Heartless Hunter is a fascinating enemies-to-lovers tale full of magic and intrigue, a witchy game of cat-and-mouse where everything is not as it seems, and it's harder and harder for our FMC Rune to know who to trust.
✔️ Witches + witch hunters
✔️ Enemies to lovers
✔️ Love triangle (resolves by the end)
✔️ Forbidden magic
✔️ Morally grey characters
The tension that boils beneath the surface between these two characters makes it a simmering hot cat and mouse engrossing read. What do you do when you want to stay loyal to who you are but are in love with the one who wants to end your life and your kind life? I thought that the way that the witch hunter identified the witches with these condemning scars was quite interesting. I also found it funny that the brother is on the rune side, not his witch-hunting brother. A very intense story that kept me guessing till the end of what was going to happen.

If you like slow burn, enemies to lovers, witches and witch hunters, this story is for you. Beware there is a HUGE cliffhanger!

I read this book in two days, I could't put it down. The cat and mouse game between the main two characters was done so well, I was fully invested from their first interaction. The magic system was interesting and easy enough to follow along right away. I cannot wait to read the next book in this series and find out how it all turns out.

Kristen Ciccarelli is one of my favorite authors, and her newest book, Heartless Hunter has become a new favorite book of mine!

In this story, you will find a witch who masquerades as the Crimson Moth vigilante, and a witch hunter who is after her. You will quickly be captivated and enchanted. What will happen? Well.... you'll just have to read it for yourself to discover all the twists and turns and if these two will find love in each other.

Thank you to the author, publisher and @NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Heartless Hunter surprised me! I got an ARC and saw that it was a BOTM pick so I figured it was finally time to pick it up and it did not disappoint! Can’t wait for Rebel Witch, the second in this series (but we have to wait till 2025?! What gives?).

Instead of cat-and-mouse we get witch-and-witch-hunter in this stunning novel. Rune is a witch in hiding and also a witch vigilante called the Crimson Moth. She hides her identity under the guise of a vapid socialite and tries her best to learn the craft to save other witches.

Her best friends, Alex and Verity know her secret and Alex’s brother Gideon has no idea the very witch he hunts is right under his nose. But as he begins to suspect Rune, their world unravels and relationships and friendships will be tested.

I LOVED THIS! Morally grey characters, enemies to lovers, love triangle, witch and hunters! This was such an amazing book and the ending, im still crying!

Thank you to the publishers for this eARC to review. This book is a 5/5 for me, as Kristen Ciccarelli ALWAYS is for me, which is the only reason why I'm rating it. I will be withholding a full review until St. Martin's Press/Wednesday Books addresses the harmful comments an employee made publicly on social media pertaining the genocide in Palestine.

I cannot wait for book two! I loved the dynamic between Gideon and Rune, each trying to deceive and outthink the other. The Magic system is intriguing, and I’m hoping we’ll get to see more if it further into the series.

Heartless Hunter was an entertaining story! I really enjoyed the mystery and the suspense! After a couple of pages I was hooked! Hopefully there will be more books based on the same characters or at least in the same world! That would be great! Happy reading!

Rune is witch, forced to hide her magic, or be purged. By day, she is a beautiful, young heiress who likes to party, gossip, and flirt. By night, she is the Crimson Moth, a vigilante hellbent on rescuing as many witches as she can from a terrible fate. When a rescue mission goes awry, Rune decides to seduce Gideon Sharpe, the Captain of the Blood Guard, in order to discover new, reliable information about the prison. Gideon in turn, decides to court Rune, as clues continue to point in the direction of her being the infamous Crimson Moth.

As the fast paced game of cat and mouse unfolds, both Gideon and Rune grow closer to the truth and the facades they have put up begin to shatter.

Read if you like:
* witches
* romance
* forbidden magic
* betrayal
* enemies to lovers
* morally gray characters

THIS BOOK IS SO GOOD. It was the most fun I’ve had reading anything in a long time.

The world building is well done - there is a stark contrast between the elitists, the underprivileged, and the witch sympathizers. The magic system is well explained and an interesting take on blood magic. I loved both Rune and Gideon’s characters, their banter, and their character development both together and as individuals. The plot twists are twisting, but the clues are there.

Heartless Hunter is an action-packed, enemies-to-lovers, romantasy that you won’t be able to put down. I can’t wait for the sequel.

Thank you to NetGalley and Wednesday Books for a free digital copy of this book. This is my honest review. Publication date: February 20, 2024.

I forgot to leave a review for this, but I really enjoyed it! It's been out for ages, so I won't say much more than I need to for my star rating. <3

I don't know why it took me so long to read Heartless Hunter when everyone was saying how wonderful it was. Kristen Ciccarelli has written one of the best fantasy books that I've read in a long time. It is going to be so hard to wait for book 2.

Rune Winters and Gideon Sharpe are characters that I want to spend more time with. Rune is so clever and Gideon is a match both in cunning and wits with her. Rune's work as the Crimson Moth with the intent of rescuing captured witches puts her directly in the path of Gideon Sharpe, the relentless captain of the Blood Guard. Gideon's past interactions with witches is traumatic so to him the only good witch is a dead witch. Little does he know that his brother, Alex, is best friend with the witch that he's sworn to capture.

