Overall this was a good read but it wasn't without flaws.

The magic system and world building are done well, and the writing voice has a fantastic flow. I do think the plot twist were extremely predictable and the characterization could've been stronger. There were some inconsistencies in how we are told the characters are and the actual actions they take, and not in the way that people as a whole can be flawed and deviate from how they usually are when faced with the unexpected.

Heartless Hunter is the first book in Kristen Ciccarelli's new fantasy duology, The Crimson Moth. A tale filled with world building, magic, and romance, this was a great start...Look for the conclusion coming out in 2025!

First, I want to say how much I LOVE this cover! Pulled in by the colors and beautiful moth, I just had to see what this wonderful cover held inside. From the gold sparkles at the top, to the vibrant green and red, this is one of the prettiest covers I've seen recently.

Two years ago, there was an uprising and the Witch Queens were killed. Ever since then, Rune Winter has been trying to save the remaining witches from being purged by the Blood Guard. Hiding in plain sight, she gleans information from various friends and suitors, hoping that the Blood Guard doesn't find her. Helping her are her friends Verity de Wilde and Alex Sharpe, brother to the Blood Guard Captain. To save Seraphine, her Nan's friend, she will need all the information she can get, and the best place to get it is from Gideon Sharpe, who has never liked her. Gideon is hot on the trail of the Crimson Moth, and he has suspicions that it may be Rune bleeding his Guard members. To find out if Rune is the witch he's searching for, he must pretend to court her, not knowing that she is doing the same to him.

This was a little bit of a slow burn for me while the world building and foundation was being set. Filled with romance, this is an enemies to lovers fake dating story. Rune is a fully fleshed out character with flaws just like anyone else. She doesn't always make the right decisions, so she's a relatable character. Gideon is a dark and secretive man, with a troubled past. He doesn't fit in with Rune's circle of friends, usually keeping to himself and not letting anyone get too close to him. They're both out of their comfort zones while trying to use the other for their own means.

All in all, a great fantasy filled with magic and romance, friendship and loyalty. If you enjoy a good witch story, or like the enemies-to-lovers trope, then this is a definite must-read for you!

Thank you to @NetGalley and @WednesdayBooks for a digital copy for review consideration. All opinions are honest and my own.

I love witchy books and I had high expectations for this book. I ended up liking it, but not loving it. I like the plot, witches against their oppressors, the rising rebellion, and the witch hiding in plain sight. I didn’t get into the romance. It felt forced, and that both parties shouldn’t have been so blinded. I understand that the male main character had experienced trauma at the hands of witches, but I never get how that goes from hating that individual to hating all or to killing innocents. I thought the one twist lacked a bit of sense . I am pleased that there seems to be a true villain, and I am eager to see how that plays out in the sequel.

Many thanks to NetGalley for a copy of The Heartless Hunter in exchange for an honest review. This one pulled me right in and made me want to stop and binge read.

Overall a fast paced YA fantasy with witches at the core along with a mix of enemies to lovers mixed with friend to lovers mixed with a brother love triangle. I found it to be action packed with some nice twists at the end.

Will definitely be picking up the next one!

Rune is a witch, Gideon is a witch hunter. What shenanigans could that combination get into. I enjoyed this book a lot, and I am very much looking forward to the second book in this duology. It was very Scarlet Pimpernel esque, which I loved, and it did a good job of melding that style of character with witch hunters and magic. I'm looking forward to seeing how their story continues!.

This book is going to be highly loved, I am calling it now. Heartless Hunter is a great addition to the romantasy genre that I devoured while travelling.

Rune is a witch in hiding. A few years ago there was a devastating revolution that saw witches overthrown, their queens killed, and a salem-esque witch hunt to break out. Rune is about 18 and when she isn't pretending to be a vapid socialite by day, she is the Crimson Moth, a vigilante that rescues witches from witch hunters. Rune is on the hunt for a husband to get more inside information, and starts a relationship with the head witch hunter, Gideon. What she doesn't know is he has hints that she might be the Crimson Moth and is using her just as she is using him.

A romantic-fantasy with a good game of cat and mouse, it is going to be a duology. Witches in this world use blood magic, but it can be freely given so there isn't anything too gory.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an advanced readers copy.

4.5 stars

Oh my goodness! My plan was to read a little today, then clean the house. That didn't happen. I could not put this book down.

