This was gorgeous - morally grey characters, a slow burn romance with a really interesting magic system that makes sense within the world-building and story.
A really solid romantasy, identified as YA but some mature themes throughout. Really looking forward to the second book and an excellent start to a new series!

This book is straight up enraging and I really struggled to even finish it. It starts out strong and then became predictable and frustrating

My issues with the book:
- Rune as a character is sometimes likeable and then grossly selfish and impulsive. For one thing, how she is actually the Crimson Moth makes no sense when she’s pretty bad at being discreet or subtle. Only one time in this book does she demonstrate to deliberately outsmart someone, everything else is luck. Gideon is Rune’s biggest threat but also the best source of information to help save lives - and yet not only does she manage to put her foot in it multiple times, she starts crushing on the guy she knows hurts her kind. She sleeps with a picture of her Nan in her room and still loses sight of the bigger picture multiple times. Also how does she not realise Alex’s feelings?! I mean cmon. She even crawls into his bed?! And she does use him, playing brothers against each other.
- Rune uses period blood for her spells. Now the technicalities of it aside (literally, how is she collecting this blood, do mooncups exist in this reality??), period blood is only like 36% blood?? Also talking blood magic, there’s a whole thing about self harm essentially, witches carve into themselves to gain blood to use in magic and gain a ‘beautiful’ silver scar for it - if they use someone else’s magic in a spell, that person gets the scar (and would then be considered a witch potentially). The fact the carved scars were considered beautiful is unsettling

- Gideon is gross. Yes I realise he has trauma, the boy definitely needs therapy, but he’s dangerous and toxic and literally part of a genocide of innocent people. You see, SOME witches were bad, including one who was awful to him, so now all witches (and sympathisers) are condemned because they MIGHT be dangerous. As part of their purging, women are literally winched up upside down and have their throats slit, like a pig being slaughtered. This isn’t witches who have gone through a trial and been found to have murdered someone, these are women who are condemned simply for existing. Ironically the Blood guard, including Gideon, are the monsters. Yes there are some bad witches but at this point you can’t really blame witches for being angry because of how many have been persecuted simply for their existence. Also, see above, if silver scars are enough to condemn someone as a witch, how many victims of blood use without consent have been murdered. With the current genocide happening, it’s difficult to have an ounce of time or sympathy for a man supporting the mass murder of a group of people and the condemnation of sympathisers who don’t agree with said bloodshed. Angsty boy Gideon will punch some tiles because he didn’t like seeing a woman getting brutally assaulted, but he still helps hunt and catch them so they can be killed. There’s no character progression for Gideon, no ‘maybe witches are human too and, like all humans, there are both good and bad’, he’s a broken guy who uses this to cause destruction and is too cowardly to stand for something.

- The romance - this is an absolutely absurd one. You see, Rune knows Gideon hates witches, she also knows he has A LOT of blood on his hands, that he judges her constantly, is fuelled by prejudice and hate and that he would kill her if he knew who she really was. She has more guilt for obeying her Nan’s wishes and reporting her to the blood guard than she has hatred for Gideon literally being IN the blood guard. The fact that Gideon is a predator and prejudiced doesn’t matter you see because he’s tall and muscular and he sews flowers. Then there’s Gideon himself. Gideon knows his brother Alex is in love with Rune, but he wants to discover who the Crimson Moth is and thinks it could be Rune. So he decides to court Rune, flirt with her, kiss her, get her naked so he can check her body for silver scars (?!) and upon the weird peer pressure of his team, really check her body for scars by sleeping with her because she could have scars between her thighs (?!). Now apparently he doesn’t ultimately sleep with her to check out between her thighs, it just so happens to be the first place he goes to … But fear not, he’s a great brother because after he’s done with Rune he intends to point her in the direction of her brother so he can find the courage to get his dream girl he’s already had. How sweet is that, he’ll pass her on?! … I know Rune is also manipulating and lying to Gideon to get information but she doesn’t know she’s breaking Alex’s heart like Gideon knows he is. Alex is such a sweetheart and he deserved better. Also Rune is literally trying to save persecuted women, Gideon is just a tortured hateful boy supporting the mass murder of women because one was cruel to him. Side note: everyone else is at fault, never Gideon.
- Gideon and Harrow - I get this is probably out of respect or a wink to The Locked Tomb but please don’t use these names for such awful characters.

