Reviews with content warning for Body horror - The Crimson Moth

Reviews tagging 'Body horror'

The Crimson Moth by Kristen Ciccarelli

8 reviews

chasinggrace's review against another edition

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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suzi_is_cake's review against another edition

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Cannot believe this book is so hyped. I’m stopping this book for my own sanity and am gonna leave it at my local station reading library cause omg the triggers in this book that are not mentioned and the fact this is a YA when it should obviously be an NA. I don’t mind enemies to lovers but this was not that it was basically just everyone needs therapy and instead are awful to each other. I was gonna try and power through to the end but it was just too much.

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bookishkale's review against another edition

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adventurous dark lighthearted mysterious relaxing medium-paced

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

3.75

I was expecting something different when I first picked up the book. I was prepared for enemies to lovers, but I thought that the book was going to be more of 'Young witch has to stay hidden in society, and to throw people off her trail, she starts seeing one of the people trying to kill her', so I was a little uninterested in the 'vigilante story with the heist, and trying to get information out of the male lover interest' but I was pleasantly surprised!

This book has a heavy lean on four stars for me. I liked the magic system, I think the consequences of the hard spells and some parts of it were interesting and made for a fun time. It's a blood-based magic system, and I thought it was smart of the author to utilize period blood. I liked Rune a lot, I can see where she grew and where she still is young. I liked her socialite life, I was intrigued by her story with her grandmother, and the responsiblity she takes on from that. The overall world has some good worldbuilding, and while the author struggles a little bit with some lore dumping, it does make sense so I can look past that. I felt like there was lots of imagery, and I wanted to see some art of her house, cause it sounds gorgeous. I think the ending of the book sells it for me, honestly. I had fun reading this, which makes what I didn't like easy to ignore.

I wasn't Gideon's biggest fan? I liked him a lot more at the end, but there were some things that I could have done without. He tends to lean a little too much on whiney BUT I may be being too harsh. I did enjoy the flirting and the banter. It's been a while since I read Enemies to Lovers that felt like there was some hatred and being hesitant while falling for each other. A little Insta lusty/insta love, so if you aren't fond of that, that's a heads up. Some of the secondary characters are forgettable. There is a sort of love triangle... but uh, I wouldn't worry too much about it by the end. There were some pacing things where I am not even sure how many days the book takes place over. The first 25% of the book or so seemed like it took place over 24 hours. I also just need the author to be a little more clear in the rough time period she's trying to take inspiration from, some of her language was too modern for the era I think she was trying to convey.

Overall, a fun romantasy enemies to lovers, with an interesting magic system around blood. You have some good banter, and a fun main couple. Some of the plot twists were a little obvious, but if you read a lot of this genre, I wouldn't be surprised if you can pick up things. I would also check out the content warnings, cause it's a little dark in some areas.

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bratiani's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

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nikkic66's review against another edition

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adventurous dark tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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soniajoy98's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious tense fast-paced

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

3.0

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steen19's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

A witch and witch hunter are playing a dangerous game of chicken, while also falling in love. And that ending???! Omg I need the second book immediately, tysm.

Oh I loved this! Loooooved loved this! Like, could not put this down. This was a highly anticipated read for me, and I was so excited to get approved for an arc.

In a society that persecutes witches, Rune is a vigilante by night that rescues captured witches. She’s secretly a witch as well. After a failed rescue attempt, Rune sets her sights on one of the lead witch hunters for information. He’s suspicious of her, and the two end up in a battle of wills as they try to outsmart each other.

This is dual POV, and the first in a new duology. It’s a very accessible fantasy-adjacent story, with minimal world building.

The only thing that felt a little icky to me, was Gideon’s comrade’s obsession with getting him to sleep with Rune. He was resistant because of his own story, but this person just kept pushing.

Did I clock what was going on pretty quickly? Yes. Did I still enjoy the ride to see how it played out? Also yes.

Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for my advanced digital copy!

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camiclarkbooks'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? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

If you liked “Serpent & Dove” but wished it was a grittier story, than “Heartless Hunter” by Kristen Ciccarelli is the book for you!

The first book in the “Crimson Moth” romantic fantasy duology, “Heartless Hunter” tells how Rune Winters struggles to navigate life after the bloody revolution that cast witches down from the ruling elite to ruthlessly purged. As a witch, Rune must walk a knife’s edge to conceal who she truly is and maintain her place in high society.

While pretending to be a vapid socialite, Rune is able to get information that she uses as the Crimson Moth, the notorious witch vigilante who rescues other witches from being purged. When her latest rescue mission goes wrong, Rune knows she needs to change her tactics. And so she pretends to court the handsome Gideon Sharpe, an unforgiving witch hunter that was instrumental in overthrowing the witch queens during the revolution.

Gideon Sharpe loathes everything Rune represents—the opulence of the aristocracy—but after uncovering a connection between her and the Crimson Moth, he decides to pretend to court her right back. The more time that he spends with her, Gideon realizes that there is far more to the socialite than she lets on. Rune is kind and intelligent, and seems like his perfect match…except that he suspects her to be the very enemy he’s hunting.

“Heartless Hunter” is an enemies-to-lovers with some of the highest stakes I’ve ever come across. Rune and Gideon are both key players in a post revolutionary world and both are doing what they think is best for their people. Those goals place them firmly on opposite sides until the two reach a point where they need information that only the other could provide.

Rune and Gideon begin a dangerous waltz—Rune trying to get information on the witch she was unable to rescue and Gideon trying to determine if she is the Crimson Moth he’s been hunting. Their romance kept me biting my nails, waiting for them to fall in love, waiting for them to be caught in a lie, waiting for it all to go terribly wrong. For an enemies-to-lovers fantasy romance, it was a surprisingly grounded tale. The two main characters were well rounded and had a lot of depth that was explored over the course of the book and their chemistry was phenomenal.

The other characters were also interesting, if a bit predictable. Ciccarelli did a great job of ensuring that there were enough characters around to fill out all the high society settings, but never made the reader feel overwhelmed with an excess of named characters. This can be a difficult needle to thread but as a reader I appreciate Ciccarelli’s work.

The most admirable part of “Heartless Hunter,“ from a technical standpoint, is the unique magic system that Ciccarelli developed. The witches use blood magic, which is common enough, but Ciccarelli incorporated a really interesting detail on how the scars on a witch’s skin would turn silvery and they intentionally would cut themselves in beautiful patterns—almost like tattoos. Those silvery scars were also how witches were able to be easily identified, which is something that Rune has to constantly work around through the book. Spells also have a visible signature that stays behind after the spell wears off, a sort of maker’s mark, which was also a fascinating addition to the magic system.

“Heartless Hunter” was a fantastic story that kept me biting my nails as I read through the night. I absolutely can’t wait for the sequel to come out and already know that I’ll be devastated that “The Crimson Moth” is a duology. I highly recommend “Heartless Hunter” to anyone that likes a darker fantasy world with high stakes and a slow burn romance.

I received a digital ARC of this book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

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