward an uncertain future, where it is uncertain whether the witches or the humans will prevail.

i would recommend this book a thousand times over, to anyone who loves dystopian or fantastical fiction with political intrigue. the romance is *chef’s kiss* and, in my opinion, doesn’t miss when it comes to making the reader root for them to be together. there’s a mild amount of spice in this book, nothing too graphic but definitely not fade to black. this is the perfect book for lovers of the cruel prince and fourth wing, and i’ll recommend it to the day i die. the book is equal, if not better, in some aspects, than those books. i am eagerly awaiting the sequel and i cannot wait to see where rune and gideon go from here.

5/5 stars 🦋🗡️

This was an awesome fantasy romance novel! I don't always lean towards fantasy romance but this one is makes me want to read more of this genre. I loved it, it is more of a slow burn but it's so worth it. The character development is amazing. You get enemies to lovers trope, you get witches & an awesome magical system. Can't wait to read more from this author.

Thank you for this arc!

Heartless Hunter is a thrilling tale between a witch trying to save her people and the hunter who leads them to their demise. Circling the other in a game of cat and mouse. They’re both using each other, but soon the line starts to blur between their individual plights.

This was SO good. Each character has a lot of depth to them and it really serves the plot well. This is a definite must read for those into fantasy romance.

Tropes/Themes:
Enemies to lovers, best friends brother, witches, exceptional magic system

Thank you NetGalley for an advanced copy to leave an honest review.