i loved being back in this world so much! this was a really anticipated read for me and I enjoyed it overall but some parts fell a little flat for me. I loved the twists, although I did predict a few. I also felt a little disconnected from the characters in this one compared to the first but overall a fun read and I can't wait to read more from this author!!

Rebel Witch provides a satisfying conclusion to the thrilling conflict that Kristen Ciccarelli began with Heartless Hunter. It delivers everything I loved from the first book - high tension, seemingly impossible odds, and a relationship that feels both fated and doomed from the first scene - and wraps up the story of the Crimson Moth in a way that leaves the reader feeling hopeful and fulfilled.

I started this book at midnight last night and couldn't put it down. The pace of the plot, chapter lengths, and conflicts between the main characters drew me in and kept my attention the whole time I was reading. It's a perfect romantasy choice for ADHD readers who need forward motion and romantic tension in order to stay engaged in a fantasy plot.

In Heartless Hunter, Rune and Gideon were so careful and strategic with each other. They never fully understoond each others motivations or trusted each other, but they fought to give each other the benefit of the doubt. All of that went out the window at the end of that book, and we pick up in Rebel Witch with them taking the gloves off and pulling no punches.

Their banter is excellent. Their progression from enemies to reluctant allies is believable but as tenuous as you'd expect it to be, and the way Ciccarelli concludes their story is thoughtful and full of hope for a better future.

I highly recommend The Crimson Moth duology, and Rebel Witch specifically, for readers who love high-stakes enemies to lovers romantasy with a Mr. and Mrs. Smith style relationship dynamic, for those who love a book with a fast-paced plot, and for those who love to see a woman demand the kind of love, support, and safety that she deserves from someone who claims to love her.

Thank you to Wednesday Books and NetGalley for providing a digital ARC for me to review.

This book is one of my most anticipated 2025 releases so you know I immediately started reading it once I got approved for the eARC.

I love this duology so much, I love how strong Rune is and how she fights so fiercely for those who can’t fight for themselves. I love the banter and the relationship with Gideon.

I don’t really want to say much more because I don’t want to give anything away but I loved this book just as much as I loved the first one.

Wow this did not let up from chapter one. Talk about a fun and fast over plot that held a ton of interest and was full of surprises.

I loved Gideon and Runes cat and mouse, will they won’t they antics even more than book one and I swooned so hard for these two.

Beyond the romance there was just a really excellent execution of tying this duology together.

A stellar conclusion.

Wow. Many thanks to Wednesday Books, St. Martins Press and NetGalley for my complimentary eARC of Rebel Witch. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I loved this witch book very much.

Lies. Betrayal. Deception. Love. Or is it?
I second guessed myself throughout Rebel Witch trying to stay on track.

I didn’t see that plot twist coming.
I guessed that plot twist. Yea me.
The ending was predictable (come on there was no other way it could end).

Did it in any way diminish my enjoyment of the awesomely fabulous witch story ?
Heck no !

Major book hangover. My saving grace is listening to the audiobook once it’s released in February.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press/Wednesday Books for the arc! I miiight have let out a little scream when this landed in my inbox.

What an action-packed ride and satisfying conclusion to the duology! While this YA fantasy isn't reinventing the wheel, it beautifully delivers on expectations. The world and magic system is fairly simple, and I found the end of Rebel Witch to be very predictable, but it's exactly what I wanted. I enjoyed jumping into this world and going on a wild adventure with Rune and Gideon, and I'll definitely be returning in a reread sometime soon.

Kristen's writing makes for a very escapable story, one that makes you lose track of time because you can't put it down. She executes the hunter/hunted trope very well, and I didn't want it to end.

If you enjoyed Heartless Hunter and are excited for this release, you won't be disappointed! (Especially with the waterfall scene... iykyk)

I was so excited to get an eARC of this book!! I absolutely loved Heartless Hunter and this was one of my top releases for 2025!! I read this in 2 days and could not put it down!! I loved being in this world again and this duology didn’t disappoint! I am just sad it’s over now

Spoilers to follow:
I loved seeing Rune and Gideon thrust together again and not only have to work together again amongst the hurt and betrayal from book 1 but also against people out to get them both. I am glad how the book ended with them both happy with each other though I would loved an extra epilogue to see further in their future. I am sad to see this story end but was so grateful for the journey!

