I can't get enough of the witch and the witch-hunter trope, but make the witch a witch vigilante who rescues her kind from persecution, and OMG, Heartless Hunter delivered! I not only loved the the push and pull between Rune and Gideon, but that ending! Let's just say it will have you primed to read book 2 fast!

Rune is a witch. Gideon is a witch hunter. Rune is trying to stay hidden in plain sight. Gideon is trying to flush out the elusive crimson moth. Each is playing each other in this case of cat and mouse, but who is the cat and who is the mouse? And what if the cat and mouse fall in love with each other?

As the starting book of a new series, I’m hooked.

Themes: 🧙‍♀️🩸🔪🖤

My thoughts: 😀🤩😎

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How refreshing — a true enemies to lovers fantasy story with life and death stakes!

Heartless Hunter is the perfect hunted/hunter, cat and mouse steamy game of secrets and mystery with some lovely romantic gestures sparkled in between ( he makes her a fabric flower and designs and sews her a whole gown for an event).
We have a captain of the guard MC who’s grumpy, dedicated to his cause and mission with the republic and a FC who pretends to be sunshine to hide her secrets and vigilante/rebel actions. What could go wrong?!

Thinking they’re both playing each other, they fall for each other… with fatal consequences.

I loved this book. Really satisfied with the end but also highly anticipating book 2.

I absolutely loved The Last Namsara so I leaped at the opportunity to read an early copy of Heartless Hunter.

And I was not disappointed.

I devoured this book. I appreciated that the magic system was not convenient but had real costs for those seeking power. I also appreciated that there were honestly no real "good guy" side in the world but a closer approximation of reality: people with power struggling for more power and hurting the people they are supposed to protect in the wake. Heartless Hunter pulled no punches in this aspect.

This one is a slow burn but some fun cat & mouse / enemies to lovers vibes. It ends in a brutal cliffhanger that left me with wondering where the heck this story is going to go.

Fans of witches/witch hunters, enemies to lovers, slow burn, and morally grey (at best) characters will enjoy this one.

I think it is marketed as YA but there are a lot of content and themes that feel more on the NA side. Check out content warnings if needed for safe reading.

This is a YA/NA romantasy about a witch and a witch hunter playing a deadly game of cat-and-mouse. I was on the edge of my seat each time they went toe-to-toe. The magic system was interesting, although I feel like there’s a lot that Rune herself doesn’t understand. Rune and Gideon both have deeply personal reasons for their actions and opinions. I’m glad they were both explored, especially Gideon’s past. One little detail that tugged on my heartstrings was the silk flowers, particularly as the story goes on and more is revealed about what they mean to Gideon.

I did have a few hangups. There were several plot holes (though it’s possible they could be resolved in the next book). My biggest issue was with the love story. I don’t think I’ve ever read a love triangle where I’ve rooted so hard for the other guy. I’m sure there are plenty of people who disagree, but to me Gideon was never the best choice. Overall though, this was a very engaging read and I’m very curious to see where the story goes next. Especially after that ending.

It took me a while to get into this but eventually the story did start to pick up. I enjoyed the angst between Rune and Gideon. Curious to see what comes next for them.

*4.75 rounded to 5*

Rune is your average ditsy socialite, throwing parties and herself at suitors. Or is that just what she wants you to think? In reality, she is known as the Crimson Moth, a witch helping other witches escape from capture and execution by the Blood Guard. She gets by with a little help from her friends Alex and Verity. She decides to fake date Gideon (Alex's brother who is high up in the Blood Guard) to get information about where the witches are being held. Gideon, who has his suspicions that Rune is the Crimson Moth, agrees to court her to find out if she is his elusive target. Feelings ensue.

This was so good! Such a fun time. You really experience every emotion as your reading. The plot twists! The ending! All the things! I can't wait to reread it knowing what I know now and keeping an eye out for clues. The second book can't get here fast enough!

Thank you to NetGalley for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you NetGalley and Kristen Ciccarelli for given me a chance to read this book early for a honest review.

Heartless Hunter is enemies to lovers book and it’s marketed for adults but I would certainly classify as YA. It has witches. witch hunters and romance. I’ve read many witch books and this really kept me interested and wanting more.

The characters were solid and Rune and Gabriel made this book. Their banter and underlying love keeps you rooting for them. I didn’t love how her monthly period was a big part of casting spells. This just didn’t appeal to me and honestly could’ve done without this in the book. I did enjoy how the spells were defined at the beginning of the chapters.

Kristen has certainly set this up to be a series. Hopefully in the future she will dive into more romance. Definitely interred in reading more about Ruin and where she goes from here

I Absolutely LOVED this book. I was worried about the end because I didn't want it to wreck me. It was both predictable and unpredictable. I knew where the ending was leading and who the culprit was, but then some other loops were thrown in for good measure. The pacing was perfect and nothing felt forced. I enjoyed the conflict in which both think they're playing a game against the other and outwitting one another. I do want to see where this goes because I was not expecting Rune to be forced to be where she is in the end. Now I want book two.

I do appreciate the unique way in which the magic system is presented. Blood Magic, but I love the limitation that is put on it in various ways - fresh vs old, willing vs unwilling, and much more. I'd love to see just how much this will develop.

4.25⭐️

Heartless Hunter is an engrossing 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. I enjoyed all the world-building and the complex characters, and am quite eager to read the next chapter as soon as possible.

