Author: Kristen Ciccarelli
Published: February 20, 2024 by Wednesday Books
Format: Hardcover, 416 Pages
Genre: YA Fantasy
Series: Crimson Moth #1
First Sentence: Overture. When the Blood Guard suspected a girl of being a witch, they stripped of her clothes and search her body for scars.
Blurb: On the night Rune’s life changed forever, blood ran in the streets. Now, in the aftermath of a devastating revolution, witches have been diminished from powerful rulers to outcasts ruthlessly hunted due to their waning magic, and Rune must hide what she is.
Spending her days pretending to be nothing more than a vapid young socialite, Rune spends her nights as the Crimson Moth, a witch vigilante who rescues her kind from being purged. When a rescue goes wrong, she decides to throw the witch hunters off her scent and gain the intel she desperately needs by courting the handsome Gideon Sharpe - a notorious and unforgiving witch hunter loyal to the revolution - who she can't help but find herself falling for.
Gideon loathes the decadence and superficiality Rune represents, but when he learns the Crimson Moth has been using Rune’s merchant ships to smuggle renegade witches out of the republic, he inserts himself into her social circles by pretending to court her right back. He soon realizes that beneath her beauty and shallow façade, is someone fiercely intelligent and tender who feels like his perfect match. Except, what if she’s the very villain he’s been hunting?
My Opinion: As it turns out, it’s not the fantasy genre in general that I dislike -- it’s adult fantasy with strange names and locations that have me turning away. My comfort zone appears to be young adult fantasy, which is surprising since books that fall into the YA sphere usually have me shaking my head. Call me simple -- but if I can pronounce the names, the reading flows better and keeps me engaged a. All that to say -- I loved this book.
The triangle relationship(s) build, crumble, and build again. Where any of the three main characters end up at any given moment is in constant flux. Then add the secondary characters and their influencing, backstabbing, and secrets, keeping everyone, including the reader, on their toes. And the end, though not unique, is a gasp-out-loud moment with all possibilities suddenly open for the next book in the series.
The second book in this duology, Rebel Witch, will be released in early 2025.
Blurb: On the night Rune’s life changed forever, blood ran in the streets. Now, in the aftermath of a devastating revolution, witches have been diminished from powerful rulers to outcasts ruthlessly hunted due to their waning magic, and Rune must hide what she is.
Spending her days pretending to be nothing more than a vapid young socialite, Rune spends her nights as the Crimson Moth, a witch vigilante who rescues her kind from being purged. When a rescue goes wrong, she decides to throw the witch hunters off her scent and gain the intel she desperately needs by courting the handsome Gideon Sharpe - a notorious and unforgiving witch hunter loyal to the revolution - who she can't help but find herself falling for.
Gideon loathes the decadence and superficiality Rune represents, but when he learns the Crimson Moth has been using Rune’s merchant ships to smuggle renegade witches out of the republic, he inserts himself into her social circles by pretending to court her right back. He soon realizes that beneath her beauty and shallow façade, is someone fiercely intelligent and tender who feels like his perfect match. Except, what if she’s the very villain he’s been hunting?
My Opinion: As it turns out, it’s not the fantasy genre in general that I dislike -- it’s adult fantasy with strange names and locations that have me turning away. My comfort zone appears to be young adult fantasy, which is surprising since books that fall into the YA sphere usually have me shaking my head. Call me simple -- but if I can pronounce the names, the reading flows better and keeps me engaged a. All that to say -- I loved this book.
The triangle relationship(s) build, crumble, and build again. Where any of the three main characters end up at any given moment is in constant flux. Then add the secondary characters and their influencing, backstabbing, and secrets, keeping everyone, including the reader, on their toes. And the end, though not unique, is a gasp-out-loud moment with all possibilities suddenly open for the next book in the series.
The second book in this duology, Rebel Witch, will be released in early 2025.
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