Dark. Decadent. And Deliciously fun!

The Crimson Moth is a witchy and dark rendition of Bridgerton (or at least some regency novel) and I loved every minute of it.

Firstly, my favourite thing about this book: the vibes. Yes, I said it. This book is so atmospheric and lushly imagined: I got goosebumps of how perfectly fitting it was to the whole blood witches idea. The world building suited the atmosphere well and I felt completely immersed in Ciccarelli's world.

The magic system was another part that I was rather impressed with. It is oddly weird yet interesting and it makes a lot of sense while have you marvel at its power at the same time. I thought it was a very unique idea to have blood magic so closely connected to the users and quite frankly, I liked the sense of pride it had for how the magic worked. Nice messaging!

The characters, and this is the major thing, especially our main character Rune is super likeable!! (whaaaat a YA FMC who is genuinely lovely and not a brute guy in disguise). Rune is truly not like other girls - and I mean this in the sincerest way possible this time - she is kind, brave, loves a bit of fun, she likes girly things and not afraid to show it. She is a flirt, she has a reputation but she is relentless in her pursuance of her goals. I feel she is a heroine I would have aspired to be if I were 16. She is great in every sense, if a bit naive, but that is fair given her age.

Gideon had broke my heart multiple times - he is complex, rough yet tender, he is the enemy you'll love to hate and hate to love at the same time.

There is a very tiny love triangle (that really isnt much at all) but I think the 'enemies to lovers' branding is fairly a tell-tale sign of who is swooning after who. Interestingly, I'm usually not a fan of enemies to lovers which is often a bully romance (which I personally hate with a passion) but here, it is more of a cat and mouse game, with officer chasing a criminal - this, has a special place in my heart and would always buy.

The book itself you can tell is YA and thus can be predictable, but I personally didn't mind that as like I said before, the atmosphere and the characters took me with them enough that I didn't care.

I will definitely be buying the next book and I highly recommend this anyone looking for some spooky and quite unique witchy romance with loveable characters.

WOW. This BOOK. This book had me squirming, on the edge of my seat, giddy with excitement, giggling at the slowly developing romance. It gave me butterflies (moths?) and it was full of so many clever twists.

I loved the plot, Rune, Gideon, and their witch/witch hunter dynamic. And the SUSPENSE. The ending? It destroyed me. I loved everything, every single page.

A beautifully written and amazingly crafted fantasy novel that had me fully immersed until the very end. I loved it! ♥️

The characters are amazing. Obviously I love Rune & Gideon! Their backstories, their complicated hate-love-hate relationship and the inner struggles and turmoil they both face but I also adored Alex, Verity and even Harrow. Their roles & relationships are vital to the development of the storyline.

The witches magical system is clever, intricate and unlike any I’ve read before. It’s not convoluted or difficult to understand and is explained brilliantly throughout.

I have to say I wasn’t prepared for that ending.
Wow! I didn’t think I would cry but how could I not with what happened?! 😢

And of course, the world building. I love when I can envision the world that’s being created.It allows me to get completely lost in the story.

One other, random thing I liked was the character names. Nothing overly complicated or impossible to pronounce just beautiful, unique names. 🥰

My own criticism, (if you can call it that), is that book 2 isn’t out until February 2025.

The US title is called Heartless Hunter which I absolutely LOVE & even more, I love the US cover, so will be doing all I can to get a US copy! 💙

Thank you so much, NetGalley & Harper Collins Uk, for the arc of this stunning book.

“𝙎𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙙𝙧𝙤𝙬𝙣𝙞𝙣𝙜, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙖𝙞𝙧. 𝙎𝙝𝙚 𝙝𝙖𝙙𝙣’𝙩 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙣 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙡𝙞𝙯𝙚𝙙 𝙝𝙤𝙬 𝙢𝙪𝙘𝙝 𝙨𝙝𝙚 𝙣𝙚𝙚𝙙𝙚𝙙 𝙝𝙞𝙢 𝙪𝙣𝙩𝙞𝙡 𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙜𝙤𝙣𝙚”

I devoured this book, I could not put it down. It was a fast paced, slow burn, enemies to lovers between a witch and a witch hunter and it was so freaking good but what the heck was that ending? Like how dare you Kristen 😭 I need the next book as soon as possible please!

