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A review by karis321
The Rebel Witch by Kristen Ciccarelli
2.0
~~Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins UK for the ARC!~~
With the last book being better than what I thought it'd be, my expectations going into this one may have been a tad too high. I definitely got way too caught up in the worldbuilding and forgot this was a romantasy.
The major focus of the story was solely on getting Rune and Gideon back together, which sort of disappointed me. I mean, they still had good banter, and the complex witch and witch hunter dynamic was going strong here, too, if not more since the betrayals from the last book makes their beef personal now. But the fake marriage ploy, the petty jealousy / possessiveness, the countless misreading of each other's intentions leading to so much miscommunication, I was not jelling well with any of it. I really forgot how - for lack of a better word - painfully hetero romantasy is until side queer characters were brought into the story and made me think what this story/world would be if queerness was at the fore front, instead.
The romance taking center stage really watered down the elements I adored from the first book. The exploration sexism and politics are still there but not as important as Rune and Gideon's relationship angst. So many plot threads introduced were solved way too quick, and the themes of persecution of women felt more like dressing for the romance drama rather than core messages for the readers to think on or relate to. I think my enjoyment from the first book came from its potential, but with the duology ending here, anything I thought I saw was probably just me wanting something that probably wasn't there.
All in all, I'm sad and disappointed. I don't think I'll be reading Ciccarelli's other works in the future, but I'll still say Heartless Hunter / The Crimson Moth was a fun read while it lasted.
With the last book being better than what I thought it'd be, my expectations going into this one may have been a tad too high. I definitely got way too caught up in the worldbuilding and forgot this was a romantasy.
The major focus of the story was solely on getting Rune and Gideon back together, which sort of disappointed me. I mean, they still had good banter, and the complex witch and witch hunter dynamic was going strong here, too, if not more since the betrayals from the last book makes their beef personal now. But the fake marriage ploy, the petty jealousy / possessiveness, the countless misreading of each other's intentions leading to so much miscommunication, I was not jelling well with any of it. I really forgot how - for lack of a better word - painfully hetero romantasy is until side queer characters were brought into the story and made me think what this story/world would be if queerness was at the fore front, instead.
The romance taking center stage really watered down the elements I adored from the first book. The exploration sexism and politics are still there but not as important as Rune and Gideon's relationship angst. So many plot threads introduced were solved way too quick, and the themes of persecution of women felt more like dressing for the romance drama rather than core messages for the readers to think on or relate to. I think my enjoyment from the first book came from its potential, but with the duology ending here, anything I thought I saw was probably just me wanting something that probably wasn't there.
All in all, I'm sad and disappointed. I don't think I'll be reading Ciccarelli's other works in the future, but I'll still say Heartless Hunter / The Crimson Moth was a fun read while it lasted.