This was a solid, unique fantasy! I haven't read many witch fantasies, so this was new and devourable from the very start.

I thought the relationship, while somewhat slow, developed well and in a way that made sense given their circumstances. The one s*x scene was so mediocre, so I'm taking a star away. I didn't feel any sparks between Gideon and Rune. It wasn't what I was expecting in that department. But it was sweet that he handmade her dresses, even if he tried to kill her afterwards.

Rune was pretty selfish, so selfish that she didn't even notice her best friend was one of the witch queens who shattered the lives of her best friend, Alex (and Gideon). But that was a nice twist! I certainly wasn't expecting that. What I sadly would have loved to know but never will is what Alex thought of her being Cressida. (But I can't because he's dead). Not to mention how selfish she was towards Alex, always putting her needs above his. She never deserved Alex and agreed to marry him off of the fresh heartbreak from Gideon. Truth was, she never saw Alex in that light when as she explained herself, was the "safe" choice.

I loathe what happened to Alex. He just felt like a punching bag for everybody. Like all he wanted was for Rune to go with him to Caelis but of course, she needs to do this thing for this witch!!!! And then he DIES!!!!!!!!!! Dies trying to secure a better life for the both of them, but mainly for her. Rune and Alex's relationship was the one I was honestly rooting for since the beginning of the book. He was so much more interesting than Gideon in every single way. But I also felt bad for Gideon. I liked him too, not quite over Alex, but in his own way. It's impossible not to feel bad for him: the witch queen's whore, who was not only accompanying her bed, but being abused, manipulated, and played while she killed his whole family. But Alex, that son of a bitch is the reason she wasn't even dead like she was supposed to be!!!! He would have been ALIVE if he killed her that night he was supposed to. I just!!! WHY

All of these twists and turns were PAINFUL (I was crying over alex I'm NOT LYING) but it was so good. I really love how the next book was set up, but honestly, I'm not *dying* to read it, mostly because I think their chemistry was kind of lacking. But this book was still a rollercoaster and I did enjoy it!

Rune Winters lives in a world that witches are hunted down by The Blood Guard. Rune is celebrated as a famous informer of witches. She hates that part of her life but she's The Crimson Moth protects witches. Gideon Sharpe is Captain of The Blood Guard and hates witches. He wants to know if Rune Winters is The Crimson Moth. Gideon Sharpe needs to get close to Rune. Will Gideon learn the truth? Can Rune protect her secret? Find out in Heartless Hunter.

I'd like to thank Wednesday Books for the ARC of Heartless Hunters vis Netgalley.

So I wasn't sure if I would love this book. I loved the idea of witch vs witch hunter but the romance aspect honestly almost scared me way as I'm not a major romance reader. Ciccarelli swept me off my feet and I'm in love with these characters and cannot wait for the second book! I'm going to have such a massive hangover after this one! <3

I can't wait for the sequel! Kristen Ciccarelli is masterful at spinning this tale of a young woman who is forced to take matters into her own hands. "Heartless Hunter" is a fast paced story of intrigue and love made even more intense by betrayal set in a world where witches once ruled but are now hunted. Move over Scarlet Pimpernel, there's a new heroine in town!

Thanks to St. Martin Press for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

Before starting this review I just want to say I truly do appreciate getting an ARC for this and thank the publisher/ Netgalley for providing it.

Onto the critique:

🌸this critique has spoilers lots of spoilers, so please do not read if you do not want to be spoiled🌸

I have a lot of feelings about this book. The premise is very promising and reels the reader in. I like that it was a very quick read. I finished it in a couple hours. It’s very addicting to read. The plot is easy to understand and high stakes enough to keep the reader engaged. Unfortunately I don’t think it was quite what I thought it would be.

I found the main couple lacked chemistry together, but also, they seem to have an extremely toxic relationship. This is classified as young adult there is no way that this relationship should be catered to a young adult audience unless there is significant discussion surrounding the issues in the relationship and how it can become healthy, there is no healthy here. Please be aware that there are trigger warnings for this story.

There is a trigger in this book for sexual assault. If that is something that makes you uncomfortable, I would steer clear of this because after the first half of the book it becomes a more prominent plot device.


