Thank you to the author, the publisher and Netgalley for the eArc! I absolutely loved the first book, so this sequel was one of my most anticipated reads of the year. Although I enjoyed it, I didn’t love it quite as much as the first.
It took me a while to get into the story, but once the pace picked up, I found myself fully engaged. The tension and witty banter between Rune and Gideon were fantastic, but the lack of proper communication between them was frustrating at times.While there were some interesting twists, they felt a bit predictable. The writing was just as amazing and magical as it was in the first book.
I'm really going to miss these characters, but I’m glad they ended up together and got the happy ending they deserved.

Enemies to lover....tick
One bed.... tick

I thought Alex would be mentioned more? The female lead was great and strong headed

This book delivered. What a great series & author!

The Rebel Witch did not disappoint!!

Picking up where The Crimson Moth left off, Rebel throws you right into the thick of things and I honestly could not stop reading!! The tension between Rune and Gideon is masterfully written, the dual POV making it even more intense!

The stakes in this stunning sequel are even higher, with plot twists that keep you guessing even after they’re revealed! I cannot wait to have a physical copy in my hands and I’m praying Fairyloot are able to do a copy to match The Crimson Moth

Loved this book so much! Wasn’t sure the first one could be topped but I was very happy with this sequel/ ending to the story.
Very good and satisfying ending.
Will now be trying Kristen’s other books :)

⭐⭐⭐.5 / 5

I really enjoyed The Crimson Moth, so I was super excited when I was approved for an ARC of The Rebel Witch. One of the things I appreciated most was that the author didn’t stretch the plot to fill a trilogy. I am a huge fan of duologies, as they provide enough context and character development without becoming overwhelming.

I found the main characters in this book to be well-developed. Although this duology targets YA and NA audiences, it also addresses well tough themes like SA and grief. I enjoyed the angst and tension in the romance between a witch and a witch hunter, but I felt it was a bit overdone. The back-and-forth dynamic lasted well over half the book, which caused me to disconnect from the plot.

The ending was intriguing, but unfortunately, it felt rushed. I wish there had been more world-building and lore development. Nonetheless, it was an enjoyable read!

Thank you, Kristen Ciccarelli and Harper Collins UK, for providing me with the opportunity to read this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

WARNING! REVIEW CONTAINING HEAVY SPOILERS!

I will start with the fact that the first book is ingrained in my heart and was one of my favorite reads. So I counted the days for The Rebel Witch.
It started promising, and I love how already from chapter one we had the tension and all the emotions and hard decisions from The Crimson Moth caught up to them.
The pacing was perfect, the story, and the chemistry between our beloved characters was wonderful.
Alas, halfway in the book, things change for the bad for me.
The story is rushing to tie all things up and, in my opinion, it would've been best if it was a trilogy that would've allowed it to make a steady gradation both with Rune and Gideon's relationship and their plan.
It felt like their relationship went from hesitating for the merest touch and I can't trust you .... to I want to have kids with you in a short time with minimum gradation. The emotional part where he stops seeing her as a witch and gets his head around that fact and accepts it is missing altogether. Yes, he is infatuated with her and later realizes he has strong feelings for her, but to me like he turned a blind eye to the fact she is a witch.
Furthermore, when Gideon realizes that the armies are attacking, his thought is that Rune had BETRAYED him instead of thinking that maybe something happened to her! Which means that they still have zero trust to each other and no work towards resolving that and bringing their relationship to the next level naturally. Even at the scene at the spring that is nearly at the end of the book, she was scared to tell him she is related to Cressida, not knowing how he will react, and she didn't write off the possibility of him pulling a gun on her. And a chapter later out of the blue, she wants to marry him and have kids? Furthermore, there are a few unanswered questions:
- why Gideon didn't felt when Rune broke his curse? When Cressida activated it, he was screaming and in a ton of pain….and when it was broken, he didn't even know? That felt strange.
— also is Rune that kind of witch that sees the future? It wasn't clarified, and she had two visions that one come to fruition but still.....some explanation how, why now that power appeared?
The other part that bothered me was the part when she struggled with her near-death experience with Cressida and the scars that left as a reminder. She was scared, weak of what happened to her and all those years of being the Crimson Moth and if someone had known what she was going through it should've been Gideon because he was the queen's prisoner too. And instead of being gentle with her, he pushed her, called her scared and weak, throwing a tantrum “I want my Crimson Moth back at all cost”. Then, when she genuinely wanted to escape starting a new life without fear for her life for once, he botched her escape. Of course, she'll never leave him to die when she saw what was happening, but for me, that was another way he forced her to jump back to being something she wasn't sure she wanted anymore.
One more thing I was confused about was Gideon's decision to shoot her in the end. He had the protective counter spell already, so why didn't Rune tell him, so he could've gone after Cressida without killing Rune? Her death felt pointless?
It pains me to write this review because as I said, I counted the minutes to reading the story of Rune and Gideon, but unfortunately, in my opinion, it felt rushed.