Loveeeee. Heartless Hunter was so good, I was so excited to get such an early copy of the second book. I really enjoyed it. Rune is so fun to read about.

The end of the first book in this duology made me so excited for this book!! This was so fast paced — I read it in less than 24 hours. I was on the edge of my seat waiting to see what would happen next and eating every crumb of romance we got.

This won’t be a favorite fantasy, but I still had a good time and would recommend it to those looking for an easy to understand fantasy romance!

I finished this in under 24 hours because this was EVERYTHING I wanted from a sequel to The Crimson Moth, which is, so far, my favorite book of 2024. I do still like The Crimson Moth better than Rebel Witch, but mostly because I feel like there should be a third book. This book was so good, but it crammed far too much into the last 150 pages. This is easily still a five star, but it could have been much better if given the new characters added at the last minute had a bit more time to do their thing. There was so much lore and so many new characters introduced at the end, that it began to feel a bit bogged down and as if it was all moving far too quickly. It's kind of how the end of book 1 felt as if it moved too fast as well. The rest of Rebel Witch was paced perfectly so it almost felt as if the author ran out of pages to finish up how she pictured ending the book.

I will also say, some people are going to be super annoyed with this book because of the miscommunication trope. It was used LIBERALLY in this book. It was used so much that the word miscommunication was beaten into the readers face over and over until you wanted to wave the white flag. It was just a bit heavy handed. Luckily, I don't mind the miscommunication trope if I love the rest of the plot and the characters, so I didn't have too much of an issue with it.

I loved this and thought this was close to a perfect sequel. It was so action-packed, interesting, and filled with drama and passion. I think most people will be pretty happy with the ending to the duology.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for an e-ARC of the book.

You should know this book is EVERYTHING you could ever want from the ending to a fantasy duology. If you read and loved 𝘏𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘏𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳, you’ll adore this book, too.

𝘙𝘦𝘣𝘦𝘭 𝘞𝘪𝘵𝘤𝘩 was jam packed with nonstop action from beginning to end. It was filled with impossible decisions, betrayals and sacrifices, crackling tension and angst, political intrigue, and a back and forth cat and mouse plot that led to such an explosive and satisfying conclusion.

𝘏𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘏𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳 is currently on my list for favorite reads of 2024, and now this one will 100% be joining it!!

I have been eagerly awaiting the release of Rebel Witch for months, and now that I've finally read it, I'm so sad it's over. While this sequel wasn't 100% what I was hoping for, I loved it all the same. I'm absolutely enamoured by Kristen Ciccarelli's written voice. This book has such stunning quotes and themes, and I earnestly love both Rune and Gideon. That being said, this duology is downright stressful at times. Everything is very intentionally tense. All the secrets and misunderstandings are spun into a complex web that I cannot help but admire. And even though I was constantly rooting for Rune and Gideon to drop the facades and talk to each other, I also completely understood why they both thought and acted as they did. That being said, as this is a duology and not a trilogy, I thought their romantic conflict would resolve a bit sooner than it did. On that note, I found with this book that while the main fantasy plot was always progressing in a smooth arc, Rune and Gideon's relationship was always flip-flopping. Any time I thought they were settling and accepting truths, there was another misunderstanding. And again, every misunderstanding made sense in the setting of this world, but sometimes I just wanted a bit longer of a moment of levity. That being said, I really did enjoy this book and the last 10% was some expert-level writing. Gideon and Rune's emotional development towards the end of this story was touching. I'm really going to miss this world! If Kristen Cicarelli ever writes a spin off novel or epilogue novella, I will be the first in line to read it!
Thank you to the publisher for the eARC in exchange for an honest review!