Spoiler: I did not enjoy the fact that Gideon, the main male love interest was almost coerced into sleeping with Rune (main character) by his friend and confidant. Afterwards he boasts and degrades Rune as nothing “more than a pretty face” which made me really upset to read. immediately Rune goes and accepts an engagement from the brother like no thoughts no conversation about what was said no apologies just like whatever I’m gonna marry your brother screw you it gave me whiplash it happens in like five pages all this build up for the relationship to die so easily.

I feel like Gideon was very one-dimensional in his reasoning for disliking witches just because you were wronged by one witch doesn’t mean all witches are terrible. I do not find him redeemable since he mentions having to capture children ( where it is implied they go off to die).

I don’t understand how Rune fell in love with Gideon when she has a perfectly good love interest in her best friend, who would do anything for her, but she falls in love with the man who kills her people (witches). At the beginning of the relationship, both of them are lying to each other, and they continue to lie to each other, until the very last page of the book.

Also, if you hate the miscommunication trope this book is miscommunication trope the entire time.

Frankly I don’t usually like to post extremely negative critiques but I was so dissatisfied and left with an icky feeling that i felt it necessary to warn others just in case they have the same triggers.

I understand that many people may enjoy this book at face value but I found the rhetoric dangerous. It’s basically discussing a genocide against witches ( who if we can think of current historical context what does this story kind of refers back too?) and the toxicity of a male in a powerful position (who yes also has trauma but his acts of violence does not reprieve him from his role in actively murdering other people). It boggles my mind that it’s swept under the rug by saying “ oh but he was hurt so bad” okay but to actively participate in hurting people especially kids? Nah.

Also I get it’s a witch hunter and witch romance so there is some tension there— but make it believable! It seems like she loves him because he’s hot. But what redeems him from murdering people or does Rune just not care because he is way to attractive? And speaking of Rune she’s really dumb. Her best friend has saved her constantly and she didn’t realize that he loved her like he has been putting his life at risk for years he could’ve been caught saving witches, but he did it for you and you didn’t think that maybe he had feelings for you?

Look. This would be a different story if Gideon started to accept witches and see that not all witches are bad people and change his ways and help Rune from the inside but that isn’t the story he tries to sabotage her at every corner and even when he suspects her he still sleeps with her AND when he does find out she’s a witch the Power of Love doesn’t even save her because he arrest her anyway so like did they even love each other? and that begs the question, how are they supposed to have a relationship in the next book? More miscommunication, more toxic behaviour? more hating each other?

No thank you. It’s not enemies to lovers when they just stay enemies.

Heartless hunter by Kristen Ciccarelli caught my attention with its stunning cover, drew me in with its enticing premise, and proceeded to capture me for hours with its brilliant plot.

What I loved
-Dual POV masterfully utilized
-Hunter X Hunted Trope (one of my favorites)
-Morally Grey characters abound
- The ending left me craving book 2 so intensely that I had to tell people about this

What didn't work for me quite as well
-I"m always nervous about worlds where magic is presenting as only being possible through working with blood due to concerns that it may tread to close to some stereotypes that have been wielded against real life oppressed groups.
-The miscommunication trope is applied in a really clumsy way

Who Would I recommend this book for
This Title is ideal for readers who liked the premise of Serpent and Dove but left reading it craving a more darkly realized witch and witch hunter story.

One sentence review:
Everything I could ever want in a fantasy.

This! This is why enemies-to-lovers is so freaking good. A witch and a witch hunter have irreconcilable differences and I'm here for it.
Two years have gone by since Rune gave up her grandmother to be executed for being a witch. Upon discovering that she is one too, Rune does everything in her power to redeem herself by saving other witches from purging. In order to gain intel, she makes romantic advances on the captain of the Blood Guard, Gideon, who also just happens to be brother to her best friend, Alex. Gideon has been on the hunt for the Crimson Moth and will stop at nothing until she's been captured. With everything on the line, Rune and Gideon keep their enemy as close as possible to outwit the other.
Between the banter and the plot twists, this was a perfect beginner to a new adult fantasy series from Kristen Ciccarelli. I will jump on book two as soon as I can get my hot little hands on it.
Thank you to Wednesday Books for the advanced copy. All thoughts are my own.

