Scan barcode
ceredonia's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood
Moderate: Violence, Murder, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Child death, Drug abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Death of parent, Torture, and Alcoholism
inge345's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.5
The Crimson Moth by Kristen Ciccarelli is a fantasy romance between a witch (Rune) and a witch hunter (Gideon). Witches are forbidden in the current kingdom, and therefore witches are hunted down and killed. Rune pretends to be a witch-hater, but is actually trying to help other witches flee from the country.
I loved this book!! I liked the writing style, I flew through the pages. I loved that this was dual POV because it gave a lot of depth to the two main characters. Rune and Gideon both have backstories that made their current motives make sense (I don't wanna spoil anything by saying too much). The banter between Rune and Gideon was great. And the ending was WILD. I can't wait for the second book in this duology!
*This book is marketed as YA but in my opinion it is rather older YA or NA. There is one on-page sex scene and while it isn't very explicit/descriptive, readers will still know what's going on. Other themes (such as the witch purging, in which a witch is hanged upside down and then their throat is sliced) also seem less suitable for a younger YA audience.
*Thanks to NetGalley and HarperCollins UK for the eARC in exchange for my honest opinion!
I loved this book!! I liked the writing style, I flew through the pages. I loved that this was dual POV because it gave a lot of depth to the two main characters. Rune and Gideon both have backstories that made their current motives make sense (I don't wanna spoil anything by saying too much). The banter between Rune and Gideon was great. And the ending was WILD. I can't wait for the second book in this duology!
*This book is marketed as YA but in my opinion it is rather older YA or NA. There is one on-page sex scene and while it isn't very explicit/descriptive, readers will still know what's going on. Other themes (such as the witch purging, in which a witch is hanged upside down and then their throat is sliced) also seem less suitable for a younger YA audience.
*Thanks to NetGalley and HarperCollins UK for the eARC in exchange for my honest opinion!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood
Moderate: Violence and Sexual content
Minor: Drug abuse, Gun violence, and Fire/Fire injury
daniellereadslikealot_'s review against another edition
adventurous
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
4.0
I think this is going to be a popular book once it releases! A game of cat and mouse between a witch and a witch hunter, Heartless Hunter was a fun fantasy ride with characters and story I can’t wait to keep reading about. Both Rune and Gideon were written so well. I loved getting insight into their backstories and seeing their dangerous relationship grow. The magic system here was really interesting and I liked getting little descriptions about the different levels of spells throughout the book. The pacing was pretty steady. There was a lot of action and events happening to keep things interesting. The big twist I definitely didn’t see coming and it was such a cool one. I’m really looking forward to the rest of the series!
Thank you to Wednesday Books for an advanced digital reader’s copy in exchange for an honest review.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury and Murder
Moderate: Child death, Violence, and Death of parent
Minor: Addiction
dearhaleynicole's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
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? Yes
5.0
Tropes - Enemies to Lovers ⚔️ Best Friend’s Brother 🖤 Cat + Mouse Game 🐈⬛ Witch x Witch Hunter 🌙
The Plot.
Rune is looked at as nothing more than a flighty heiress whose biggest concerns are what she’s wearing to the next party and who she’s going with…when in reality she’s actually a vigilante with a powerful secret. She is the Crimson Moth, a witch working to save as many of her fellow witches as she can from being unalived. Alongside her friends, Verity and Alex, Rune works tirelessly to outwit & evade the Blood Guard (witch hunters) who seek to rid her island of all witches. Who, you might ask, leads this Blood Guard’s charge? None other than the older brother of Rune’s childhood best friend: Gideon Sharpe. As Captain of the Blood Guard, Gideon will stop at nothing to capture the Crimson Moth and bring her to justice. and his latest suspect – the woman in question who he is “courting” – might just be his undoing… and he, hers.
This book was genuinely Enemies to Lovers perfection for me. I haven't read many stories that strike such a phenomenal - and I mean phenomenal – balance of tension, drama, intrigue and emotion as this one did. I was so wrapped up in the setting and characters that i hardly wanted to put it down at all. I needed to finish it like needing to breathe. That’s how drawn i was to it, like a moth to a flame 😉
The Plot.
Rune is looked at as nothing more than a flighty heiress whose biggest concerns are what she’s wearing to the next party and who she’s going with…when in reality she’s actually a vigilante with a powerful secret. She is the Crimson Moth, a witch working to save as many of her fellow witches as she can from being unalived. Alongside her friends, Verity and Alex, Rune works tirelessly to outwit & evade the Blood Guard (witch hunters) who seek to rid her island of all witches. Who, you might ask, leads this Blood Guard’s charge? None other than the older brother of Rune’s childhood best friend: Gideon Sharpe. As Captain of the Blood Guard, Gideon will stop at nothing to capture the Crimson Moth and bring her to justice. and his latest suspect – the woman in question who he is “courting” – might just be his undoing… and he, hers.
