This book was the perfect conclusiont to this rivveting duology. The storytelling and alternating POVs between Gideon and Rude maintained an effective and well-paced narrative throughout the book, and gave the reader much insight into eachother's feelings, as well as the angst and tension within thier love story. Kristen kept me on the edge of my seat with plot twists, actions scenes, unpredictibility, as well as, of course, the romance! Their love for eachother (Rune and Gideon) was something that had me giggling and kicking my feet in the best way!

Review posted to goodreads and copied below for convenience!
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/7016678324

Will be reviewing on Amazon after release, as well as making content on my tiktok (@nicolina.marie) as the release date draws closer.
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I just about screamed when I finished The Crimson Moth/Heartless Hunter and realized I was given the opportunity to read Rebel Witch early. Thank you so much SMP!

This book was everything I wanted it to be. The TENSION 😫🔥

From the beginning I was sucked right in and as someone who has a hard time with books that start slow I appreciate that so much.

Kristen’s characters truly come to life with how she writes. I absolutely adore Rune and Gideon’s journey (trying not to spoil!) and all the twists/trials keep things continuously interesting as you read.

I have a few series that I tend to drift back to when nothing else is hitting and this has quickly solidified a place among them.

If you love unique magic systems, Bridgerton vibes, tons of tension, lots of twists, forbidden love and enemies to lovers then you should 100% add book 1 and 2 to your TBRs.

I’m so sad this Duo is over! We start 2 months after that crazy ending in The Crimson Moth and the book never had a dull moment! The tension between Gideon and Rune is unlike anything else. This is 100% a true enemies to lovers. I love the magic system in this world. There’s no unlimited power everything has a cost. It wrapped up beautifully and I loved the way the story concluded

Heartless Hunter was wonderful, and while it felt predictable at times, it was still really enjoyable. I was absolutely thrilled to receive an ARC for Rebel Witch.

Sadly, this book has one of my least favorite tropes heavily on display throughout the majority of the book - miscommunication. If this isn’t a book ick for you, then you’ll probably still really enjoy this book.

For me, it felt a bit childish at times because of this, and it really took away from the overall plot.

I am truly grateful for receiving this ARC from Wednesday Books & St. Martins Press in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Other thoughts:
Gideon as a father? 10/10

They make Rune seem more vulnerable in this book, which I don’t love.

The miscommunication trope paired with cat and mouse and also secrecy is leaving me confused
I’m guessing right now that Rune is the missing 4th sister.

I feel like Rune and Evangeline from OUABH would be best buddies.

4.5 stars!!! I loved the conclusion to this duology! Gideon is perfect and Rune is a blend of strength and fear. I was fully vested in the story and just adore the main characters. A great sequel to The Heartless Hunter.

I was immediately sucked back into the plot from Heartless Hunter. The fast pacing from the first book continued in this one which I enjoyed at first, the second half it began feeling a bit too quick. The ending was a bit abrupt. I really enjoyed the added lore and world building and wanted there to be more expanding into that, it was begging to be explored and dug into and slowed down a bit. The ending reminded me of the elements of cadence duo by Rebecca Ross! This book definitely leans on the romance side of romantacy more so than Heartless Hunter did.

Tropes: pining, only one bed, miscommunication

Content: one explicit scene chapter 71, strong language, innuendo, death, violence, killing, same sex relationships of side characters, cutting - the first book had this too for the magic system but it was more prevalent in Rebel Witch.

What a wild ride! I absolutely loved Heartless Hunter, the first book in this duology, and Rebel Witch continues the cat-and-mouse chase of Heartless Hunter, with so many swoon-worthy moments and quotes!

From the beginning to end, the book is full of constant action as Gideon is tasked with capturing Rune, despite both of them still having feelings for each other, shadowed by the hurt and betrayal they both still feel.

I love both Gideon and Rune, and their relationship develops more in this novel, as they learn more about each other and their past. There are lots of fantastic moments of tension, and so many quotes that made my heart melt! They work through their trauma and become vulnerable with each other, learning to understand why each acted the way they did. As they begin to see life through each other’s eyes, those around them do as well. Larger themes of unity and acceptance are explored as the novel progresses.

Cressida becomes a formidable enemy and a chilling villain, one who changes Rune in ways I did not expect. Her character is vindictive and cruel, and I rooted against her the whole book.

The ending does resolve nicely, and I appreciated that with this YA duology. It left me with hope, and that is desperately needed. Overall, I loved this book (maybe more than Heartless Hunter) and the duology overall! I highly recommend you read it!

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and Wednesday Books for this eARC, in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you St. Martin's Press and Wednesday Books for the arc!

