Thanks to Wednesday Books, St. Martin's Press, and NetGalley for this copy of "Rebel Witch," the sequel to "Heartless Hunter."

I was fortunately able to read them (fly through them) back-to-back and oh my! What an amazing romantasy.

(But it kinda fits into my spooky theme since it majorly involves witches, both good and evil ones.)

So many plot twists and turns and double- and triple-crosses. Who's a friend? Who's an enemy? And what happens if you accidentally fall in love with your "enemy?"

Rebel Witch is the perfect second half of the Crimson Moth duology. The tension in this book is flawlessly written, and I could not put it down. I cannot recommend this duology more— even some more novice fantasy readers have adored it!

Rebel Witch is a most satisfying offering that far surpasses the first book in engagement and atmosphere!

Wow, talk about sticking the landing! I found the second installment in this romantacy duology to far surpass the first! All our beloved characters are included but they feel more rich and nuanced. The pacing was breakneck, a slight upgrade from the first, I just couldn't put it down! The world, too felt more fully realized and evocative. It offers some seriously witty banter and a plot that twists and turns.

Readers who enjoyed The Heartless hunter will unequivocally be cheering by this conclusion!

AHHHH! I absolutely loveee this series and I'm so sad it's over!

Kristen Ciccarelli wastes absolutely zero time getting this story going. Rebel Witch is incredibly fast paced. I liked that we didn't spend long recapping anything and just got straight into it. There is not a single boring moment in this book. Everything felt important and necessary.

I am simply obsessed with Rune and Gideon! The chemistry these two have is through the roof and I love that the cat and mouse game still continued from the first book. These two obviously don't trust each other because of the events of the last book so it was interesting reading about how they both thought they were still playing each other. Every interaction they had had me on the edge of my seat!

There were definitely certain moments that felt predictable, but most of it I honestly didn't mind. The ending felt slightly convenient but again, I didn't really mind because I love these characters so much and wanted them happy and safe!

I was thrilled to receive an advanced copy of Rebel Witch for review! I absolutely adored Heartless Hunter and couldn’t wait to see where the story would go. This second book started off with a bang and didn’t really ever slow down. Rune and Gideon’s world is being ripped apart by war and opposing struggles for power. They have some genuinely beautiful moments together but there were a few times when the waffling and refusal to communicate got a bit taxing. The writing is gorgeous and impactful. The villains well done. The collection of characters well balanced. My only other minor concern is how perfectly it all wrapped up in the last quick chapters- I almost feel like that could have been expanded in favor of cutting some of the middle third of the book. So, did I love it as much as Heartless Hunter? Not quite. But it was still a fantastic story I’m likely to read again in the future and highly recommend.

This was the same story over and over. So much miscommunication, none of the creativity and pining of the first book.

Another 3.5 book. While I liked the overall plot and pace, I find it really predictable just like the first book.

The writing was good and the characters held my attention, but even the plot twists didn't make me feel anything because I saw them coming from the beginning. Breadcrumbs should be so subtle you don't notice them until the big reveal, too bad Ciccarelli left entire loaves instead.

Rebel Witch is such a wonderful ending to the Heartless Hunter duology and it only took me as long as it did to finish because I didn't want their story to end 😭

I can't wait to get a finished copy of this book book. Thank you to the pub and Netgallery for the free e-arc copy. Greatly appreciated.

Rebel Witch starts at the very end of Heartless Hunter and I would recommend rereading the first one, it makes it more immersive.

Overall, a great 5 star read.

Such a good duology! Couldn’t stop reading and didn’t want it to end. I will definitely read more from this author.

What an adventure this book was. It’s 3 AM and I am just in such awe at the world the author created for us. I feel like I just watched a million dollar movie franchise, the descriptions were so vivid and well written. I will forever be thinking of Rune and Gideon and the things they went through. This was a beautiful ending to this duology and I feel quite empty knowing there will never be more from these characters. This book will live on in my mind forever, and be a book I re-read constantly.

Still giggling and kicking my feet. This was a litttttle repetitive and things sometimes felt too predictable/convenient, but I was hooked and read the last 40% in one sitting. We don’t get enough good duologies and I’m so happy to have this one!

5🌟

The book at a glance:
✨Enemies to Lovers
✨Witch x Witch Hunter
✨Forced Proximity

I absolutely loved this conclusion to the Crimson Moth duology. It was fast paced, full of adventure and mayhem, and had a satisfying conclusion.

I was quite annoyed with Rune near the end, but she eventually got her head on straight and redeemed herself. We also got to see another side of Gideon in this book, which was sorely needed. I was quite happy to see the character development.

I laughed, I cried, and then I laughed and cried some more.

Thank you to Wednesday Books and NetGalley for the advance reader’s copy.

You mean there are people out there who didn't get to read this series back to back and had to wait a year or longer to find out how it ended? Wouldn't be me.

This fantasy duology made me feel things again. It's one of those books I can point to and go "That is my reader vibe in a nutshell" and that is so important to me. Honestly though, I enjoyed this so much. Was it as good as the first? No, but barely. I knocked half a star off because there were a few things that did start to get a bit repetitive, but I loved Rune and Gideon and this world so much that I just really don't care. Like HH, I inhaled this in a couple sittings and was so sad when it was over.

I'm so glad I gave this series and author a chance because it has become one of my fav reads of the entire year!

The biggest thank you to the publisher for allowing me to read the digital arc for Rebel Witch!!! I had been eagerly awaiting for 2025 just to find out what happened next in this duology so you can imagine my shock when I found out I'd be getting this arc.