Who is the bad guy? The witch or the witch hunter? Are all witches bad? Rune was raised by a witch, and by day is an aristocrat but by night she is the Crimson Moth, a vigilante who helps captured witches escape. Gideon hunts witches and is the captain of the Blood Guard. His goal in life is to catch the Crimson Moth. Rune decides to court Gideon to get information on where the witches are being held, and Gideon suspects Rune of being the Crimson Moth. What happens if the two, while tricking each other for information, truly fall for each other?

I was immersed in this book from the first chapter. It is a fantastic fantasy romance, deeply emotional, with love, friendship, tension, betrayal, and secrets. I highly recommend this fantasy!

I hadn't realized this one was YA when I chose it, but I did really enjoy it. There were some twists that I did see coming, and some that I didn't. I enjoyed the romantic aspect of this fantasy story and the witchy elements, but felt like I needed more story on how Rune operated as The Crimson Moth. I can't wait to read more with the next book in the series!

Opinion: Would Recommend
Level: Medium - 3.5⭐️

Title: Heartless Hunter
Author: Kristen Ciccarelli
Genre: Fantasy
Rating: 4.5 out of 5

On the night Rune’s life changed forever, blood ran in the streets. Now, in the aftermath of a devastating revolution, witches have been diminished from powerful rulers to outcasts ruthlessly hunted due to their waning magic, and Rune must hide what she is.

Spending her days pretending to be nothing more than a vapid young socialite, Rune spends her nights as the Crimson Moth, a witch vigilante who rescues her kind from being purged. When a rescue goes wrong, she decides to throw the witch hunters off her scent and gain the intel she desperately needs by courting the handsome Gideon Sharpe - a notorious and unforgiving witch hunter loyal to the revolution - who she can't help but find herself falling for.

Gideon loathes the decadence and superficiality Rune represents, but when he learns the Crimson Moth has been using Rune’s merchant ships to smuggle renegade witches out of the republic, he inserts himself into her social circles by pretending to court her right back. He soon realizes that beneath her beauty and shallow façade, is someone fiercely intelligent and tender who feels like his perfect match. Except, what if she’s the very villain he’s been hunting?

I really enjoyed this read! The first chapter or so was iffy for me, with Rune’s superficial artificial personality at the forefront, but she grew on me quickly. The society part was frustrating, because superficiality always frustrates me, but Rune played her part admirably and I loved how she had everyone fooled about the truth of her.

Gideon was a fascinating character: a strong man who was broken in the past. I enjoyed getting to know him and all the layers of his personality. The worldbuilding was fascinating, and I’m looking forward to reading more.

Kristen Ciccarelli is a bestselling author who lives in Ontario. Heartless Hunter is her newest novel.

(Galley courtesy of St. Martin’s Press in exchange for an honest review.)

⭐️ Ratings:
Overall Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 4.5/5
Writing: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 4/5
Plot: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 5/5
Characters: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 5/5
Romance: 🌹🌹🌹🌹 4/5
Spice: 🔥 0.5/5

📖 What to Expect:
✓ Witchy vibes
✓ Great world building
✓ Slow burn enemies to lovers romance
✓ Sort-of love triangle
✓ Lots of action, fast-paced
✓ Big cliffhanger

An amazing 4.5 YA/NA fantasy romance. I, for absolutely no reason, was holding off on this one. But so glad I finally read it! Judging by the description, it really wasn’t what I was expecting, but in a good way. The whole seaside setting with aristocrats and witches and hunters is an easy way to my heart. The book was very fast-paced and had some great twists throughout.

I expect to get the Gideon and Rune endgame that I want in this next book :)

thank you to netgalley for a free arc of this book in exchange for an honest review!
okay i was not expecting to like this. the beginning was a little slow and I think the writing could be a little bit better but this was so fun! good chemistry between gideon and rune and a great enemies to lovers story. this is what i want when i look for enemies to lovers, not just rivals but actual enemies! i'm hooked and can't wait for the rest of the series
i'm totally in my witch era now!

Thank you to NetGalley and Wednesday Books for the ARC of this book.

so basically Batman but with Witches.

Jokes aside, I think this was a decent first book. Definitely predictable, definitely some basic writing. But it was entertaining. I really enjoyed Gideon and his tortured old brother standpoint.