I want to start by saying the sexual tension in this book was magnificent. No notes. Chef's kiss. Just a ridiculous amount of applause. The amount of "Darcy hand flex" touches was sublime. I've never wanted two people to stab each other and kiss so much at the same time.

Rebel Witch was everything I wanted in the second book. It answered the questions I had from book one, it gave me more moments between Rune and Gideon, and it built the world and background for what needed to happen. The story was so well written and I loved it so much.

I love Rune and Gideon. Their relationship, their characters, what they bring out in each other. The relationship felt so real and natural, there was never a moment where I questioned that I wanted them to be together.

5 Stars

Absolutely fantastic and honestly better than the first book. I kept forgetting that this is YA because the tension and chemistry between Gabriel and Rune is off the charts - it's a great enemies to lovers where the conflict and feelings are truly shown. I could barely put this down and was on the edge of my seat the entire time.

The pacing was perfect and I never felt like the story slowed or floundered. And I appreciate the stakes felt very high - there was so much going on and our MCs were constantly finding themselves in danger. The ending wrapped everything up perfectly and was super satisfying.

Thanks NetGalley for the arc!

“Sometimes our paths must diverge from those we love… but if love is the highest power, our paths with converge again”

I was so excited to get back into this world and be with Rune and Gideon again.

We pick up right where Crimson Moth leaves off - Rune is across the sea with Cressida building alliances and Gideon is spying on her. We get to go through the enemies to lovers pipeline again and the tension is just as good as book 1.

This duology is easily going to be one of my favourite duologies. Gideon and Rune truly are soulmates (in my world at least) and their journey was fitting for them. The plot and romance was perfectly paced and it didn’t feel forced at times.

Some side characters really shined and we got to learn a little bit more about the world. I really have nothing to say because this book was perfect to me.

A perfect conclusion to one of my favorite duologies! Rune and Gideon have my whole heart. This book has more enemies to lovers deliciousness, fake marriage, high stakes, redemption arcs, and tear jerking moments. The constant tension, scheming, and pining between Rune and Gideon had me holding my breath and kicking my feet. I could have read 400 more pages of them just interacting. There was honestly never a dull moment, the twists were amazing, and I couldn’t stop turning the page. I’m super happy with how things ended but so sad to be done with this world.

Thank you so much to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Rebel Witch by Kristen Ciccarelli was the perfect sequel to Heartless Hunter and completes the Crimson Moth series in a satisfying way.

First of all I want to give a huge thank you to NetGalley & St Martin’s Press for granting my wish and allowing me to consume this ARC in exchange for my honest feedback - I have been yearning for this sequel from the moment I finished the first book and I was over the moon when I found the digital copy on my NetGalley shelf.

This book was the epitome of enemies to lovers - we reconnect with Rune Winters & Gideon Sharpe after a whirlwind in the first book. Gideon’s brother Alex has taken a bullet for his brother and Rune’s closest gal pal has actually been the evil witch Cressida in disguise. Now Cressida has a plan to resurrect her dead sisters and cause total chaos….meanwhile Gideon and the Blood Guards are determined to kill Rune, The Crimson Moth.

The pacing was absolutely perfect and the twists, turns and big reveals were amazing. I could not have predicted a better way for this series to come to an end. I highly recommend this series to witchy romantasy lovers who eat up the enemies to lovers trope with a spoon. I can’t say enough great things & I look forward to reading more from Kristen Ciccarelli in the future!

I'm obsessed!!! This book was everything I want a sequel to be—addictive, thrilling, angsty—from start to finish it kept me at the edge of my seat, non-stop adventure rife with unparalleled tension.

It's not often that a sequel is better than the first book but this so was.
This is one of the best books and absolutely the best sequel I've read this year.
Nothing else compares, if I could I'd give it 100000 ⭐️.
The bar for this sequel was already so high and not only did it meet it , it surpassed it and blew it out of the water!!
So much happened, it felt like I read at least 2 books instead of 1.

RW was fast paced but it didn't feel rushed. I only wished we'd gotten a longer epilogue because I wasn't ready to say goodbye 😭😭😭😭

From start to finish Rebel Witch was action packed—the tension, the pacing, the angst—everything was on point, the stakes were higher than ever, stirring up a whirlwind of emotions in me the entire time.
This was a heart-pounding, epic finale and I'm not ready for it to be over.

Eternal gratitude to Wednesday Books, St Martin's Press and Netgalley for the arc

Was I waiting for this arc after I finished reading the first book in the series? Yes, I was. And I literally read it as fast as I can. Unfortunately, I have mixed feelings regarding Rebel Witch.

