Thank you Netgalley and Wednesday Books for an ARC copy of this book.

In the aftermath of a bloody revolution that left the witches without ruling power, witches and those who support them are in danger. Rune, a witch, must live a double life. During the day she is a young socialite throwing after parties and balls, but at night she is the Crimson Moth saving witches from the clutches of the new regime. On the night of a rescue gone wrong, Rune decides to throw caution to the wind and decides to court Gideon Sharpe, a notrorious witch hunter loyal to the revolution, for intel to continue to help save witches from capture.

Gideon cannot stand the superficiality of Rune and has spent the past few years avoiding her, despite her friendship with his brother Alex. However, once he learns that the Crimson Moth uses Rune's merchant ships to smuggle witches he begins to court her to determine Rune's loyalties. Despite their pretending, they both discover there is more underneath the surface and that they just might be a great match. How will Gideon feel if he discovers Rune is in fact the very witch he's been hunting?

Wow!! Just wow. I absolutely loved this first installment in this duology. Rune's relentless fight to save her kind was so admirable. I really enjoyed the Dual POV helped the reader to visualize the cat and mouse game from Rune and Gideon's minds. A book with good banter is always a favorite of mine and these two did not disappoint. Despite their uneasiness with each other, it was so nice to see them divulge little truths about their lives and pasts. Alex and Rune's friendship was so sweet to view as the story continued. The twists and turns throughout this story made it very difficult to put down. Highly recommend adding this book to your TBR. I am very excited to read book 2!!

I cannot wait for part 2. Kristen Ciccarelli has created such a unique world for this exciting enemies to lovers trope filled romantic fantasy tale.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press, Wednesday Books, and NetGalley for providing an eARC for a honest review.

This was a very unique enemies to lovers read. Witches use blood for their spells, and have a signature apparition in the place where the spell was cast. I thought I knew where this was going but the end had quite a few twists and I will be reading the sequel.

After a bloody revolution against the witches creates a new world order, witches and witch sympathizers live in fear of being betrayed and purged. Rune, a witch, is forced to live a double life. By day, she is the vapid heiress socialite, flitting through life one party and event at a time. But by night, Rune is the Crimson Moth, a vigilante determined to save as many witches as she can with the help of her friends. Gideon Sharpe, a notorious witch hunter, is hell-bent on uncovering the Crismon Moth and bringing the witch to justice. Gideon despises what Rune represents, and Rune loathes where Gideon's loyalty lies in killing her kind.

When an opportunity arises for both of them to find the information that they seek, they find themselves luring each other into a courtship. Soon both are uncovering truths about the other and realize there is much more underneath the surface.

Wow, just wow! Rune's relentless fight to save her people was incredible. The Dual POV gave an excellent dive into Rune and Gideon's minds as the reader journies on the cat and mouse game with them. The banter between Gideon and Rune was on point, and I loved how both of them slowly let real bits of who they are show. The connection between Alex and Rune was heartwarming. The twists and turns and secrets that are uncovered during the course of the story make it so hard to put down. Definitely recommend this book! It is going to be so hard to wait for the second one!

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for gifting me an early copy for an honest review.

There’s really not too much I can really say about this book. Nothing was happening yet there some things happening? It’s hard to explain.

The premise of this book sounded so good. The world building had potential… but honestly, I was so confused and had lots of questions about the witches and previous uprising? I needed more backstory. There was no explanation of motivation as to why the witches did what they did.

I also wish there was more magic. And I’m sorry? Menstrual blood used for spells? I really just can’t.. I was trying to figure out how that worked.. but doesn’t period blood congeal?

Let’s talk about the characters here for a minute:

Rune: I liked her in the beginning.. I still somewhat like her but she was a bit wishy washi.

Gideon: my expectations for his character was too high. I didn’t mind him in the beginning. I could understand why he hated witches and why he was so hell bent on eradicating them. But him at the end? Did his character show any growth?

And my favorite character.. Alex. He was so loyal and I just loved him. There’s a scene towards the end that made me want to throw my kindle across the floor.

