Reviews with content warning for Blood - The Half King

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The Half King by Melissa Landers

9 reviews

beckyremillard's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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rogue_duckie_reads's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional reflective tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

For me, is a ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ star read. It was well written and the characters were very complex, pacing was moderate, but I just wanted more to the story and plot. It has religious intolerance and prejudices that may have overshadowed some of the other important plot pieces. However, it is also a love story to female empowerment.

***THE SECOND BOOK OF THE SERIES IS TBD***

Synopsis: The 6 noble families of the kingdom are cursed. Each family experience a different curse, but it always affects the first or second born of the family. Their fates are predestined and will claim them upon their 20th birthdays. However, an unskilled, magicless seer is sent to be the emissary to the King. A king who is destined to spend his nights in the otherworld and his days fading between the other and his kingdom. A new fate is spun for her if she can find the path to break the curse. But the fates shall not be able to guide her. Will she overcome her self-doubt, forge the path, and save the King? Or will the King be banished to the other world?

----

Impression: I really enjoyed the story once I got past the religious fanaticism. There are a few plot holes, like why one character stays in their tent the whole duration of the quest (never answered). I'm sure some of it was left for the succeeding books, but there were way too many "why is that a thing" or "what about….?" for my liking. I recommend waiting for the next book if you have not yet read this one. Hopefully it fills in the gaps.

***QUOTES, TROPES AND CHARACTERS MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS***

Tropes: Allies to Lovers, Quest, Prophecy, Chosen One, Forbidden Romance, Found Family

Spice level: 🌶️🌶️ - A few open door scenes, but not overly descriptive or crass.

Action/War level: 💥💥 Moderately low - There are a couple of fight scenes, but nothing overly dramatic. Most of the tension is speculative chatter.

FMC: Cerise - very loud, opinionated female who loves with her whole heart, which makes her super vulnerable. It's hard for her not to love. Has an affinity with animals. She is supposed to be a seer, but her magic is latent. She's a late bloomer. She is sent on a quest to obtain a sacred blade to end the curses of the kingdom.

MMC: King Kian Mortora - He's the king who wishes to protect all his subjects, regardless of whomever they are. He makes questionable choices because of attraction/love and it costs dearly. He goes to the otherworld at night, but is beginning to fade during daylight as well.

Main antagonist: The curse -- It is different for every family, but it is rare to live longer than the 21st year of life for many first born nobles. It is tearing the kingdom apart.

Side Characters:

Daerick - Gifted with all knowledge. I love his bubbly personality and the friendship with Cerise.

General Petros - Kind of fatherly but also he's a bloodthirsty killer who does things then asks questions.

Father Padron - High Priest of the Order. He's really tolerant of Cerise's questions until they get too close to things he wants hidden.

Nina - Cerise's gorgeous sister

Reverend Mother - The High Seer of the Order who basically raises Cerise and has the prophetic vision of her.

Blue - A cute puppers

Nero - an unlikely ally

Favorite Quotes:

“Intentions are more meaningless than grains of sand. It’s your actions that matter.”

"Will you be so afraid to dim your gift that you end up dimming your own light in the process?”

“Those who hesitate are lost.”

“I have Seen more than the death of the king’s emissary. I have foreseen a possible end to the curses.”

"For his body to follow the pull of his spirit was an oddly romantic element of his curse that she hadn’t anticipated."

"There’s no such thing as an unnatural tendency. If something occurs within nature, it is by default natural. What’s unnatural is to vilify it and criminalize it and force people into hiding for being born the way they are.”

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timbitsreads's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

I really liked this book, it was exactly the vibe I needed. A little bit of romance mixed in with a main quest. High stakes for the characters but not too heavy or high stakes as a reader. There were some very cheese moments

The morning of Cerise's Claiming Day. If you know, you know

but you have to expect that to a certain degree when it comes to YA books. I was a little surprised at the level of description in a couple of the romance scenes because of how YA the rest of the novel is, but if you're more of a spice reader you will find it pretty tame.
The characters are all pretty likeable, even the ones whom I didn't trust at first. None of the conflict comes from any of the characters dynamics within the group as they all get along pretty well. Even between Nero and Father Padron which I think could have added more 2nd act tension.
There is a mystery at play and the reveal was enjoyable, I knew where it was going but it hides an extra layer. I am very excited for the next installment and to see how the implications of the epilogue play out.

