I absolutely loved this! The characters were great! Rune is such a deep character and I feel is actually mirrored in Gideon. Yes he’s a hunter and she’s a witch, but their motivations and aspirations are very similar. I love their chemistry and it was present right from their first interaction. I did not see the ending playing out like that so that’s awesome. All of the characters played their roles so well and actually added to the plot. I also enjoyed the flashbacks. I can’t wait to see where this series goes!

I loved this book! It definitely deserves 5 stars. My attention was held throughout the entirety of the book and I can’t wait for the second one! Every twist of this book had me shocked and the romance between characters had my heart (and broke it).

Review on Goodreads

Thanks to the publisher for the complimentary ARC. All opinions provided are my own.

The tension & showmanship in an anything-you-can-do, I-can-do-better situation is so good, bonus points if one of the leads has their life hanging in the balance.

But the ending of Kristen Ciccarelli’s Heartless Hunter cemented for me that—while this story has definite positives—I’m not going to pursue the rest of the series.

Rune Winters is celebrated by her peers bc they believe that she turned in her own grandmother for witchcraft, a punishment that meets a violent end. But the reader knows from the beginning that Rune is actually a witch, & moreso the Crimson Moth, an anonymous witch rescuer that witch-hunters would do anything to track down.

Her key antagonist is famous witch-hunter Gideon Sharpe, the brother of her BFF. He suspects that she might be The Crimson Moth and as a result, they both try to outmaneuver the other, both of them keeping secrets even as other feelings come into play.

Sign me up for the tension, the lying leads, & twists that keep me interested in that dynamic. Unfortunately, some of the things that happen at the end leave me cold & confused, & with that feeling that too much happens, too quickly.

YMMV with this fantasy but it just doesn’t fully work for me.

3 ⭐️. Out 02/20.

[Lots of CWs, including: Gideon was emotionally abused & threatened by a witch previously. He was forced to have sex with her to avoid harm coming to people he loved. Violent murder of witches.]

A witch and a witch hunter.
Enemies to Lovers - What started out as a rescue mission to save witches to atone what she couldn’t do to save her grandma, Rune is now on a impeding time limit to save the woman her grandma tasked her with.

The only thing - the prison is impenetrable without certain clearance. One person who has the highest clearance is her best friend’s brother Gideon.

A seduction mission is underway.
How they play one another to discover each others deception is fun. I like how witty Rune is. Also Rune as a character is someone I vibe with. She’s loves deeply and does not care for social boundaries. Her two best friends are not rich. Alex and Rune’s relationship is my favorite and the foreshadowing to this friendship killer me. I read this book so so slow because I knew there would be a tragedy at the end and I was right.

Very well written, engaging!

Magic system of how witches strength their magic was interesting. They have to use blood as a conduit and that typically leads to scars which is a marker that someone is a witch. Rune circumvents this by using her menstrual blood which is weird but clever.

Overall I’m excited that this is a duology and I cannot wait for the next book!

“Heartless Hunter” is subtitled “The Crimson Moth: Book One” so you know right away that the story will not end at the conclusion of this book. I think I’ve seen that author Ciccarelli has called this a duology, but be assured that she could easily make this a series once the “enemies to lovers” theme is settled — it’s that good.

In this narrative it's a secret witch (Rune) vs. witch hunter (Gideon). Rune is known publicly as a vapid, silly socialite who inherited great wealth from her adopted grandmother after turning her into the authorities and outing her magical abilities. But she’s also the Crimson Moth, an avenger who frees captive witches before execution. She has allies in her non-witch friend Verity (whose witch sisters died horrible deaths) and Alex, who quietly and too shyly loves her, but who, very inconveniently, is loyal to his older brother, Gideon. There’s politics involved — Sister Queen Witches despotically ruled the island and Gideon was the underclass prisoner/plaything of the youngest queen, Cressida. A revolution against the ruling class put the “Good Commander” in charge, but his soldiers are equally cruel as they root out the hidden surviving witches. So, there’s our conflict: both Rune and Gideon are trying to outwit each other — she to rescue a captured witch and he to uncover the possibility that she is the Crimson Moth.

The author builds a spectacular world of the wealthy and the poor. Gideon has refused to leave the tenement that his murdered parents had once lived in. Alex lives in Thornwood Hall, the summer palace of the late Cressida who Alex killed. Their parents had been the famous Sharpe Duet — a tailor/seamstress team employed by the queens until they fell out of favor. In the most interesting aspect, Gideon can still sew the most beautiful dresses and he creates one for Rune (a different type of seduction).

