Review by sarahmore_books - The Crimson Moth

sarahmore_books 's review for:

The Crimson Moth by Kristen Ciccarelli

3.5

adventurous dark emotional mysterious 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: Complicated

Another enemies to lovers to enemies (to lovers?) with enough tension, deception, and plot twists to keep you engaged. It is not a masterpiece, but it is wholey enjoyable and I look further to continuing the duology.

Style (0.5): It had simple writing that generally told the story but nothing more. It was enough to leave foreshadowing and clues for the readers to form theories as the story progressed.

Plot (0.75): I love the method witches in hiding use to be able to secretly wield magic! The ending was great! I was suspicious of one character and it turned out worse than I imagined (in a good way). I love unexpected plot twists! That being said, it is rather trope-y. I prefer when books can surprise me even more. I also must say I'm not sure how I feel about the witch hunter falling in love with the false personality the witch puts forward. I love love, but is that real love?

Atmosphere/Setting (0.5): The setting is not immersively fleshed out, but there is enough to visualize the story and the characters. There were a few details that I adored, however, such as the silk roses and the silver scars.

Characters (1): This book has 2 POVs, the witch and the witch hunter. Both are fairly smart characters, though not infallibly so, which is realistic. I like that it shows two sides of the same story, each having formed opposing views as reasonable reactions to their experiences.

Enjoyment (0.75): I fully enjoyed this simple tale of enemies to lovers (to enemies to I would guess lovers again in the sequel). It wasn't a book I needed to be reading constantly, but I enjoyed when I could turn on the audiobook while cooking or completing other tasks.

A note on the TWs: the sexual content and the SA/rape are NOT with the same people! I would not personally recommend a book where SA/rape is romanticized.

Content Warnings