Before I go any further, please be warned that there might be spoilers. Keep that in mind.

Anyways, I have to admit that I do have mixed feelings about Rebel Witch. Sorry to say. I didn't hate it, but I also didn't love it. It was kind of in the middle. I like that the pacing was just right between Rune and Gideon. They are literally enemies again, but with higher strakes. However, I didn't love their relationship's progress. I didn't connect to the Rune and Gideon relationship. I felt that Gideon was lacking in the romance department. He never declares or starts the hard conversations between them. I felt that Rune was doing the most for their relationship when it shouldn't be. I don't know, but I felt disappointed between Rune and Gideon. I needed something more like what Rune did with Alex.

I loved the tension between Gideon and Rune when this book started so much! But as the encounters became repetitive (and even sometimes conversations or scenes being repeated in the next POV chapter) I started having a hard time picking it back up.

I felt that the end was a little anticlimactic. I think I just expected more of a fight. That may be my own fault wanting more from the plot than the romance. So I think people strictly reading for the Romantasy aspect will probably eat this book up as much as they did the first.

This one felt a bit chaotic compared to the first book and that is what lost me, I think. I still had a good time and I still recommend reading the Duology if you love Romantasy!

My heart!!!!!!! I took my sweet time savoring this because I did not wanted to end. You know that feeling when you have to say goodbye to friend you’re so sure you will not see again? That’s exactly how I feel finishing this! Is this a duology? Because Mrs Cicarelli, you need to give us more Rune/Gideon, I need to see them happy, the after of the after! ALL THE STARS!

I’m so satisfied with the second half of the Crimson Moth’s story but also so heartbroken that it’s over. Heartless Hunter was my favorite fantasy read of the year so I most definitely screamed when I got an email saying I got an early copy of Rebel Witch 😭 This book has everything the first one has: witches, enemies to lovers, heartbreak, cat & mouse game, love, found family, magic. I can’t say how much y’all should read this duo. I could go on and on about this duo.

4.5 stars

Rebel Witch by Kristin Ciccarelli is just as absorbing as Heartless Hunter, the first book in the series, and I was so pleased with how much I loved it. It definitely stood up to the hype of the first book and I could not stop reading as I was desperate to see where the duology would go.

Gideon and Rune are everything. They completely make the duology because they are characters that I grew to love so quickly and despite them being on opposite sides, you can't help but want them both to win in the end. This makes for such conflicting feelings, and books that leave the reader feeling that way are so well done in my opinion. There is no easy answer between the two of their views either, as there are both positives and negatives that can be seen in why they feel the way they do, and the fact that it isn't so completely black and white and can make you feel like both characters are valid in their feelings is something I really love about this duology. And also, enemies to lovers is elite, need I say more?

Needless to say I loved both of their points of view being shown in chapters, as it gives perspective into each of their minds which is essential to the story. I also loved both of their points of view and never found myself wanting one over the other which makes me love a book all the more. Getting to see the angsty feelings between Rune and Gideon from each side of things is pretty great too.

I love, love, love a good witch story as well. This one draws me in with the fascinating magic system and I found myself wanting more details on the magic and just more magic happening. It's such a uniquely cool system with blood magic and the fact that using said magic has the consequence of leaving behind obvious scarring that points someone out as being a witch (and the thing that witch hunters have used to condemn said witches in their hunt to destroy them all). Also, the fact that they leave behind a unique signature that is basically a witches calling card on their magic is so awesome. And again, consequences because if someone knows your signature, they know exactly what magic you have cast, a fact important to the story as Rune continues to try to hide herself and her actions, this time amongst her own people who know her crimson moth signature.

Honestly I was so pleasantly surprised that Rebel Witch lived up to the expectations that Heartless Hunter set. Heartless Hunter was one of my favourite reads of the year and I loved this one just as much. Getting to see Rune and Gideon team up again all while dealing with the back and forth of their conflicting positions on opposite sides of the battle between witches and hunters had me quickly addicted to the story and this was a literal one sitting read for me. Highly, highly recommend and I'm a little sad that this duology is now complete because I loved the world and the characters so much.

One of my fav duology of all time with the perfect ending I love this characters so much

Gideon will always have my heart

What an incredible follow up to a stunning start. Rebel Witch doesn’t waste time bringing you up to speed or reminding you of book one, but instead drops you right into another amazing story.

The growth in both Rune and Gideon is clear throughout the book, and it manages to be an interesting and action-packed continuation of the story without feeling at all repetitive.

There’s tension, there’s action, there’s characters we loved in the first book and new characters that bring everything even more to life. A really great ending to the story.

Thank you to Wednesday Books and NetGalley for the Advance Copy for review