This book was genuinely Enemies to Lovers perfection for me. I haven't read many stories that strike such a phenomenal - and I mean phenomenal – balance of tension, drama, intrigue and emotion as this one did. I was so wrapped up in the setting and characters that i hardly wanted to put it down at all. I needed to finish it like needing to breathe. That’s how drawn i was to it, like a moth to a flame 😉
“Your laugh is like a fuse,” he said. “It lights you up.”
Rune Winters.
Such a complex, fantasy heroine but one I absolutely loved! She really does it all. She’s a society heiress doing the most to paint the picture of a self-absorbed girl, all while she moonlights as a dangerous, vigilante saving witches?? And she’s a witch herself?? Rune is what we refined readers would call a BA. I really loved the way the author Kirsten revealed Rune’s heart and motivations for her actions to us. Rune struggles so much with her grief and regret from the past and it was beautiful to see how certain characters brought out different things that her complex emotions often masked due to her grief. She is clever, strong, and skilled and ultimately finds her match in Gideon who shares those same attributes.
“She was drowning, and he was air. she hadn’t realized how much she needed him until he was gone.”
Gideon Sharpe.
Boy did this man grow on me. I truly didn’t like him in the beginning (and we even got his POV and I was still weary because this man is equally as complex as Rune but in very different ways). We don’t learn his motivations super quickly – at least not until his character opens up more – but when you do… dang. He has experienced some trauma for sure that has desperately required him to need to put up walls in order to drag himself out it. That being said: if you’re a fan of misunderstood, morally gray characters in books who are intentional and caring for one person, I think Gideon is going to be right up your alley. He definitely was for me!
“I’m afraid you’ll be the end of me...maybe you already are.”
Bottom Line.
This was just *peak* Romantasy/Enemies to Lovers. I never wanted it to end. Like, I got to the final page and literally said aloud to an empty room with just me and my dog: “Uhm, WHAT. Excuse me, Kristen? Where's the rest??” Kristen (the author) strangely did not respond to this random outburst from me in my room. So now I’ll just be on my merry way to go stare at a wall and watch paint dry for the next bit as i try to emotionally recover from that cliffhanger. Cannot wait for this read to be out in the world next month! Do yourself a favor & go preorder your copy now 🖤 It’s a must read if there ever was one!
A huge thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for this arc in exchange for an honest review.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Genocide, Classism, Death, Violence, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Toxic relationship, War, Sexual assault, Grief, and Blood
perkdd's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
tense
medium-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? Yes
5.0
First and foremost, I want to give the biggest thank you to NetGalley and St Martin's Press for this arc in exchange for an honest review!
”She was drowning, and he was air. She hadn’t even realized how much she needed him until he was gone.”
The Heartless Hunter is a cat-and-mouse duet that will have you hooked from the start and I truly hope it receives the hype it deserves in 2024 because this book had me internally SCREAMING on all parts and ends on such a flawless cliffhanger. If you enjoyed Bridgerton and like reading bout witches, this book is for you because it is a perfect mix of the two.
Kristen Ciccarelli creates a story that surrounds two MCs with a dual POV, Rune Winters, and Gideon Sharpe. Rune is a ditsy socialite by day and a witch vigilante who protects witches from being captured and purged by night. Gideon is a witch hunter within the Blood Guard set on purging witches and finding the bane of his existence, the Crimson Moth. Finally, Gideon discovers intel of a merchant ship that smuggled two young witches out of the New Republic and it leads him to none other than Rune. The two MCs decide to court each other to use the other to their advantage. Rune, to use Gideon's position for intel to help her protect her identity and save more witches, and Gideon for wanting to catch the Crimson Moth. But what happens when the facade becomes real?
I am normally not one for YA novels, but Ciccarelli manages to write the book in a manner that does not make it feel as though it is shallowly written for high schoolers with cringy spice scenes that most YA novels have. My rating for spice level is 2/5 but I enjoyed the slow burn of The Heartless Hunter and hope to see more in the second book.
"It shocked her out of her stupor. Rune was no longer the mimic spider, luring her victim into a trap. She was inside her own trap . . . about to be devoured by her prey."
