4.25⭐️

A witch and a witch hunter…SAY NO MORE IM IN! A fantasy romance with a young girl who’s a witch living a double life. Rune Winters was known to many as the heiress of Wintersea house and hosted parties, attended lavish outings with nobility in society, but what no one knew was that Rune was actually in witch! In a world where witches were hunted, captured, tortured, and above all, hated, it wasn’t safe for any witch anymore. With witch hunters such as, Gideon Sharpe leading the charge of hunting down witches, Rune needed to be careful especially as she donned her secret persona of, “The Crimson Moth”, saving witches. At some point, Rune and Gideon found themselves playing a bit of a cat and mouse game trying to outsmart the other, but like the saying goes, keep your friends close, and your enemies closer. 

I feel like ever since I read the, “Serpent and Dove” series, I have fallen in love with the specific trope of a witch and a witch hunter falling in love! With Rune being a witch and Gideon being a witch hunter, it was already established they didn’t like each other, but add on to the fact that they try to outsmart the other, thus DEVELOP FEELINGS YES! I was already having high hopes going into this book, and I was pleasantly surprised by how Rune and Gideon were. 

To everyone else, Rune also hated witches, but in secret she was a witch, and helping other witches escape. In the eyes of high society, none would expect much from Rune, but she was clever, smart, and ready to do whatever was necessary to help other witches in need. I guess you could say that, Rune wanted to help because being a witch she knew the risks and especially losing her grandmother, it was a mission she took on wholeheartedly. Utilizing her charm and flirtatious abilities, Rune was also adept at getting information out of others that helped in her plans, but…when it came to Gideon Sharpe, a.k.a. her best friend’s older brother, he wasn’t an easy target like everyone else. 

Gideon Sharpe was Captain of the Blood Guards, a man willing to protect all from the evils of witches, and found himself trying to unmask the one known as, “The Crimson Moth”. Gideon was also Alex’s older brother so you could imagine that he was very protective of him, and ironically enough the one type of person ( a witch) Gideon didn’t want getting near his brother happened to be said brother’s best friend. Once Gideon started becoming more suspicious of Rune, that was when what I’d like to call the cat and mouse game began between them. Gideon was equally smart and observant that it made it harder for Rune to evade him, but naturally thinking quick on her feet she turned the tables on him a few times. Even seeing Gideon trying to trap Rune, he was also unknowingly developing deep feelings for her which I was like, “YOU LIKE RUNE!” Gideon tried to stay strong, but he couldn’t be swayed by the certain qualities of Rune’s personality. 

Overall, this was an interesting story like that had a little bit of everything, and things I wasn’t expecting. I actually liked how Gideon was Alex’s older brother so there was the, “best friends brother” trope, plus with Gideon and Rune not liking each other at first, it definitely made it more intriguing once they started to fall for each other. With the way witches used their powers it was unique, but also left them exposed for the Blood Guard to be able to identify them. The world Rune and Gideon lived in was experienced differently from their point of views. Rune tried to save as many witches as she could, whereas Gideon was devoted to capturing witches. The romance was a bit slow burn, and when I thought it reached a happy beginning, it definitely ended on a not so happy note. Rune and Gideon were now separated and on different sides in what I’m assuming will play into their stories in the next book. Rune and Gideon may have started to fall deep for each other in this book, but with the way the book ended on a bit of a reveal from a certain character, the losses Rune and Gideon experienced, there’s a storm coming and I’m hoping it’ll expand even more on what’s to come!