Heartless Hunter by Kristen Ciccarelli is witches, enemies to lovers, and a slow burn fantasy romance... what more could a girl ask for. This was SO good! I'm excited for book two in The Crimson Moth series.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the digital copy.

I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Two years after a mass execution of witches, of which the main female character seems to have helped turn in one of the main witches, who happens to be her grandmother, the main character (rune ) is dealing with the turmoil of turning in her only remaining family member. The slow burn romance starts off right away, as the main mc and the main fc Both completely hate each other and are on opposite sides of the witches/non-witch battle, albeit one is secretly on both sides.

Alex, her best friend, and the main male characters brother, is her confidante, and the beginning of the book seems to hint at more. The twists and turns of this book made me breathless. The ending of this book literally shocked me. This book was so incredible and one of the best books I have read in a while.

This book comes out February 19, 2024. Highly recommend this read.

4.5/5 stars ⭐

An absolutely solid YA start to a series! The world building in this book was my favorite part because the author has such a way with words that made me feel immersed in the story. The magic system was also really well built and fleshed out and I'm excited to see where book 2 leads u!

Thank you so much NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an arc in exchange for my honest review!

This book is phenomenal! I was captivated by the story immediately and couldn’t put it down. I laughed. I cried. I need the next one now. Some spice but it’s not the main event. Wow, just wow, what an incredible author and story!

I enjoyed this so much! It was such a fun enemies to lovers, and the description of it being a game of cat and mouse felt really accurate! The tension was palpable and I really enjoyed the characters and understood their motivations and choices. I cannot WAIT for the sequel!

Thank you to NetGalley for giving this ARC, and this doesn't influence my review.
Disclaimer: slight spoilers!
So you know when you read a great book and don’t know what to do with your life until the sequel comes out? That’s me right now! It’s been a while since I’ve read Kristen’s books (The Caged Queen is one of my top favs) so I knew to expect nothing but the best. This excelled my expectations! I just wish the sequel will only be Rune’s POV and not both of them.
Tropes: enemies to lovers, fake relationship, hate to love, hidden identity, heists/action, predator/prey, cat and mouse chase, tall dark handsome MMC, arrogant MMC, angst. The tropes mentioned took my heart and I didn't know if they would fully deliver, but they did. The romance in the book was everything!!!!!!!!
I loved the “rules of magic” book chapters intro and their involvement with what spells were conjured in the chapter
Spoiler: one of my fav moments was when he had to take her measurements

4.5/5

I really enjoyed this YA romantasy and truly couldn’t put it down. The story is set in a world where witches are being hunted and purged. The story is told in dual POV. One of those POVs is Rune, the FMC, a witch known as the “Crimson Moth” who tries to save captured fellow witches with the help of a couple of her friends. By day, she has to hide that she’s a witch and poses as a socialite to help get intel in order to continue her work as the “Crimson Moth.” The other POV is Gideon, the MMC, who is a captain of witch hunters and is very unrelenting in his quest to get rid of the witches, particularly the Crimson Moth who continues to elude him.
 
I thought the world building was done well and thought the magic system was interesting. The suspense of the hunter and hunted kept me on my toes and I loved the enemies to lovers romance that started to develop. Very complex characters as well and I liked reading more about what drove the two main characters to do what they do. The twist at the end did get me and I can’t wait for the second book in this duology!
 
I think fans of Lauren Roberts’ Powerless will really like Heartless Hunter too—very similar hunter/hunted romance vibes, plus brother vs brother love triangle. But with witches!! I do just want to note that Heartless Hunter does have a little bit of spice—it’s written slightly obscurely but I think does make it more upper YA at the very least.
 
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance copy.

I have completed this book but as it is published by an imprint of St. Martin's Press I will be withholding my thoughts until they respond to the boycott.

I am over the enemies to lovers trope. It has been overdone these past few years in fantasy. It is a crutch at this point. Also , gross with the menstrual bllod.. ick.
I think this is just a me thing and not the book as a whole. I will go 3 stars , as I think it is not author or publisher issue but personal preference.
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC.

What a fun enemies to lovers! Those who love slow burn with morally grey love interests will love this book! I need the next book immediately.

4.5* rounded up

I really loved this story. I was drawn in immediately. I couldn’t put it down and read it quickly. It was so fast paced; it was well paced. Information wasn’t dumped all at once and we learned new things at well placed intervals.