This book was such a vibe, both fun and stressful to read at times. It sucked me in right away and held me captive, eagerly wanting to know how this story would culminate. I didn't think it was possible to fall more in love with Gideon Sharpe, but holy moly, somehow Ciccarelli made that possible in this sequel. He is ultimate book boyfriend goals and needs to be protected at all costs. I even grew to enjoy our fmc Rune even more. There was times when she slightly annoyed me in Heartless Hunter if I'm honest. But she redeemed herself in Rebel Witch and grew even more as a character. There was some miscommunication between the characters in this book, and that could be frustrating at times, but it was necessary for the story and I enjoyed it. Ciccarelli can frustrate me and torment me all she wants just so long as I get a happy ending.

This book had the most intense pacing and just when I thought I could breathe again, I was fooled. I hyperventilated a few times but I liked it. The ending did wrap up kind of quickly in my opinion, but I'm just so thankful it ended on a positive note that I can't complain. If you enjoy a writer playing with your emotions like I do, then this is the book duo for you!!

If you've been on the fence about reading these books, just take this as your sign. The sequel was everything I wanted and so enjoyable.

I love this romatasy duology! This book picks up after the cliffhanger ending of the first book so I couldn't wait to pick up this story. I love that both characters now know each other's full identities throughout this story. Even though they once again hate each other, their feelings from before are hard to shake, causing their reluctant alliance to be very tense. It was a wonderful story and such a great way to wrap up the series!

Thank you to Wednesday Books and Netgalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

📖✨ 𝑹𝒆𝒃𝒆𝒍 𝑾𝒊𝒕𝒄𝒉
because waiting till Feb was just too hard 🤤

endless thanks to @kristenciccarelli for this amazing duology & @stmartinspress for the opportunity to read this arc.
All opinions are my own.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
(No spoilers ‼️)
The anticipation to read this book took over my tbr for August & I was not prepared whatsoever!
Rebel Witch brings back all the tension and devastation from Heartless Hunter to the very first chapter. Both sides are convinced they are doing what’s best for the world around them, even if I means destroying something they love.😭

Diving right back in with our cat and mouse, or in this case, witch and witch hunter, Rune and Gideon find themselves stranded and struggling to justify their moral high grounds when the world around them is crumbling from evil forces that seem too strong to contain.
Will they survive now that the world is more divided than ever?

I read this book so fast, I will definitely need a reread in my future 😅
Heartless Hunter & Rebel Witch are my favorite duology of 2024 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼

This is what I mean when I say I love romantasy!!! This is the most perfect romantasy duology TO ME. The world, the characters, the TENSION, the banter, everything about this was so perfect. I loved how this was a TRUE enemies to lovers. Like I literally feared one might kill the other. I loved book one, gave it 5 stars, but somehow this one was even better. This was so fast paced and action packed. Something was always happening and I was constantly on the edge of my seat. Don’t even get me started on the romance!!! Literally gave me butterflies and had me squealing. The plot twists had me shocked and glued to the book. 10000/5 stars, no notes, no complaints.

Update: It’s been a little over 12 hours since I finished this book and I’m not kidding when I say I woke up in the middle of the night thinking about it. I will not move on

First thoughts: 5 stars. 6 stars. Everything I could’ve hoped for and more in a sequel/conclusion. This duology is absolutely perfect to me.

I really enjoyed this finale to this duology. It was fast paced and I loved every single second of it. The only reason it wasn't a full 5 star read was because I guessed basically every single one of the big reveals and I also guessed how everything was going to resolve itself. I loved these reveals and the choices the author made, but I just wish it wasn't so obvious to me. I love these characters and this world so much. I do highly recommend this series!

I had bought book 1 of this series because of Bookstagram but for some reason I didn't pick it up right away. I knew I wanted to read it...just wanted to be in a fanasty mood and also wanted a chance to have the second book in my hands before starting this duopoly. Thanks to Wednesday Books, I was able to do just that.

Guys, I finished book 1 and 2 within 30 hours of starting them. To say this was a binge weekend, is a massive understatement. I loved every part of this world and even more so because I don't have to wait for books 5-8 to come out (the conclusion of this was *top shelf*) . A YA Romantasy that felt full of desire, heat but without the open door spice that goes on for 10 pages (just my preference of course).
It had the world building but without taking forever to get into it, which is what I think happens when people can't get into their fantasy books.

I need to see if Kristen has a backlist because dang that was good. I've had a meh kind of august and these just took the top spot.
LOVED it

Thank you to @stmartinspress @wednesdaybooks @netgalley for my eARC of this book. Pub date: 02/18/25

I read Heartless Hunter in July 2024 and absolutely devoured it!! I quickly fell in love and was captivated by the storyline and the characters. The tension between the two leads had me weak in the knees. The fantasy world in which they live was magical and kept me interested! A 5 star read for me! 

This book was a highly anticipated read for me because of how much I loved book 1 in the duology. Overall, I did enjoy this book and feel like I'm between a 4.25-4.5 on my star rating overall. The main reason I struggled with this book is I felt that at the 40% mark not much had truly happened which is completely the opposite of how I felt with Heartless Hunter. The pacing and the plot felt much slower in the first half of this book however that being said it did start to pick up between that 40-60% mark. And from Part 3 of the novel on I was absolutely hooked! I read from Part 3 to the end of the book within one day. 

Overall, I adored these characters and found myself really enjoy this romantasy duology between a witch and a witch hunter. It's a duology I do see myself reading again in the future too!