You know that feeling when you read a book and you feel like you know exactly what’s going to happen, but you don’t care because you’re just flying through each page? This is one of those books and it was SO bingeable. I enjoyed this story so much and I can’t wait to see how much more intensity builds between our main characters in book 2.

This book reminded me how much I love stories about witches and balls and heists and a woman with a mission to avenge her family. I can say that I did not see the full ending, so I’m very excited to watch Rune’s magic grow and see what else she may be capable of to bring the world back together.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press | Wednesday Books for an E-ARC copy of this book!

It took me a minute to get into this book because I was only had time to read a few pages at a time first, but once I was about a quarter of the way through the book, I was not able to put it down.

Heartless Hunter follows 2 points of view: Rune: a secret witch and the vigilante known as the Crimson Moth, and Gideon: a captain in the New Republic and witch hunter.

The following tropes can be found in this book:
enemies to lovers
best friend's brother
fake dating/relationship
love triangle

I loved the writing style and the world author Kristen Ciccarelli created. Her writing was straightforward and it was easy to visualize everything as I read the book. Ciccarelli created a fantastic back story and history for the witches and witch hunts. I also really liked that the "revolution" mentioned in the book was recent and that all the characters lived in the before and after, instead of a few members of the "older generation" remembering what life was before.

As I read - and right after finishing the book - I absolutely loved the characters and the relationships and tension between them. However, after processing the book and thinking through the actions and reactions of the characters, I like them more individually than how they relate to other characters and their relationships/interactions with one another.

Rune, Alex, and Gideon gave me major whiplash because how they interacted with one another did not match up with who they were. Rune is living a double life as the Crimson Moth and a socialite, but the person she is with Gideon is completely different from either character and the person she is trying to remind herself to be in her presence. To the public, Gideon is the tough-guy who when from living with a deadly witch to hunting witches for work and as a personal vendetta. However, behind closed doors, Gideon proves to be someone who is still working through the hell he lived through is scared to let himself feel anything other than indifference for anyone else - including his brother. I liked the "unseen" version of Gideon and who he is when he is doing things with and for Rune because he wants to, not for a mission or a fact he is trying to either confirm of deny. I liked the version of Gideon the decided to make Rune a dress and made her a bouquet of silk/fabric flowers, the version of him that automatically agreed to accompany her to a ball. However he was discussing these things with his fellow hunters, his reasons became twisted and unauthentic.

As much as I struggled with the characters, I did enjoy the book. I am curious to see how the second book turns out with the change in alliances and newfound heroes/enemies.

Thank you to Netgalley and Kristen Ciccarelli for providing me with this ARC (even though it took me a really long time to read).

I am participating in the St. Martin's Press boycott. I will not be publicly reviewing this title until St. Martin's Press addresses reader concerns.

A captivating tale of magic, intrigue, and forbidden love., and there is a cat and mouse game between a witch and a witch hunter. The writing is vivid and plunges the reader into a world where magic and danger collide. .
I was engaged from beginning to end look forward to more work by this author.
Many thanks to St. Martin’s Press and to Netgalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

This is the first book in a series.
In a time where witches are persecuted Rune, a young witch, hides in plain site. Gideon, the witch hunter is trying to find all witches.
The witch and witch hunter pretend to date each other in hopes of gaining information, but will they be pretending by the end of the book?
I love how all of this tied together by the end, lots of little twists, surprising revelations, and some good old fashioned love/hate romance.
I'll definitely be reading book 2 when it comes out.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this ARC

I LOVE THIS BOOK. I need book two like now, not next year because I am a Gideon Sharpe apologist and will forgive literally anything he does, no questions asked. I LOVE HIM AND RUNE TOGETHER and that ending was so good!

Heartless Hunter is the epitome of a good YA fantasy romance. I adored the world and the romance, and the intense stakes of the witch vs witch hunter dynamic in a retelling of the Scarlet Pimpernel. It has everything I love: enemies to lovers, secret identities, ballrooms, heists, fake dating, betrayals. Kristen Ciccarelli knows what she’s doing. The cliffhanger really leaves you dangling in the best way, and I will be desperately awaiting the next book.

There is a lot of hype for this new series by Kristen Ciccarelli and I really liked it! This is truly the fantasy witch book I've been looking for. Blood magic, enemies to lovers, and morally grey characters? Sign me up. While at times the main character Rune felt very childish, I still grew to like her a lot. She was a determined witch and fierce in her beliefs as she helps save the witches at night as the Crimson Moth. Gideon is also a great love interest, even though he is a witch hunter. I liked how their chemistry felt undeniable. I read this book at the speed of light and while it wasn't perfect, I had a lot of fun! The ending was quite the cliff hanger and I look forward to book two next year!

Wow! I cannot believe Heartless Hunter is over and I have to wait months to read the next book. Rune is fearless, mischievous, and magical. Her willingness to deceive Gideon for the betterment of her cause starts off as an exceptional plan; until love wiggles it's way in and complicates the story in ways that had me spinning. I loved this book. Combining magic, enemies to lovers, and family ties and lies, made this book an exceptional read.