Highly, highly, highly recommend this book for all you romantasy lovers!

This book was amazing from start to finish!

I loved the witch and witch hunter romance that had me sitting at the edge of my seat. Anything that is enemies to lovers and forbidden romance will have me excited to pick up a book and this did not disappoint.

Making this book dual POV really helped capture the essence of everything that was at stake for the two main characters and the games they had to play around each other.

I loved the (not so) magic system that was put in place. It was so intricately woven throughout the story that it drove the plot forward in an exciting direction.

I love these characters so much and the cliff hanger at the end left me longing for where the story will continue. The wait is going to be torture.

Thank you NetGalley and to the publisher for an E-Arc of the book

Thank you so much to Harper Collins UK, Harper Fiction & NetGalley for providing me an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I have been in a terrible reading slump recently, and this book brought me back to life and inspired my joy for reading to resurface.

What a beautifully written book! Such an enticing world building and magic system. The characters were flawed but in a brilliant way that brought them to life. Their personalities truly shone which made them so easy to bond with and root for.

The story really pulled me in and I could not put this book down

Another popular author I hadn't read yet, despite the fact that two of her books are rotting away on my shelves for quite some time already. But this cover was just insanely pretty and the premise of this story just sounded way too good, so I pressed the pre-order button without even thinking about it. And when I saw that there were review copies available through Netgalley I didn't hesitate and requested a copy. I'm insanely happy that Magpie granted me one.

This book is what a romantasy should be. It's also what enemies to lovers should be. I don't wanna give too much away, the finale of this book is insanely emotional and I don't wanna spoil all the fun of course, but the enemies part in this book is serious. Really serious. It's understandably serious once we get to know the reason behind the hatred. But still, I don't think I've ever seen the enemies part in a romance novel taken this far.

Luckily the romance in this book is amazing too. I like the tension between the hero and the heroine. I like how Gideon and Rune are trying to balance their emotions with their scheming and I like how obvious it is that those two people are each other's best possible match. They challenge each other, they understand each other, they share the same passion and fire and they both play this game at the highest possible level. And, they're at their softest with and for each other.

But, Rune and Gideon were not the only two characters stealing the show. I loved all the side characters too, especially because they also had their own story and history. And all those stories also made sure the world, despite the fact that this story takes place on an island, feels rich, real and complicated. The ending of the book is heartbreaking, but I also really can't wait to find out how this story will continue in the next installment!

My favourite read of the year so far! I absolutely adored The Crimson Moth. I was immediately engrossed in the magic system, well developed characters, dark themes, regency era-es que setting and compelling romance.

This delightful book follows Rune Winters, an airhead socialite by day and vigilante witch by night, and Gideon Sharp, a notorious and devout witch hunter and Rune’s best friend’s older brother. Aside a backdrop of banned magic, witch purging, grey morals, political intrigue and high society events, the two must get close to one another to learn each other’s secrets in order to achieve their conflicting goals.

As a serial fantasy reader, I found the magic system in this book both intriguing and refreshing. I loved how so much of the story pivoted around the constraints of the magic system! Overall, it was really well thought out!

The high society, regency era-esque setting was such a fun backdrop to contrast with the darker themes of the story. This really held my interest and delivered a well-balanced story. Although I was able to guess the main plot twist, the story didn’t feel overly predictable and I was continually on the edge of my seat.

This story absolutely excelled on the tension front (it really gave the same vibes as the infamous Mr Darcy hand flex). The romantic plot was absolutely swoon worthy and well-paced. Rune and Gideon’s POV’s worked so well in tandem. I thought both characters were really well developed which allowed me to really root for each character individually, setting the perfect foundations for me to get absolutely swept up in their slow burn romance as the story progresses.

