Thank you NetGalley for the early copy! The first half of this book was so good. The setting felt so immersive and real, I was on my toes, and falling further in love with the characters. I find Rune’s character overall to be a new favorite in fantasy books. After the first half, the plot felt very rushed. I think if that had been expanded on more and made into a trilogy, it would’ve been more exciting and the emotional moments would have hit harder. 3.5 Stars

I really loved the conclusion to this duology! I loved how we jumped straight into the action but it still felt easy to understand with the small recap of what had happened in the previous book! I loved the characters and their growth throughout the story! I loved how the romance was done in this one since it had just enough to be enjoyable but not so much that it overtook the entire plot. I did feel like the ending was a bit too fast paced for me with so much going on so fast and were if felt I may have needed a bit more just for a satisfying conclusion but I really loved the entire book and definitely recommend reading this duology!

I wasn’t sure if it was possible, but the sequel topped the first book!!! I absolutely LOVED Rebel Witch!!! It was fast-paced with a super intriguing plot, the romance had me SQUEALING, and I loved the small twists in the story!! The ending was absolutely perfect but I could have read 3 more books about Rune and Gideon. I just loved them so much!!

Rebel Witch by @kristenciccarelli

Thank you to @netgalley for this ARC!! This was a dream when this dropped in my inbox!

Wow, this was soo good! Dare I say…I think I even liked this more than Heartless Hunter and I loved Heartless Hunter! This was such a beautiful duology. I was sucked in from the start — I didn’t want it to end but I needed to know what happened! I was obsessed with Rune and Gideon’s relationship and I felt all the feelings from this rollercoaster of an adventure. This duology is definitely going on my reread list for the future for sure.

I know I shared this on another post but it definitely deserves a home here too! 🤣 The other day I was in desperate need of book retail therapy and NEEDED to get my hands on this physical book! I ran to B&N but the spot where Rebel Witch should have been on the shelf was empty 😳. I tracked down a sales associate and he found one for me in the back — my excitement was embarrassing…I essentially cheered for him from one side of the store to the other while he was bringing it to me….looking back on it, I’d still do it again, that’s how good this book is!

If you like:
✨Fantasy books
🧙‍♀️Witch vs Witch Hunter
❤️‍🔥Enemies to Lovers
🚫Forbidden Romance
🛏️One Bed
😡Who did this to you?
🎢All the Emotions

Read this duology!!

#rebelwitch #heartlesshunter #thecrimsonmoth #bookreview #enemiestolovers #onebedtrope #fantasybooks #duology #whodidthistoyou

This was such an amazing ending to this duology! The conflict between Gideon and Rune added to the overall challenges they faced and added an extra layer of tension and complexity to the story. Ciccarelli did a great job conveying that all on the page!

Thank you for the opportunity to read early and for granting my WISH! :)

What a follow up to book 1! This book was everything a reader wants to the conclusion of a duet and definitely didn't have that book 2 slump that can happen with sequels.
Rune and Gideon are still such compelling characters who struggle with their identities, beliefs, and what they truly want for themselves as they are pulled between the vicious witch queen, Cressida, and the Blood Guard and their cruel Good Commander. The way they navigate these struggles, both individually and together, is so well done.
We also got to see lots of our favorite secondary characters again (and meet some new ones) and see in the present how all the character's lives were impacted when the witch queens were murdered and witches became the hunted.
Along with all the great character development, we had an action packed, non-stop plot that kept the twists and turns coming and me on the edge of my seat. I was definitely misty eyed the last several chapters as we made our way to the HEA. Ciccarelli really made us WORK for it.
Overall, I loved the book and hope we get to see more of The Crimson Moth universe in future books.

Man, this was SUCH a fun duology and so incredibly binge-able!