I don’t think I’ll keep reading this series. If this book was about the uprising of the witches, I’d be more invested, but I’m not here for the romance and the excuses allowed because of it. The witches in this book are treated brutally and like animals, they are not treated like the victims in this book and that was disappointing to me. I’m not denying Gideon hasn’t had a terrible life but it doesn’t justify his actions or complicity in genocide and it doesn’t, for me, allow him a redemption arc (if it’s even offered), I don’t care how tall he is.

Thank you NetGalley for the copy in exchange for an honest review

This book was really fun and somehow more emotional than I expected it to be.
It had all the elements I enjoy: dual pov, short chapters, easy to get into, nice twists and turns, though some of them seemed predictable one way or another, if you’ve paid enough attention.

I really liked Rune and Gideon and they did make sense as a couple/love interest, but I wished the book took place over a longer period of time rather than the 2-ish weeks suggested in the book. I wouldn’t say the romance suffered, but it would have been more of a natural development I guess.

The dual pov was definitely beneficial as I think it did add a lot more depth and understanding for the characters but especially Gideon, his past & present and the relationship with his brother.

There were about a handful of times where the author used the same expression basically back to back/repeatedly in a matter of like 2 or 3 sentences, which wasn’t bothersome for the story or the reading flow, but for some reason it did catch my eye.
Another (probably really random) thing I really liked is Rune’s awareness to not hold Gideon to some double standards and her acknowledging that they both were deceiving each other in the end.

The ending was to cry for..in a good way. There’s no horrible cliffhanger but it does make you excited for book two, which I obviously am! So I definitely recommend.

Thank you Magpie for providing this book for review via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

Wow this book has become a favourite of the year for me an enemies to lovers between a witch and witch hunter that I devoured.

Rune is the crimson month a notorious witch who has been living a double life as a carefree socialite while also rescuing witches that have been taken prisoners by the hunters the blood guards led by the captain Gideon who wants nothing more than to capture the elusive crimson moth. Each of them decide courting the other will help them to achieve their goals, for Gideon its learning whether Rune is the elusive witch and for Rune it’s using Gideon to locate a witch and rescue her before she is killed, what neither expected was to fall for the other.

The chemistry between Rune and Gideon was perfect and captivating. The fact that it was dual PoV made it so much better I always love to see each characters inner thoughts and emotions.

Everything about this book was so good, the characters, the plot, the exquisite writing and the beautiful world building and not to mention the ending that was utterly heartbreaking I can’t wait to see what’s to come next. Such an absolute beauty of a book. Highly recommend!

I absolutely loved this book.

Enemies to lovers with a witch and a witch hunter. Yes. Please.

Rune is The Crimson Moth a notorious witch who works to release witches who have been imprison and face "purging" at the hands of the hunters who want to bring an end to magic. She's escaped capture this far by living the life of a carefree socialite who betrayed her own grandmother.

Gideon is a witch hunter, loyal to the revolution, who wants nothing more than to bring down The Crimson Moth.

Both decide that courting the other is the best way to achieve their aims. Neither expects to fall for the other.

This is my favourite book of 2024 so far and will take some beating. My heart was in my mouth for most of the book and that last third had my jaw on the floor. An absolute stunner!

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC
The Crimson Moth or Heartless Hunter is a cat-and-mouse game between a witch and a witch-hunter. Rune's life changed overnight when the revolution hunted down every witch in the capital. Now, two years later, she tries to save witches as the vigilante Crimson Moth. Gideon Sharpe is a notorious witch-hunter who suspects Rune of aiding the Crimson Moth. When the opportunity to court each other presents itself, Rune and Gideon grab this chance to use the other to gain vital information. But what happens when feelings are beginning to grow, or if Gideon finds out that the very witch he is trying to find is closer than he thinks?

Things I liked
I loved the magic system this book has. There is a consequence to using it and it isn’t overpowered. I really liked the dynamic between Rune and Gideon, but I may be a bit biased because I am a sucker for enemies to lover.
The way the story unfolds is also really great. There isn’t a boring moment and everything thing feels like it is important.

