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pkm48's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence and Blood
Moderate: Hate crime, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Bullying, Murder, Alcoholism, Alcohol, Death of parent, Death, Emotional abuse, Addiction, Blood, Child death, and Gun violence
Minor: Cursing, Suicide, and Torture
theartsybookwitch's review against another edition
4.5
"Isn't that the point of art–to tame the monsters in us?"
In Heartless Hunter, you get the story of Rune Winters and Gideon Sharpe. Rune Winters, a witch and the Crimson Moth, lives a double life, one being in the public eye, and one in the shadows, protecting other witches. When a rescue attempt goes wrong, she's forced to change tactics and tries to court Gideon Sharpe, a famous and unforgiving witch hunter. One caveat? He's the brother of her best friend.
I absolutely loved Gideon and Rune's dynamic in Heartless Hunter. The push and pull, the danger, the seductive dance of light and dark; it's a fantastic love story. And the added detail of witches? All the more better.
I wanted a more deep dive into the fantasy, the lore, the history. Not just the witches, but more details of what happened. I felt it more focused on Gideon and Rune, the romance, the build-up, and none of the fantasy details.
Enemies to lovers to enemies is superior and I will forever die on this hill.
And that twist? So good.
Okay, and that ending is NOT FAIR.
tw // blood, death, death of parent
In Heartless Hunter, you get the story of Rune Winters and Gideon Sharpe. Rune Winters, a witch and the Crimson Moth, lives a double life, one being in the public eye, and one in the shadows, protecting other witches. When a rescue attempt goes wrong, she's forced to change tactics and tries to court Gideon Sharpe, a famous and unforgiving witch hunter. One caveat? He's the brother of her best friend.
I absolutely loved Gideon and Rune's dynamic in Heartless Hunter. The push and pull, the danger, the seductive dance of light and dark; it's a fantastic love story. And the added detail of witches? All the more better.
I wanted a more deep dive into the fantasy, the lore, the history. Not just the witches, but more details of what happened. I felt it more focused on Gideon and Rune, the romance, the build-up, and none of the fantasy details.
Enemies to lovers to enemies is superior and I will forever die on this hill.
And that twist? So good.
Okay, and that ending is NOT FAIR.
tw // blood, death, death of parent
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Blood, and Death
Moderate: Death of parent and Sexual assault
Minor: Addiction and Child death
xapoptosisx's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
All I need to say is I read this book in one sitting and I need the next book now.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death of parent, Violence, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Drug abuse, Gun violence, Sexual content, Blood, Alcoholism, Alcohol, Cursing, Addiction, and Classism
Moderate: War, Sexual violence, Grief, Sexual assault, and Toxic relationship
mr05e's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
This book had a great set up to be an amazing story, but it ended up falling short for me.
The world-building didn’t seem very well thought out. Some of the details made it sound like it was a Victorian-inspired fantasy story, but then the author uses words like “leggings,” “bralette,” “sundress,” and “hooded sweater” (what’s wrong with just a cloak 🥹). Those parts would take me right out of the story.
I also wish Rune was given more time to shine as a vigilante-witch! It’s just explained that she has saved a bunch of witches from prison and helped them escape. I wanted part of the plot to be her saving people and being a badass. It’s a lot of talking about what her plan is and her internal struggle as a witch in hiding. Just wish there was more of her taking action/vigilantism to supplement her internal conflict.
The plot twist withVerity actually being Cressida in disguise was a bit predictable so I found myself wanting the characters to hurry up and get with the program. And sadly, I think we all knew Alex wasn’t going to be long for this world, the enemies to lovers plot is obviously going to favor the enemies lmao
The enemies to lovers aspect of this romantasy was solid, probably the best part of the book. A little more “cat and mouse” action would’ve made it even better (aka more scenes where Gideon and Rune interact as blood guard vs crimson moth,like when he sets up the trap in the mines ). I feel like it would’ve added more interest to their enemies dynamic. And once we get to the actual “lovers” part of the tropeit was well written: good balance of angst, consent, communication, intimacy, and spice that definitely made the way they parted ways at the end more emotional as opposed to just being fanservice-y
📚TLDR: Good enemies to lovers plot, just wished the characters and the world they are in were fleshed out better—more “show” and less “tell”.
The world-building didn’t seem very well thought out. Some of the details made it sound like it was a Victorian-inspired fantasy story, but then the author uses words like “leggings,” “bralette,” “sundress,” and “hooded sweater” (what’s wrong with just a cloak 🥹). Those parts would take me right out of the story.
I also wish Rune was given more time to shine as a vigilante-witch! It’s just explained that she has saved a bunch of witches from prison and helped them escape. I wanted part of the plot to be her saving people and being a badass. It’s a lot of talking about what her plan is and her internal struggle as a witch in hiding. Just wish there was more of her taking action/vigilantism to supplement her internal conflict.