I’ll probably end up reading the second one.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book! I was immediately sucked in to the story and really didn't want to put this one down. This is a fun twist on the Scarlet Pimpernel, and I'm anxious to get my hands on book 2 to see where this story goes. We get some deliciously deceptive fake dating between witch and witch hunter, and the chemistry between our two mc's is top notch. I think one of my favorite things was that I really didn't see the plot twists coming (always a win, in my book), and they were really good, too.

There were one or two things that I didn't love, but they didn't really affect my enjoyment of this book. I will happily recommend this to other romantasy lovers and I'm excited for the next book!

This book was soooooo goood. I enjoyed the two main characters playing each other. The romance, the emotions, it was fast paced and I loved it! Being a YA book, some of the things had me giggling and loving those young girl moments, the period blood, the “looking between the legs” and many other things. I do wish we would have gotten more of Rune’s action saving witches.
Some of the twists were a bit predictable and the end seemed a little rushed BUT I know we were just being prepped for the next book. I CANNOT wait for it! I have so many questions thanks to the cliffhanger.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for allowing me to read this advance copy!

wow just wow this book had me hooked from the first page and i devoured it in 2 days. If I would've started this on a saturday or sunday I would've finished it in a day. The deceit, the forbidden love, the betrayl but numerous people and the secrets kept were so well written and revealed at the right times that I could not put the book down until I finsihed it. I loved it and I can't wait for book 2 to come out!

This was a very solid fantasy/romantasy witch and witch hunter story. Perfect for fans of Serpent & Dove, very engaging story, fast-paced plot, Rune is secretly a witch in a society where witchcraft has been banned and witches are hunted and executed. By day she is a socialite but by night she is the Crimson Moth, a witch vigilante who frees captive witches to save them from death. When the captain of the guards seems to be on her trail, she begins to court him, but the two of them become entangled and real feelings start to emerge.
Will definitely be reading the sequel!

This was a great read with all the angst, tension, and betrayal you could want. It's going to be torture waiting a year for the conclusion.

Thank you to Net Galley and the Publisher for a chance to review this ARC.

I’ve never read anything by Kristen Ciccarelli, but wow, this was a great introduction. I am a huge fantasy fan, and I particularly like fantasy books that focus on magic and witches. This book has an interesting and well thought out (albeit simple) magic system that is enjoyable for novice and seasoned fantasy readers alike. It was unique, and I’m not sure I’ve read another story with a magic system quite like this one, so that certainly scores this book big points. It’s easy to rejig existing concepts, and hard to create something distinct - I think Ciccarelli manages to do that here.

The characters are interesting and fairly well developed - although again, simple - not in a bad way, but uncomplicated and without a ton of heavy backstory. I think she could have given us more in this area, but in order to keep this a shorter book, and for a perhaps younger audience, what she did offer was perfect. I could see this easily being double the length, if she’d wanted.

I’ve been in a pretty big reading slump this year, and this was one of the first books of 2024 that I couldn’t put down. Overall, 5 stars, and I’m v upset I have to wait till 2025 for the second book in this series.

Where to start even start with this one?! I am obsessed. I plowed through this. I also love witchy reads so I may be slightly biased— but the magic system in this book was SO unique. I have read a lot of witchy books and have never come across a magic system like this one.

Loosely based on The Scarlet Pimpernel, the story follows Rune, our witch, & Gideon, the witch hunter. Separately both of them decide to court each other for nefarious reasons. Time to gain intel about where another witch is being held prisoner, & Gideon to determine if Rune is The Crimson Moth— the vigilante who frees witches from captivity in the middle of the night.

This creates a cat and mouse dynamic and the start of enemies to lovers 👀

There is also some goood plot twists that I didn’t see coming and this ends of a cliffhanger that has me dying for book 2!!

The writing style is right to the point. It’s not fluffy, making this a quick, fast paced, and action packed read.

There are definitely some things I didn’t enjoy. The main thing being Harlow and her pushiness (if you’ve read this, you’ll understand). But regardless, I had such a fun time with this. This is the first book in awhile where I didn’t see the twists coming so for that alone…

5/5 stars ✨✨

This is marketed as YA— but check your TW before reading. There is discussion of abuse/SA/loss of a family member in the past tense.

romantasy at its finest. twisty and fast faced and I can feel the impending agony coming my way. bless me