Take a photo of a barcode or cover
_chaoticbooknook 's review for:
Heartless Hunter
by Kristen Ciccarelli
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Can you grow out of romantasy? I fear I may be. Or maybe my critiques of this book hold water.
I love romantasy because it’s a blend of two of my favorite genres, but I’m realizing it’s hard to handle both romance and fantasy well. And let’s be real, often the romance tends to dominate at the expense of the fantasy anyway. But this one was odd in that the fantasy was more well-done than the romance, and I think it suffered because it felt like it *had* to focus on the romance. Which is unfortunate, because I found the romance so cringe.
HEARTLESS HUNTER had me in the beginning. The world was interesting, the premise had me turning the page wanting to learn more. I particularly appreciated how Ciccarelli made it so no one person was perfect: it was clear why witches were both beloved and loathed, and why the oppressors truly believed that their actions were for the best. It made for some tension when we were rooting for our FMC vs. her enemies. Also, I really enjoyed how our FMC, Rune, wasn’t perfect! She makes mistakes early on, is not naturally the strongest at casting magic, and has to work to figure things out on her own.
Unfortunately, that is where my praise for the book ends. The romance was so truly so abysmal. By the end I rolled my eyes at the constant mention of the tension between the FMC and MMC: it just was overdone. Don’t get me started at the weak attempt at the love triangle (admittedly, my least favorite trope); it’s been about a month and I am still enraged by it. It made me almost rage quit at 85%.
Overall, the world was interesting, but not enough to salvage the romance. I don’t get the hype around this one. I won’t be reading the next one.
I love romantasy because it’s a blend of two of my favorite genres, but I’m realizing it’s hard to handle both romance and fantasy well. And let’s be real, often the romance tends to dominate at the expense of the fantasy anyway. But this one was odd in that the fantasy was more well-done than the romance, and I think it suffered because it felt like it *had* to focus on the romance. Which is unfortunate, because I found the romance so cringe.
HEARTLESS HUNTER had me in the beginning. The world was interesting, the premise had me turning the page wanting to learn more. I particularly appreciated how Ciccarelli made it so no one person was perfect: it was clear why witches were both beloved and loathed, and why the oppressors truly believed that their actions were for the best. It made for some tension when we were rooting for our FMC vs. her enemies. Also, I really enjoyed how our FMC, Rune, wasn’t perfect! She makes mistakes early on, is not naturally the strongest at casting magic, and has to work to figure things out on her own.
Unfortunately, that is where my praise for the book ends. The romance was so truly so abysmal. By the end I rolled my eyes at the constant mention of the tension between the FMC and MMC: it just was overdone. Don’t get me started at the weak attempt at the love triangle (admittedly, my least favorite trope); it’s been about a month and I am still enraged by it. It made me almost rage quit at 85%.
Overall, the world was interesting, but not enough to salvage the romance. I don’t get the hype around this one. I won’t be reading the next one.