Now last but not least, the romance.

There is a sort of love triangle going on. Honestly I was team alex all the way, but then again.. I also felt he was too good for Rune.

It does end on a cliff hanger and I will say I didn’t predict the plot twist.. but I did have an inkling towards the last 15%.

Will I read the sequel? No. There’s too many good books out there to waste my time.

I just couldn’t connect with the characters or story so this one def just wasn’t for me.

Thank you, St. Martin’s and NetGalley, for sharing an ARC with me.

A devastating revolution changed everything for Rune who now lives in a world where the new rulers seek to destroy every last vestige of witches and witchcraft.. Society darling Rune is not just secretly a witch, but also the Crimson Moth, a notorious rebel who is always one step ahead of the witch-hunters hell-bent on capturing and killing her. Desperate to protect more vulnerable witches, Rune engages in her most dangerous mission yet: seducing Gideon, the most fearsome witch-hunter who is obsessed with the unveiling the Crimson Moth.

The steamy cat-and-mouse game kept me up all night because I didn’t know how things would go, and this book did NOT hold back. The characters are extremely morally grey, and I’m not sure I’ll recover from that ending. Come quickly, book 2!

A very binge-able book! While I did wish there was more world building and development/ background of certain characters, this was still a very entertaining story


The main charges kept me engaged and the overall tension was well done. Can't wait for the second book in this duology!

(Really wish we could do 1/2 ratings here, as I think this is a 3.5 but not quite enough for a 4 for me, mainly due to the world building. But I'm hopeful that my questions are answered in the next installment which would definitely bump this rating up)

Truly captivating and intense. Fantasy-romance is truly having it's moment and this book should be at the top of that list. The romance was however a bit too heavily focused on in the second half, so much so to where it took away from the plot and the chemistry seemed a bit juvenile. But still overall, a very captivating read.

Thank you Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC.

I have only ever read Kristen’s first trilogy but I loved this as well!!!! Heartless Hunter was amazing, I love her writing style too especially in this one.

Thank you NetGalley, author and publisher - I got a free preview copy in exchange for an honest review.

I absolutely loved this book! At about 85% completed I wondered if it was a standalone but then the plot twisted and I can’t believe how long I now have to wait for the next installment.

In what feels at times like loosely-based fanfic of The Handmaiden’s Tale, Rune is a witch living in a new republic that has outlawed Witchcraft and executed witches and their sympathizers. She spends her days pretending to be an aristocratic regime-supporter, while at night she breaks-free and smuggles-out witches who have been captured. She does this with the aid of her friends Verity and Alex.

Gideon Sharpe (Alex’s brother) is the top dog witch hunter and he is close on Rune’s tail, and they each decide to follow the old adage of “keep your enemies closer” and become involved with one another, pretending (or are they?) to court one another as pretense for gaining more information about each other and how much they each know.

I don’t want to spoil the plot further so I’ll say this book had good pacing, nice development for a first part, and a good hook.
Things I wish happened or happened more in the next book:
- more intricate world building (I had a harder time reconciling guns, non-electric lights —is it gas or fire?—and horseback transportation.
- more SPICE. We need more! Enough said.
- more character development

This book was absolutely amazing. If you love enemies to lovers then you will love this book. I was completely hooked from the start. What’s not too like, witches and witch hunter, I’m sold.

This book was a last minute choice for me to read and I am blown away by the entire thing. I am an avid fantasy and romantasy reader, and this story had EVERYTHING you could hope for.

-enemies to lovers
-slow burn
-suspense
-mystery
-heart pounding drama
-interesting magic system
-world building
-solid backstory

I am so impressed with the complexity the author was able to give this world and its characters, without adding complicated context.

This book was fast paced from the start, included the perfect amount of mystery, and had just the right amount of information for a vivid picture to be painted in my head of the world, it’s people, and the characters. Great imagery, imagination and intrigue.