Rebel Witch hits the ground RUNNING with the action and quite literally never stops, I really think it might be one of the most fast-paced books I've ever read. This does pose some concerns for me at times, but overall I really really loved it. Rune and Gideon are both in new and dangerous situations, and their relationship to one another is full of confusion, hurt and complexity. If you're a fan of the knife-to-throat, "I hate you but also can't stop thinking about kissing you," TRUE enemies to lovers that turn into the most swoon-worthy and heartfelt couple I've read in a YA book in quite sometime, you really can't go wrong with these two. The world and magic only grow more interesting in this book, and I think they're both somehow quite well explored despite how action packed this book was.

I've knocked this down a bit from my rating of the first book only because the action was so plentiful that it actually started feeling... repetitive? It honestly didn't take me out of the story TOO much but just enough to be noticeable. Its just a lot of *crisis-- but I'm saved!" over and over again dealt by different characters and situations. Regardless, though, I absolutely adored the ending and thought it was really hard won. I hope this author considers returning to this world in the future because I think theres still so much potential to be explored!

Thank you SO MUCH to St. Martin's Press, Wednesday Books and NetGalley for this eArc!

This was a great conclusion to the duology! The tension and push and pull between the MCs was still going strong in this one, and I loved it! You just want them together, but you see their reasoning and reluctance with being on opposite sides of the war, but they also can’t help but save each other! The romance is so good.

The pacing was great again with plenty of action and high stakes. While I did guess some twists and saw some things coming, it didn’t take away from my enjoyment of the book! The ending was very satisfying as well.

I really enjoyed this duology and recommend picking them up soon to binge!

✨Second in a Duology
✨Witch & Witch Hunter
✨Enemies-to-Lovers
✨Dual POV
✨Twists
✨High Stakes

“𝘐 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘕𝘢𝘯’𝘴 𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘩, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘈𝘭𝘦𝘹’𝘴. 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘐 𝘸𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴.” 𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘥 𝘶𝘱 𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘪𝘮. “𝘐𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘮𝘦.”

“𝘈𝘳𝘦𝘯’𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘣𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴?” 𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘴𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘳. “𝘈𝘳𝘦𝘯’𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘪𝘤𝘬 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘢𝘵𝘦? 𝘛𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘺, 𝘏𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘰𝘸. 𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵’𝘴 𝘥𝘪𝘧𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘳𝘦𝘧𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘦𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘵𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘰. 𝘋𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘵𝘦 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘥𝘥𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶.” 𝘙𝘶𝘯𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘵𝘢𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵.

“𝘓𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘢𝘳𝘬𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘵𝘰𝘰 𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘶𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘨𝘯𝘪𝘻𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵,” 𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘳. “𝘠𝘰𝘶’𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘩𝘢𝘵𝘦.” 𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘤𝘰𝘸𝘭𝘦𝘥, 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘶𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨. 𝘊𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧 𝘰𝘧𝘧. “𝘠𝘰𝘶’𝘳𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘵, 𝘊𝘰𝘮𝘳𝘢𝘥𝘦.” 𝘕𝘰. 𝘎𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘰𝘯 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘵. “𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘐 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘧𝘳𝘦𝘦, 𝘏𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘰𝘸. 𝘞𝘦’𝘷𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘧𝘳𝘦𝘦. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘶𝘴, 𝘭𝘰𝘤𝘬 𝘶𝘴 𝘶𝘱, 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘶𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘳𝘰𝘵—𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘰𝘸𝘯. 𝘞𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦. 𝘕𝘰𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮.”

“𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘣𝘭𝘦𝘮 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘳𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘺 𝘪𝘵, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘵 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘴.”

“𝘉𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘵𝘶𝘱𝘪𝘥 𝘦𝘯𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘵𝘰 𝘧𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘪𝘯 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘢 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘤𝘩 𝘩𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳. 𝘚𝘵𝘶𝘱𝘪𝘥 𝘦𝘯𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘰𝘱𝘦 𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘮𝘦 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬. 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘧 𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘥, 𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘴𝘯’𝘵 𝘨𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘭𝘦𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘵𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘶𝘴 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯.”

“𝘒𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘎𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘰𝘯 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘰𝘮𝘦. 𝘈 𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘤𝘦, 𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘥.”