What starts as a dance of matched wits soon turns to friendship and even love. But this is not a story that can end happily. Rune is too desperate to rescue who she sees as her people and Gideon is too broken to see that not all witches are bad people. Alex is caught between his devotion to Rune and his brother's past trauma.

This is no recipe for a happy ending and indeed the book ends on a bang.

What I really loved about Heartless Hunter was the devotion to characterization and plot. All of the characters were sympathetically drawn and their mistakes and relationships were written with empathy. Rune and Gideon slowly fall in love and their romance is full of little moments of sweetness. The building blocks of the relationship are there, and they aren't skipped over. The plot points make sense and the little clues left along the way culminate in the full picture. There are no plot holes that I can discern. Every part of the dance is drawn down to the little details, which contributes to the devastating end.

I am utterly bereft. Ciccarelli ruined me for other fantasy novels.

Thank you to Netgalley and Wednesday Books for the arc for review purposes.

I really enjoyed this one! I thought that the characters were interesting and the magic system was well thought out. In fact, I think that was my favorite part. It was the troupes that enticed me, but the writing that propelled me through the story. Looking forward to the next one!

<i> Thank you to the author, the publisher, and NetGalley for providing this advance reader's copy for an honest review. </i>

4.7 / 5.0

Heartless Hunter OR The Crimson Moth (depending on where you live) by Kristen Ciccarelli is a fantastic gender-bend of Robin Hood meets The Count of Monte Cristo. This is an enemies-to-lovers but not, because the whole time one of the characters is knowingly using the other, while themselves knowing (with very good reason) why this such a monumentally bad plan.

The plot of the book is high stakes and somewhat fast paced. The world building and magic system is superb, and I am very much looking forward to more in this series. There could have been more angst, though the heartbreak is exquisite, and I feel the FMC could have a little more agency. She’s like Batman but doesn’t have a very good Bruce Wayne persona, if that makes sense.

Not me realizing I might have just spoiled the whole thing for myself in the future…

Anyways, overall this is excellent, I recommend it to everyone, and if you get your hands on a SE of either title, keep it safe forevermore.

Until Next Time,
MC


Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for letting me review this.

So good! I felt the ending was rushed compared to the slow burn of the rest of the book. I will definitely read the next one. And recommend.

Thank you!

Quick, easy read that left me wanting more! Completely bummed I have to wait a whole year for part two. Definitely more on the YA track but I'm here for it. The story was complex and detailed enough without being too heavy and intense on the world building. Highly recommend if you're wanting a fun, witchy fantasy with a teensy bit of romance (nothing too spicy)!

Exciting and fast-paced, this book sets off at a run and doesn’t let up. The tension is good. The characters are put in dire circumstances in a unique magical world. The blood magic and cutting can be a little tricky for any people that might have dealt with self-harm issues, but it’s pretty up front about this in the first chapter. I have n’t read anything else from Ciccarelli, but I’m looking forward to reading the rest of this series.

Thank you to Netgalley and Wednesday Books for a copy of this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

First off, I have to say that I really did enjoy this novel & will keep reading the series. This sits between a 4 and a 5 stars for me and will be a 4.5 stars overall.

This was very much your witch x witch hunter romantasy/fantasy romance. I will preface by saying the last couple witch x witch hunter novels I read, I was not a fan of. However, I really really enjoyed Heartless Hunter.

The FMC is clever, resourceful and beautiful and outsmarts our MMC at every corner - I love reading stories and novels with a strong FMC like Rune! She had a backstory that made it easy to understand her intentions and motivations.
The MMC was also smart and determined and intriguing to read about. He also had a backstory that made it easy to understand his motivations and beliefs.
Though each side had their own view, it was hard to not side with and understand both characters, which is a rarity for a reader like myself so far!

The worldbuilding was not very in depth, and gave just enough to understand the characters and the plot, making this a fun and easy read.

The writing, in my opinion, is great, it clearly is a YA novel and it’s easy to read and digest - and with the plot moving as quickly as it does, it was easy to keep track of what was going on. The book moves quickly and enough is explained so I don’t feel as though I was missing out or missing information. My one gripe is that I didn’t love the ending of the book and the dynamic between the MMC and FMC, I also didn’t like a particular twist in the way the FMC was going to handle something towards the end of this novel - as it felt slightly out of character for Rune.

Overall, this is a fun romantasy read that is fast paced, flirty and a bit spicy. I enjoyed it and will be coming back for the next one!

This was a very interesting ride to say the least. I love the writing the most it's what pulls you in. The disappointing part was the enemies to lovers portion of the story even though I do enjoy getting both points of views of our two characters. I do wish we got more in the way of world building.

I NEED BOOK TWO!! This was such an amazing read. From page one to the very end I was sucked into the story. I devoured this book. Run and Gideon and Alex.. characters so well done and so easy to love and want more of. And the ending??? Oh my. I need more.

I laughed and cried and was left in utter shock at times. I audibly gasped when the twist was introduced. This book was so well written. This is a book for the collection. The is one you will want to own and go back to from time to time because you know it’ll cross your mind. I almost wish I could reread it for the first time again. A must read!

Huge huge thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC.