You probably finished Heartless Hunter with your jaw on the floor. I know I did. That cliffhanger wasn't just a plot twist; it was a total wrecking ball to everything we thought we knew about Rune and Gideon. Now that Heartless Hunter book 2, officially titled Rebel Witch, is finally out in the wild, the conversation has shifted from "Will they survive?" to "How did Kristen Ciccarelli actually pull that off?"
Honestly, the stakes in Rebel Witch make the first book look like a cozy tea party.
The story picks up just a couple of months after the chaos at the city square. Rune Winters is no longer the socialite playing dress-up in the New Republic. She’s a fugitive. She’s on the run, and weirdly enough, her only "ally" is the very person who haunted Gideon’s nightmares: the deposed witch queen, Cressida Roseblood. If you thought the tension between a witch and a witch hunter was high before, imagine adding a vengeful, power-hungry queen into the mix.
What Actually Happens in Rebel Witch?
Forget the slow-burn courtship of the first book. This is a full-blown sprint.
Rune is hiding out in Umbria, specifically at the Larkmont Palace in Caelis. She’s not just there to hide, though. She’s engaged. To a Prince. Prince Soren, to be exact. It’s a move straight out of a political chess game. Cressida needs Soren’s ships and his army to take back her throne, and Rune is the bargaining chip. It’s messy. It’s desperate. And then, because the universe loves drama, Gideon Sharpe shows up with a mission to assassinate her.
Gideon is a mess. Let’s be real.
He’s struggling with massive PTSD, especially once he ends up in Cressida’s clutches. There’s a scene early on in a palace powder room—Rune is drinking heavily, trying to drown out the guilt of her exile—and Gideon finds her. He’s supposed to kill her. He’s trained to kill her. But he can't. He sees her vulnerability, and instead of a killing blow, we get a confrontation that reminds us why this duology ruined our sleep schedules.
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The plot thickens when we learn about the "True Love’s Curse." Cressida didn't just brand Gideon to control him; she tied his life and his pain to a spell that reacts to his feelings for Rune. It’s a cruel, brilliant bit of writing that makes their proximity physically painful.
The Breakdown of the Journey
- The Escape: Rune eventually helps Gideon escape Cressida’s imprisonment, leading to a temporary truce.
- The Ship: They sneak onto the Arcadia, a ship known for smuggling witches.
- The Trope: Yes, there is only one bed. We can all thank Ciccarelli for that one.
- The Disguise: Rune has to maintain a spelled disguise as they pose as newlyweds. The pining is, frankly, off the charts.
The Twist Everyone is Talking About
We need to talk about Rune’s lineage. For the longest time, we thought she was just a talented witch with a tragic past. Wrong.
It turns out Rune is actually a Roseblood. She’s the missing heir, Cressida’s own sister. Seraphine, who we thought was just a family friend, actually delivered Rune in secret and gave her to Kestrel Winters to keep her safe from the royal madness. This changes the entire dynamic of the war. It’s no longer just a rebellion; it’s a family feud with the fate of the Republic hanging in the balance.
Rune isn't just a "rebel witch" anymore. She’s the person Cressida needs for a specific resurrection spell to bring back their other dead sisters. The stakes aren't just about who sits on the throne; it’s about whether magic becomes a tool for restoration or a weapon for a never-ending cycle of blood.
Why Gideon Sharpe Isn't Your Typical Hero
Gideon spends a lot of Heartless Hunter book 2 in a state of total internal collapse. He loves Rune, but he hates what witches did to his family. He’s loyal to the Republic, but the Republic is becoming the very monster it sought to destroy.
Seeing him learn to use a gun—and teaching Rune to do the same—is such a grounding moment in a book filled with high magic. It’s those small, human touches that make the "romantasy" label stick. He eventually decides that he doesn't want to serve the old world or the new one. He wants to build something entirely different where he and Rune can actually exist without a knife at each other's throats.
The Final Act and the Crossroads
The ending of the duology takes us to the Crossroads. Cressida is ready to sacrifice her own blood to bring back the "Reign of Witches." The battle is frantic. Rune has to make a choice that involves her own life and the magic she’s spent years trying to understand.
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There's no "perfect" ending here. Lives are lost. The Republic falls under siege. But the way Rune handles the curse on Gideon—using her own blood to rewrite the spell and protect him forever—is the ultimate "show, don't tell" for their relationship. She doesn't just save him; she untethers him from the woman who broke him.
What You Should Do Next
If you’ve already finished the book, you’re likely looking for that next "enemies-to-lovers" fix. But before you jump into a new series, there are a few things you can do to really appreciate the depth of what Ciccarelli did here:
- Reread the "Nan" scenes in Book 1: Now that you know Rune is a Roseblood, her grandmother's actions and the way she protected Rune take on a completely different meaning.
- Check out the "True Love's Curse" details: Look at the specific wording Cressida uses. It’s a masterclass in how villains use love as a weapon.
- Track the "Red Peace" evolution: Notice how the government’s tactics in the background of Rebel Witch mirror the very tyranny they claimed to replace.
Rebel Witch isn't just a sequel; it's a mirror. It forces Rune and Gideon to look at the worst parts of themselves and decide if they’re more than the roles the world assigned them. It’s a messy, bloody, and beautiful conclusion to a story that started with a simple game of cat and mouse.
The duology is complete, but the impact of Rune Winters—the girl who was both the hunter and the prey—is going to stick around for a long time. Grab your copy, find a quiet corner, and prepare for the emotional wreckage. It's worth every page.