I wholeheartedly believe that Gideon Sharpe will be a 2024 favorite when it comes to morally grey boyfriends because he is a character that you will love to hate, but also want a happy ending for when you discover more and more about him. This enemies-to-lovers trope is such an unexpected but welcomed plot that keeps you on your toes and I am here for it. I also appreciated how many layers Ciccarelli gave the characters, rather than making them one-dimensional. The banter was exceptional and I was constantly on the edge of my seat from how fast-paced this book is. The amount of unexpected twists and turns leave you wanting more, especially the ending.
The Negatives: I do agree with other reviews that mention how the worldbuilding could have been better, but I am desperately hoping we will see more within the next book. Ciccarelli focuses a lot on the characters, but I needed more in the plot because I have many questions. Specifically, why is it that witches are being purged only in the New Republic but live in harmony with others in Caelis? Are they truly accepted in other parts of the world? What are the power dynamics like among witches? Why mention Rune's merchant business but not explain what it entails? My only other qualm with this book is that it seems to lack diversity. Again, hopefully, this is something we will see within the second book, but I wish there had been at least some.
All in all, I do strongly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys romantasy novels and witches. I truly hope that Ciccarelli receives the hype and success she deserves from this book because it is such a wonderful story that I did NOT want to put it down and read the entire thing in one sitting. This book is dark, emotional, tense, and still manages to give you hope. I am thoroughly excited to see what comes next for Rune and Gideon!
”She was drowning, and he was air. She hadn’t even realized how much she needed him until he was gone.”
The Heartless Hunter is a cat-and-mouse duet that will have you hooked from the start and I truly hope it receives the hype it deserves in 2024 because this book had me internally SCREAMING on all parts and ends on such a flawless cliffhanger. If you enjoyed Bridgerton and like reading bout witches, this book is for you because it is a perfect mix of the two.
Kristen Ciccarelli creates a story that surrounds two MCs with a dual POV, Rune Winters, and Gideon Sharpe. Rune is a ditsy socialite by day and a witch vigilante who protects witches from being captured and purged by night. Gideon is a witch hunter within the Blood Guard set on purging witches and finding the bane of his existence, the Crimson Moth. Finally, Gideon discovers intel of a merchant ship that smuggled two young witches out of the New Republic and it leads him to none other than Rune. The two MCs decide to court each other to use the other to their advantage. Rune, to use Gideon's position for intel to help her protect her identity and save more witches, and Gideon for wanting to catch the Crimson Moth. But what happens when the facade becomes real?
I am normally not one for YA novels, but Ciccarelli manages to write the book in a manner that does not make it feel as though it is shallowly written for high schoolers with cringy spice scenes that most YA novels have. My rating for spice level is 2/5 but I enjoyed the slow burn of The Heartless Hunter and hope to see more in the second book.
"It shocked her out of her stupor. Rune was no longer the mimic spider, luring her victim into a trap. She was inside her own trap . . . about to be devoured by her prey."
I wholeheartedly believe that Gideon Sharpe will be a 2024 favorite when it comes to morally grey boyfriends because he is a character that you will love to hate, but also want a happy ending for when you discover more and more about him. This enemies-to-lovers trope is such an unexpected but welcomed plot that keeps you on your toes and I am here for it. I also appreciated how many layers Ciccarelli gave the characters, rather than making them one-dimensional. The banter was exceptional and I was constantly on the edge of my seat from how fast-paced this book is. The amount of unexpected twists and turns leave you wanting more, especially the ending.
The Negatives: I do agree with other reviews that mention how the worldbuilding could have been better, but I am desperately hoping we will see more within the next book. Ciccarelli focuses a lot on the characters, but I needed more in the plot because I have many questions. Specifically, why is it that witches are being purged only in the New Republic but live in harmony with others in Caelis? Are they truly accepted in other parts of the world? What are the power dynamics like among witches? Why mention Rune's merchant business but not explain what it entails? My only other qualm with this book is that it seems to lack diversity. Again, hopefully, this is something we will see within the second book, but I wish there had been at least some.
All in all, I do strongly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys romantasy novels and witches. I truly hope that Ciccarelli receives the hype and success she deserves from this book because it is such a wonderful story that I did NOT want to put it down and read the entire thing in one sitting. This book is dark, emotional, tense, and still manages to give you hope. I am thoroughly excited to see what comes next for Rune and Gideon!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Sexual assault, Genocide, Grief, Child death, Classism, Police brutality, Death, Sexual content, Blood, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Toxic relationship, Violence, and War
camiclarkbooks's review against another edition
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.
I received a digital ARC of this book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Body horror, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, Blood, Death, Murder, Toxic relationship, and Violence
Minor: War, Addiction, Child death, Alcoholism, Death of parent, Medical content, Slavery, Alcohol, Drug abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Police brutality, and Sexual assault
More...