Thank you to NetGalley for sending me an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Rebel Witch by Kristen Ciccarelli is the stunning conclusion to the Crimson Moth duology and after rating Heartless Hunter five stars, my bar for book two was set high. And wow--Rebel Witch did not disappoint! Starting off where book one left off, we weren't given time to pause for a breath as each new page unfolded an unexpected twist, danger, or sizzling hot chemistry between our main characters.

Something I loved is that as a reader, you really had to pay attention to every new piece of information given because there were so many layers to it. The foreshadowing was out of this world and by the end of the book, it just felt like what seemed to be a tangle of plot threads was smoothed out into a tidy straight line. It was so satisfying and I think the author did a fantastic job of weaving a tale that was fresh and stands out amongst the romantasy crowd.

Needless to say, this book was a five star read. It had non-stop action, was well-written, and the author did a fantastic job of pacing the information she revealed without leaving the reader lost or confused. Definitely add this to your tbr and if you haven't read book one, consider this your sign to do so!

I did like the first book better, but as far as sequels go it was good. Still has the fun tropes and cat/mouse feeling at the start throughout the middle. I really liked the character growth and twist with the lost sister. The ending is where it lost me a little, it felt so anti-climatic and kind of a cop out but wisdom was cool. Overall happy with this duology and how it ended

-Enemies to Lovers
-Witch | Witch Hunter
-Cat and Mouse
-Political Intrigue

This duology is a must-read if you're a fan of reading books in the Romantasy genre. I received "Rebel Witch" less than 24 hours ago and then proceeded to cancel all of my plans so I could binge it cover to cover without interruptions. After how book one "Heartless Hunter" ended, I needed answers immediately!

The author's writing style is immersive, atmospheric and engaging. She crafted such a remarkable world with characters that will take your emotions on roller coaster ride. I was on the edge of my seat throughout this entire book hoping that the MC's would get their HEA.

This has been one of my favorite series and I can't recommend it highly enough. I'm sad to see it come to an end but would absolutely be first in line to read more should the author decide to do any spinoffs in the future.

Definitely add this one to your TBR!

Thank you Kristen Ciccarelli , Net Galley and St. Martin's Press-Wednesday Books for providing me with an ARC of this book!

Thank you to Wednesday Books for my arc!


hahaha I knew going in that was going to hurt and I was proven right over and over. Rebel Witch picks up where we left off at the End of Crimson Moth/Heartless Hunter. Gideon is hunting Rune after he finds out she is a witch and Rune leaves with Cressida the very witch Queen who we know is responsible for the deaths of Gideons family.

the angst and the freaking romance in this book. I was screaming. My only complaint was that this was a bit to fast paced for me but i understand why, I would just of liked to see more angst BUT IT WAS STILL GOOD OKAY. JUST MY PERSONAL TASTE.

Overall a stunning conclusion to this duology & I can't wait to see what Fairyloot does for the Matching edition!

Wow. Where do I even begin?! 🥹

I am so in love with these characters and this story, reading this was bittersweet. Kristen has created such an enchanting world, magic system, and cast of characters with this duet. I never wanted it to end.

Gideon and Rune are enemies to lovers at its very finest. Their reunion and the journey of their relationship throughout this story was so much fun to read. They are both strong on their own, but so much stronger together. The further you get into the story, the more the two start to realize how far they would go for one another and it’s beautiful to see that development. Rune has got to be one of my favorite characters, she’s so brave, smart, and strong willed. She will go to extreme lengths for those that she loves and doesn’t think twice about it. And Gideon, my sweet Gideon. There’s a side brought out in him that we didn’t see much of in Heartless Hunter, and let me just say it made me fall in love with him even more. This boy deserves everything. He has been through so much, as has Rune, and I couldn’t be happier with the ending they were given.

I went through just about every emotion reading this book. Tears were shed. Lots of jaw dropping, throw my Kindle in shock moments. I cheered, swooned, laughed, I went THROUGH IT. This was just incredible. Everything you could ask for in a sequel. This duet is absolutely an all time favorite.