Name: The Crimson Moth (Heartless Hunter in the US!)
Series: The Crimson Moth #1
Author: Kristen Ciccarelli
Publisher: Magpie
Format: Kindle
Genres: Young Adult, Fantasy, Romance, Magic
Noted Tropes: Enemies to Lovers, Forbidden Magic, Love Triangle, Witches & Witch Hunter, Fake Courting
Steam or Spice: Steam/Spice ish
Rating:
Synopsis: Goodreads
On the night Rune’s life changed forever, blood ran in the streets. Now, in the aftermath of a devastating revolution, witches have been diminished from powerful rulers to outcasts ruthlessly hunted due to their waning magic, and Rune must hide what she is.
Spending her days pretending to be nothing more than a vapid young socialite, Rune spends her nights as the Crimson Moth, a witch vigilante who rescues her kind from being purged. When a rescue goes wrong, she decides to throw the witch hunters off her scent and gain the intel she desperately needs by courting the handsome Gideon Sharpe – a notorious and unforgiving witch hunter loyal to the revolution – who she can’t help but find herself falling for.
Gideon loathes the decadence and superficiality Rune represents, but when he learns the Crimson Moth has been using Rune’s merchant ships to smuggle renegade witches out of the republic, he inserts himself into her social circles by pretending to court her right back. He soon realizes that beneath her beauty and shallow façade, is someone fiercely intelligent and tender who feels like his perfect match. Except, what if she’s the very villain he’s been hunting?
Review:
I added The Crimson Moth to my TBR because a lot of people were raving about it – a few people not so much, but mostly I was seeing positive things. I put off reading it because… well I don’t have a good reason. I am thrilled that I finally picked it up! This is right up there with my favourite books of the year. I absolutely loved it. Let’s talk about it, shall we?
We have two POVs, one from a Witch – which it is illegal to be in this world following a rebellion to overthrow the Sister Queens (witches) and one from a Witch Hunter (can you see the immediate problem?). I loved Rune’s POV – she’s our witch. I understood the pain she was going through and why she was doing what she was… I struggled with the fact that she chose to be an airhead by day? I wasn’t aware that having a secret identity meant you had to be stupid. That was hard to read because of the fact that I loved her and thought she was too intelligent to be giggling and spilling wine and acting so brainless… I still loved her, and this didn’t take away any enjoyment from the book! I just wished Rune got to be more herself than the airhead.
Gideon is our Witch Hunter, and our other POV. I am a fan of Mr Gideon Sharpe. We find out why he hates witches, and I’ve got to be honest – I struggle to side against him!! Despite our main POV being from a witch (and I love her!). What I mean is, I, unlike Rune, cannot be angry at Gideon for siding against the Witches. And it’s his conviction that Witches being in control would be bad, that led to some amazing moments in this book (specifically the ending, but I won’t discuss that!).
I love a fake dating trope, and Gideon and Rune for differing reasons enter a fake courtship since Rune is of money and needs to marry. And there were moments where I was grinning from ear to ear! Moments where I’m sat there going, oh just admit it you two! But of course… the world around them won’t allow it… and I’m sad about it!!
I will say that almost right up until it was too late, and the answers are staring you in the face, I was umming over what I felt was really going on behind the scenes. The story that is hinted as behind the story of the Crimson Moth is great, and I enjoyed feeling like I was solving it at the same time as the characters in the pages! It was a fun time! I am excited to find out how this story plays out in book 2.
Following the end of The Crimson Moth I immediately wanted to reread it just because I have to wait to February for The Rebel Witch and I honestly don’t want to wait that long to read about these characters again! I managed not to reread it, purely based on my rather large TBR this month, but I wanted to! I don’t know what was put into these pages but once I started reading I didn’t want to stop! It’s absolutely up there with my favourite books from 2024 and I’m so glad I finally got to it!
“You are not the things that happened to you…”
Reading With Tyler 
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