Heartless Hunter (The Crimson Moth #1)

In a world once ruled by witches, revolution has brought about their demise and given rise to the Republic of Red Peace. Still hunted, witches must hide the elaborate scarring on their bodies, which act as catalysts for spellcasting, to avoid discovery. Teenage Rune Winters, a wealthy socialite, is known for betraying her own grandmother as a witch to the republic. In secret, however, she operates as the Crimson Moth, a rebellious figure who helps witches escape the purge by fleeing the country. Her most recent rescue attempt is thwarted by the man she loathes most, Blood Guard captain Gideon Sharpe, who wants nothing more than to capture the Crimson Moth and suspects Rune of being more than the vapid aristocrat she plays in public. Determined to use each other for their own gain, Rune and Gideon enter a dangerous courtship that will test their convictions. Via Rune and Gideon’s alternating first-person narration, Ciccarelli (Edgewood) persuasively imbues each side of the conflict with complexity, depicting both as being neither wholly good nor evil. The protagonists’ strong chemistry unfolds at a tense and steady pace in this high-stakes romantasy, the first in a trilogy. Main characters cue as white. Ages 13–up. Agent: Danielle Burby, Mad Woman Literary. (Feb.)