Thank you so much to Wednesday Books for the eARC! All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I don’t want to give away too much of the plot so I’ll keep this review short! I absolutely loved 𝗛𝗲𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗹𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗛𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿 and could not wait to jump into 𝗥𝗲𝗯𝗲𝗹 𝗪𝗶𝘁𝗰𝗵. I think there’s always an expectation that when you start a duology, one book will become a favorite over the other, which truly isn’t the case here as I loved both equally. The series flowed so perfectly from one book to the other. I loved everything from the cat and mouse game to the angst, banter, fast paced action, and slow burn enemies-to-lovers. I’m actually sad 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗖𝗿𝗶𝗺𝘀𝗼𝗻 𝗠𝗼𝘁𝗵 series is over, but also so in love with this romantasy story and its conclusion, and will absolute re-read and recommend to everyone.

Dear Rebel Witch,
I absolutely adored you. You are such a fun twist on the rules of magic and your world is a fascinating place for me. Getting to dive deeper into Rune's intrigues and plots as she fights to save her fellow witches and the world she wants to go back to. Gideon and Rune have such an amazing push and pull that defines their relationship and I just lost myself in how they played with each other. I truly loved everything about this duology, and will totally read anything else that Ciccarelli writes!

You know a book is amazing when you finish it and stare off for 30 minutes still transfixed and not ready to leave the world just yet. This duology was a fantastic read and I am absolutely recommending it to all my fellow readers!

I’m sad this duology is over! Heartless Hunter was one of my favorite books of last year and Rebel Witch wrapped up Rune and Gideon’s story nicely. I loved seeing the romance between them develop and also see the characters develop individually as well. I would have actually loved for there to have been a third book so that more storylines could have been fleshed out more. Overall I love this duology so much and will continue recommending to everyone I know!

This absolutely stunning conclusion to the Crimson Moth duology truly took my breath away. It kicked off with everyone’s favorite romance tropes, and concluded in an epic exploration of war, humanity, and self discovery. The characters and locations crafted by Ciccarelli are extremely rich and unique in their nature, making this story the perfect playground for the young adult audience it’s aimed at, who are still growing and learning themselves. Everything from the magic system to the relationships, that completely tug on your heart strings, are ripe for discussion and further exploration through fandom, fanfiction, potential spin off series’, adaptations and more! This duology is the gift that keeps on giving and will stay with you forever! As a teen librarian, this is going to be an auto recommend for many years to come. While being sexy and action packed, it ultimately teaches lessons of compassion and equality. It explores these themes and more in such an exciting fashion that is sure to captivate any reader willing to give it a shot. It was tough to put down, and I’m SO looking forward to diving into more from the author to come!

Rune and Gideon are back in this Heartless Hunter Sequel! After Gideon leaves Rune for dead and Run escapes with Cressienda, we are thrown into Rune being engaged to a new man. Gideon is determined to find Rune and bring her back for execution, but come on, we know Gideon cannot do that to Rune. Rune and Gideon find their way back to each other in a "platonic" way. Each has something the other wants, so they work together to return to the mainland. While pretending to be a married couple on a ship back home, these two are playing games behind each other's backs, planning who will kill the other first.

I love Rune and Gideon; I am so happy they are getting to tell the end of their story. I was a bit frustrated with the constant back and forth of "will they won't they". I felt that a lot of the start of the book was Gideon saying he could not be with Rune because she loved Alex, when, as the reader, you know that is not the case. Regardless, these two were able to tell each other the truth and let true love prevail.

Thank you, NetGalley and St Martins, for this arc!!

Fantastic way to end a duology. I loved this story, loved Gideon, loved Rune. The will they wont they, the secrets, the betrayals. It was all fantastic.

I’m literally obsessed with this series. I’m unwell. I just… I’m going to need at least 2 weeks to stare at a wall after reading this book.

this duology has my heart. I’m not sure I can ever love a series more than I love this one.

