Who among romance readers doesn’t love a good enemies to lovers slow burn? The best ones, for me, are where the main characters don’t just dislike each other, but are true enemies. The ones where the tension and hatred between them are well written and the goals and conflict make it difficult to decide who is right and who is wrong.

           At first, it’s easy to label the villain as Gideon Sharp, the cruel and determined witch hunter responsible for marching more than his share of witches to their executions, but as you delve into the story, you realize quickly that things are not nearly as black and white as they may appear. The witches once thrived in wealth and power, with three witch queens ruling over the country. After a violent rebellion by the non-witch citizens, all witches were hunted and executed along with anyone deemed their sympathizers.

            Rune Winters is a witch hiding in plain sight among society’s elite and masking as a frivolous party girl. At night, she takes the identity of the Crimson Moth, working against the witch hunters to free and smuggle witches out of the country to safety.

            Gideon knows the Crimson Moth is someone hiding among the wealthy socialites and has reason to suspect Rune is the culprit. Despite the fact that his younger brother is clearly in love with Rune and has been her oldest and closest friend, he begins courting her to get proof of her secret identity. He is determined to catch the Moth, and he must protect his younger brother if Rune is indeed a witch. Gideon knows better than most the evil that witches are capable of and the pain and suffering they can cause.

            There were a few things I found refreshing about this book. One was the shades of gray surrounding each of the main characters’ causes and the issues. I was immediately rooting for Rune and loved her character from the start. She is fierce, easily the smartest person in the room, and unwilling to ever stop fighting for the survival of her people and the end of their persecution. Even if that fight means she must pretend to court the ruthless Gideon Sharpe in order to gather information to further her mission.

            Gideon is our typical cold heartless hunter who fights against what he perceives as the evil of the witches, but as the story progresses and you find out more about Gideon and his back-story, the reader is confronted with the issues of power imbalances and the evil that can come from the abuse of that power.

            The two characters dance around each other, each working to outsmart and outmaneuver the other until an attraction naturally grows as well as an understanding of each other. This romance was a satisfying slow burn that did not disappoint. I found myself loving each character and yelling at my audiobook in frustration at them at the same time. They are both far from perfect, and each one made decisions that resulted in me having to stop myself from chastising them through my car speakers like a lunatic. I’m sure the other drivers just thought I was talking to someone on the phone, right?

The themes I took note of in this book dealt with the issues of unchecked power, villainizing entire groups of people based on the actions of a few, and the empathy of seeing things through another’s eyes and with knowing their experiences.

            This book is part of a duology.

Who would I recommend this book to?

If you are a fan of a slow burn enemies to lovers, fake dating, or fantasy romance, or if you enjoyed the series Serpent and Dove by Shelby Mahurin, this one is for you. It does contain some spice and adult themes, and references to sexual assault, so I would not recommend this book for anyone under the age of 16.