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!

Listen I LOVED Crimson Moth...but I LOVEEEEDDD REBEL WITCH. This book stole my heart and took my breath away. Rune and Gideon and the whole will they won't they had me on the edge of my seat the whole time.

I simply don't know how I'm going to wait until FEBRUARY to get my hands on this book.

This book was everything! It’s so exciting to see when a sequel is just as good as the first book, and Kristen Ciccarelli delivered. I was hooked very early on and enjoyed the whole journey of the book.

The frustrated love from Gideon and Rune having gone from enemies to lovers to enemies again had me screaming “CAN YOU JUST LOVE EACH OTHER OUT LOUD” lol

I honestly love these characters so much and felt that Rebel With was the perfect ending for our journey.

Such an absolutely brilliant ending to this magical duology. I binge read both books in a matter of two days and couldn’t get enough of Rune & Gideon. I was rooting for them since day one and couldn’t be happier at how this turned out.

Thank you to SMP & netgalley for the chance to read this simply incredible book early in exchange for an honest review.

RATING: 4/5 STARS

A solid follow up to HEARTLESS HUNTER and satisfying end to the Crimson Moth duology. I enjoyed the action in this one and the push-pull between Rune and Gideon.

This was a beautifully written romantasy. This had a wonderful plot, enemies to lovers, I would consider it a little spicier than the first one and a wonderful conclusion. This was easy to follow and really a wonderful read. I loved Rune and Gideon's story. I wanted to read it slow because I didn't want this to end! This will likely be on my books to reread in the future.

This book was so beautifully written! So magical and cozy. Definitely a perfect Fall read. In all honesty I never enjoyed reading about a magical world that contained witches until this series! The character development of her specially was so captivating. I couldn’t out his books down! It was such a stunning story I will not stop recommending. It was also very easy to read but not in a way that made it less magical!

I loved Heartless Hunter so much that I immediately jumped into Rebel Witch to see what was in store for Rune and Gideon. This book kept me on my toes from start to finish with the same high stakes and action from the first installment while further developing the relationship between the main characters. With any series, I was worried whether or not this final book would live up to my expectations and it ended up being the most perfect ending! Well worth the wait!

This eARC was provided by the publisher (St. Martin's Press| Wednesday Books) via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Having loved the heartless hunter, my expectations were very high going into rebel witch. Honestly, I wasn’t asking for a lot, just for the vibes to remain consistent to the first book. Unfortunately this book fell flat for me. This is what I assumed the first book would be like, but was pleasantly surprised.
I think the main issue I had with this book was the amount of telling versus showing. Maybe the worst example of this, the greatest pet peeve of readers, that I’ve experienced in recent memory. The most aggravating part was that I didn’t even agree with half of the “tellings”. The beauty of guiding your readers through showing is that some things can be left to interpretation, instead of feeling like you’re constantly disagreeing with the author.
I still think the first book is worth the read, but this sequel doesn’t come close. 2.5 stars

So much going on in this sequel! & our MCs could not catch a freaking break. Whew! This story had me engaged & on the edge of my seat! The suspense was so real. Oh.. & the enemies to lovers vibes from book 1 got kicked up a notch in book 2! + forced proximity. 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻 I ate it up! I had to know how everything was going to turn out but now I’m so sad it’s over and I want more from this world! Ah! I’d say this author did her dang job. I absolutely loved this book / this duology! I’ll definitely be recommending it! 😍

An amazing sequel!!!

I admit it took a week or so for me to get past the first few chapters but after that I was sucked in. So action packed and the ROMANCE!! Maybe one of the best enemies to lovers.

A WITCH...
Rune Winters is on the run. Ever since the boy she loved, Gideon Sharpe, revealed who she was and delivered her into enemy hands, everyone wants her dead. If Rune hopes to survive, she must ally herself with the cruel and dangerous Cressida Roseblood, who’s planning to take back the Republic and reinstate a Reign of Witches—something Cressida needs Rune to accomplish.


Rebel Witch
by Kristen Ciccarelli
Pub Date: Feb 18 2025

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A WITCH HUNTER...
Apparently it wasn’t enough for Rune to deceive Gideon; she’s now betrayed him by allying herself with the witch who made his life a living hell. Gideon won’t allow the Republic to fall to the witches and be plunged back into the nightmares of the past. In order to protect this new world he fought for, every last witch must die—especially Rune Winters.

AN IMPOSSIBLE CHOICE...
When Rune makes Gideon an offer he can’t refuse, the two must pair up to accomplish dangerous goals. The more they’re forced into each other’s company, the more Gideon realizes the feelings he had for Rune aren’t as dead and buried as he thought. Now he’s faced with a terrible choice: sacrifice the girl he loves to stop a monster taking back power, or let Rune live and watch the world he fought so hard for burn.

In Kristen Ciccarelli's Rebel Witch, the exciting conclusion to The Crimson Moth duology, love has never been so deadly.

This book somehow makes extortion romantic 🥹 I’m still swooning!

What to expect:
- Witches
- Magic ✨
- Enemies to lovers
- One bed 🛏️
- 3rd person POV

This is an epic paranormal romance with witches and magic and journeys across the sea. This is so beautifully written that I felt like I was transported. This book had me wrecked. I could barely stand what they were doing to each other but at the same time I also totally got it because it was a true enemies to lovers books.

This is a no spice/low spice book. The action and plot are the main focus with the romance as a large focus.

Plot (spoiler free):
The main characters are Rune and Gideon. Gideon Sharpe is a soldier in the Blood Gaurd, witch hunters, and Rune Winters is a witch whose main purpose is to see all witches free after they were sent into hiding by Gideon’s family. At the end of the first book (no spoilers) they both double down on their side. She was going to marry Alexander Sharpe (maybe?). He was her best friend and he wanted to protect her. But then tragedy struck and he was killed. Gideon has suffered so much at the hands of Cressida and the witches and he’s sworn on revenge. But Rune has him rethinking everything. Will he protect her when she needs it most?

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0 🌶️

Thank you net galley, Kristen and the publishing co for the opportunity to read and provide feedback.

I was very excited to get my hands on this 2nd book. I will start by saying I dislike very much any miscommunication trope and this 2nd book really fed into that heavily... that being said.. I enjoyed the intensity and deep level of writing.. I could not get enough and needed to see it through. It ended exactly the way i needed it to. 4.5 stars I cannot wait to have this one physically in my hands.

This book gave me SO MUCH ANXIETY. Gideon and Rune are lovestruck fools for each other. The push and pull?! The I don't know whether I should kill you or kiss you?! The betrayals and the secrets and the one-ups and the almost kisses and the PINING and the... just... EVERYTHING. Everything about this book I am a lovestruck fool over.

I don't know what else to say?!

I am OBSESSED with Gideon and Rune. I wish there was a third book. I don't even care if nothing's going to happen in it. I just need to see them happy and free and not in constant fight for their lives. I need them to live their best lives because they deserve it. Dammit.

This was a glorious second book and finale. There is definite potential for a spinoff series. There are a lot of minor characters who deserve their own stories told. And I'd love to read them if ever.

Kristen Ciccarelli remains to be one of my favorite authors ever, ever. I can't wait to see what she has in store for us next!