Things I didn't like
Overall there weren’t things that I didn’t like. There were some things that I would have liked to see.
The first one is Alex. This character just felt kind of flat for me. I think this is because all of the things that make this character amazing are being told to us by Rune, instead of seeing this ourselves in flashbacks.
The second one is the relationship Rune has with her grandma. This whole background with her is the driving point for Rune and besides on really big memory we as readers don’t get more information.

I still really loved reading this and I am definitely continuing the series.

Thank you again to NetGalley for the ARC
Till next time ❤️

The pace of this book is good and I found myself interested in the story and reading through it quickly. I enjoyed the lies, deception and scheming between Rune and Gideon but I found their chemistry lacking and the relationship felt forced. The plot did suffer from the romance taking a lead, as well as there being elements that were predictable, but overall, this was a good, enjoyable book and I will be reading the sequel.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for giving me an e-ARC of this book to review.

I just finished this book and wow - i know it’s early in the year to say this but this one has potential to be my favorite read of 2024. I absolutely cannot wait for the sequel!

I just loved everything, the set up of the story, the witchcraft, the romance, the twists, the suspense! There was never a dull or unnecessary moment and every page was an absolute joy to read!

I adore Rune and Gideon, their characters were amazingly written.

I highly recommend this book, it will blow you away!

Absolutely loved this! That ending? Oh boy! 🤯

This is period setting - ballgowns and horse-drawn characters - in a world where magic is real and witches once ruled until a revolution 2 years ago. Now witches are rounded up and purged by "blood guards" aka witch hunters.

Our FMC is a witch and the MMC is a witch hunter. 😬

This book had everything: hidden identities, betrayals, revelations and of course, romance. Such interesting worldbuilding too and great characterisations and backstories. Our FMC plays the part of a frivolous debutante by day and a daring vigilante known only as the Crimson Moth by night. Witches are being rounded up to be purged and so Rune uses her inherited wealth and resources to rescue them and smuggle them off the island. Gideon is a witch hunter whose sole mission is to catch the Crismon Moth. He hates witches and thinks they are all born evil.

Not really a good set-up for romance you might be thinking and you would be right! I wasn't sure how the author was going to navigate this massive divide between them but I thoroughly enjoyed what she did and really liked these two characters and believed in their connection. It's not smooth sailing, of course. How could it be? There was a lot of deception and I do have to warn you this book ends on a very explosive note. 💥I am 100% going to be picking up the next one!

4 stars
Thank you to the publisher for this ARC copy.

My students are going to love this! A romantic fantasy adventure focusing on the love story between a witch and a witch hunter that will make you swoon.

A romance between a witch and a witch hunter where both are trying to suss the other one out? Yes, please. I would say Crimson Moth by Kristen Ciccarelli is more of a new adult book and I read the beautiful edition that was included in the Fairyloot Young Adult box for February.
Rune Winters leads a double life. On one hand she’s a ditzy, clueless socialite enjoying high society and floating through life without a care in the world and on the other she’s a masterful witch determined to save other witches that are caught by the Blood Guards who are tasked with hunting witches. Rune’s identity is known by her two closest friends Verity and Alex and aid her in her task and protecting her secret life.
Gideon is the best witch hunter in the Blood Guard. His hatred for witches stemmed from years of abuse living as a son of the royal tailors for the queens where he caught the interest of one of the Queens, Cressida, who abused and manipulated him for years where eventually himself, his brother Alex and other revolutionaries killed the queens finally releasing himself from this abuse. This is only described and you don’t read about any of the occurrences happening in real time.
Gideon is suspicious of Rune, tasking himself with courting her to try and find casting scars that all witches possess leading to an intense romance built on suspicion personal gain. For Rune, Gideon holds the answers to where Seraphine is who was a friend of Rune’s grandmother.
This had a fun romance, an intense secret which was always threatening to be revealed and a stereotypical society that had classic conventions of regency romance books. I really enjoyed the premise but minus one star for the crazy one year wait for book two! I’m excited to see what happens next so I am prepared to wait but it’s still such a long time.

Thank you to NetGalley and to the publisher Harper Collins/Magpie for the digital ARC, it has not affected my honest review.

