YA Fantasy Romance – dinipandareads

Hi friends, as part of the blog tour hosted by TBR & Beyond Tours I’m excited to share my thoughts on Rebel Witch by Kristen Ciccarelli—the second and final book in the Crimson Moth duology!

Thanks to Wednesday Books for providing a digital ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Click the banner above or here to check out the other incredible bloggers on the blog tour!

Rebel Witch (The Crimson Moth #2)
Publisher: Wednesday Books
Publication Date: 18 February 2025
Genre: YA/NA Fantasy Romance

Rating:

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📖 SYNOPSIS

The stakes are even higher in this epic, romantic conclusion to the New York Times bestselling Crimson Moth duology.

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.

In Kristen Ciccarelli’s Rebel Witch, the exciting conclusion to The Crimson Moth duology, love has never been so deadly.

⚠️ CONTENT/TRIGGER WARNINGS

Blood, war, death, gun and knife violence, torture, kidnapping, imprisonment (past and present), on-page sex (moderately described)

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Note: I will try to keep my review of book two as specific yet generic as possible to keep from giving spoilers but since it is the conclusion of a duology, that may be hard to do. Fair warning you’re still planning to read book one!

TL;DR: Rebel Witch is a fast-paced and action-packed follow-up to Crimson Moth. I was invested from the go and I can’t recall the last time I read a book so quickly (not even a day)! The conclusion in this fantasy romance duology leans more into the romance side of things but overall, I found it a satisfying conclusion! Rune and Gideon are peak enemies-to-lovers and I LOVED everything about their dynamic in this book. The sexual tension was so intense and taut that you could have cut it with a knife and I was here for every single delicious moment. There are old/new characters and plot twists introduced that did a good job of cleanly wrapping up the loose threads, despite maybe some elements moving a bit too quickly. Or maybe it was just that I wanted more time in this world and I didn’t want the book to end? 🤭 This duology as a whole is a solid 5 stars and with the way it ends, it has successfully slotted itself into my list of favourite fantasy romances!

Hi friends, as part of the blog tour hosted by TBR & Beyond Tours I’m excited to share my thoughts on The Forest King’s Daughter by Elly Blake. Thanks to Little, Brown Books for Young Readers for providing a digital ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Click the banner above or here to check out the other incredible bloggers on the blog tour!

The Forest King’s Daughter
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Publication Date: 11 February 2025
Genre: YA Fantasy Romance

Rating:

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📖 SYNOPSIS

For fans of Sarah J. Maas and Holly Black, The Forest King’s Daughter is an enemies-to-forbidden-lovers romance from the New York Times bestselling author of Frostblood.

Once upon a time, among the bloodred trees of Thirstwood, a young forest princess became friends with a lonely demon boy. He gifted her an amber ring, a worthless trinket…or so he thought…because no sooner did he slide it onto her finger than the demon queen and forest king declared war.

Years later, Cassia is a crucial force in her father’s army, wielding her ring of light that can blind and disorient hundreds of demons at a time. Then battle-hardened Zeru abducts her, planning to steal the ring back to fix his costly childhood mistake. Exhausted, terrified, and more than a little mistrusting, Cassia is forced to travel with Zeru to a place they both believed only existed in storybooks, one where their childhood friendship slowly rekindles into something much more. But it’s only a matter of time before the war they’ve escaped comes for them, and a hidden threat to forest folk and demons alike grows in the shadows.

From the author of the Frostblood Saga comes the first book in an enchanting, adventure-filled fantasy series about the daughters of the powerful forest king, sure to leave readers breathless and desperate for more.

⚠️ CONTENT/TRIGGER WARNINGS

Blood, war, death, violence

📚 BUY A COPY

TL;DR: This was an interesting new YA fantasy and I admit that I was hooked from the prologue. I immediately wanted to know more and see what happened in the years that passed following the giving of the ring and the declaration of war. There were a lot of interesting elements to the story that compelled me to keep reading and I’m glad that this came on my radar; however, on the whole, I admit that I wanted more from this story. This had a lot of potential to be an amazing read had it not been for some missed opportunities when it came to the POV, the world-building and character development. Having said that, I liked The Forest King’s Daughter enough to want to continue the series and see how the hinted-at prophecy unfolds.