This book will be in my top 5 reads of the year, for sure! …AND THAT CLIFFHANGER! I read this in one sitting, and have no regrets!

I want to say a big thank you to netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this amazing book!

I just finished this tonight and I could not put it down. I did not want this to end. Runes story is one that dragged me in. The romance between her and gideon, from hating each other to falling in love.

The journey of becoming a witch and the battles they have to face from the blood guard. It is fantastic writing and I can't wait to be able to read more!

THIS IS THE PERFECT BOOK FOR DIVINE RIVALS FANS!
The blood magic in this OH MY GOD IT IS SO COOL
This is enemies to lovers on steroids
I am obsessed

I loved this so much more than I expected to but I was completely unprepared for that ending!!

Rune Winters is quite the complex character, she has been handed a very mixed hand in life which gives her a unique perspective of the society she lives in. I had a bit of trouble correlating some of the actions of the Crimson Moth with the parts of Rune's personality we were shown but I still felt that this duality made her a very interesting character! I loved Alex's character and I wish we got to see a bit more interaction between him and Rune.

Gideon's character seemed to flip-flop a bit to me. One moment he was ruthless and the next he was a total softie, maybe we just didn't get to dive into his character too much in this book so hopefully we'll see more of a connection between these two sides of him in book 2!

Overall this is a great story with the perfect amount of deceit, twists, and turns. (The only thing I could not look past was the use of menstrual blood for casting, sorry 😩)

3.5 stars
This book is good but fall short of being great, witches are usually used as a symbol of female empowerment but it's not used as such here. While it doesn't need to be the main focus there should have been some correlation of witches i.e. women being taken from power and how they are being treated now and also the world it self fell flat, like what about witches in other countries? were majority of witches abusive to non witches? why was no other country involved in fighting for or against the witches? Magic must have been a large part of the economy especially with witches in other countries and so are they struggling? Also society feels so calm for the revolution to have been 2 years ago. Circling back to the witches we they widely hated the two pov characters are both unique circumstances, we get no middle ground for how witch operated in society.
Circling to the characters Rune and Gideon our stars, let me start by saying they should have had more antagonist interactions , they only really clashed once, it should have been a couple more times. And I would have loved to see them struggle with seeing each others point of view Gideon's family was abused by the Queen but power is always corrupts and rune was raised under the loving care of her grandmother, we didn't get to see the hierarchy of the witch so we have no frame of reference of how people are treated.

Moving on to Alex and Verity, Alex I feel died entirely too soon he acted as a middle ground recognizing the grey areas of each side and I feel that his character had more to give than his death. Now Verity we have to get her pov next book cause we need to see her motivation if she really as cruel as Gideon says, if she has learned anything in her time in hiding and if she saw rune as a true friend and ally, she does seem to care what rune thinks of her but all these problems can be fixed in the next installation, this first book serves as a pretty comfortable introduction into the world.

With a forbidden, slow burn, enemies to lovers romance between a witch and a witch hunter, complete with possible betrayal at every turn, Heartless Hunter channels the best elements elements of two of my favorite books: The Scarlet Pimpernel and Serpent and Dove.

I thought the premise of this sounded intriguing, but I was NOT EXPECTING to be drawn into the story the way I was.

In this world, witches once ruled, but a few years previously they were overthrown and are now hunted and killed. The female main character, Rune, is a witch who has a secret identity as the Crimson Moth, who frees witches from the witch hunters who persecute them. (This is not a spoiler; it is mentioned in the book’s summary.) Gideon is a witch hunter determined to find and kill the Crimson Moth. The two of them begin to date, each with their own agenda and each wanting to get information from the other. The cat and mouse between them was very angsty and filled with sexual tension. I loved any scene that the two of them had together.

The book also crackled with tension and excitement. I was on the edge of my seat the entire time. It is going to be a long wait for the sequel. I can’t wait to see where this story will go next.