TW: implied sexual abuse and sexual assault (off page), self-harm, death, violence, blood, addiction

“The Crimson Moth” follows Rune, who spends her days pretending to be a loyal, vain socialite loyal to the cause of witch-hunting and her nights as the Crimson Moth, rescuing those same witches from being executed in memory of the grandmother she betrayed. After one of her rescues goes terribly wrong, Rune is forced to take desperate measures to gain intel into where those witches have been taken, even if it means having to court the most infamous and deadly witch hunter of them all, Gideon Sharpe. At the same time, Gideon finds Rune to be irritating, superficial and vapid, but after he learns that the Crimson Moth is using Rune’s ships to smuggle witches away from the city, his focus becomes absolute. He detests witches after his experiences with one of the overthrown queens and his loyalty to the regime is absolute, even as he does the same thing in return: he becomes uncommonly social and tries to seduce Rune back. As the romance develops further between them, and it becomes clear that they’re an equal match, Rune and Gideon have to grapple with the secrets they’re keeping from each other and their loyalties to two entirely different causes.

There’s aspects of this book that I really loved, particularly the tension between Gideon and Rune as they played with each other, but others that I don’t think worked as well. I didn’t enjoy the fact that Rune is stuck between two brothers and I wish some of the side characters had been expanded more. The worldbuilding was strong and I really liked Rune’s character, especially because she has to live two completely different lives.

This earc only held a handful of pages, drawings and acknowledgements, no actual book so I waited until release and bought it so I could still provide a review.



Rune is a witch hiding in plain sight.
Gideon is a witch hunter.

Rune frees witches that have been captured and she now needs to free her Nan's friend.....but this is the hardest jailbreak she's done yet so needs to get close to Gideon to get info....and basically Gideon gets close to Rune as he suspects she is a witch. There's also another complication in the fact that Gideon's brother is in love with Rune!

Although I could not have been happier to read about enemies to lovers, my heart was in my throat reading this, it was amazing!

I do not like love trianges and this had the weirdest love triangle.....and I kind of liked it!

This book was dark, kind of macabre, fascinating and I could not put it down! There were so many secrets and lies, I was literally on the edge of my seat!

But those last few chapters.....oh my goodness, my heart! The revelations, the promise. Need that next book now please!!!

I generally had a good time because it's short and fast-paced. But having a good time isn't just what I do while reading, I'm someone that analyses a lot of character development and writing choices such as plot devices. On that level, I think this book has a lot of weak points. I had a lot of issues with Rune's depth, as she's meant to be a cunning, intelligent person who has been aiding witches for a few years, yet she continuously makes dumb decisions. I also didn't think the romance was believable.

The plot twists were predictable and, generally, I think the world building and magic system is very promising but lacking. I was hoping for more lore and flashbacks in the book but alas. It just felt like very generic. I did still have a good time but nothing groundbreaking, which means I would give the sequel another chance as well.

Because this book is published under St. Martin's Press in the US, I will not be posting this review anywhere else as there's still a publicity boycott going on, which brings forward concerns about possible systemic issues in the American publishing department. International readers can support this boycott by not publishing reviews or talking about books published in US under SMP.

I will start off by saying this book will be on my top reads of 2024 without a doubt. I loved every part of this book, the story, the characters, the world and the aesthetics. I have an obsession with witches so this was instantly a win for me. Some parts of the book were a little predictable, it is a YA fantasy romance after all BUT some parts just came and slapped me in the face. The later half of the book really had me on my toes for the most part and I just couldn’t put it down. Kristen really had a way to capture me and made it very easy for me to visualize the scenarios in my head while reading.

The romance is a very typical Enemies to Lovers but it also mixes in a lot of different tropes that I really like, such as fake courtship, secret identity and best friends brother. I loved the game they played with each other keeping each other on their toes throughout the book. The spice was modest but not bland and I really enjoyed it.

If you love witches, enemies to lovers, twists and turns, betrayal, secret identity and much more I would absolutely recommend you to read this masterpiece! I am pretty sure this book will become a new fan favorite online!

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Collins for the advance reader copy.

I enjoyed reading this book and also liked the magic system and how it was explained.
This book is a mix of YA and new adult, so some of the characters do come across as young but then we know they aren’t.

