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adventurebound7's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Interesting story. I wasn't sold on the romance, but I'm not that into romances to begin with. Will definitely be reading the second book when it comes out.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death
Minor: Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, and Alcoholism
tspice24's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Grief, Death, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Sexual content
pkm48's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence and Blood
Moderate: Hate crime, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Bullying, Murder, Alcoholism, Alcohol, Death of parent, Death, Emotional abuse, Addiction, Blood, Child death, and Gun violence
Minor: Cursing, Suicide, and Torture
theartsybookwitch's review against another edition
4.5
"Isn't that the point of art–to tame the monsters in us?"
In Heartless Hunter, you get the story of Rune Winters and Gideon Sharpe. Rune Winters, a witch and the Crimson Moth, lives a double life, one being in the public eye, and one in the shadows, protecting other witches. When a rescue attempt goes wrong, she's forced to change tactics and tries to court Gideon Sharpe, a famous and unforgiving witch hunter. One caveat? He's the brother of her best friend.
I absolutely loved Gideon and Rune's dynamic in Heartless Hunter. The push and pull, the danger, the seductive dance of light and dark; it's a fantastic love story. And the added detail of witches? All the more better.
I wanted a more deep dive into the fantasy, the lore, the history. Not just the witches, but more details of what happened. I felt it more focused on Gideon and Rune, the romance, the build-up, and none of the fantasy details.
Enemies to lovers to enemies is superior and I will forever die on this hill.
And that twist? So good.
Okay, and that ending is NOT FAIR.
tw // blood, death, death of parent
In Heartless Hunter, you get the story of Rune Winters and Gideon Sharpe. Rune Winters, a witch and the Crimson Moth, lives a double life, one being in the public eye, and one in the shadows, protecting other witches. When a rescue attempt goes wrong, she's forced to change tactics and tries to court Gideon Sharpe, a famous and unforgiving witch hunter. One caveat? He's the brother of her best friend.
I absolutely loved Gideon and Rune's dynamic in Heartless Hunter. The push and pull, the danger, the seductive dance of light and dark; it's a fantastic love story. And the added detail of witches? All the more better.
I wanted a more deep dive into the fantasy, the lore, the history. Not just the witches, but more details of what happened. I felt it more focused on Gideon and Rune, the romance, the build-up, and none of the fantasy details.
Enemies to lovers to enemies is superior and I will forever die on this hill.
And that twist? So good.
Okay, and that ending is NOT FAIR.
tw // blood, death, death of parent
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Blood, and Death
Moderate: Death of parent and Sexual assault
Minor: Addiction and Child death
ewatt33's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Murder, and Blood
Moderate: Alcoholism, Sexual assault, and Sexual harassment
Minor: Death of parent
niftyreads's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
HEARTLESS HUNTER is a book that suddenly a scene pops into my head, and I’m like, “Ohhh, that was so good!” But it’s not like the same two or three scenes; it’s most scenes in the book. Kristen Ciccarelli has written a book for fantasy lovers that you will not want to put down. I found myself wanting more and more, but then suddenly it was over and now I have to wait 😩
One of my favorite descriptive sentences to read about a book is “enemies-to-lovers doesn’t get more high stakes than a witch and a witch hunter falling in love.” Yes, please! There’s always so much angst. So much secrecy. So much pining. And HEARTLESS HUNTER has it all between Rune and Gideon. I lived for their banter, kindness, anger, snark, annoyance, and tension with one another.
What sets HEARTLESS HUNTER apart is its masterful execution of the enemies-to-lovers trope. It’s not a rushed ‘I hate you, well okay, I love you’ scenario. The book delivers on the promise of good YA angst and tension, leaving you craving more. This book knows how to keep you hooked, and I am here for it!
This was an excellent surprise of a new fantasy duology, and I can’t wait for book two!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault, Self harm, Death, and Grief
mr05e's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
This book had a great set up to be an amazing story, but it ended up falling short for me.
The world-building didn’t seem very well thought out. Some of the details made it sound like it was a Victorian-inspired fantasy story, but then the author uses words like “leggings,” “bralette,” “sundress,” and “hooded sweater” (what’s wrong with just a cloak 🥹). Those parts would take me right out of the story.
I also wish Rune was given more time to shine as a vigilante-witch! It’s just explained that she has saved a bunch of witches from prison and helped them escape. I wanted part of the plot to be her saving people and being a badass. It’s a lot of talking about what her plan is and her internal struggle as a witch in hiding. Just wish there was more of her taking action/vigilantism to supplement her internal conflict.