These witches also need blood to cast spells — and how that blood is obtained is a major plot point.

The plot (with alternating POVs) matches the intricate world building — there’s always a sense of tension and discovery. Ciccarelli leaves us wondering throughout “which one is the heartless hunter?” I became so engrossed and I’m definitely invested in finding out what happens in the next book. 5 stars!

Literary Pet Peeve Checklist:
Green Eyes (only 2% of the real world, yet it seems like 90% of all fictional females): NO In a book with unreal eye colors (Rune has gray eyes; Alex has gold eyes), there are no green eyes.
Horticultural Faux Pas (plants out of season or growing zones, like daffodils in autumn or bougainvillea in Alaska): NO It’s an imagined island where anything can grow, although Gideon compares Cressida to a pitcher plant that eats you alive.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press/ Wednesday Books and NetGalley for a free advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review!

Thank you yo NetGalley and the publisher for offering me an ARC!

This was such a good surprise! Lately it has been so hard to find a combination of romance and fantasy that I actually like. Usually I find either the romance or the fantasy part lacking and here I enjoyed both!
I also liked the writing and the world. I love witch and witch-hunt stories even though its something I have seen before, I never get tired of it. And I really liked how the magic worked and its limitations.

The characters: I loved Rune. I found the survival guilt approach interesting, it was a good motivation for the character. I also had fun with her fake identity persona. The only thing that bothered me is that after everything she has seen, I think she should be angrier. There were specific moments in the story I expected her to feel more anger.
As for Gideon, I was really worried about him in the beginning but I ended up liking him too. I think he has understandable reasons to hate witches and since he still has a lot of development to go, I hope in the next book the things he has done will not be treated lightly.
And Alex! I can't talk about him without spoilers but I really liked how the author didn't do the predictable thing that I see in a lot of books lately for characters like him.

The romance: I loved that they were actual enemies with valid reasons to hate each other. Was not a fan of the triangle but I understand it has some importance in the plot. The development was fine, but I wish it had developed more before they got to a certain point in the (sort of?) relationship. Part of it is my slowburn-lover talking but other part of it it's about something I can't really talk without spoilers. (Its also related to how I wish Rune had been angrier)

Overall it was a solid book. I loved the ending (I even teared up a little bit) and I will definitely read the next one. Really curious to see how some things will turn out!

I loved this fantasy book. The balance between witches and witch hunters, the bouncing back and forth as they tried to out smart each other, but were really playing another’s game all along.

Gideon is the brooding older brother with a boat load of trauma so naturally he becomes my favorite, but I loved how Rune bounced between them. Her love for both of them was so different yet strong in their own ways. I loved the reasoning behind her choices and can’t wait to see where the story goes!

Heartless Hunter

I already can’t wait for the next one! What an exciting, intense, consuming story.. we’ve got witches, spells, witch hunters, scheming and lying, outwitting others, treason, betrayal, enemies to lovers, which brother.. I could go on and on but this book has it all. Twists and turns at the end!

Character development was good and I always love a dueling POV. If you’re into fantasy romance/romantasy you’ll love this book. 4.5 stars!

Thank you to Kristen Ciccarelli, St. Martins Press, and Net Galley for providing me with a digital ARC to read in exchange for my honest review.

THIS BOOK RIGHT HERE!!! This book had me in a chokehold the entire time reading it. It’s beautifully written, has great world building, and is full of suspense, adventure, and some romance.
The ending is the perfect ending to introduce the reader to the next book in the series.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book and will be ordering it and recommending it to my other bookish friends:)

This is the first book of a series. The female lead is strong and independent . The cliffhanger isn’t necessarily extreme, but definitely exists! Certainly unfinished business for many characters. While there is romance happening within the story, I wouldn’t really consider it a paranormal romance. The author does a good job of explaining and reminding us about different aspects of types of magic. It’s a very easy read with little slow moments.

4.5 stars

What can I say other than I need the next book in my hands, as soon as possible?

Heartless Hunter is a wild ride, fast-paced, with the right amount of plot, romance, mystery and action that kept me wanting more and I couldn't put the book down. This was an addictive read and those are my favorites.