I absolutely cannot wait for the sequel to Rune and Gideon’s story! I cannot thank the author, Kristen Ciccarelli, and HarperCollins UK enough for allowing me a copy of this ARC to read and review!

Crimson Moth

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
🌶️

Reads like a YA but with New Adult themes. The writing and the characters were very much YA but the themes they were dealing with were more New Adult.

The magic system is very good, the premise of how the magic work and how the witches could be identified was interesting.


Spoiler maybe-
The ending was good and intriguing but the characters throughout the book seemed to randomly change their mind and intentions but were suppose to be very clever and cunning.

I’m interesting to see where it goes in the next book as Rune seems to be surrounded by enemies

3.5 stars rounded up

This was a fun story of forbidden romance and fake courting between a witch and a witch hunter filled with scheming, lying and betrayals. It was a fun concept which I enjoyed.

I loved the world building, it was written and explained really well and I never felt overwhelmed with the information. Whilst the story was quite predictable I really enjoyed seeing it unravel. However what happened to one of the characters at the end made me really sad and I didn’t see that coming at all.

The magic system was unique which I really enjoyed. Witches need blood to cast spells but if they cut themselves to cast their spells then it leaves a silver mark which makes them a target for the blood guards who are hunting them. I did find it a little weird how Rune got around cutting herself to avoid detection but it was a clever concept.

The relationship between Gideon and Rune felt very insta-lust and not enemies to lovers as the attraction was already there. They are both lying to each other and suspicious of the other’s intentions. I’m not sure I ever felt the connection between them as it felt quite rushed, although there were a few sweet moments between them. I think the ending has set up the dynamic well for book 2 so we shall see how it develops.

I would have liked more focus on Rune as the Crimson Moth and having more action as we don’t really get to see that side of her character. The scene in the mine with her and Gideon was a highlight and felt the author could have played on that a lot more. I also thought some of Gideon’s actions were questionable towards Rune considering some of his past experiences. In particular sleeping with Rune to check if she had casting scars.

Despite a few issues I thought the book was enjoyable and it’s been set up for book 2. I think the series has great potential and I’m intrigued to see what happens next for Rune and Gideon as well as the brewing war between witches and hunters.

The Crimson Moth by Kristen Ciccarelli is an action packed enemies to lovers fantasy romance that kept me turning pages from beginning to end. I was totally captivated by the story of witches and witch hunters in a society where magic has been banned after the witch queens who had ruled the land were overthrown and killed in a revolution. Rune, a young witch had her life forever changed on that fateful night and now spends her time helping other witches flee to safety as The Crimson Moth , a vigilante on the run from the Witch Hunters including Gideon Harte, the brother of one of her best friends and a man she should definitely not be falling in love with. To most of the world Rune is a giddy socialite, her only interests being fashion and socialising but Gideon has started to suspect that there may be more to her than she is letting on , especially when he learns that her merchant ships have been used to transport fleeing witches out of the country. At first getting closer to her is an way to see if his suspicions have any foundations in truth, but before long he realises that he is falling for his chief suspect - not an ideal situation.
This was such a fun read from beginning to end, I loved the characters and world building and I think it is one of the best examples of the enemies to lovers trope that I have read in quite a while. The cat and mouse game that Rune and Gideon are playing through out the book is a lot of fun and one of the things I enjoyed most about the book. The lore of the magic system is well thought out and its explanation is really well integrated into the storytelling. There are plenty of twists and turns and lots of tension filled moments - and only some of them are romantic, so I found this book to be a real page turner and while the ending was satisfying I still can't wait to see where the author takes it from here.
I read and reviewed an ARC courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher, all opinions are my own.

Thank you Netgalley for an advanced copy of this book.

