Book Review: The Crimson Moth by Kristen Ciccarelli
- jolaineabad
- Aug 7
- 4 min read
Updated: Aug 31
"The haunted had fallen for the hunter."
Rating: ★★★★★ (5 stars)
Genres: Young Adult // Fantasy, Romance, Dark Romance
Quick Thoughts: The plot twist completely caught me off guard! The world-building is easy to follow, and the spice feels intimate and purposeful—not just thrown in for the sake of it.
⚠️ Content Warning ⚠️
The Crimson Moth contains mature and potentially triggering themes, including:
Violence & Persecution – Witch hunts, genocide, torture, and graphic injuries.
Blood Magic – Self-inflicted harm used for spellcasting (minor worldbuilding element).
Sexual Content – Off-page sexual coercion and references to past abuse.
Mental Health – Themes of trauma, grief, emotional manipulation, and substance addiction.
Death – Multiple character deaths, including mentions of violence toward children.
Though much of the content is implied or handled off-page, the emotional weight is heavy. Recommended for older teen or adult readers who are comfortable with dark fantasy themes.
⚔ Enemies to Lovers | ཐི༏ཋྀ Vigilante Heroine | ˚ˋঌ˖ Slow Burn Romance | ❤︎ Morally Gray Love |
ABOUT THIS BOOK:
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?
Kristen Ciccarelli’s The Crimson Moth is the thrilling start to a romantic fantasy duology where the only thing more treacherous than being a witch… is falling in love.
Initial thoughts 💬
This is my very first book by Kristen Ciccarelli, and I never thought I’d end up loving it this much!
The Crimson Moth is actually the UK version of Heartless Hunter. I’ve been desperate to get my hands on it—and when one of my book club members won a copy in our raffle and asked me to annotate it, I realized they were the same book! I was ecstatic to dive in.
I had no idea what it was about—I just knew it was fantasy and thought it might be all spice… but I was so wrong (in the best way)! I’m completely head over heels for this story.
My Book Review ✎ᝰ.
"I'd rather fight with you than do most other things."
Despite still learning to control her powers, Rune managed to save a number of witches from the New Republic's purge. This led her to seek out Seraphine Oaks—not only to help her understand her magic but also to honor her grandmother’s final wish: to keep fighting and stay alive.
Playing the role of a clueless socialite around aristocrats and Blood Guard guardians proved useful to her mission—especially with the help of her best friends, Verity and Alex. But as the danger escalated, she needed to uncover where the captured witches were being held in order to save Seraphine. Gideon Sharpe’s sudden involvement brought her closer to the truth. However, as their fake courtship continued, she found herself genuinely falling for him—unaware that he was part of a trap to catch the Crimson Moth. Meanwhile, the Captain of the Blood Guard had already begun to suspect that Rune Winters was the rebel they were after.
As they kept pretending their feelings were just part of the act, Rune could no longer deny her emotions—especially after a dangerous mission left her thinking she had lost Gideon for good. When he returned, alive and safe, something in her ignited. The walls she built around her heart crumbled as she let him in—mind, body, and soul. And Gideon? He promised he wanted all of her—Rune Winters, not the Crimson Moth.
But things didn’t go as planned.
Soon after, Rune learned that Gideon’s promises might’ve been lies. And when he returned to apologize, he realized—too late—that the Crimson Moth had been right under his nose all along. By the end of the book, shocking truths unfold, and neither of them are prepared for what comes next.
This book is far from predictable—I didn’t see the plot twist coming at all (though I definitely had my suspicions!). I was right about a few things, and I’m not disappointed one bit. It’s incredibly well written, and the world-building? Never confusing, just impressively detailed. I was completely immersed.
Overall, I can honestly say this is one of my 5-star reads of the year—I really enjoyed it! And to think I’m usually not a fan of third-person POVs… that just proves how good this story is. It even had me mad at times because of how the main characters refused to admit their feelings for each other. So frustrating in the best way!
That said, this book ends on a cliffhanger that will have you grabbing the second one ASAP.
100% recommend this one! It’s absolutely worth the read, even though it leans toward a slow burn. The focus is more on Rune's journey as the Crimson Moth rather than the romance. So if you’re looking for spicy scenes—there’s just one. Just one. No more, no less.
Rating ☕︎
☕☕☕☕☕
Happy Reading!
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