Really enjoyable and satisfying end to the duology. The back and forth enemies to lovers felt like whiplash sometimes, but made resolution really great.

The Crimson Moth was one of the first fantasy books I had read in a decade and a half. It got me back into reading and the fantasy genre. Book 2 lived up to the first book. There was a great pace throughout the book. Characters and the world building were built upon even more in this book.
There was great tension and passion between the two main characters. I was also invested in the side characters. Rune is such a strong lead character but it was good seeing that she wasn't perfect. She had flaws and weaknesses but they just made her more relatable and likeable.
The book finished the duology with a satisfying ending.

I was so excited to be accepted for an ARC of Rebel Witch.

The Crimson Moth had me in a chokehold and honestly nothing could compare to it and I absolutely thought the same with this!

Rune and Gideon have my heart and always will. Their story was fast paced and beautiful and no matter where in the world or what is happening in the world, you’ll always find love.

When the witch hunter falls in love with the witch he’s been sent to hunt, he as to figure a plan to keep them both alive so they can be together whilst unearthing some dark secrets. Will Gideon sacrifice himself for Rune? Will Rune sacrifice herself for Gideon? Or can they live in a world where witches will never be hunted again and can live united together?

This duology was incredible. There was so much tension in this book and you could see the characters struggle to fight their feelings. The enemies to lovers is done so well. The plot is just as good as the first one and it continues on really well. I loved everything about it.

Firstly, a huge thank you to Harper Collins UK, Harper Fiction and Magpie for the arc of The Rebel Witch by Kristen Ciccarelli in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.
Confession first – I adored The Crimson Moth and have been waiting for the sequel to be published, with both high expectations and an absolute desperation to see how Gideon and Rune’s story turns out – a doomed romance between a witch and a witch hunter, combined with the 3rd wheel of the witch hunter’s brother, poor Alex. Of course, as soon as I was approved to read The Rebel Witch, every other book in my TBR took second place – this was a total NEED!
Was book 2 in this duology what I was expecting? No. Was it less? No. Am I sad now that I’ve read it? Yes! Absolutely yes, I adored Rune and Gideon, their story is so heartfelt and emotional, with huge hurdles, secrets, and hidden past events and damage to overcome. From page 1 this book had me on edge, nothing was as it seemed and the tension at times was truly unbearable! I was unable to put this book down, and that included sacrificing desperately needed sleep!
From start to end Rune and Gideon are rarely parted, and when they are, they will take on heaven and hell to be reunited! Their romance is beautifully crafted, from the enticement of close quarters, to the overwhelming yearning and forbidden love between the two that continued the themes established in The Crimson Moth (book 1,) aided and abetted by such marvellous scenes where jealousy definitely tips the balance.
This is where Ciccarelli used the dual PoV telling of the story to continue keeping the reader informed of so much more than Rune and Gideon actually told each other, only enhancing the frustration and desperation for them to truly communicate and stop hiding behind secrets and plots, but, of course, if they did so, that would only have ended the book sooner, and that was definitely something I didn’t want!
Like the plot, their emotional conflict, misunderstandings, emotions and feelings continue to escalate as the book continues, leading to an almighty conclusion that will truly blow your socks off! Bearing in mind that this is a duology and not a trilogy, it is understandable that there weren’t a raft of moments of fun and levity, these were very few are far between. This is probably my only disappointment, as I think there are definite moments of fun and banter that would have perfectly rounded their relationship.
I will say that whilst I loved the plot, it was a tad ideal in its view of sacrificing a few for the good of many and acceptance that people will act in the worst way for the best reason but, ultimately, as an enemies to lovers, doomed love story, Ciccarelli excels in writing beautiful prose that truly captures their frustrated emotions, and I absolutely adored the growth displayed by both Gideon and Rune as this amazing book reached its conclusion.
My only regret now is that my sojourn in their world is over, and I now have to return to the real mundane non-magical world where politics, economics and reality are a total come down. Should Kristen Ciccarelli ever revisit this world in short story, novella or other form, I’ll be here reading to revisit and rediscover where Rune and Gideon head next!

