Blood Magic and Witch Queens
Book Review: Rebel Witch by Kristen Ciccarelli
Rebel Witch by Kristen Ciccarelli (Book 2 of The Crimson Moth duology)
Published: February 18, 2025 by Wednesday Books
Buy this book at: Amazon / Barnes & Noble / Kobo
Synopsis:
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.
Rating:
Book Review:
The first book in this series, Heartless Hunter, was one of my favorite reads so far of the year. I rated it four stars. I raved about it in my review. I LOVED it. I read the whole thing in two days. Yes, the plot twist could be seen from several hundred miles. But I could forgive that because everything else was right with it. I loved the book so much that I picked up the 2nd book the same day.
How on earth this book comes from the same author is beyond my comprehension. It’s almost as if she forgot that she’d have to write a second book and just threw some words on the page. I suppose that it wrapped up some of the fantasy elements in a sufficient manner. The magic system was still beautiful and the intricately detailed. Rune was still one of the better young adult heroines I’ve ever read.
Unfortunately, I could see how this was going to end from the second chapter. It was painfully obvious and it wasn’t good. It’s the kind of “twist” ending that everyone sees coming but is supposed to be clever. It wasn’t. Also on the writing front there was no need for dual POVs. The two characters are together 90% of the time. Dual POVs are useful for telling complicated stories where the characters are experiencing different things. This book is neither complex nor are the characters separated for long.
Where the first book wasn’t too full of bad young adult tropes, this one was littered with them. So many tropes, not enough time. It was also incredibly repetitive. The characters explaining the same things, having the same conversations. Give your readers a little bit of credit, we can remember things over the course of several chapters. And we’re perfectly capable of making a logical inference. We don’t need every miniscule detail poured into our hands for us.
I was so bored by this book that I didn’t even finish it. This might win my award for “Worst Ending to a Series Ever.”
“I know the Crimson Moth. And she is no caged thing.”
― Kristen Ciccarelli, Rebel Witch