The plot twist with
The enemies to lovers aspect of this romantasy was solid, probably the best part of the book. A little more “cat and mouse” action would’ve made it even better (aka more scenes where Gideon and Rune interact as blood guard vs crimson moth,
📚TLDR: Good enemies to lovers plot, just wished the characters and the world they are in were fleshed out better—more “show” and less “tell”.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Violence, Sexual violence, and Murder
Moderate: Drug abuse, Alcoholism, Death, Blood, Gun violence, and Sexual assault
Minor: War
llychu's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
would i recommend this? sure go for it
however kinda disappointing 😭
this book lowk tore me apart at the end
ima say it was good…. and i loveeeeeelovelove the witches and i think the magic system is super cool and interesting
and the plot twist at the end was just like crazy
HOWEVER…
for the book’s actual content (my opinion could be different because i have the BOTM version, not the regular one) it was a bit too long
like if ima be totally honest there wasnt a lot that happened… but something abt the book was js so entertaining that i barely even noticed it at times
also wish Rune was more of a girlboss like my expectations were that she was some vigilante going out at night and knows how to fight to save these witches yadayadayadaaaa
like dont get me wrong she was def a girlboss at times but dont go into this book expecting her to like kick ass all the time
overall fine, js a bit of a let down from the hype online, sadly, even tho it sounds SOOOSO up my alley with all the witchy stuff
+ i felt like the beginning set us up for a mystery as to what Seraphine needs to tell Rune, but i was disappointed at the end like nothing was even revealed 💀
love cressida’s character (not cs shes likeable but js cs she seems to have so much depth compared to the others)
however kinda disappointing 😭
this book lowk tore me apart at the end
ima say it was good…. and i loveeeeeelovelove the witches and i think the magic system is super cool and interesting
and the plot twist at the end was just like crazy
HOWEVER…
for the book’s actual content (my opinion could be different because i have the BOTM version, not the regular one) it was a bit too long
like if ima be totally honest there wasnt a lot that happened… but something abt the book was js so entertaining that i barely even noticed it at times
also wish Rune was more of a girlboss like my expectations were that she was some vigilante going out at night and knows how to fight to save these witches yadayadayadaaaa
like dont get me wrong she was def a girlboss at times but dont go into this book expecting her to like kick ass all the time
overall fine, js a bit of a let down from the hype online, sadly, even tho it sounds SOOOSO up my alley with all the witchy stuff
+ i felt like the beginning set us up for a mystery as to what Seraphine needs to tell Rune, but i was disappointed at the end like nothing was even revealed 💀
love cressida’s character (not cs shes likeable but js cs she seems to have so much depth compared to the others)
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child abuse, Death, Child death, Death of parent, Grief, Drug abuse, Drug use, Murder, Gun violence, Sexual content, and Violence
Minor: Self harm, Alcoholism, Blood, Classism, Addiction, and Alcohol
boba_n_books's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Spice Rating: 🌶️ / 5
This is hands down one of the best and most captivating books I've read in a while. And, bonus, it's TRUE enemies to lovers!
Rune is a witch trying to survive in a world where her kind are outlawed. A few years ago, there was a revolution of humans overturning the witches in power, and now witches are constantly hunted. Rune takes it upon herself to become a vigilante by saving witches, but she hides in plain sight under the ruse that she is a human in high society. Rune's best friend's brother, Gideon, is a witch hunter, which makes him extremely dangers and extremely off-limits... until Rune realizes that she could get information out of Gideon that would help her free more witches. The pair fall into a "courtship," but it's getting hard to tell what is an act anymore as both Gideon and Rune start to catch feelings.
This dual POV dark romantasy novel has a true enemies to lovers trope and some twists I truly didn't see coming. I binged this book and cannot wait to do the same with book 2.
If you love witches, slow burn, forced proximity, enemies to lovers, magic, and emotional stories, check out Heartless Hunter.
This is hands down one of the best and most captivating books I've read in a while. And, bonus, it's TRUE enemies to lovers!
Rune is a witch trying to survive in a world where her kind are outlawed. A few years ago, there was a revolution of humans overturning the witches in power, and now witches are constantly hunted. Rune takes it upon herself to become a vigilante by saving witches, but she hides in plain sight under the ruse that she is a human in high society. Rune's best friend's brother, Gideon, is a witch hunter, which makes him extremely dangers and extremely off-limits... until Rune realizes that she could get information out of Gideon that would help her free more witches. The pair fall into a "courtship," but it's getting hard to tell what is an act anymore as both Gideon and Rune start to catch feelings.
This dual POV dark romantasy novel has a true enemies to lovers trope and some twists I truly didn't see coming. I binged this book and cannot wait to do the same with book 2.
If you love witches, slow burn, forced proximity, enemies to lovers, magic, and emotional stories, check out Heartless Hunter.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Death, and Violence
Moderate: Sexual content, Sexual assault, and Death of parent
Minor: Alcohol, Drug abuse, and Addiction
ermunleybooks's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Violence
Moderate: Sexual content
dcnireads's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Murder, Physical abuse, Blood, Death of parent, Death, Police brutality, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Torture
Moderate: Genocide, Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Drug use, Grief, Slavery, Addiction, Classism, Suicidal thoughts, and War
Minor: Misogyny
annamay1021's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Self harm, Blood, Violence, Gun violence, Death of parent, and Death
Minor: Rape
scrubsandbooks's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
The twist was predictable, I saw it coming from a mile away. The FMC is supposed to be this badass witch who frees a bunch of witches but it's talked about more than shown. What's shown is... not badass and mostly a lot of bumbling and messing up. Did I enjoy this book? Actually, yeah! I don't necessarily need my FMCs to be badass, I just need a multi-dimensional character, interest plot and world-building. And it was.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Genocide, Blood, Violence, and Self harm
Moderate: Death of parent and Sexual content