Please give me a moment for my heart to heal….
A witch battling against what is easy so that she can do what’s right. A hunter who guards himself the same way one might do to save the only family he has left from the witches who bore the same evil he believes all witches carry as he remembers the slaughter of those he held most dear. What else can he do?

When I say I was a goner at the first page, I mean I was a goner at the first paragraph. I knew this was going to be good but I absolutely adored it. I have very high hopes for the next book, which I’m going to need immediately!

I think this book must have been wrong book, wrong time, because this seems to be the most unpopular of opinions, but this was a DNF for me. I think I will pick up this book down the line and hope it clicks for me better then.

3 star rating is based on what I read before setting it aside - I liked it and maybe would've really liked it at a different time, but not enough to want to continue. No huge complaints.

I received this book for free for an honest review from netgalley. Thank you for the opportunity

It lives up the the hype. Very amazing development

my new favorite YA fantasy! this book was magnificent, from the writing, to the character development, to the world building, and the plot twists. in a modernized fantastical regency setting where a vigilante and corrupt militant lead each other in a courtship of their own benefits. I loved the dual Pov, rich character dynamics and politics that made for a compelling read that was hard to put down. i can’t wait for the next one.

Beautiful cover which is one of the reasons I decided to pick it , second it was enemy's to lovers, as well as a new to me author and series to start . Love the world building as well as the take on the magic and how the witches used it , only downside was at times I wanted to scream at the two main character's but over all I enjoyed it so much that those times can be overlooked .

Look I thought this was going to be firmly in the 3 1/2 to 4 star range while I was reading until I got to the last 1/3 of the book and now I’m a screaming mess itching to get my hands on book 2 because WHAT.

Look, Gideon and Rune are two truly dumb/unobservant people most of the time and it’s kind of hilarious but at the same time I loved them so much I didn’t care????? I was invested and they were dumb and they were also whip smart when they needed to be and they were cunning and I am A MESS WHAT WAS THAT CLIFFHANGER AND ENDING, KRISTEN?! WHAT WAS THAT?!

I need book 2. SMP I will be busting down your door to get to it.

(Thank you for book 1, Wednesday books, sorry I waited until it was on audio to read it 😬)

PS: the audio of this was 🤌🏼🤌🏼🤌🏼🤌🏼🤌🏼

Heartless Hunter by Kirsten Ciccarelli was my first novel by this author but Kristen has been on my radar for a while and I'm so happy I got this book not only from my Book of the month but also my Owlcrate!!! This is a first in a Ya Fantasy duology and I'm pissed off (In a nice way) of how fast I read this one!!! @Wednesday books u are telling me I have to wait till February 2025 for the sequel and finale?!? Looks like I'm going to have to do a re-read next year and I wouldn't be mad because this was another 5 star read for me!
We follow two main characters name Rune and Gideon and boy or boy if this doesn't scream enemies to lovers then Idk what does?! This was a book I heard of because of book of the month and tbh it wasn't on my radar till I saw how beautiful this cover is and then I read the summary of this novel and it's a witch hunter falling for a witch! I feel like this would be a perfect book to read in the fall time just because of the two main characters are witches and a witch hunter!
A thing I loved that this book had was not only an enemies to lovers trope but it was also almost a cat and mouse chase andt here was a hiest invovlved and a love traingle!!! Like what all of my favorite things in a ya fantasy novel?! If u haven't picked this novel up yet I highly recomended you do so and it will totally be in my favorite list of 2024!!(:

I've been sitting with my thoughts on this one for a few days and I think I'm comfortable at putting this at 3.5-4 stars. Whenever I'm thinking about rating a book, the first question I ask is whether or not I was entertained. Was this a book that I didn't want to put down? Did I have this deep desire to take it with me wherever I went?

In the Heartless Hunter's case, the answer is a solid "yes" for me. I enjoyed myself which - at least in my opinion - is the most important thing and I can't wait for the second book.

Now, is this story super, crazy original? No. The idea of a witch and a witch hunter in a "How to Lose a Guy in 30 Days"-like storyline has been done. Is is predictable? Yeah, somewhat. But I don't mind it because - again - it was entertaining.

But it wasn't perfect.

There were just some actions by the characters that didn't match up for me at all. Like Laila. Her insistence and constant nudging to get Gideon to see Rune naked and then to sleep with her felt super weird and forced and not necessary? And I did have some serious problems with Alex and his motives for helping the witches - especially given his brother's past. Honestly - the reasoning didn't make sense (trying to not give too much away here, but seriously - like wtf?).

