Book Review: Rebel Witch by Kristen Ciccarelli

Title: Rebel Witch
Author: Kristen Ciccarelli
Series: The Crimson Moth #2
Pages: 464
Publication Date: Feb. 18, 2025
Publisher: Wednesday Books
Genres: Fiction / Romance / Fantasy / Romantasy
Synopsis:

The stakes are even higher in this epic, romantic conclusion to the New York Times bestselling Crimson Moth duology.

A WITCH…
Rune Winters is on the run. Ever since the boy she loved, Gideon Sharpe, revealed who she was and delivered her into enemy hands, everyone wants her dead. If Rune hopes to survive, she must ally herself with the cruel and dangerous Cressida Roseblood, who’s planning to take back the Republic and reinstate a Reign of Witches—something Cressida needs Rune to accomplish.

A WITCH HUNTER…
Apparently it wasn’t enough for Rune to deceive Gideon; she’s now betrayed him by allying herself with the witch who made his life a living hell. Gideon won’t allow the Republic to fall to the witches and be plunged back into the nightmares of the past. In order to protect this new world he fought for, every last witch must die—especially Rune Winters.

AN IMPOSSIBLE CHOICE…
When Rune makes Gideon an offer he can’t refuse, the two must pair up to accomplish dangerous goals. The more they’re forced into each other’s company, the more Gideon realizes the feelings he had for Rune aren’t as dead and buried as he thought. Now he’s faced with a terrible choice: sacrifice the girl he loves to stop a monster taking back power, or let Rune live and watch the world he fought so hard for burn.

LINKS: Goodreads | BookBub | Amazon | Bookshop.org

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Title: Rebel Witch

Author: Kristen Ciccarelli

Series: The Crimson Moth #2

Page Length: 464

Pub. Date: Feb. 18, 2025

Synopsis:The stakes are even higher in this epic, romantic conclusion to the New York Times bestselling Crimson Moth duology.

A WITCH…
Rune Winters is on the run. Ever since the boy she loved, Gideon Sharpe, revealed who she was and delivered her into enemy hands, everyone wants her dead. If Rune hopes to survive, she must ally herself with the cruel and dangerous Cressida Roseblood, who’s planning to take back the Republic and reinstate a Reign of Witches—something Cressida needs Rune to accomplish.

A WITCH HUNTER…
Apparently it wasn’t enough for Rune to deceive Gideon; she’s now betrayed him by allying herself with the witch who made his life a living hell. Gideon won’t allow the Republic to fall to the witches and be plunged back into the nightmares of the past. In order to protect this new world he fought for, every last witch must die—especially Rune Winters.

AN IMPOSSIBLE CHOICE…
When Rune makes Gideon an offer he can’t refuse, the two must pair up to accomplish dangerous goals. The more they’re forced into each other’s company, the more Gideon realizes the feelings he had for Rune aren’t as dead and buried as he thought. Now he’s faced with a terrible choice: sacrifice the girl he loves to stop a monster taking back power, or let Rune live and watch the world he fought so hard for burn.

LINKS: Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

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Wow. What a fantastic conclusion to the duology! I really enjoyed Heartless Hunter when I read it last year, and I knew I was going to enjoy this one too, but I didn’t expect to love it as much as I did. It was soooo good, and it got me out of a major reading slump.

Gideon and Rune are EVERYTHING, and I’m pretty much obsessed with them. lol There’s such a fantastic push and pull between them, and their love story was done perfectly. This is what enemies-to-lovers is all about and why it’s one of my favorite tropes. The tension. The chemistry. The fantastic banter!! The yearning!!! My word. There’s a unique ebb and flow to their relationship, which is made more difficult since they both love and hate each other. I like how their relationship grows and changes, especially as they face their true feelings and the forces working against them.

The plot is fast-paced with a lot of action and a few surprising twists, and the new characters were balanced well with some of the originals. Cressida is deplorable and as easy to hate as many of the others are to love. Oof, she really put Rune and Gideon through it, and I was eager to see her defeated.

I found this book hard to put down, which surprised me because before I started Rebel Witch, I was in a total reading slump, and I DNFed three books in a row. But from the minute I picked this up, I was hooked. It was exciting and suspenseful, and the push and pull between Rune and Gideon was brilliant. And the ending – I have so many thoughts!!! Jaw-dropping, heart-pounding, satisfying. This duology is definitely going on my favorites shelf!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy of the book. All thoughts are my own.

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“Live in the darkness too long, and eventually you won’t recognize the light,” he told her. “You’ll become like the monsters you hate.”

”If this was weakness, he wanted to be weak. If this this was sin, let him be damned to hell.”

“Darling, I know you’re scared. I know this is hard. But I need you. Who else can show them the way if not a witch and a witch hunter, fighting side by side?”

• only one bed

• who did this to you

• enemies to lovers

• found family

• forced proximity

Kristen Ciccarelli is the New York Times, Sunday Times, and Indie bestselling author of Heartless Hunter (Book 1 in The Crimson Moth duology), Edgewood, and the Iskari series. Before writing books for a living, she dropped out of college and worked as a baker, a potter, and a bookseller. She currently resides in the Niagara region of Ontario with her husband and daughter.

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