Heartless Hunter by Kristen Ciccarelli - Recaptains

The basics

Title: Heartless Hunter

Author: Kristen Ciccarelli

Series: The Crimson Moth #1

- Heartless Hunter (2024)
- Rebel Witch (2025)

Add it: Goodreads

Goodreads Summary:

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?

Here is a spoiler summary of what happened in Heartless Hunter by Kristen Ciccarelli, also known as The Crimson Moth, to help refresh your memory before you read the sequel. If you need help remembering what happened in Heartless Hunter then you’re in the right place.

What happened in Heartless Hunter?

• Rune Winters is a witch masquerading as a rich socialite. Rune was forced to report her adoptive grandmother, “Nan”, during the revolution in order to save herself. She really didn’t want to, but Nan insisted because it was the only way for Rune to look trustworthy to the New Republic.
• Rune found out that she was a witch shortly after her grandmother was executed, so she never had the chance to learn any witchcraft from her. Only her friends, Verity and Alex, know that Rune is a witch. 
• Rune is also has a secret identity, The Crimson Moth, and goes around saving witches from the Blood Guard. Rune goes to find Seraphine, who is a friend of her grandmother’s, and she hopes Seraphine can help her with her powers. Unfortunately, the Blood Guard reach Seraphine before Rune does, and they imprison her. Rune is determined to find her.
• Rune returns to the city and attends the opera. She finds out that Gideon, Alex’s Blood Guard brother, was the one who captured Seraphine. Gideon is also looking for The Crimson Moth.
• Rune decides she needs to get close to Gideon and drug him so she can find out where Seraphine is. 
• Gideon isn’t interested at all, until he has a conversation with his friend (?), Harrow. Harrow tells Gideon that two witches were likely smuggled away on a ship owned by Rune. Gideon doesn’t agree that this means Rune is The Crimson Moth, but he agrees to look into it. He decides he must get close to Rune and find out if she has any scars. 
• Witches in this world use blood to cast spells. Rune doesn’t cut herself and instead uses menstrual blood so that she doesn’t get any witch scars, which would help the Blood Guard identify her as a witch.
• Gideon attends the after party after all. Rune quickly realises he suspects her of being a witch, so she knows she needs to be careful. She thinks she’ll just use him to find information, though.
• Rune receives a telegram inviting her to the Luminaries Dinner as a guest of honour. She’ll be required to make a speech in favour of the Republic. She obviously hates this and Gideon notices that Rune is uncomfortable. Rune says it’s because she doesn’t have anything to wear to the dinner.
• Gideon decides to design and make a dress for Rune. His parents were designers and tailors who worked for the witch queens before the revolution, so he knows his stuff. Gideon thinks he can search Rune’s body when he fits the dress.
• Rune discusses strategy with Alex and Verity. She wants to help Seraphine escape from prison, but first she needs to find out where she is being kept. They think Rune could break into Noah Creed’s mother’s office to find information.
• Gideon invites Rune over and he takes her measurements. He doesn’t find any scars. The two of them talk, and Gideon talks about his experience with Cressida Roseblood, one of the witch queens. Cressida was evil like her two sisters, and tortured Gideon.
• Gideon tells Rune that Seraphine is being held at the harbour.
• Rune takes the bait and heads to the harbour before Seraphine can be transferred. She walks right into Gideon’s trap. The two of them fight in the dark, and Rune manages to escape without being seen, however she does get shot in the arm.
• Rune goes to the masked ball that is being held by the Creed family. She pretends to have been there the whole time. Gideon shows up and asks questions, and he’s certain he has caught the Moth, however Rune says that she attended a luncheon with her friends earlier that day and mentioned Seraphine and her location there. Gideon realises that he now doesn’t have any proof that Rune is the Moth. He doesn’t arrest her.
• Rune invites Gideon the Luminaries Dinner. They talk about Cressida again. She killed Gideon and Alex’s parents, and their little sister, because Gideon didn’t do as she said. Gideon joined the rebellion and murdered the queens and helped the rebellion remove all the witches from power.
• Gideon and Rune go skinny dipping, which is another awkward way for Gideon to search Rune’s body for scars.
• Gideon has to go and investigate some murders of some Blood Guards,and so he is late to the dinner. Verity goes with Rune instead of him.
• The Guard brings Seraphine to the dinner and they want Rune to purge her up on the stage. Then someone sets the stage on fire and everyone freaks out.
• Rune is nearly burnt by the flames but Gideon saves her. Gideon notices that the casting signature was Cressida’s, which should be impossible because Alex killed her.
• Rune and Alex and Verity plot some more. Verity plans to steal a uniform and Alex will steal Gideon’s prison access coin.
• Gideon and Alex play cards, and Gideon loses terribly and has to give his coin to Alex as payment.
• Gideon tells Alex that he doesn’t think Cressida is dead.
• Alex admits to Rune that he never killed Cressida because he wanted to show mercy. He made her flee instead, which was clearly a stupid idea.
• Gideon and his team do some tracking and walk into a trap. A bomb goes off and any soldiers are killed. The news makes the paper.
• Rune is super upset by this because she thinks Gideon could be dead. She goes to his house and he invites her inside, and they get it on.
• Harrow arrives and speaks to Gideon about the goings on. He tells her his feelings for Rune are all for show, which Rune hears and gets upset.
• Rune goes to speak to Alex, and he proposes because he has loved her for years. Alex is planning on going to Caelis to live there, and he wants Rune to go with him. Rune accepts.
• Rune receives some roses and an apology note from Gideon.
• Rune goes to find Verity, but she’s not in her usual dorm, and when Rune enquires about her friend’s whereabouts no one seems to have heard of her. Rune realises there has been some trickery going on.
• Rune goes to rescue Seraphine. Gideon finally works out that Rune is the Crimson Moth and arrests her.
• Alex admits to Gideon that he has been helping Rune, and Alex is arrested too.
• Rune and Seraphine are about to be executed when an army of witches arrive.
• Turns out that Verity is Cressida. 
• Cressida frees Seraphine and Rune, and invites Gideon to join them. He obviously refuses because he hates witches, but also he has a lot of loyalty to the leader of the Blood Guard.
• Cressida shoots Gideon but Alex takes the bullet instead. Alex dies.
• Rune casts an earthquake which splits the city in two. This gives the other witches time to flee.
• Gideon warns Rune that he will continue to hunt her and he will find her.
• The witches board a ship heading for Caelis.

That’s what happened in Heartless Hunter! Check out our recap list for more recaps. If you can’t find what you need, you can request a recap from us!