Heartless Hunter: a slow-burn story

An exciting cat-and-mouse game between a witch and a witch hunter with slow-burn enemies-to-lovers? Heartless Hunter is a favorite among many booklovers and the bookish community. It is the first part in the two-part series ‘The Crimson Moth‘ by writer Kristen Ciccarelli. Also known from the book ‘The Last Namsara‘. Of course we also became curious about this book. But is it as exciting as people say?

What is Heartless Hunter about?

Heartless Hunter is a steamy game of cat and mouse between witch and witch-hunter, played out against a backdrop of opulence secrets, and bloody history. 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 rules to outcasts ruthlessly hunted due to their wandering magic, and Rune must hide who 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 child 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 dacadence 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 social circles by pretending to court her right back. He soon realizes that beneath the beaty and shallow facade, is someone fiercely intelligent and tender who feels like his perfect match. Except, what if she’s the very villain he’s been hunting?

A new world

You have to get used to it at first, because you are immediately thrown into a whole new fantasy world. This takes some getting used to, but after a few chapters you will get a better understanding of how everything works. After a bloody revolution, witches are nearly exterminated for fear of their magic. Now the rich socialists are in charge. Witch hunters don’t stop until the last witch is burned at the stake. It is a world in which rich socialists organize extravagant galas, while the poor have to fight to survive on the streets.

The world has a dark and ominous atmosphere and certain parts reminded me of the Salem Witch Trials. It’s a bleak world for witches like Rune Winters. She hides among the socialists as a ‘flirty naive girl’, while under the alias ‘The Crimson Moth’ she frees witches from the Blood Guard Gideon with the help of her friends Alex and Verity. The system works as a kind of dark version of ‘Bridgerton’ in which young ladies have to look for a husband at a certain age. Although there is talk all the time about a revolution, it is not really discussed what exactly happened and what the causes and consequences were. A little more depth into the history of the world would have been nice to better understand this new world.

The Witch and the Witch Hunter

Alternating perspective between Rune and Gideon, you experience the story from both sides and it gives more depth to the characters. Their relationship is a dangerous cat-and-mouse game full of secrets and deceit, which makes it really tasty to read. Consciously and unconsciously they hunt each other, but with all the deception and roles they have to play, the line between reality and fiction seems to blur. Feelings and emotions become confused when they are forced to spend more and more time together. You would think that everything about their relationship is wrong, the witch and the witch hunter. On top of that, Gideon’s brother Alex is in love with Rune. Despite all the obstacles, the chemistry between Rune and Gideon is undeniable. You are eagerly awaiting the moment until the truth emerges.

Theme of Heartless Hunter

Although this book is categorized as Young Adult, it covers some serious topics. Think of sexual abuse, self-harm (but only to invoke magic), trauma and quite a bit of blood. I would have categorized this more as New Adult, but if you look at the level of flow, storyline and romance, it fits well with the Young Adult genre. There are very few spicy scenes and despite the fact that there is a love triangle between Rune, Gideon and Alex, the focus is mainly on Rune and Gideon. The relationship between Rune and Alex is mainly described as friendly. Although, Alex expresses his feelings towards Rune like a true gentleman. Other than that, not much happens between these two.

There are some fight scenes in the book, but the real tension lies in the cat-and-mouse game of Rune and Gideon. Besides being fantasy, the book is also mixed with a bit of historical fiction. That always feels fun and educational to read.

Conclusion

Heartless Hunter So it starts off a bit slowly and occasionally some background information is missing, but the further you read into the book, the more tension there is and the more pieces of the puzzle fall into place. Especially towards the end, a lot suddenly happens and it is full of plot twists and action. The characters are written with depth and the world setting is something completely new. A refreshing look at fantasy and historical fiction. With blood magic and grand galas, this book draws you into her dark and magical world. Ciccarelli knows how to write a gripping fantasy story. Closing with a huge plot twist and open ending, I am curious to see how the story continues in the next book ‘Rebel Witch‘ which will be released next year.