OBSESSED WITH THIS BOOK
Fantasy/ Young Adult/ Romance
Published 2024 by Wednesday Books
Soundtrack: The Risk – Gracie Abrams
Witches, a strict ruling party, and main characters who pretend they aren’t falling combine in this spellbinding read. Ya’ll, am I going to be romantic girly now?
I am the first to admit I am not a huge fantasy reader. To be honest, there are a few things I could be critical of here, but I am ignoring them because I DEVOURED this book. It reminded me that a book does not need to be perfect to be satisfying. As the youth would say, the vibes here are immaculate.
She reminded him of the sea:
Heartless Hunter, Kristin Ciccarelli
steal-your-breath beautiful on the surface,
with the promise of
untold depths beneath.
I relished the fast pacing, the cat-and-mouse games between the MCs, and the romance and fantasy plots that rivaled each other. The magical elements were easy to grasp! The creativity to use monthly bleeding as a source of magic felt refreshing and a poignant choice (what a way to highlight that aspect of womanhood).
Interestingly, only women possessed magic, and true to reality, it both empowered and targeted them. I also found Cliccareli’s use of a social hierarchy compelling and felt it was a necessary detail of the world she wanted to create. The parallels to modern society were plentiful; I hope that was the author’s intent.
Rune Winters and Gideon Sharpe had evident chemistry from the start, and I loved that not only did they have different personal interests in the central conflict but also the class disparity between them. This added just enough division to keep me invested and make the enemies-to-lovers plotline stand out. I enjoyed the alternating POV and felt it allowed the reader to better connect with and understand each character’s motives.
They see us as a
Heartless Hunter, Kristin Ciccarelli
contamination of what is
good and natural
They fear our magic
the way they fear disease.
This reads like YA/ new adult and can likely be enjoyed by high school + ( there is one intimate scene but nothing too explicit, so I have a hard time saying this is truly an open door). Otherwise, the tension, banter, and pining move the romance along!
My only real gripe was that this book ended on a cliffhanger, and I felt personally victimized by it! I was shocked when my Kindle indicated it was finished, and now I am awaiting the sequel in February 2025.