Heartless Hunter

1. General Impressions

Gather initial thoughts and broad opinions about the book.

• Heartless Hunter is a fantasy romance novel. Compare and contrast it with other fantasy romances you’ve read. How does Ciccarelli put her own twist on generic tropes like faux courtship, and how does this add to the novel’s mood and suspense?
• Rune and Gideon’s romance is at the heart of the novel. What did you like or dislike about their relationship? Do they remind you of any other fictional couples and why?
• The author takes inspiration from Baroness Orczy’s The Scarlet Pimpernel. What other books and movies with protagonists who lead double lives have you encountered? What do you think explains the enduring popularity of these narratives? 

2. Personal Reflection and Connection

Encourage readers to connect the book’s themes and characters with their personal experiences.

• How does the novel’s theme of challenging limiting perceptions resonate with you? Gideon makes erroneous judgments about Rune and her alter ego, the Crimson Moth. Has there been a time when someone made an erroneous judgment about you or a time when your first impression of someone turned out to be misleading? 
• Did you connect with Ciccarelli’s presentation of ethical dilemmas in a divided society? Has there been a time when you felt like you had to be neutral to preserve harmony among friends and family like Alex or a time when you felt you had to compromise your beliefs like Rune? Share a time in your own life when you had difficulty determining the right course of action and how you resolved this inner conflict. Do your own experiences grappling with ethical dilemmas help you connect to the world of the New Republic?
• Love emerges as a dangerous yet redeeming force in the novel. Ultimately, Rune’s romance with Gideon helps her to forgive herself for her involvement in Nan’s death. Has romantic, familial, or platonic love ever taught you something valuable about yourself? On the other hand, have you ever felt a love that required you to risk something meaningful?
• Rune compromises her beliefs for the sake of survival, but she later bravely follows her conscience. What lessons does her character arc offer as we grapple with political conflicts and other divisions within our own society?

3. Societal and Cultural Context 

Examine the book’s relevance to societal issues, historical events, or cultural themes.

• Ciccarelli took inspiration from historical witch hunts. How does this context contribute to the novel’s overall meaning? Did the story and its characters give you a new understanding of what it might have been like to live during the Salem witch trials or another historical moral panic?
• The author uses the opera house as a motif of ethical dilemmas in a divided society. How do the propagandist performances approved by the Good Commander reflect contemporary concerns around the media’s role in fomenting division and spreading misinformation?

4. Literary Analysis

Dive into the book’s structure, characters, themes, and symbolism.

• Consider the importance of Rune and Gideon’s love story. How does the novel’s central romance shape the story’s genre and develop the theme of love as a dangerous and redeeming force? 
• Ciccarelli utilizes alternating third-person perspective. How does this narrative technique help to make Gideon a more sympathetic character despite his violent actions and hatred toward witches?
• The titular crimson moth represents Rune. How does the moths’ double-sided symbolism as an ill omen and a sign of hope reflect the opposing ways the protagonist’s actions are interpreted by the factions of Rune’s society? 
• Consider Verity/Cressida’s role in the novel. How does she alter Rune’s perception of the Reign of Witches? What messages is Ciccarelli trying to communicate through this character?
• One of the novel’s major themes is ethical dilemmas in a divided society. Discuss Alex’s attempts to bridge the gap in his society. Was his death the inevitable result of his conflicting desires to protect both his best friend, a witch, and his brother, a witch hunter? How does Alex’s death contribute to the duology’s themes, the cliffhanger ending’s suspense, and the gulf between the two main characters?

5. Creative Engagement

Encourage imaginative and creative connections to the book.

• Imagine there will be a movie adaptation of Heartless Hunter. Who would you cast? Are there any particular moments or aspects of the novel that you would like to see unfold on the screen?
• The novel alternates between the perspectives of Rune and Gideon. Is there another character whose point of view you would like to be explored? If so, are there particular scenes in the novel you think would benefit from this character’s insights? 
• What predictions do you have for the next installment of the series? Do you think that Rune and Gideon will find a way to resolve the conflicts between them and live happily ever after? Why or why not?

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