Rune and Gideon—witch and witch hunter—are back and picked up right where the first book left off. the tension? palpable. the slow burn? excruciating in the best way. the supposed to be enemies, but fate has other plans, forcing them to work together toward a shared goal. expect betrayal, backstabbing, high-stakes action, stowaways, hostages, one bed 🔥, a fake marriage, and, of course, plenty of ✨magic✨.

this book wrecked me. and i’d love to be continued to be wrecked by this author. my heart aches. my eyes are still leaking. i could barely put this book down. I love this world and these characters so much, and I hate that this is likely the end.

i would give this author my entire soul to give me more books.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an e-ARC copy of Rebel Witch by Kristen Ciccarelli in exchange for an honest review.

Just a stupid girl with a stupid heart. That is what Rune Winters thinks of herself when she regards the last few months. If she had never trusted Gideon Sharpe, never fallen in love with him, then she would be less devastated about what she already knew. He believed that all witches were monsters and that she was no different. Rune tries to push Gideon from her mind as she slips into her socialite facade to aid Cressida in her plan to return witches to their former glory. Unwilling to let that happen, Gideon steels his heart as he accepts what he must do to stall Cressida's plans... he must kill Rune Winters.

**Spoilers in below review**

I really liked this duology and I think it definitely fits the enemies to lovers trope. Gideon truly hated witches (and had justifying trauma for why) and Rune truly hated witch hunters (again, justifying trauma). They already had no reason to have feelings for each other and especially not after the heartbreaking betrayal at the end of the first book. I liked that their dynamic went from enemies to lovers to enemies and that, while they hated each other, they involuntarily desperately wanted to other to soothe the pains they had caused. It is a very confusing feeling when the one person you want to comfort you in your pain is the very person who caused it. I do think that the missing heir plot was incredibly predictable and made the plot fall a little flat. I did like the first book better than this one, but I am also content with the ending and glad that it was a duology. I think some authors lean into the cash cow of stretching series out unnecessarily and that was not the case here. Excited to see what Ciccarelli puts out in the future!

Rebel Witch is the second and final book in the Crimson Moth duology. I thought it was a fantastic ending to this story! I enjoyed that we started right off back in the action. In fact, the action truly didn’t let up until the last pages of the book. I enjoyed the further world building that we got. I realize that I haven't read a lot of fantasy books involving witches when I read Heartless Hunter, and I loved learning more about this world. I was very entertained throughout the book. The only downfall, at times, was that it felt a bit repetitive, and sometimes the pacing fell off a bit, but then the reader was sucked right back in when the twists were coming from left and right. I thought the tension between Rune and Gideon was definitely palpable. I left wishing there were maybe a bit more of the spicy scenes, but I realize that wasn’t the point of the book. At the end, I felt like we got a great resolution to the story and all of the important characters throughout the book. I loved my time reading this duology and will look to future books from Ciccarelli in the future.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for an advanced reading copy of this book. All opinions within this review are my own.

Rebel Witch is the sequel/conclusion to Heartless Hunter, a duology that follows Rune and Gideon — a witch and a witch hunter. It’s a cat-and-mouse, Mr. and Mrs. Smith type story where the two are constantly outwitting each other and, unwittingly, falling in love. If you want a real enemies-to-lovers YA fantasy filled with betrayals and close calls, this is it. I’d also recommend this duology for anyone who loved the fast-paced drama in Caraval.

I am obsessed with this duology. Rebel Witch is so fun and every bit as entertaining as Heartless Hunter. From the very first page, you are thrust right back into the thick of things. The stakes are high, and again I found myself very compelled by Gideon’s story and character arc.

(Side note: this is definitely upper YA, and if you are coming to the series for the first time/buying it for a young person, I would definitely recommend looking up some of the content warnings first, especially as they relate to Gideon.)

As a Scarlet Pimpernel fan, I do believe, in my heart of hearts, that Kristen Ciccarelli wrote this duology for me specifically. (And for that, I say thank you.) It captures the spirit of the original work so well, while also alleviating one of the major problems I have with the source material — Orczy’s uncritical portrayal of the nobility. This is a duology that I will definitely be rereading in the future whenever I need a quick pick-me-up.

his was a overall a great ending to this duology. I loved the intensity that lasted throughout the book but I did feel that the ending seemed a bit rushed. I will miss these characters!