I also really REALLY would have loved to have seen Rune as The Crimson Moth more. We got a good sense of her aristocratic debutant cover, but I would have loved to have seen her vigilante side more (perhaps in book 2?).

Also, I am grinding my teeth slightly at the forced love triangle that I'm seeing developing and praying to all the gods everywhere that we nip this in the bud and fast for book 2. Not needed. Keep it to Gideon. Please and thank you.

All said and done, definitely a book that kept my interest. So much so that I bought a physical copy once I read as an ARC, so I'm going to stay optimistic and hope that book 2 fills in some of the gaps. Fingers crossed.

Thank you to the NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to review this book.

#NetGalley #HeartlessHunter #ARC

This ended up being everything I hoped for after reading the synopsis and hearing everyone rant and rave about it. Unfortunately. I think I was entering my romance era, so it wasn't a 5 star read for me but I think that's a me problem and definitely not a book problem.

This is me pleading with Netgalley and St. Martins Press to forgive me for taking so long to read and review this ARC. This is one of the best books I’ve read all year! I was absolutely sucked in from the very start and I’m now begging for and ARC of the sequel lol.

I’m very much in love with Gideon Sharpe. This heartbreaking enemies to lovers tale is one for the ages. Told in dual POV, we meet Rune Winters a witch hiding in plan sight from none other than her future love interest and wanna be jailer, Gideon Sharpe. They have some of the best banter and chemistry I’ve ever seen. The connection is there from the beginning. These two are meant to be. Two sides of the same coin. This story had me absolutely kicking and screaming the whole time, also sobbing at that ending. I cannot wait to read the next book in this series. I’m sure it will be just as electric as Heartless Hunter.

Thank you so much to Netgalley and St. Martins Press for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Heartless Hunter is a fantasy romance novel that I loved! It follows Rune who is a witch and Gideon who is a witch hunter. There are some obvious enemies to lovers and I ate it up. By day Rune is society's most envied socialite and by night she is the Crimson Moth who saves captured witches. I loved Rune as a main character because she knows how to handle herself but she also has a lot of self-growth she works through. Gideon's goal for the past 2 years is to capture the Crimson Moth. Gideon has suspicions that Rune is the Crimson Moth but once he gets to know her better by fake courting, he is more confused than ever. I loved the romance in this book because both characters are trying to get closer to each other for the wrong reasons but then you get to watch them turn it into something real. I enjoyed that they were both such distinct people with important pasts that have shaped them. I loved the setting of this book as well because of the regency vibes and the society hierarchy. I am absolutely counting down the days until the sequel comes out because the ending of this book was crazy. Rebel Witch is officially my most anticipated book of 2025!
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for a review!

Eeeekkkkk! I loved this book so much, I cannot wait to see how this series continues. There was twists and turns and things that I never thought would happen. But i enjoyed it so much 🥰🥰

I have to say, I was pleasantly surprised by this one! It’s a fairly traditional enemies-to-lovers setup, and there’s not anything super out of the box, but I was shocked by how invested I got in Rune and Gideon’s relationship (I know – JAY getting invested in STRAIGHT PEOPLE?). There were also a few elements that I particularly enjoyed.
First, despite this being a YA romantasy, there’s actually a shocking amount of complexity and nuance that gets conveyed. We’re introduced to a world in which witches are brutally hunted and executed, which of course sets the reader up to side with Rune, the witch in hiding. But as the book goes on, it becomes very clear that the revolution that overthrew the witches was very much justified. The story does a really good job of showing the ways that privilege can change rapidly and how people can be talking about two entirely different things without even realizing it when it comes to power dynamics.
Spoilers on this one!
Another thing I thought this book approached really well is allowing a male character to have been a victim of sex abuse. This is not something that comes up often at all in books period, and in this instance it does an interesting job in terms of changing power dynamics around throughout the book. Of course I will always defer to the opinion of survivors, but I appreciated the way the subject was approached.
Spoilers end.
And finally, like I mentioned above, the relationship was just very sweet and lovely. Two very messed up people learning from one another and making each other better – until they really don’t. I’m genuinely excited for the sequel.
This would be very close to being a full five star read, but there was one thing I couldn’t get over. There was very little diversity of any kind in this book. If I remember correctly (I may have missed some descriptions) the characters are overwhelmingly white, and there are no queer characters at all that I remember. Now, not all books have to be extremely diverse, and there can certainly be reasons for certain fantasy worlds to be more or less diverse. But it’s always odd when we see a highly unequal world in one specific regard – witches vs. humans in this case – but don’t see any inequality mentioned in any regard. It didn’t seem like any thought was even given to the way other power dynamics might play out in this world, which was really disappointing. Even so, really enjoyable, just needed a bit more to get pushed into the five star range.

୨⎯ 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒕𝒔 ⎯୧
rating: 3.75
plot: 4
characters: 3.5
writing: 3.75
romance: 3.75
spice: 1.25
narration: 4

⋆ ˚｡⋆୨୧⋆｡˚ ⋆

“You are everything I thought you were,” she told him.
“And you,” said Gideon, voice quiet, “are nothing at all like I imagined you’d be.”

⋆ ˚｡⋆୨୧⋆｡˚ ⋆

°•*⁀➷ what to expect
witches + witch hunters
enemies to lovers
brothers love triangle
fake dating/fake courting
best friends brother
cliffhanger
forbidden romance
dual POV

⋆ ˚｡⋆୨୧⋆｡˚ ⋆

°•*⁀➷ the plot
this was a solid enchanting story! Rune is a witch in secret, donning a mask of a vibrant and social girl in public so no one would suspect her of being The Crimson Moth and rescuing all the witches being captured before their public execution. Gideon is a witch hunter determined to track down The Crimson Moth.

⋆ ˚｡⋆୨୧⋆｡˚ ⋆

°•*⁀➷ the characters
𝜗𝜚 rune: i loved Rune but feel like her character was more described than shown… we were told how awesome and fierce Rune was but literally only saw one scene where she was. the rest she was seen as a regular girl flirting basically. i wanted more show than tell!! i really hope we get to see her show her fierceness in book 2!

𝜗𝜚 gideon:
i enjoyed his POV, he had instincts about Rune from the beginning but still found himself drawn to her in ways that had nothing to do about the Crimson Moth and he was eventually so weak for her. i’m even more ready to see him in book 2, i know he’ll be pining.

𝜗𝜚 alex:
he deserves better. it was so painfully obvious he was crushing on rune from the start and despite how amazing his friendship was with her. there is only one big issue i had with his character and it’s what he didn’t go through with. it cost him everything…

⋆ ˚｡⋆୨୧⋆｡˚ ⋆

°•*⁀➷ the writing
it was pretty easy to follow and made for a quick read too. i found that the characters weren’t written as well as they could have been. they were flawed and their actions didn’t match up with how they were described to be. there was a lot of saying and not enough showing, a huge pet peeve of mine in books because I love seeing characters become who they're told they are. I was so hyped to see Rune be a cute little witch hunter that's actually top notch badass and yet there was only the water scene where we saw a glimpse of that. I wanted to see more.

⋆ ˚｡⋆୨୧⋆｡˚ ⋆

°•*⁀➷ the romance
I really enjoyed the romance, the slow burn!! the enemies to lovers!! when they finally caved!!!! but then we have the 3rd act that just annoys me every time with a ridiculous scene to mess things up and it could've went better, at least a better excuse or something. the way Gideon was starting to pine after her even though he still thought she was the crimson moth!!

⋆ ˚｡⋆୨୧⋆｡˚ ⋆

°•*⁀➷ the narration
the narration was so good, I usually like for there to be two narrators for a female and male dual POV but the narrator did a great job in differentiating between the characters and giving them their own narrating voice, it made the reading experience a lot better and easier to follow.

⋆ ˚｡⋆୨୧⋆｡˚ ⋆

°•*⁀➷ in conclusion,
I am so excited for the second book in this series, there's a lot of hope riding on it since its just a duology but I have a feeling Gideon is going to surprise us!!!!

⋆ ˚｡⋆୨୧⋆｡˚ ⋆

ᯓ ᡣ𐭩 do i recommend? —yes!! absolutely, i am already so impatient for the sequel, im glad it’s just a duology because i couldn’t bare waiting more years for a series to finish.

*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ

spoiler thoughts....
he just made her a dress because she mentioned not having one to wear!!!!! JUST LIKE HERE YA GO! WITH HAND SEWN FLOWERS! EXCUSE ME SIR WHAT!

just gonna say I had a feeling about her, seemed suspicious since we met her.

Romantasy isn’t a large slice on my reading genre pie chart, but I liked the idea of the witch/witch hunter angle and a vigilante rescuing witches. I fell into this immersive world from nearly the first page. Witches have been hunted and killed for years. Rune witnessed the brutal death of her witch grandmother after turning her into the authorities. Even though it’s what her grandmother instructed Rune to do in order to survive, her guilt hasn’t lessened. She now uses a shallow socialite cover to hide her identity as a witch and The Crimson Moth. After rescuing the witches, Rune has the means to smuggle them out of the republic. Despite her clever cover, Rune is at the top of Gideon’s suspect list.

I liked Rune and Gideon. Both are portrayed with flaws and admirable qualities. Rune is clever, stubborn, determined, and a little oblivious to what’s happening right in front of her at times. Gideon is charming, strategic, and protective, but also wears blinders in certain situations. As the son of tailors, I adored that he also sewed. Their “courtship” begins with both characters planning to use each other – Rune to get information about locations of captured witches, and Gideon to determine if Rune is actually a witch and The Crimson Moth. Considering Gideon’s tragic backstory, it’s no wonder he’s made it his life’s purpose to rid the world of witches. Unfortunately, he doesn’t understand they’re not all the same. I’d hoped for more scenes with Rune as The Crimson Moth would be included. Seeing her outmaneuver the guard would be enjoyable.

Alex adds another layer of conflict. As Rune’s best friend, he’s aware of her identity and has aided the Crimson Moth for years. But he’s also the younger brother of Gideon, who’s completely unaware of Alex’s actions. Talk about your tense situations. The twist at the end was something I’d guessed around the midpoint of the book, but that didn’t prevent me from flipping the pages as quickly as I could. I wouldn’t say the story ends with a cliffhanger, but it’s chaotic and an exciting starting point for book two.

Heartless Hunter is a loose retelling of The Scarlet Pimpernel and features themes of love, friendship, betrayal, and revenge. I’d recommend it to readers who enjoy the enemies to lovers trope, a game of cat and mouse, and stories full of conflict.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

I enjoyed Ciccarelli's work, but I felt like I had already read the book the whole time. The characters were okay, but I did not feel like the female and male leads had any chemistry or should ever be together.
I did like the twists in the plot, and admit I cried a little bit at the end.
Overall, readers that enjoy fantasy will probably find something to like in this book



Thank you NetGalley and publisher for the eARC of this work in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the arc in exchange for an honest review! All opinions are my own and did not affect my review in any way.

When I saw that this was loosely based off of The Scarlet Pimpernel, I was so very intrigued! Heartless Hunter started off strong and didn't let up with its pacing. There was a lot of intrigue, action, and romance interwoven on every page. The worldbuilding was easy to follow and I liked the borrowed elements from sci-fi in this romantasy book (specifically, when the Blood Guard would call people "Citizen," I really liked that). The magic system seemed unique, considering the scars and orders of magic based upon this. I wish we had had more time with Verity and Alex as the main trio of friends, but with Gideon closing in on his relentless search for the Crimson Moth, I knew the time was fleeting. Rune plays quite a difficult game of cat-and-mouse with Gideon and this created a lot of razor sharp moments between them. I liked their chemistry and how they were open with one another. However, I do think this is more New Adult or Adult than YA specifically, just based on some of the details in the spicy scenes. I love scenes like that, but consider this as not quite YA considering the level of detail included.

I definitely guessed at the twists coming but I was still satisfied and intrigued by where the story went. Overall, I think the ending sets us up for a rather exciting sequel!

This book has some of my favorite tropes - a vigilante female lead and an enemies to lovers plotline. I highly recommend this book to fans of From Blood and Ash.

"Isn't that the point of art–to tame the monsters in us?"

In Heartless Hunter, you get the story of Rune Winters and Gideon Sharpe. Rune Winters, a witch and the Crimson Moth, lives a double life, one being in the public eye, and one in the shadows, protecting other witches. When a rescue attempt goes wrong, she's forced to change tactics and tries to court Gideon Sharpe, a famous and unforgiving witch hunter. One caveat? He's the brother of her best friend.

I absolutely loved Gideon and Rune's dynamic in Heartless Hunter. The push and pull, the danger, the seductive dance of light and dark; it's a fantastic love story. And the added detail of witches? All the more better.

I wanted a more deep dive into the fantasy, the lore, the history. Not just the witches, but more details of what happened. I felt it more focused on Gideon and Rune, the romance, the build-up, and none of the fantasy details.

Enemies to lovers to enemies is superior and I will forever die on this hill.

And that twist? So good.

Okay, and that ending is NOT FAIR.

tw // blood, death, death of parent

Absolutely fantastic read! I adore Kristen Ciccarelli's writing style, and the depth she's able to give her characters is incredible. The pacing, the storytelling, and the worldbuilding were so well done, I can honestly say I have no complaints. I'm so excited to get my hands on the next book!