Heartless Hunter: The Crimson Moth: Book 1

Heartless Hunter by Kristin Ciccarelli is an immersive fantasy that effortlessly draws readers into a world defined by fear, power, and forbidden loyalty. Set against the backdrop of a society where witches are relentlessly hunted, Ciccarelli crafts a story that is both high-stakes and emotionally compelling. At the heart of the novel is Rune, a rebel witch secretly working to free captured witches, and Gideon, a devoted witch hunter determined to eliminate the elusive figure known as the Crimson Moth. Believing the Crimson Moth to be a dangerous threat, Gideon becomes increasingly suspicious of Rune—his brother’s close friend—and begins courting her as part of his investigation. What unfolds is a layered and tension-filled relationship, as suspicion and duty collide with undeniable attraction. Ciccarelli skillfully balances action with romance, creating a narrative that is as thrilling as it is emotionally charged. The dynamic between Rune and Gideon is particularly compelling, evolving from calculated manipulation into something far more genuine and complex. Their connection raises the stakes of the story, especially as the truth of Rune’s identity looms ever closer to discovery. While the novel leans toward a young adult tone, its fast pacing, vivid world-building, and engaging character dynamics make it an enjoyable read for a wide audience. The story’s momentum is relentless, making it difficult to put down once begun. The ending delivers a powerful cliffhanger, leaving readers eager for more and practically demanding the next installment. Heartless Hunter is a captivating introduction to a richly imagined world and will especially appeal to fans of fantasy filled with romance, tension, and rebellion.

I'd give this a 3.75 rounded up. I liked this story and at times it was incredibly captivating, but it didn't ensnare me like I was hoping it would. Its no throne of Glass. This story was a little better than OK for me. I was able to sniff out some of the plot so I took off a star for predictability and storyline cohesiveness. There were just a few lapses in believability and logic so that slightly annoyed me. The storyline overall was good, and I liked the way the characters personalities came together. I am looking forward to reading the second book in the series and hoping it has a tightened up storyline structure. Overall this was a fun read and I liked it. It wasn't intense but held some good suspense and mystery. I think its worth the read and if you're looking for a feel good romantasy with a little suspense, this one will do the trick nicely.

📖 **Heartless Hunter: The Crimson Moth Book 1** by Kristen Ciccarelli ⭐ Rating: ★★★★★ I can't recall a book ever making me feel this way, and I'm still reeling from the emotional devastation Kristen Ciccarelli unleashed in these pages. Rune Winters has claimed the throne as my favorite FMC of all time. She's wickedly smart, fiercely protective, and a witch hiding in plain sight within a regime that would kill her without hesitation. Watching her navigate the deadly dance between her vapid socialite facade and her true identity as the Crimson Moth was absolutely mesmerizing. Her fierce band of friends creates this beautiful found family dynamic that wraps around you like the warmest hug, three musketeers style, and their loyalty to each other becomes the emotional anchor that grounds the entire story. But then there's Gideon Sharpe, and oh my heart. The brother of her best friend, a witch hunter whose very existence should terrify her, yet their connection transcends logic and duty. The enemies-to-lovers tension between Rune and Gideon is electric, star-crossed in the most devastating way possible. Every interaction crackles with forbidden attraction and the constant threat of discovery. Gideon's internal struggle between his loyalty to the revolution and his growing feelings for Rune creates this delicious moral complexity that had me completely invested. The political intrigue weaves seamlessly through personal relationships, creating layers upon layers of deception and betrayal that I never saw coming. Ciccarelli masterfully builds this world where revolution and persecution collide, where friendship can mask the deepest betrayals, and where love blooms in the most impossible circumstances. The twists lit me up like a sparkler, each revelation more shocking than the last. I cried for the final chapters because this book doesn't just tell a story, it makes you feel every heartbreak, every moment of hope, every devastating choice these characters face. The dual POV structure allows you to experience both Rune's terror and Gideon's conflict simultaneously, creating this beautiful, torturous tension that builds to an absolutely breathtaking climax. 📦 **What to Expect** ✨ Dark Fantasy Revolution 💖 Forbidden Enemies-to-Lovers Romance 🔥 Witch vs. Witch Hunter Tension 🤯 Political Intrigue & Moral Complexity 💔 Found Family Bonds 🦴 Hidden Identity & Deception ⚔️ Vigilante Justice & Rebellion 🎯 **Final Thoughts** If you're hungry for fantasy that will crush your heart while setting your soul on fire, this belongs on your shelf immediately. Read it, feel it, let it ruin you completely, because some books are worth the beautiful devastation they leave behind. 📚 **Book Tags** Keywords: Dark Fantasy, Witch, Revolution, Political Intrigue, Found Family, Hidden Identity, Vigilante Tropes: Enemies-to-Lovers, Forbidden Romance, Hidden Identity, Found Family, Dual POV, Star-Crossed Lovers, Morally Gray Characters

In a world where witches are hunted to extinction, Rune survives by living a lie—playing the vapid socialite by day while secretly rescuing witches as the Crimson Moth by night. Her decision to court notorious witch hunter Gideon Sharpe is equal parts reckless and brilliant, and the enemies-to-lovers tension is chef’s kiss. Rune and Gideon are both layered, morally conflicted, and impossible not to root for. The romance is slow-burn, sharp, and laced with betrayal, while the stakes never let up. Every interaction feels like a game of survival. Kristen Ciccarelli delivers a thrilling romantic fantasy where love is dangerous, loyalty is fragile, and secrets are deadly. A gripping start to the duology that leaves you desperate for more.