After such a dramatic ending to The Crimson Moth I was really excited to read the sequel and it didn't disappoint. I loved the will they/won't they between Rune and Gideon and the sort of missed communication aspect. There was a nice amount of romance without being too spicy, mostly just hinting at what was happening rather than being too detailed. There were a nice amount of twists to the story without being overly complicated, having said that I would say some of the twists are very typical of the genre so it was kind of easy to pick up on the hints at what was going to happen. I did find that there were some slight conveniences in the story but I think this is somewhat expected within a fantasy book.
Before reading this I wasn't aware that this series is a duology, but I found that The Rebel Witch resolved everything nicely. We get a great happy ending and I think there is a potential for another maybe novella that could be about the new government, but this isn't necessary at all as the series works really well as a duology.

WOWWW. I am so thankful to have been given the opportunity to read The Rebel Witch prior to the release date. This book was absolutely phenomenal and a great ending to one of my most favorite duologies. Kristen Ciccarelli has such an incredible eye for detail and there isn’t one thing that isn’t beautifully tied at the end of this book and absolutely no questions.

I am so excited for what she has coming up next. She will always be an automatic buy for me and someone I recommend for reading.

Thank you so much to HarperCollins UK for granting my wish and NetGalley for the opportunity for reading this.

One of my favorite reads this year!

I loved this book so much! This is definitely one of the best books I’ve read all year. This book provided me with laughs and tears. I’m not sure if a 3rd book will be coming out but if it does, I will need it ASAP. Seriously great job!

This was a brilliant plot that was both captivating and memorable, I thoroughly enjoyed the read and the time I spent reading the enemies to lovers that is witch and witch hunter Gideon and Rune.

I have this a 5 star and it was well deserved both book one and book two are phenomenal.

This duology is so elite, it has easily become one my favourite romantasies. This book is a great follow up to The Crimson Moth.

Following on from the events of book 1, we get no rest bite as book 2 picks up with our favourite MMC and FMC immediately. I truly missed their conflict, flirtation and tension. Throughout this story we get to see both characters grow and determine what path is right. They go through so much and at points I honestly thought there’s no way this will work out.

We get some huge revelations regarding Cressida, her sisters, Rune and some of the side characters. This book had so many things I enjoyed, I honestly have no complaints except for I wish the epilogue was longer.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I LOVED this duology! The Rebel Witch was the perfect conclusion to the events set up during The Crimson Moth. Easter eggs laid along the way to had me making theories, but twists and turns kept surprising me.

Enemies to lovers
Witches
Unique magic system
High stakes

Note: The Crimson Moth is marketed as a YA romantasy duology. The Rebel Witch does contain some spice 🌶️

Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins for the opportunity to read this early in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to Harper Collins for this earc in exchange my honest thoughts

4 stars.

I am absolutely obsessed with Rune Winters. She so kind, caring, headstrong, yet so vulnerable and scared too. She just wants to belong somewhere and be herself without fear.

This ending was beautiful, everything happened for the exact reason it should. I was kept engaged throughout and wanted to know more.

My only gripe is the ending happened too quickly? It was absolutely dramatic but it also felt lacklustre, like it needed something else. I also got frustrated a few times with both Rune and Gideon, just communicate!!

I rated The Crimson Moth 5 stars and somehow, this was better. I ADORED this book. It consumed my every waking thought. I fully wanted to abandon all responsibilities and binge this, but I also didn’t want it to end.

I experienced every single emotion you could think of reading this book - I laughed, sobbed, squealed, and was stressed beyond belief, but I would turn straight back to page one in a heartbeat. This was the PERFECT ending to a phenomenal series. I cannot wait for it to be out in the world so I can talk to everyone about it!!

Thank you so much to Harper Collins and Netgalley for providing me an ARC in return for an honest review ❤️

Thank you to the author, the publisher and Netgalley for gifting me this arc in exchange for an honest revirew. Unfortunatley, I really wanted to love this, as the first installment was an obsession of mine, but it was only a great disappointment. The entire plot is a series of continuous back and forth of void dialogues between Gideon and Rune. Moreover, the miscommunication trope (which I actually DESPISE) had no bounds. I hate it when characters can't admit, even to themselves, that they have feeling for someone... It was a pain to constantly be in their head.
Also, I didn't like the fact that the author kept repeating memories and events that happened in the previous chapter... why?
I'm so sorry, this failed to deliver and to conclude a beatufiul start of series.