I am intrigued about the second book and how it will round off the story as there are a few questions that need answering and also loose ends that hopefully will be addressed in the sequel.

Overall this would be a 3.5/5 read

The Crimson Moth by Kristen Ciccarelli

My rating: 5⭐️

I recommend this book if you like
-a good enemies to lovers story between witch and witch hunter
-slow burn romance
-morally gray FMC
-dual POV
-complex magic system
-forbidden magic

I really enjoyed this book and my first thought after finishing was that I already want the second one!

I liked the world building, the blood magic system and the characters.
It's a slow paced book, the story builds up nicely and has surprising twists and unexpected turns.

The chemistry between Rune and Gideon is amazing, full of tension and it's a real cat and mouse game.

The ending was not what I expected, it shocked me and I can't wait to see what happens in the second book!

Thank you Netgalley and HarperCollins UK for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Review shared on Amazon, Waterstones and my social media.

I was provided with an advanced reader copy of this book in hopes that i would provide an honest review.

From the moment saw the cover art and read the blurb I was hooked. The world created by the author is one where witches are purged and the pratice of magic is outlawed.

Enter Rune Winters socialite and darling of the New Republic by day. The Crimson Moth by night rescuing witches from the hands of the Bloodguard and helping them reach places where they can live without fear.
Rune also hides a deadly secret she too is a witch.

When she fails to save a powerful witch she and her friends hatch a plan. She will set out to seduce The Captain of The guard, Gideon Sharpe and hopefully find out where the witch is.

Wow ok so everyone who told me l'd love this you were so right!!

Thank you so much to the publisher for the advanced copy let's get into the review!!

The world of The crimson moth is one torn apart by witches. After the fall of the witch queens reign of terror a new regime of witch hunters is fully in place.
But the trouble is under the new republic not much has changed and the suffering hasn't ended.

Rune is a witch struggling to stay hidden as her alter ego The Crimson Moth by night and vapid socialite by day.
Shes fighting to free the wrongfully persecuted witches but she needs more information to fight her cause. This is when she sets her sights on Gideon one of the chief witch hunters who could be her saviour or undoing.

This is an excellent unknown enemies to lovers story filled with romantic gestures (hello if a man designed an and made dress for me marriage on sight) pining and forbidden romance! She's his brothers best friend and everything he's supposed to hate!

This book is dramatic tense and such an easy read I am craving the next book immediately!!!

Loved this 5⭐️

If you loved serpent & dove and are looking for something to fill that hole now the series is done grab The Crimson Moth!

"I'm afraid you'll be the end of me, Gideon." And then, much more quietly: "Maybe you already are."

During the day, she's a silly and shallow heiress. At night, she becomes the Crimson Moth.

Rune Winters is a witch in disguise with only one aim: to rescue the witches arrested by the Blood Guard.
Gideon Sharpe is the captain of the Blood Guard and the best witch hunter. Witches are evil, and he wants to capture them all, especially the Crimson Moth, who continues to elude him.

To achieve their goals, they decided to court each other, but soon the boundary between reality and fiction became hard to discern.

I loved this book wholeheartedly. The storyline was so captivating that it was challenging for me to set the book aside. The immersive writing style, the unique magical system, and the fascinating worldbuilding have captivated me. I found the story fast-paced, with a lot of unexpected twists and turns that kept me on the edge of my seat from the beginning to the end.

The romance was fantastic: enemies to lovers, slow burn, courtship, scenes full of tension. They were falling in love with each other, but they kept pretending that it was all part of the game.

The aspect I cherished the most about the book was the authenticity of the characters, evoking both tears and smiles as their realness deeply resonated with me. Not just Rune and Gideon, but also the secondary ones.

Having the dual POV helped in understanding and discovering Gideon's character better, who, like Rune, had a very troubled past, and both were still haunted by it.

I also appreciated the exploration of the darker facets of grief and loss, where, at times, it intricately delves into the path of self-destruction, revealing the challenges of emerging from such experiences.

And can we talk about the ending? I can't help but eagerly await the release of the second book; I hope for the sake of my mental well-being that February 2025 arrives quickly

Thank you so much Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC !