A witch, a witch hunter, and enemies to lovers thrown into a romantic fantasy. It's the perfect recipe. Rune must hide what she is in the aftermath of a devastating revolution- during the day she masks her identity as a young socialite and at night she's a vigilante rescuing witches from death.

Kristen Ciccarelli has woven a tale that is filled with magic, witches, evil, betrayals, and a swoon worthy romance. Her writing is beautiful and is set up for a perfect pacing that keeps you hooked from the beginning. I simply can not describe this read any more than one intense and wild ride that left me shaken to the core.

This was such a fun read. I didn't know what to expect when I picked this up only that so many people were loving it. I hadn't read anything from this author before, so I didn't have any experience with her writing.
There was a lot I enjoyed about this story. The dynamic and tension between Rune and Gideon was chef's kiss. The banter was there, and the character development was everything I wanted. This to me reads older YA, bringing on New Adult. There is a spicy scene but it's pretty tame as far as spice goes and takes place pretty far into the book. This was a slow burn enemies to lovers with a lot of tension, high stakes, intriguing characters and a compelling plot. There was a twist new the end of the story that I hadn't seen coming which makes me very excited for where the story will go next. I can't wait to read the sequel!

Would highly recommend for people who enjoy enemies to lovers, a witch and witch hunter dynamic, slow burn romance, and rebellion plots.

Rune Winters: a witch trying to save her people. Gideon Sharpe: a witch hunter trying to save the people of the New Republic. One trying to get intel to keep up her vigilante acts. The other trying to determine if she is the Crimson Moth, the elusive witch he has been looking to arrest for years.

This book. WOW. The premise itself was so good, but the execution? So fun! I liked the author’s writing style! The story kept me guessing and kept me interested. I think the author did a great job of writing book 1 in a way that makes the reader want to learn more about the world and the story. The cliff hanger?? Get me book 2 ASAP!!

Thank you NetGalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

What worked:
Enemies to Lovers: Seeing the story from both Gideon’s POV and Rune’s, I can see that they have some level of dislike, if not outright hatred, for each other. Their positive feelings for each other grow over time, though it’s through a lens of lies. They both show each other something of their real selves, even as they manipulate one another for information.
Plot twist: the plot twist involving Rune’s friend was a shock to me and I thought it was well done.
Rune’s guilt over turning her grandmother in.
The magic system: Rune using her menstrual blood because using blood from a wound turns it silver was a great tactic! I loved the idea.
Gideon’s past: his witch related trauma made it easy to believe in his distrust of magic and witches in general. He’s also just a part of a larger system and his beliefs are pushed to the extreme by the government system that seeks to eradicate witchcraft.

What didn’t work:
Rune’s acting: could use some work. She’s too careless sometimes with her dealings, but she’s also unwilling to ask for help in order to protect her friends. It doesn’t not work.
Rune’s character: she acts so dumb sometimes. It could be a sign of her youth but she also sets herself apart from people since the beginning because of her intelligence and knowledge about the world and magic.
Gideon: can be really dumb sometimes. He misses obvious clues often for the sake of the story.

What I wanted:
I wanted more of Rune in society, with the dresses and droll conversation. I wanted to see more of the people and their reactions about witchcraft. Every conversation felt so sensational every time witches were mentioned. Which I suppose is to be expected because Rune only ever interacts with people outside of her intimate friends in a social setting. So even if people have different viewpoints, they’re unlikely to admit them, even in jest, so as to protect themselves.

I recommend this book to people who enjoy enemies to lovers, an interesting magic system, plot twists, and high society nonsense. Fans of the Little Thieves series will enjoy this book, as well, I think.

I didn’t really know what to expect going into this book, but I ended up really enjoying it. There were some inconsistencies/continuity issues, but they were minor and didn’t detract from the overarching story. Now that I’ve read this, I want to read Ciccarelli’s other series. I thought the world building was good, the characters were well fleshed out, and the story was perfectly paced. There was a scene at the end that nearly had me in tears. I was invested in what was happening with these characters, and after that ending I can’t wait for the next installment.

I am typically not a fantasy book reader but I really enjoyed this book! It was the perfect amount of fantasy and romance and the storyline was great. The book was well written and kept me entertained throughout.

Rune is a witch but she has to keep it hidden from her town otherwise they will kill her and especially being the crimson moth. The story details her romance with a witch hunter who is after her but she’s determined to use him for information all the while they are falling for each other. The story ends on a cliffhanger and can’t wait to see what happens.

A stunning mix of intrigue and magical description. I loved the subtle magic system reminiscent of One Dark Window mixed with the witch/hunter love story of Serpent & Dove. Can’t wait for the sequel.

Kristen Ciccarelli's HEARTLESS HUNTER is the enemies-to-lovers romantic fantasy I've been waiting for. Rune and Gideon have genuine reasons to loathe and fear each other, so the romantic tension and deceptions between them only intensifies as the story unfolds. Everything is so well executed! There wasn't a single lull--and I didn't guess the plot twists until just before they were unfolding. The worldbuilding is phenomenal (the magic system really works). Rune and Gideon are fully fleshed out with motivations and complexities that are completely understandable. Even side characters, like Victoria and Alex are compelling. I so wish we didn't have to wait a year to know what happens next. This novel also shows Ciccarelli's growth as a writer. A while ago I tried to get into her debut THE LAST NAMSARA but really struggled. However, after how incredible HEARTLESS HUNTER was, maybe I'll go back and give her other works a try again. The sequel, REBEL WITCH, is going to be an automatic preorder for me. Brava, Ciccarelli, Brava.

This had a lot of promise and I was so excited to read this arc. Unfortunately I ended up dnfing around the 60% mark. I was having to force myself to read it and the characters were falling flat to me. I also was a bit put off by the main character using period blood for the spells. Knowing she was rubbing it on herself and other places.

4.5
Omg I absolutely loved this book!! The storyline had me hooked from the beginning and I could not put this book down. The double life of Rune and the scheming of Gideon had my heart racing with fear and anticipation. I like how the story ended the way it did and I cannot wait for the second installment of the crimson moth series. Ive get some theories about what could happen and I hope I’ll be right because I want to see Rune get everything including Gideon ;)

I LOVED Heartless Hunter. Give me a good game of cat and house and add in all that tension and it's a win. I loved Rune and Gideon. They both tried to fight their feelings for each other even knowing their suspicions. Rune was so clever and fun. Gideon was so stoic and by the books. I loved seeing what Rune brought out of him and I lived for their interactions. I also loved her friendship with Alex. The plot twist and cliffhanger at the end was spectacular and has paved the way nicely for what is to come in the second book. I could not put this book down as I raced to find out what would happen between Rune and Gideon. I cannot wait for the second book and for more of the two of them.

An absolute must read.

I really enjoyed this one. The beginning of the story was a little hard for me to follow and get into. But around 25% in I started to really get invested. Fantasy is still new to me so the witchy talk was different but once I transitioned my brain to the world I was fully in. Rune having to hide who she was must have been so hard and to fall in love with someone who kills her kind. Risky business.

The ending!!!! Stop. Tell me what is going on!

I didn’t expect to love this as much as I did. It was a fun enemies to lovers, witch and witch hunter fantasy romance. It’s fast paced and takes place in a world we’re witches once ruled and are now hunted and purged.
Rune spends her nights in secret as the Crimson Moth doing her best to secret away witches before they can be killed. She has few real friends and loads of society gossip friends. She keeps her identity secret and tries hard not to reveal the true her to anyone.

Gideon is the capitan of the witch guard and is hunting the Crimson Moth and has set his sights on Rune. But he can’t prove who it is no matter how hard he tries.

Was the writing the best? No. But it was still delightful and enjoyable and I cannot wait to read the next installment of the series!

I need the next book NOWWWWW!!! I love a good romantasy and anything with witches is always my vibe. The writing in this was great and I thought it was perfectly paced. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC!

I’m torn with giving this 4 stars or 3 stars because I enjoyed the overall story and had a good time reading. I would definitely recommend it to the right audience. However, while there are things I liked about this story, I was disappointed by other things, so let's get into it.

The premise sounded interesting, but I just couldn’t become engaged in the story. Maybe I didn’t pay enough attention that it was going to be enemies to lovers, which is one least favorite tropes, and affected my ability to enjoy the story. Looking at the other reviews, the book will find an audience, but it just wasn’t for me.

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press/Wednesday Books, and Kristen Ciccarelli for the eARC.

Lovely romantasy with unique take on witches and how they use their power. Excellent world building. Would recommend to new adults who enjoy romantasy genre and Tiktok trend books.

Love love love love! This is one of my favorite fantasy books to have been published recently. It is so good. The characters are rich and vibrant. I would absolutely recommend this!

Witches and witch hunters are destined to be enemies, but what happens when two people on opposite sides of destiny are also soul mates?
Rune is leading a double life; by day she is a busy socialite, and by night, she is a witch in the shadows-known as the Crimson Moth-sworn to help her kind escape capture and execution.
Gideon is a witch hunter who wants nothing more to eliminate all witches from the realm, and above all, he is determined to capture the Crimson Moth and punish her for all of the witches she has freed.
Rune and Gideon's fates intertwine when each sees the other as a tool to get what they most desire, but as they spend more time together and divulge secrets to one another, it becomes more difficult to see the enemy within.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book, but I believe it falls more into the "new adult" realm than "young adult," and for that reason, I do not feel I can add this title to my high school collection.

Thank you to Wednesday Books and Netgalley for a free copy of this book. I have as pleasantly surprised with how much I enjoyed this book. YA has been really hit or miss with me lately and this one was a huge hit. I had all the nostalgia vibes from a good romantasy when I was a teen. Two guys liking the same main character, who would she choose? But it also had massive Mr and Mrs Smith vibes which was probably my favourite part of the whole book!! The only two downfalls would be I saw the plot twist coming, although to me it didn’t really take away from the book. The second was some of the use of blood was just weird. Other than that one of the most solid YA books in a while.