Now, I feel like this is a book you will either really enjoy and love or cannot stand. Some people will figure out the biggest twist early into the book and call it predictable but I decided to enjoy the ride as it surprised me and the dynamics between the hunted and the hunter kept me hooked ;)

I would like to talk about the characters but I don't know how to without going into spoilers. Let's just say most of the characters have flaws. Alex was a sweetheart from the beginning and I love him. Gideon needs to gets his head out of his... (lol) and have a better right or wrong compass. He needs to understand that not all witches are evil and I'm pretty sure I can see where this story is going but I'd love to be surprised again.


**Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher and the author for letting me read an ARC of this book**

Man do I need a book buddy to rant to about this book! I was completely unprepared for the emotional whirlwind that was this story. The author did such an amazing job writing characters who could make you love and yet hare them all at the same time.
I don’t know that I can even do the book justice without spoilers so let me just say that you need to read this book! Read it especially if you love dystopian witch fantasy with enemies to lovers trope!

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Amazing, wow, perfection, great fantasy, amazing start for a series. The whole world building was fenomenal. The characters got me hooked right away, refreshing and entertaining. This is one to look out for . Exited to get my physical copies .

This was one of my most anticipated reads of 2024, and it ALMOST lived up to expectations. It's got all the good things: enemies-to-lovers slow burn romance, witches, and an interesting and well formed magic system. While Rune and Gideon do give some Lou and Reid from Serpent and Dove vibes, it didn't really bother me. I got the tension between them, but lacked some chemistry. I'm excited to see how this story progresses.

First of all, I am in love with this cover! I loved the description of this book and it had me intrigued!
However, i struggled with this book. First off, i know it is labeled as YA but it felt very YA for me. I felt disconnected from most of the main characters. The FMC felt very immature and the MMC was kind of a jerk. I loved Alex, but for that reason I probably won’t continue with the series.
My other big problem was the constant talk of menstrual blood. There is no way you could harvest any kind of blood and keep it for a month without it congealing and being unusable for the spells the FMC wanted to use it for.
For these reasons the book didn’t work for me, but I think it’s more of a “me problem,” considering how many amazing reviews there are!

Thanks to NetGalley and Wednesday Books for an eARC in exchange for my honest review.

The ending of this! I was not expecting things to get so twisted and sad, and I loved it.

This book is a YA (NA?) witch vs. witch hunter, cat and mouse romance—loosely based on The Scarlet Pimpernel.

I saw another review describe this as Bridgerton meets The Craft, and I think that sums it up well. I thought it would be similar to Serpent & Dove, but apart from the books sharing a similar premise, I found them to be rather different. This was definitely darker.

The prose was pretty basic and the plot itself a bit expected for most of the book, but it was still a real page-turner.

The first 1/4 of the book was...not so great. So I suggest folks not be deterred by how uninspired the book starts out. Things start to get good once the character introductions and clunky opening gambits have passed. By the end, I was genuinely surprised by some of the plot twists.

It seems the publisher has got a big marketing push behind this one; and I can see why they'd anticipate this becoming a hit. It's a romantasy with genuinely morally grey, nuanced characters.

The hero of this one, Gideon, is a true believer. This isn't a conflicted guy who is changed by loving the heroine; he genuinely hates witches for the entire book.

The heroine, Rune, has gotten away with her ruse as a spy for so long, she has a really overinflated opinion of herself which leads her to make some stupid af decisions at times. She is constantly lying, manipulating, and using people. Even those she claims to love.

I kind of despised them both for doing Alex, Gideon's brother, so dirty. Still, I ate the romance between Rune and Gideon up. They had great chemistry.

I'll definitely be picking up the sequel.

This book has so many things about it that made me mad, but it also had some things that I thought were really good. The romance was both of these things.
This is a "true" enemies to lovers, and it has forced me to make a rule about whether or not I can tolerate this trope;
If the FMC and MMC are actually genuinely enemies, their desire to kill each other has to be <b>equal</b>.
Which feels like a weird thing to have to specify, but trust me; it's necessary here.
The romance was really well written, and if the circumstances had been different, I would have LOVED them together. They had good tension, banter, and I could really see their fake desire for each other turning into real desire as they spent more time together.
The problem is this: Gideon wants to brutally and efficiently murder Rune.
And I know what you're thinking. This is witch and witch hunter. Obviously he wants to kill her. But Rune has <b>no</b> desire to do the same. All she wants is to protect innocent people. She doesn't hate him with the same violence or bloodlust. It is completely unequal in a way that makes the romance unconscionable to me. Why would Rune, who by all accounts is a cunning and kind badass, be falling in love with someone who not only wants to kill her, but wants to kill everyone she's trying to protect? I don't believe in the "power of love" overcoming all when the issue is that one half of the couple is participating in GENOCIDE. Because that's what it is. They are indiscriminately and violently slaughtering an entire group of people based on something they were born as.
And Gideon fully supports this.
He is fully behind the genocide of an entire (race? species? whatever witches are) for like 70% of this book. I HATE the trope of "big murderous man only decides murder bad because a woman cares about him". It shouldn't take Rune showing him a witch can have humanity for him to believe the people he is killing are human. Some of the witches he's killed are CHILDREN. It's giving very much "woman has to fix the man". <b>Rune deserved to fall in love with someone who didn't need to be taught to see her as human.</b>
And I fully understand the reason he is the way he is. But having his character basically say "one witch evil = all witch evil" as a response to being sexually assaulted is gross. This book fully uses his trauma as a justification for why he is so violent and murderous. It wants you to sympathize with him because he has been abused, and therefore sympathize with his actions. It is an INSANE take. It's like if a woman was assaulted by a white man and decided that she had to participate in the government sanctioned murder of every single white man. It is a ridiculous idea.
Speaking of Gideon being a victim of SA. The way he talks about himself and what happened to him is just so bad. He constantly refers to himself as broken and unworthy and genuinely hates himself for what happened to him. Which is a thing people do actually feel, but the narrative almost never challenges this. Rune says one time that he is not responsible for the things that happened to him, and it comes up like two more times, but that's it. I wanted something more.
AND the last like, 40% of this book involve Gideon basically being forced into sleeping with Rune (not by Rune herself) in order to see her scars. This man is like 18, and was sexually abused for YEARS. The weird focus on having him sleep with Rune made me so uncomfortable. And after they do have sex, he literally thinks about the last time he slept with someone and it was assault!! And he just tells himself to ignore it and move on!! It's weird!!
There was so much interesting and good things going on in this book, but it was completely overshadowed by how much I couldn't stand Gideon "My Mission is to Murder Innocent People" Sharpe. The friendships were solid, the twists were good, the romance <b>could've</b> been great. The setting was cool, the Bridgeton-esque world of balls and gowns and tea parties was so fun. The actual plot was really good! I loved the idea of Rune leading a double life to save innocent people. I loved the Crimson Moth plot line. I thought it was so interesting. And I really liked Rune! She was smart and complex and kind. She was interesting and determined and scheming. I genuinely liked her as a character when she wasn't forsaking her entire cause for a mediocre man.
I'm honestly more mad than if this book was just outright bad. It could have been SO GOOD and I'm almost offended it wasn't.

I wasn't sure I would be a good fit for a witch/witch hunter romantasy, but I've really loved the author's books in the past, so I was cautiously optimistic going into Heartless Hunter. And I will say, I was pleasantly surprised by how much I loved this book!

That said, I think the witch/witch hunter romance trope will draw in a lot of readers, which is good, because this book was fantastic. I found the magic system very interesting, the characters were compelling, and the romance was *chef's kiss*. Definitely pick this book up if you like any of these tropes: enemies to lovers, morally gray characters, witch x witch hunter, cat and mouse.

Thank you to the publisher and to Netgalley for granting me an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I was a little hesitant about this book because another witch hunter/witch star-crossed lovers book came out recently, so I was hoping the two would not be very similar. Thankfully, this book is very much its own story, and it was a great book! I loved the plot and I really enjoyed the characters. I think the two main characters are developed in their own ways and the female character is not lovesick to the point of reliance on her counterpart. The twist at the end was built up beautifully and really threw the plot for a loop, setting up nicely for the sequel! I'm ready for the next book now to see where this all goes!

Thank you Netgalley for this early copy of Heartless Hunter. I loved the cat and mouse between Rune and Gideon and I loved their slow burn enemies to lovers tension! I felt the storyline of how he was to succeed in finding out if Rune was a witch was forced and a bit unimaginative but other than that I really enjoyed this novel! 3.75 stars. I will share a more in depth review on my podcast, Southern Girls Guide to Books.