In a time where witchcraft is outlawed Rune Winters, a witch herself, poses as a vapid socialite while secretly helping other witches into safety under the mask of the Crimson Moth. In order to gain inside knowledge she decides to seduce a witchhunter Gideon who, suspecting she's the witch he's chasing, woos her back. Things become difficult when duty and feelings get mixed up.

I loved this book! The writing was captivating, the story was fast paced and gripping, the characters were interesting and well developed and the romance was forbidden and exciting. There were some plot twists that I didn't expect and I ended the book feeling as conflicted about the choices that Rune had to make as she was! I could have easily read this book in one go and I can't wait for the second book to come out.

So, objectively this book is brilliant. Unfortunately it arrived at exactly the wrong time for me. A key aspect of the story is the death of Rune's Grandmother. I lost my own the week before I got this through, understandably this was hard reading for me.

Despite this I persevered because I did want to leave it and come back to it and also because I'm a stubborn sucker for pain. The story is a genuine enemies to lovers and is as vicious as it is intense as Gabriel and Rune, on two opposite sides of a revolution attempt to use each other for their own ends even as they fall in love. Both have very good, very realistic reasons for the side they've chosen even as they forget to humanise the cause and the people involved.

Honestly, normally this would be a five star book, it's pacy (normally I'd have it read in an afternoon), the reveals and twists are delicious and I will be getting the sequel to see where this goes. I'll be reading this again first to see how it reads when I'm less raw.

When I tell you I devoured this book, I mean it with my whole heart. I had high hopes for this book and let me tell you, it did not disappoint one bit. Can next year hurry up already because I need the next books in my hands right now. I don't know how you can expect me to cope until then.

The Crimson Moth follows Rune and Gideon who play a deadly game of cat and mouse between a witch and a witch hunter. Rune spends her days pretending to be a witch hating socialite but at night, she is the Crimson Moth, a vigilante who rescues witches from being killed. In a place where witches are outlawed, Gideon stops at nothing to hunt the witches, especially after they murdered almost everyone in his family. When word spreads about Rune's possible involvement with the Crimson Moth, he decides to fake court her in hopes to get more information. But what happens when they fall in love?

Their romance is doomed from the start and whilst pretending to woo each other they find themselves falling for each other. It was enemies to lovers at its absolute finest. The tension was so delicious, I was rooting for them so much, you don't understand. I couldn't read this fast enough, the way they were constantly trying to outsmart the other? Had me in an chokehold the entire time. The chemistry between Rune and Gideon was off the charts and I can't wait to see how they develop in the sequel.

Individually, both of the characters were so well written and I'm so glad that we got a dual pov with these two otherwise I don't think it would've worked so well just reading from one. I so can't wait to see the character development in the next book, especially after the ending! I just know it's gonna get juicy.

I absolutely love the magic system within this book. The witches aren't made to be invincible and do actually have weakness which is something that I have rarely read in books. I do however think this could be marketed more towards older young adults or even new adult so keep that in mind, as well as any potential triggers with the mention of abuse both physical and sexual, and self harm.

Prepare for the emotional damage that this book will you give and the rollercoaster you'll definitely be in. I cannot recommend this enough, you all need to go read this right now.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Wow! Occasionally you read a book that you want to read slowly to savour so it doesn't end and at the same time rush through it to know what happens. That is The Crimson Mother/Heartless Hunter - a book that you want more of.

This is an enemies to lovers book, but it's deeper than that. Rune is a witch. Gideon is a witch hunter. Magic is outlawed. Witches are killed. All those issues made this slow burn romance a heart breaking journey.

The characters are amazing. I adored Rune, the real Rune that she grows into as the story progresses. Alex, oh Alex. The best friend and little brother of brooding, grumpy Gideon. The Sharpe brothers could rival the Salvatore brothers.

The world building is done very well so it doesn't feel like a history lesson or pages and pages of this and that. It is quite a dark history and maybe will be better suited to older YA and even NA. Also the mention of abuse, physical and sexual - trigger warnings maybe needed.

