Crimson Moth/The Heartless Hunter – Book Review

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?

Kristen Ciccarelli’s The Crimson Moth is the thrilling start to a romantic fantasy duology where the only thing more treacherous than being a witch… is falling in love.

I heard so many raving reviews on this book and when I finished reading it, I could understand why this has a higher rating on Goodreads!

The Crimson Moth, which is the UK title or The Heartless Hunter which is the US version is the first book of the Crimson Moth series. Rune Winters was feeling guilty after she turned her grandmother Nan over to the Blood Guards, who are determined to wipe out the witches in the area. For a while, the country was ruled by the witches but a revolution wipes out nearly all of the witches forming a New Republic. Rune is determined to save as much witches as she could, earning herself a nickname The Crimson Moth. Meanwhile Gideon Sharpe, a notorious witch heart and his team of army “Blood Guards” are determined to find the Crimson Moth and find the witches. When one of Rune’s witches Seraphine is taken away by the guards, Rune determined to get closer to Gideon. But Gideon wants to get closer to Rune to make sure that she is the Crimson Moth…

This was interesting, intriguing and unputdownable. Also the plotline and story telling are unique in its own way. Rune and Gideon may have romantic feelings for each other but Gideon is determined to find the Crimson Moth while Rune, who is keeping her identity as a witch a secret is determined to find Seraphine. It seems as if they are both using each other. The story itself was engaging and the writing was great as well. I like Rune’s close friendship with Alex (Gideon’s brother) and Verity. The ending was really great and really like the small cliff hanger at the end, which made me determined to read the next second book in the series.

For those who haven’t read this book, I highly recommend this one, this is worth 4.5 stars.