Heartless Hunter (The Crimson Moth: Book 1)🌿🌼 By, Kristen Ciccarelli 5⭐️ 1🌶️ I loved this beautifully written YA fantasy/ romance book!! 💜 I’ve seen the mixed reviews about this book and at first was hesitant to read it! But I’m glad I did! There’s not much complexity to the story and the minimal world building is very easy to follow. But I myself was so immersed in it! This book is set in the Gaslight era and I’m such a huge fan of it! The magic system 🩸was very generic but it was also very captivating to me! This book is very character driven and I’m looking forward to reading more about these characters! Especially the three witch queen sisters ! The Heartless Hunter follows MMC Rune , a high society undercover witch who is trying to save her fellow witches who are being hunted and unalived by witch hunters. MMC Gideon is a mortal , a part of the “Blood Guard “ and a witch hunter for the New Republic, He is trying to find out who the mysterious savior of the witches “The Crimson Moth” is. Loved the cat and mouse game between the two protagonists and I really don’t mind a (brothers) love triangle! To me it was very minimal in this book and didn’t deter me from loving these characters and being invested in the story! Overall I really enjoyed reading this book and I’m highly anticipating the next book in this series! I would recommend this book!

Spoilers ahead! Honestly giving this book three stars is pretty generous because of how problematic it is. I’m only giving it this because it kept me engaged. The author was very close to a good book, but there are some things I can’t look past. The most glaring problem is the love interest, Gideon Sharp. Captain of the blood guard and a witch hunter. I’m familiar with enemies to lovers. But Gideon Sharp is too far. This is a soldier whose sole purpose in life is to eradicate all witches. To commit a genocide. That is literally the most accurate word for it. And yet we are suppose to sympathize with him and eventually fall for him? Admittedly I found myself sympathizing with him throughout the book, until I remembered his crimes. No amount of torture at the hand of one person justifies the eradication of their entire group. The fact that the author is trying to get us to sympathize with him, justifying his behavior (which is unjustifiable) is a dangerous precedent. I’ve seen books these days normalizing, and even forgiving, worse and worse actions from abuse to kidnapping. But this is the first time I’ve seen genocide, and it crosses the line. It is an extremely dangerous view the author is presenting, and as readers, we are subconsciously affected to sympathize with these actions in the real world too. It creates some wiggle room and doubt behind them. But these views shouldn’t even be given a platform. Authors have to realize their works have real world implications. They shape many of our thoughts. Kristen Ciccarelli needs to be reminded of it. Admittedly, the book ended with Gideon and Rune not being together, so there is a chance they will not end up together, but I highly doubt it (though I hope so). Rune, literally on her execution block, finds herself sympathizing with Gideon. Forgiving him. And early in the book we hear of two thirteen year old sisters Rune saved from his clutches and a brutal death. These actions are unforgivable and it frankly disgusts me that the author is making any attempt to justify them. As readers we need to consider who we support and when this whole enemies to lovers trope has gone too far. And it has here. Beyond the obvious ethical concerns within this book, I also found several plot holes and inconsistencies. Runes hair is described as rust gold but then later strawberry blonde. Those are not remotely the same. Furthermore, we constantly hear Rune’s friend and partner, Verity, being described as tired, having to work to keep her scholarship and help Rune. The issue is Rune is absurdly wealthy. She could easily pay for her education to allow Verity more time to help her. Now I know Verity isn’t truly a student, but it’s still an annoying inconsistency. Additionally, we read earlier that if spell marks get wiped away, the spell fails. But when Rune enchants a cup with a spell mark at bottom, planning to cast a truth teller on Gideon, the tables turn and he instead makes her drink it with the alternative of looking very suspicious. She grabs the bottom of the cup and drinks, and falls under the spell. However, she easily could’ve discreetly wiped the blood marks off. The author did this to propel the romance and plot, but it could’ve been done better. And Alex’s death?? She has fresh blood from someone else to perform a powerful spell, to literally split the earth in two, but she can’t heal him? Do healing spells just not exist in this world? If not, why? You can raise people from the dead but can’t heal the living? And if they do, Rune should know them as they’re very relevant to her role as the Crimson Moth. It was just a lazy way to dispose of a love interest, who quite frankly was the better option. I’m tired of seeing good guys being forsaken for the “bad boy” except this goes beyond it—Gideon by our standards would be a war criminal. Too far.

➼「“𝑹𝒖𝒏𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒂 𝒅𝒆𝒆𝒓, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒂 𝒉𝒖𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒓. 𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒎𝒆𝒂𝒔𝒖𝒓𝒆, 𝒏𝒐𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚 𝒅𝒆𝒕𝒂𝒊𝒍 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒇𝒍𝒂𝒘, 𝒕𝒓𝒚𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒐 𝒅𝒆𝒄𝒊𝒅𝒆 𝒊𝒇 𝒔𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒃𝒆 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒉 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒉𝒖𝒏𝒕.”」 |This is one of the most captivating stories I have read in a very long time. And it is also the ultimate enemies to lovers, a witch and a witch hunter, delicious!| ↻ ◁ II ▷ ↺ -- Songs that make me think of this book. 🎧ʀᴜᴇʟʟᴇ - ɢᴀᴍᴇ ᴏꜰ sᴜʀᴠɪᴠᴀʟ 🎧ꜰʟᴇᴜʀɪᴇ - ʟᴏᴠᴇ ᴀɴᴅ ᴡᴀʀ 🎧ʜᴏᴢɪᴇʀ - ɴꜰᴡᴍʙ 🎧ʙɪsʜᴏᴘ ʙʀɪɢɢs - ᴅᴀʀᴋ sɪᴅᴇ ➼「“𝑺𝒐𝒎𝒆 𝒑𝒆𝒐𝒑𝒍𝒆 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒅𝒆𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒍𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒊𝒓 𝒐𝒘𝒏 𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒐𝒏𝒂𝒍 𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒈𝒆𝒅𝒊𝒆𝒔.”」 ╰┈➤𝕋𝕙𝕖 𝕤𝕥𝕠𝕣𝕪 This story follows Rune, who at first glance looks just like any other wealthy socialite, except she has a secret that she is hiding from everybody except her two closest friends, she is a witch. In a land where being a witch is a death sentence. Gideon, is a witch hunter and has been looking for one witch in particular, the Crimson Moth, who has been freeing witches they have caught and making them disappear. The crimson moth, who happens to be Rune herself. This is an ultimate enemies to lovers tale set in a renaissance period. ╰┈➤𝕄𝕪 𝕥𝕙𝕠𝕦𝕘𝕙𝕥𝕤. I was enchanted by this story from the first few chapters. I loved the world building and the time period the book is set in. The plot kept me on the edge of my seat and that plot twist near the end? While I had my suspicions, it was still shocking to actually find everything out. The chemistry between Rune and Gideon is SCORCHING and it was such a well done slow burn. The friendships between Rune and Alex and Rune and Verity I absolutely adored. That cliffhanger? Shut up and give me the next book right now. The sobs that exited my body those last few chapters. This book is a masterpiece and I will be unwell until the next book is in my hand. ➼「“𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒉𝒖𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒉𝒂𝒅 𝒇𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒆𝒏 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒉𝒖𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒓.”」 ✩𝕄𝕒𝕚𝕟 𝕡𝕠𝕚𝕟𝕥𝕤 𝕒𝕓𝕠𝕦𝕥 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕤𝕥𝕠𝕣𝕪✩ 💐Third person pov 💐Dual pov, Rune and Gideon 💐Renaissance period 💐Enemies to lovers 💐Slow burn 💐Witches and witch hunters 💐Suspense and plot twists Overall, if you love witches and love a good fantasy book with tension, angst, and twists and turns, you will love this book! ➼「“𝒀𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒍𝒂𝒖𝒈𝒉 𝒊𝒔 𝒍𝒊𝒌𝒆 𝒂 𝒇𝒖𝒔𝒆,” 𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒂𝒊𝒅. “𝑰𝒕 𝒍𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕𝒔 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒖𝒑.” 𝑹𝒖𝒏𝒆’𝒔 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒖𝒅𝒅𝒆𝒅. 𝑵𝒐 𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒅 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒐𝒍𝒅 𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒃𝒆𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒆.”」

Kristen Civcarelli has done a fantastic job of capturing the essence and spirit and marking them on paper for Heartless Hunter. This is a 4.5 star read for me, only because I had a bit of trouble getting into the story at the beginning of the book. Rune, our FMC, is a witch that is fighting back after the revolution in her own way. She is strong, stubborn, and smart. Alex and Verity are helping her along the way, and they must all steer clear of the witch hunters, especially Gideon, out MMC. This narrative is action-packed and heartbreaking, and I couldn’t stop reading it. It was easy to get drawn in, especially at the end of the book. Just when you think the situations are resolved another twist is thrown your way, and that last chapter… Just Wow! The plot, world-building, and character development are amazing and I can’t wait to get my hands on the second book!

Loved it so nice a enemies to lovers fantasy book love them ❤️❤️❤️

Väldigt bra

Loved it!

جاني سليم و الهارد كوفر يجنننن

the condition of the book: 5 ⭐️ - it came in perfect condition. the book itself: 4.5 ⭐️