And the story is full of thread that are well woven to the climax of the story. Hints dropped towards the twists that leave the ending on a cliff hanger. Yes, a cliffhanger so be warned. But it wont be a hardship to reread this before book 2 drops.

All in all a great book, interesting characters and well written story.
Grab this book for a weekend with no plans because you wont want to put this down. Binge warning.

A witch crusading as a socialite plays a deadly game of cat and mouse with a witch hunter... yet when pretending to woo each other they might find themselves falling for one another, but their romance is doomed from the start and where do the lines between truth and lie begin to blue? Rune is a witch who was forced to turn in her own grandmother to the Blood Guard (humans who were part of purging witches). Rune spends her days pretending to be a vapid socialite but at night she is the Crimson Moth, a witch vigilante who rescues witches from being purged. Rune knows that she has to agree to a suitor... but she wants one that will help her get intel on the Blood Guard and who better than Gideon Sharpe, the notorious witchhunter himself. Gideon hates the decadence and superficiality Rune represents and he wants nothing more than to capture the Crimson Moth, so when he learns that the Crimson Moth has been using Rune's merchant ships to smuggle renegade witches out of the republic, he decides that the best way to find out what her connection is and whether or not she is actually the Crimson Moth is to woo her, albeit faking it..... Yet the more time Rune and Gideon pretend to woo each other and seduce each other the more they actually begin to open up to each other and what started off as pretend is beginning to feel like real love. Though things are only more complicated as Alex ( Gideon's brother and Rune's best friend who has been secretly helping her cause) wants Rune to come away with him and marry him... yet she is falling for Gideon, despite Gideon also wanting to hunt her down. When the truth is finally revealed there will be blood shed and pain, but what awaits these two? First of all , this is a fantastic first book in the duology and keeps you completely gripped until the end!!( and oh boy what an ending that was). There is also something I should mention, TRIGGER WARNINGS: including cutting ( witches used blood and cutting to perform magic), sexual assault ( past mention), and death. This book is truly enemies to lovers with so much cat and mouse (definitely think along the lines of Mr. and Mrs. Smith), but so far it's been enemies to fake lovers to real lovers to enemies again. I can't wait to see how everything plays out in the next book, especially with how this first book sets up everything. The drama, the angst, the romance, and I truly TRULY want the romance to work out for these two so badly after everything.

*Spoier: Rune's grandmother tasked her with finding Seraphine, another witch, to help mentor Rune. Rune's body doesn't have any scars so no one has detected that she is a witch. She's been using her period blood as the blood conduit rather than fresh blood. Alex and Verity are her two best friends who have been helping her. When she fails at rescuing Seraphine, she decides to try and seduce Alex's brother Gideon to get the info since he is higher up in the command at the blood guard. Rune begins actually falling for Gideon. Gideon was the ex lover of Cressida, one of the young queen witches, whom Alex said he had killed but he faked it and let her go saying he hoped that Gideon would heal if he thought she was dead ( puh leeeassseee alex im begging you). Gideon started off as her lover but she became crazy, she murdered his sister, she sexually assaulted and tortured him constantly, she drowned his mother and had his father killed. Gideon protected Alex from her. Gideon thought that Rune was the Crimson Moth so he faked wooing her but fell in love with her instead. They fall for each other and do sleep together. Then Gideon discovers Cressida is still alive after he finds the spell signature that was meant to kill Rune was Cressida ( she had branded him with the same signature). When he goes to Rune's to apologize after she overheard him telling Laila ( his comrade ) that he slept with her to check that she was a witch or not ( he meant all his feelings he was trying to protect her from suspicion) he overhears her talking with Alex about being a witch and her plans. Alex convinces Rune to marry him and go away with him out of the country (she was fresh from her heartbreak with Gideon and she said yes). Alex has always been in love with Rune but she always thought of him as a brother. Both Rune and Gideon were crushing on each other when they were younger but completely misunderstood the other and ended up having a bad first interaction. Rune thinks that Gideon is rude while Gideon thinks that Rune is vapid and rich. Yet when they get to know each other they realize how alike and perfect they are for each other. However Gideon overhears and then when the blood guard comes and figures out that Verity was the one doing magic and then they arrest Rune however Alex confesses to being a Witch sympathizer since he doesn't want rune to die alone. In the prison Cressida gets both Rune and Seraphine out as she has a witch army... aka all the witches that Rune had rescued. Cressida practices Arcana (ancient forbidden blood powerful magic that comes from taking blood from unwilling victims and she has been the one leaving dead bodies around the republic and mutilating people). Cressida practiced this magic by forcing Gideon to be tortured by her. When Cressida wants Gideon to come with her and he refuses she tries to shoot him however Alex takes the bullet instead and dies (he tells Rune to use his blood and escape). Rune ends up going with Cressida as she has nowhere else to go and she asks Seraphine to train her (despite how much Rune is disgusted by Cressida). Gideon vows to hunt down Rune.

*Thanks Netgalley and St. Martin's Press, Wednesday Books for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

The Crimson Moth is a fast-paced romantasy, with quite a dark back story and some creative world building and a unique magic system. The romance centres on Rune and Gideon and gives us a true enemies-to-lovers storyline, with each of them persuing the other to meet their own goals at the start, before - naturally - realising their feelings run a bit deeper than that. There is a love triangle, but my biggest criticism of the book is that this seems a bit half hearted and I didn't really buy it at points - perhaps it's just the POV but the secondary love interest just didn't seem that...interested.

I'm not familiar with any of Ciccarelli's previous work, but found this an easy and enjoyable read. It's quick and fun, if a little predictable in places, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. It ends nicely - somewhat wrapped up so you're not stressed out by a cliff hanger, but open ended enough that you want the next book so you can find out what's going to happen next. The twist towards the end of the storyline is given away around part way through the book, but before that clue I didn't really see it coming.

Overall, a nice book. Not a trailblazer of the genre, but a good example of romantasy and enemies-to-lovers.

My initial foray into Kristen Ciccarelli's literary world has left me utterly captivated.

The narrative effortlessly drew me in, with its compelling characters and intricate plotline proving to be both engaging and enthralling. While I found myself entranced by the unfolding story, I must admit that I anticipated a significant plot twist halfway through. Nevertheless, witnessing its revelation and the subsequent impact it had on the narrative was immensely satisfying.

The dynamic between Rune and Gideon proved to be a highlight, its allure undeniably addictive. However, there were certain elements that left me feeling somewhat underwhelmed.

Despite my overall admiration for the book, I feel compelled to withhold a perfect rating due to the somewhat hurried nature of the conclusion, which fell short of my expectations.

Nonetheless, my anticipation for the sequel knows no bounds, as I eagerly await the continuation of this enchanting saga.

I absolutely loved this book. The second I started reading I couldn’t put it down. I was even reading it in between sets at a concert I went to. I absolutely loved all of the characters and because so attached to them, especially Rune. And who can beat a good enemies to lovers story, especially when they both started off the relationship with their own secret goals to use each other. *chefs kiss*. I absolutely cannot wait to see more of Cressida now she’s revealed herself and to see Rune learn more about using her magic! The only downfall with receiving proofs of books like this is that the first book hasn’t even been released yet and I NEED THE SECOND BOOK!

An addictive fast-paced romantasy that’s full of witchy goodness. The game playing is constant and the emotions messy. Some of the decisions are frustrating but that was also part of the reason I enjoyed the book, I had feelings about it and wanted to know more and get madder. It was a toxic combination that just works. The actual plot is good and moves along nicely throughout but prepare yourself for the end. That ending was intense and it definitely makes you need more. Overall a fun read and I would recommend to the romantasy lovers out there.
3.5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an E-ARC. This is a voluntary review of my own thoughts.