Thank you Kristen Ciccarelli, St. Martin’s Press, and NetGalley for providing this ARC for review consideration. All opinions expressed are my own.

3.5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This book is a little hard to rate. More than a 3, but less than a 4 so I’m just going to round up!

An intriguing romantasy (honestly I’m not even sure if we can fully call it a ROMANtasy, but I’ll go with it) involving a new political reign, hunted witches, and a full blown army of hunters.

I do really like the FMC and two MMCs (let’s hear it for Alex!!! I’ll reserve my opinion on Gideon for the sequel.) It ends on a cliffhanger so I feel like I can’t really form an opinion until I get some answers! There’s not much to say without giving out spoilers, but I’ll definitely be reading the second book!

*Kindly received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

this is my fault. I downloaded without thinking about it carefully. It's just not right for me right now. Thank you so much

This story was about a witch and a witch hunter who end up falling for each other and it was such an amazing story. I’ve already started recommending it to my friends. I cannot wait for the second book to release

I was lucky enough to receive an advance copy of this book and while I am grateful… I’m also upset because I was ENTHRALLED and the wait for book two will be torturous 😭

This book has all the best elements of a fantasy romance:
- an interesting magic system
- well thought out characters that have interests/storylines beyond the romance
- an intriguing plot that sucks you in and makes you need to keep reading
- and of course, a heart-wrenching romance

I truly fell in love with these characters and their complex motivations and backstories… and read this in one sitting because I couldn’t put it down.

This book was fantastic! I loved this author’s writing because it pulled me in from the first page. The world building was great and flowed naturally. I didn’t feel confused like I normally do when I start a new fantasy book or series! Also, Rune is my new favorite character! I can’t wait for the next book!

I was attracted to this title for the cover, the fact it was by the same publisher that wrote Godly Heathens, and the premise itself is something that I normally look for in my books. Magic and revolution and questionable circumstances is always a hit for me.

I cannot currently provide a review due to the Saint Martin's Press Boycott as we await a public statement against racism and assurance of safety for reviewers information. I will gladly provide an in detail review once the boycott is over and hope to be able to do so.

I didn’t realize going into this that it was inspired by my all-time favorite book, The Scarlet Pimpernel, but picking up on it after a few easter eggs (and confirming it with Google) immediately endeared me to it. So, my rating may be a liiiittle biased by my love of all things Scarlet Pimpernel related. 😜

But honestly, even my love of TSP aside, this was an engaging page turner—a fun game of cat and mouse between a witch and witch-hunter, each trying to outsmart the other while also faking a courtship together. It featured a truly competent and clever vigilante heroine who wasn’t overly sassy or stabby, and the twists and ruses were clever, well thought out, and well executed. My only complaint was that I wish we’d gotten to see Rune in action as the Crimson Moth a bit more.

Also, for being a YA novel, the characters weren’t overly immature, the romance was still perfectly sensual, and there were several moments that I found to be surprisingly dark and violent. So I think this would work as an upper YA or crossover novel that even adults could enjoy.

Read if you like:
✨️Enemies to Lovers
✨️Best Friend's Brother
✨️Witch/Witch Hunter
✨️Interesting Magic
✨️Revolutions

(And you don't mind an unfinished series!)

I really enjoy retellings that are loosely based, so hearing that The Scarlet Pimpernel (which I loved as a younger person) was part of the impetus for this story, I was certainly intrigued. The politics in this world are Interesting, with the background of the Witch Queen Sisters and the hunting of the Witches. Our main characters both have a lot of trauma in their background, so while I occasionally wanted to shake them, the patterns they were playing out made sense. I was rooting for everyone to get to a happy place because I like people on both sides of the conflict.

Thank you to @stmartinspress via @netgalley for my #eARC.

Rating: 5/5 Stars
Genre: Romantic Fantasy

Under the New Republic, witches are evil and must be killed and anyone who sympathizes with them is just as bad. In an effort to save herself, Rune's grandmother forces Rune to expose her grandmother as a witch. Fulfilling her dying wish, Rune does just that, but promises to help witches. She plays the part of a ditzy socialite during the day, but by night she is known as the Crimson Moth, a witch herself as well as one who rescues other witches from being murdered or "purged". To rescue a specific witch, Rune decides to pretend to court Gideon Sharpe, a leader of the witch hunters (who has been seriously burned by loving a powerful witch in the past), in order to get more information. Gideon Sharpe has the same idea in order to see if Rune may in fact be the Crimson Moth he has been trying to catch. What neither of them realize is that they might just develop real feelings for each other, and that could also have some real consequences.

Wow I LOVED this one! I liked the world building (I can't wait to know more in the second book), the character development, the TRUE enemies to lovers plot, the dual POV, and the heartbreak!! I mean this book really had some devastating moments, but honestly the more a book makes me feel the better! I am really attached to all of the characters, so I'm mixed between not wanting to wait for the next book to come out vs. being sad it is only planned for a duology. Will definitely be following what this author does in the future and checking out the backlog!

Thank you NetGalley, St. Martin's Press, and author Kristen Ciccarelli for the opportunity to read this eARC in exchange for my honest review.

This was an enjoyable read, but honestly felt very similar to all the other forbidden love/magical romantasy books. It is possible that I am just a bit fatigued of the genre, but it just felt like I’ve read a version of this book numerous times before. Many of the plot points seemed tired and the “unexpected” twists and turns were highly predictable and overly convenient.