What would happen if the witch hunter fell in love with a witch? Will love set them free? Or will hate burn everything to the ground? I absolutely devoured this book. It was a quick easy read that involved one of my favorite tropes of all time, enemies to lovers.
We meet Rune, a witch in hiding in plain sight on dangerous island where being a witch gets you killed. By day she is a naive shallow socialite and by night she is The Crimson Moth. Her goal is save as many witches she can from being killed. Her enemy/love interest ,Gideon, is ruthless witch hunter who has eyes set on snuffing out The Crimson Moth and all witches alike.
I loved the chemistry between our two star crossed lovers. The way it was handled made this book a quick and engaging read. Seeing their game of cat and mouse made bite my nails to the quick. Flipping through pages like it was no one’s business.
I would recommend this book to anyone who likes: enemies to lovers, cat and mouse games, witches and a romance that will have you speeding through pages.
I can’t wait to see where this series goes in future installments ☺️

An amazing book that many will enjoy. I was drawn in by the cover and stayed for the content. Wish I could have grabbed the special editons.

My God. This was such an amazing book. Perfect for people who love witchy tales.

I was hooked from the beginning.

I really enjoyed Heartless Hunter, I found it to be a very quick and engaging story. I really liked the nods to the Scarlet Pimpernel. I feel like we don’t have a lot of books with that as an inspiration. I liked Rune and Gideon as our main characters. I kind of saw the twist coming at the end, but it didn’t affect my enjoyment of the story.

When I saw this described as “a steamy game of cat and mouse between witch and witch-hunter” I was like, absolutely. Sign me up. And it did not disappoint.

Heartless Hunter is the first book in The Crimson Moth series and I am so excited for the upcoming books in the series. This story followed Rune, a witch who spends her nights as the vigilante, the Crimson Moth, and her days as a superficial socialite. When one of her rescues goes wrong, she decides to get more intel by dating Gideon Sharpe, a notorious witch hunter.

It is a really entertaining enemies to lovers, cat and mouse story that I literally couldn’t put down. The setting really reminded me of Brandon Sanderson’s Mistborn, with the balls and hiding in plain sight. I loved every minute of it.

The ending absolutely BROKE my heart… but I am impatiently waiting for the next book & will be devouring it the moment it releases.

Thank you so much to Netgalley & Wednesday Books for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was SO good!! The tension between Gideon and Rune was amazing! And that ending??? SHEESH! I need the next book immediately.

I'm going to preface this review with the fact that this currently holds my second favorite book of the year. It was everything I wants Serpent & Dove to be. I wanted real stakes, real danger, and a loathing (sorry, longing) from our two leads that then when their Mr. & Mrs. Smith game comes to a head, they then really have to go their separate ways because of who they are. I love that both of our mains are fully fleshed out and are more than what they are to each other and specifically seek to work in opposition to each other. Our supporting cast is great too and really helps expose the classism embedded in this world.

4 stars

Thank you Nwtgalley and publisher!

Well, I'm officially ready for the second book. I devoured this book in a day.

I loved Rune's character and was really into her and Gideon's relationship. I also loved how this book was a quick read. It's nice to read one of those once in a while.

Can't wait for the next book!

This book seems well done. This book is also a dnf for me.

Allow me to explain.

Every time I started reading this book, I was filled with a sense of dread. Then I realized, it's because the stakes in the book are so high it was giving me anxiety! However, this means that the author was able to convey that sense of danger effectively. So if you enjoy high stakes, witches, witch hunters and affairs between the two, I would highly recommend this book!

I will confess that I went into this book with all sorts of preconceived notions, the primary one being that I wouldn't like it because my tastes have changed, and this is primarily a fantasy romance. So, with expectations set low, I began my journey into this story, neatly sandwiched between two aggressive books about power, control, abuse, and death. This, in short, was to be my delightful palate cleanser.

What I did not expect from this book was an imaginative retelling of The Scarlet Pimpernel, a story set during the French Revolution, where a masked hero, disguised as a foppish aristocrat, crosses the English Channel and rescues revolutionaries from the guillotine. In this first in the Crimson Moth series, author Ciccarelli skillfully reverses gender roles, and our heroine is the plucky Rune Winters, pretending to be a shallow society girl while riding out to rescue her fellow persecuted witches. The love interest, of course, is the witch hunter Gideon, hot on her trail.

The witch hunts here are not the historical ones, where an Early Modern Europe executed approximately 50,000 of its own in the witch craze. Rather, Ciccarelli creates a fantasy world where magic is real, the witches cast real spells, and we live in a world of make believe.

And that's all the plot I will reveal. I expected to skim whole sections of this book that I did not think I would enjoy. Instead I found myself riveted to the page, especially the back-and-forth dialogue between our two young lovers, Rune and Gideon. I am shocked and amazed at the ending, and I am on pins and needles (figuratively, that is), until the release of the story's continuation.

Kudos, Ms. Ciccarelli! Nice job!

I did NOT want this to end - when is the next book out?
The tension, the vulnerable male mc, witches and kickass women and a great twist - well done and I must have more!
I loved Rune's character - though her experience with Nan was repetitive as a way to show guilt. I loved all of her interactions with Gideon.
Gideon was my favorite character - I loved his POV as well as the male lead with trauma and issues. So well done - I love when a male character exhibits such vulnerability.