Title: Heartless Hunter
Author: Kristine Ciccerelli
Publisher: Wednesday Books
Publication Date: February 20, 2024
ISBN: 9781250866905
Synopsis:
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. But what if she’s the very villain he’s hunting?
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Heartless Hunter is one of the rare fantasy books that actually lives up to the hype. A forbidden and enemies-to-lovers romance, the witch and the witch hunter fall in love despite themselves, and despite everything that stands against them.
In the heart of a revolution, witch hunt, and a public purging, Rune is a witch in hiding. Posing as a vapid socialite, she keeps her true identity hidden. Masquerading during the day and spending her nights working to free the captured witches, Rune lives with constant guilt at the loss of her nan, while trying to do right by her in saving others. Rune’s heart is large and kind, though her life is in constant danger. She seeks for ways to find intel on the witch captures and purging, doing whatever she can to save as many of her kind as possible.
Rune’s quest brings her close to Gideon, the captain of the Blood Guard and chief witch hunter. She initially thinks him cruel, but as she tries to extract information from him, she discovers somebody with whom she has an undeniable connection. If her secret is to be discovered, she will be lost, as will the spark that sizzles between them. Their romance is as whirlwind as it is clandestine and there is nothing but loss and destruction laid out on the road before them. There is no hope of a happy ending here.
This book is magical. It’ll transport you away and sweep you into its pages with ease. The story is unique and fast-paced, with the perfect amount of description and embellishment. Ciccerelli is straightforward and to-the-point in her writing style, but it moves the story along with stunning speed. There’s no getting lost in overly verbose prose or unnecessary context. The author gives you exactly what is needed and it makes this story perfect.
It’s reminiscent of the One Dark Window series, so anyone who enjoyed those books, will likely also enjoy Ciccerelli’s dark works of blood magic and conflict. It’s a sinister place, but there is passion, fire, and secrets both good and bad. This is one series that I cannot wait to keep reading when book two is released in January.
Happy reading!
Worn Pages and Ink 