The plot twist withVerity actually being Cressida in disguise was a bit predictable so I found myself wanting the characters to hurry up and get with the program. And sadly, I think we all knew Alex wasn’t going to be long for this world, the enemies to lovers plot is obviously going to favor the enemies lmao
The enemies to lovers aspect of this romantasy was solid, probably the best part of the book. A little more “cat and mouse” action would’ve made it even better (aka more scenes where Gideon and Rune interact as blood guard vs crimson moth,like when he sets up the trap in the mines ). I feel like it would’ve added more interest to their enemies dynamic. And once we get to the actual “lovers” part of the tropeit was well written: good balance of angst, consent, communication, intimacy, and spice that definitely made the way they parted ways at the end more emotional as opposed to just being fanservice-y
📚TLDR: Good enemies to lovers plot, just wished the characters and the world they are in were fleshed out better—more “show” and less “tell”.
The world-building didn’t seem very well thought out. Some of the details made it sound like it was a Victorian-inspired fantasy story, but then the author uses words like “leggings,” “bralette,” “sundress,” and “hooded sweater” (what’s wrong with just a cloak 🥹). Those parts would take me right out of the story.
I also wish Rune was given more time to shine as a vigilante-witch! It’s just explained that she has saved a bunch of witches from prison and helped them escape. I wanted part of the plot to be her saving people and being a badass. It’s a lot of talking about what her plan is and her internal struggle as a witch in hiding. Just wish there was more of her taking action/vigilantism to supplement her internal conflict.
The plot twist with
The enemies to lovers aspect of this romantasy was solid, probably the best part of the book. A little more “cat and mouse” action would’ve made it even better (aka more scenes where Gideon and Rune interact as blood guard vs crimson moth,
📚TLDR: Good enemies to lovers plot, just wished the characters and the world they are in were fleshed out better—more “show” and less “tell”.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Violence, Sexual violence, and Murder
Moderate: Drug abuse, Alcoholism, Death, Blood, Gun violence, and Sexual assault
Minor: War
saretta02's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Death, Emotional abuse, and Murder
Moderate: Child death, Sexual content, Torture, Grief, Physical abuse, Death of parent, and Fire/Fire injury
nova_lilias's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
tense
fast-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
First 5 star of the year!! I absolutely loved this book and yes, it made me cry.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder and Blood
Moderate: Death, Drug abuse, and Toxic relationship
llychu's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
would i recommend this? sure go for it
however kinda disappointing 😭
this book lowk tore me apart at the end
ima say it was good…. and i loveeeeeelovelove the witches and i think the magic system is super cool and interesting
and the plot twist at the end was just like crazy
HOWEVER…
for the book’s actual content (my opinion could be different because i have the BOTM version, not the regular one) it was a bit too long
like if ima be totally honest there wasnt a lot that happened… but something abt the book was js so entertaining that i barely even noticed it at times
also wish Rune was more of a girlboss like my expectations were that she was some vigilante going out at night and knows how to fight to save these witches yadayadayadaaaa
like dont get me wrong she was def a girlboss at times but dont go into this book expecting her to like kick ass all the time
overall fine, js a bit of a let down from the hype online, sadly, even tho it sounds SOOOSO up my alley with all the witchy stuff
+ i felt like the beginning set us up for a mystery as to what Seraphine needs to tell Rune, but i was disappointed at the end like nothing was even revealed 💀
love cressida’s character (not cs shes likeable but js cs she seems to have so much depth compared to the others)
however kinda disappointing 😭
this book lowk tore me apart at the end
ima say it was good…. and i loveeeeeelovelove the witches and i think the magic system is super cool and interesting
and the plot twist at the end was just like crazy
HOWEVER…
for the book’s actual content (my opinion could be different because i have the BOTM version, not the regular one) it was a bit too long
like if ima be totally honest there wasnt a lot that happened… but something abt the book was js so entertaining that i barely even noticed it at times
also wish Rune was more of a girlboss like my expectations were that she was some vigilante going out at night and knows how to fight to save these witches yadayadayadaaaa
like dont get me wrong she was def a girlboss at times but dont go into this book expecting her to like kick ass all the time
overall fine, js a bit of a let down from the hype online, sadly, even tho it sounds SOOOSO up my alley with all the witchy stuff
+ i felt like the beginning set us up for a mystery as to what Seraphine needs to tell Rune, but i was disappointed at the end like nothing was even revealed 💀
love cressida’s character (not cs shes likeable but js cs she seems to have so much depth compared to the others)
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child abuse, Death, Child death, Death of parent, Grief, Drug abuse, Drug use, Murder, Gun violence, Sexual content, and Violence
Minor: Self harm, Alcoholism, Blood, Classism, Addiction, and Alcohol