Read if you like:
❤️‍🔥Enemies to Lovers
💞Found Family
🐈Cat and mouse chase

In a realm where magic is outlawed, Rune and Gideon's dangerous dance sets love ablaze. 🔥

"Heartless Hunter" by Kristen Ciccarelli follows Rune, a young witch navigating a country where her kind is outlawed post-rebellion by a group called the Blood Guard. Two years ago, Gideon, now a captain among these revolutionaries, played a pivotal role in dethroning two ruling queens. To survive, Rune decides to seduce Gideon for crucial information, while Gideon aims to court Rune to unveil her secrets.

This tale weaves a true enemies-to-lovers romantic fantasy, complete with an exhilarating chase between Rune and Gideon as they cleverly vie for dominance. The dynamic is an exciting rollercoaster, keeping readers on their toes, never quite sure who will emerge victorious.

However, the relentless cat and mouse game between the two leads tends to overshadow the plot, leaving it somewhat wanting in progression. The ending, though heart-wrenching, loses some impact due to uneven pacing throughout the novel. A deeper exploration of life and insight into the true nature of the witch queens would have added significant depth and intrigue.

Overall, I recommend "Heartless Hunter" to romance enthusiasts looking for a touch of fantasy. It's an excellent choice for those not deeply entrenched in high fantasy, as the author crafts a world that's accessible and easy to grasp.

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for letting me read an arc of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This is what enemies to lovers is supposed to look like 👏🏼

What an intense journey! 😮‍💨

In this book our FMC is a witch, and the MMC is a witch hunter, who happens to be the FMC’s best friends, older brother… oh and did I mention the best friend is ALSO in love with the FMC? Mmhmm
😏👌🏼

This book has an amazing build up. The enemies to lovers trope in this book is done so well. It truly is life or death. This isn’t a story about two characters that just don’t like each other over some frivolous inconsequential reason. It’s literally life or death revolving around deep rooted issues. The stakes are high, and it had me on the edge of my seat the entire time. I was literally yelling at the book at times, and kicking my feet in excitement at others. I also really loved the magic system. It’s unique, and very easy to understand. The characters are fantastic, and complex. This is the type of book that you stay up all night reading, because you simply can’t put it down. I loved it, and I’m going to need the sequel yesterday! 😩

Add this Romantasy to your TBR right now, because I have a feeling this is going to be a big one in 2024!

Enemies to lovers
Slow burn romance
Dual POV
Cat and mouse
First in a series
Gowns/parties
Suitors
Best friends brother
Witch & witch hunter
Easy to understand magic system

Spice rating
🌶️🌶️🌶️
(Tastefully descriptive sex scenes, not too graphic)

Thank you to Netgalley, and to St. Martins Press for sending me an arc in exchange for my honest review.

2.5 Stars. Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for sending me an ARC of Heartless Hunter.

Pros:
-I think this book is well suited for teenagers and younger adults. As a 33 year old, it felt a little too juvenile for me.
-The writing flows well and the story is nicely paced.
-The cover of the book is very pretty!

Cons:
- I found the characters selfish, boring, and childish. The only person I liked was Alex and, welp… 🙃 Rune turned in her own grandmother and watched her literal throat get slit. (I get that her grandmother asked her to, but still. You wouldn’t see me doing my Nana like that.) Gideon is supposed to be this strong brute of a man, but in reality he seems insecure and fragile. When Rune comes crying at his door and he has to ask her like “wow, are these tears really all for me?” Insecure baby.
- The fact that the magic system requires menstrual blood is just NOT IT. And the logistics behind that? Rune apparently collects her period blood in a vial to use for weeks to come. Blood congeals, so tell me how that works. Despite the story being about witches, there was little magic in comparison. I needed more magic and less menstrual blood.
- The world building was mediocre. I liked the idea of Rune being from high society and Gideon being from the lower class, and I wanted to see more of that. I wanted to see more of Rune in his world. I wanted RUNE to want to see more of his world. Again, selfish B.
I also needed more background on the previous revolution. Why did the people hate witches so much? Who were the other witch queens?

I think this story has potential. I would be interested in more of Kristen’s writings in the future.