Reviews with content warning for Death of parent - Heartless Hunter

Reviews tagging 'Death of parent'

Heartless Hunter by Kristen Ciccarelli

67 reviews

rubisbooknook's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

“The hunted had fallen for the hunter.”

This is one those those books that’s so good it leaves you shaken. I’m scared it’ll put me into a reading slump because it was so good! It was addictive from the get go and I felt so fully immersed in the world I actually forgot I was reading at times. I also felt so emotionally connected that I cried very real tears at times.

The book is set in the aftermath of a revolution that ended the rule of witches. Any known witches are now hunted down. It follows Rune a rich socialite with a secret identity, a witch only known as the Crimson Moth. Gideon is a witch hunter who has been on the Crimson Moth’s trail. They both have secret agendas as they begin to court each other. Rune needs him to gain information to save fellow witches and Gideon needs to settle his suspicions that she may be the witch he’s been after or at the very least be involved with her somehow. But as they play their games, they risk real feelings developing. And all the while there’s some more sinister things occurring that may be beyond both of their controls.

I loved everything about this book: the mystery, the magic, the gothic atmosphere, the tragic elements, the high stakes, the tension, and the forbidden enemies to lovers love story.

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kirsty_irwin's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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novel_nibbles's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Absolute perfection. My favourite read so far this year

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frantically's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

nina and matthias walked so rune and gideon could run
–
I was enthralled from page one and god, Rune and Gideon have my heart 🥹 these two, you guys!! This is fake dating/betrothal and enemies to lovers at its absolute finest

While the worldbuilding feels a bit weak at times, I loved the morally grey aspect of all it. Both sides are kinda...shit and while the eradication of witches is obviously wrong, we learn so much about the Witch Queens that it's kinda hard to root for them, too!

The ending was a bit too rushed for me (and I think Alex was boring lol) but I'm still so so ready for the next book hihi

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chasinggrace's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

Overall, I really liked this book. I was invested in the fake courting between two characters, rooting for the underdog, and anxious during the attacks. I was worried this was going to be a typical “two brothers and a girl” love triangle story, but it really was more than that. You truly come to understand each character’s motivations, why they are who they are today. By the last 20 pages, I was crying.

Now, there are a few things I would change. In the first 100 pages, the author repeats herself a LOT, with very similar sentence structures and identical descriptions (of a witch’s first bleed, of how Rune played into her Nan’s death, etc.) I found it annoying and it took me out of the story. Secondly, boxing? The way the characters speak and dress and transport themselves, this story takes place in the “past.” But boxing? With gloves, in a ring? This could’ve easily been a fighting ring or sparring, but boxing took me out of the story as well. It didn’t seem to fit.

Seeing as Rune and the witches have escaped to Cailis on the Continent, I’m excited to see what happens in book 2 as the world expands. My heart is BROKEN that this is now an Enemies to Lovers back to Enemies story, but I’m rooting for them. They just need to talk it out😭

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wanderingwitchreads's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Heartless hunter by Kristen Ciccarelli caught my attention with its stunning cover, drew me in with its enticing premise, and proceeded to capture me for hours with its brilliant plot.

What I loved
-Dual POV masterfully utilized
-Hunter X Hunted Trope (one of my favorites)
-Morally Grey characters abound
- The ending left me craving book 2 so intensely that I had to tell people about this

What didn't work for me quite as well
-I"m always nervous about worlds where magic is presenting as only being possible through working with blood due to concerns that it may tread to close to some stereotypes that have been wielded against real life oppressed groups.
-The miscommunication trope is applied in a really clumsy way

Who Would I recommend this book for
This Title is ideal for readers who liked the premise of Serpent and Dove but left reading it craving a more darkly realized witch and witch hunter story.

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