A review by dearhaleynicole
Heartless Hunter by Kristen Ciccarelli

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 😉

“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.
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