Review: Heartless Hunter by Kristen Ciccarelli

Heartless Hunter by Kristen Ciccarelli
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I was provided an ARC of this book via Netgally, however I did opt to listen to the final published version of the audiobook.  As always all opinions are my own.

This was a fun new YA fantasy.  If you are looking for something with magic and romance, but without the spice this is a good option.  There is romance, but everything is pretty fade to black when thing get to that point between characters.  This will be great for the teenager who wants to read something a bit more mature, but without all the details and language you might find in a more adult fantasy romance.   As I was reading this, I was reminded Cassandra Clare's Shadowhunter's Series, Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard, and Night of the Witch by Beth Revis and Sara Raasch.  If you enjoyed those books I thin you will enjoy this.

This follows Rune a wealthy socialite by day, and a revolutionary by night.  In a society where magic is hated and feared and witches are put to death, Rune is known as a friend to the Republic for having been an informant in the past.  She spends her nights as a double agent freeing the women that the republic is trying to eradicate and that she spends her days pretending she hates.  Gideon is one of the Republic's most repected guards and witch hunters.  He has a personal vendetta against witches and he would love to catch the vigilante known as the Crimson Moth who frees the witches he and his comrades capture and mark for death.  He and Rune enter into a dangerous game to gain information from each other, but their hearts get involved as much as their heads do.

I really enjoyed watching this play out.  This had some twists and turns to keep the reader interested, but I did feel it was a tad predictable.  The author did make some creative decisions that I did think were unexpected with a few of the plotlines.  I enjoyed getting to know Rune and Gideon and the banter between them.  I'm anxious to see how their relationship develops in the next installment.  There is a major reveal and bit of a cliffhanger at a the end and their relationship will certainly be a big part of the next book.  I also enjoyed the magic system, it was well explained and not overly complex.  I always appreciate when the author takes the time to explain the magic system and the rules, and we do get that here.  There is blood magic and the mention of blood quite a bit in this book, so if you aren't into that you might want to steer clear of this.  

I'm looking forward to the next book and finding out what happens next for Rune and Gideon.  

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