The characters were fleshed out very well. The tensions between Rune and Gideon was well written too. They were obviously young people with young people problems. The world building was well done too. As we learned more details about the world and what was happening, it didn’t get more complicated. I wasn’t confused. I did guess the plot twist, but only after the halfway point. Even though I’d guessed, I wasn’t bored. I was excited to see how it would play out.

Mostly Rune is the protagonist, but it’s a dual POV, so we get to see Gideon’s side too. It was both interesting and it helped to add details to the plot without info dumping. I usually prefer a single POV but I quite liked this setup, especially because Rune and Gideon were on opposite ends.

I really loved the “rooting for them but shouldn’t be rooting for them, enemies-to-lovers but can’t get their shit together” tension. It was well done and didn’t feel forced or instant. It was very well written. It felt natural.

This novel does have adult scenes which I wasn’t expecting.

Finally, I think my favourite part was that it didn’t end on a cliffhanger! I definitely want to read the sequel, but if I stop here it doesn’t feel terribly incomplete. There isn’t that gutted feeling waiting for the next volume, but there is definitely more to the story.

(2.5⭐)

its the way i was just stuck at the 70% mark for almost two weeks help😭 im sorry but truly i got bored and its either because i was in a slump (might be this tbh due to uni??) orrr this was just boring🙈

but! i will say that the last 10% was definitely interesting at the very least and had me at the edge of my seat (justice for my fav character of the book though🔪 im ngl just because of what happened to that character who was the only reason i was going to consider reading book 2, i dont even think i am going to continue anymore??? THAT CHARACTER DESERVED SO MUCH BETTER I HATE IT)

rune was honestly a pretty alright character. like i neither hated her nor loved her, but i did find her to make stupid decisions a lot lol. (or maybe its because of my hatred for gideon that i found them stupid). also considering she's the crimson moth, it's pretty disappointing that we only got one actually amazing scene of her in action like what a waste!! the tunnel scene was sooo good and probably my favourite one of the whole book

gideon on the other hand.... HA i hate him. i dont see what rune sees him?? bro is actually just so annoying and just so angry all the time? it just got so repetitive and i got tired of him especially with his weird logic (one witch evil = all witches must die? idk man whatever works with you). i genuinely dont foresee myself loving him in book 2 all of a sudden. i will give him credit for one thing--this guy REALLY knows how to sew the most beautiful dresses, flowers, and literally anything which is impressive and the only sweet gestures i liked about him otherwise🤚

the romance aspect of this book though??? it was pretty laughable tbh i wasnt sold on rune and gideon falling in love with the other... like in my opinion it barely felt as though they knew the other enough on an emotional level to love each other all of a sudden?? yes gideon did talk about *that* to rune but even then🤷‍♀️ their relationship felt really bland and i actually hated it anytime they were on scene together... maybe book 2 would build on that but who knows! you could not tell me those two actually are in love with each other though🤡 it's more attraction if anything

okay but one of the characters had this huge plot twist that i actually did NOT see coming at all until i was about 20 pages away from the reveal but wow???? tbh if there's anything that has me slightly curious about book 2 (like maybe 5% curiosity) it's to see how they're going to handle *that* but idk we'll see how i'm feeling in the end. and then there was this other character who was absolutely the sweetest omg <spoiler>ALEX IS TOO GOOD FOR THIS WORLD LIKE??? too pure, good, and honest nobody deserves him and his death was so unfair, wish he let gideon die sigh</spoiler>

all in all, this was alright (albeit very boring at times but again could be because of the slump), but Serpent & Dove had the better couple, plot, and world in my honest opinion🤭 <S>yes this is me telling you to go read it</s>


Thank you to Netgalley for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was EXACTLY what I needed! What a fresh take on a genre I’ve loved for so long- fast paced, phenomenal characters, intrigue, and an amazing hidden identity plot.

Something I love seeing in fantasy books is an intelligent and quick whit FMC. Rune had me cheering her on each time she would throw Gideon completely off and confuse the hell out of him. Watching this cat and mouse game unfold made me truly unable to put this down. I found myself constantly thinking about this book if I wasn’t reading it. This may be one of my favorites for 2024.

Thank you to Netgalley and to St Martin’s Press/Wednesday Books, for providing me with an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.