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fangirlfaction's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

The synopsis for this book piqued my interest because the premise sounded so intriguing. A cursed king that fades into shadows at night? A bonafide shadow daddy? Cursed noble families? A religion devoted to an angry goddess, or so it seems? Yes, please! Sign me right up. It's like this author gathered up a bunch of my favorite tropes and molded them into a story that is my ultimate kryptonite.

I found myself entranced from the very first chapter. I didn't expect it to but the author's writing style really resonated with me. It was very engaging and flowed beautifully. The plot of the book packed a big punch. I was totally invested in the story from start to finish. I just couldn't get enough. There were tons of shocking plot twists that carried a lot of weight in the story. The world-building wasn't extravagant but painted a nice picture for the reader of this world.

I formed an attachment to these characters straight away. All of the characters were distinct with unique personalities and backgrounds. I love that while Cerise grew up very sheltered in a religious temple she still wasn't afraid to speak her mind. She seemed very ignorant of certain things but that didn't mean that she was timid. Kian was rather mysterious at first. After warming up to Cerise he was quite a sweetheart. You could feel his pain about his circumstances. It affected him even though he tried to hide it. Daerick was a surprising character that captured my heart. He was a glass-half-full kind of person who was an absolute joy. He also had some pain about his curse but he was proactive and positive that they could reverse it. Nero was another side character who was absolutely charming. Cerise and her close companions have the makings of the perfect squad goals. The villain of the story was definitely worthy of the title.

The romance felt a bit rushed to me but I can't deny that the chemistry between Cerise and Kian was undeniable. It was a tangible thing that felt organic and genuine. I truly loved the banter between them in the beginning.

Overall, this was a transfixing romantasy that you won't be able to get out of your head. The plot twists were thrilling, the characters were enchanting, and the romance was forbidden and tantalizing. After that ending, I am so stoked to read the second book in this series!

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espurrr's review against another edition

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adventurous hopeful mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25

I really like Cerise. She's sheltered, but so curious. Her deep love and empathy for all things really shows through her actions. I also like how she stays true to herself, even in difficult situations. She's determined to do what is right.

The setting is interesting enough. The side characters are entertaining. The half mercy, half wrath goddess is appealing to me.

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xapoptosisx's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

A very strong 4.5 stars half of this felt like a dnd campaign all fun and whimsy while the other half was a quite gut wrenching tale of religious trauma and what it means to be a woman in a patriarchal world and then overthrowing it. Cerise's speech in the final battle impeccable 10/10 no notes. The epilogue so scary and then the fairyloot edition has a bonus chapter from the pov of the dog which takes place after the epilogue which is somehow more intense and eerie than the original epilogue. Anyway I'm looking forward to read the next one.

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kayceeisbookish's review against another edition

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emotional slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.5

This book was just...meh. The characters felt flat. Dialogue was blah. The plot drug on FOREVER! I was dragging myself through this book because the story has so many weird plot holes that were never addressed. The MC is an adult but acts like a teen. Just...not a vibe for me overall.

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natashaleighton_'s review against another edition

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adventurous emotional tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

An action packed, epic romantasy with a deliciously intense romance between a trainee Seer (born without the gift of foresight) and the cursed King she’s sent to serve.

I wasn’t sure what to expect going into this (especially as the romance was described as being slow burn) but I was pleasantly surprised by how fabulously pacey it was.

Delivering enough action (and high stakes danger) to keep readers on edge, whilst also weaving an intricate, lore-based magic system into the faith based political setting. Melissa Landers’ has laid a solid foundation for a truly spectacular series — that I can definitely see rivalling Gild or From Blood and Ash (especially when it comes to the danger, intrigue and unexpected twists we encounter.)

But what truly won me over was our endearing protagonist, Cerise. Raised solely to serve the goddess as a seer (despite not receiving the gift of foresight) her hope, optimism and unwavering compassion was wonderfully inspiring.

Her sheltered upbringing (and naivety when it comes to the political machinations of everyone around her) is something that usually irks me in a character, but with Cerise it felt organic and genuine—which only made me love her more.

And gave us the opportunity to watch Cerise evolve as a character, slowly piecing together past events and finally learning to see herself as someone of worth.

The romance was really good, Cerise’s chemistry with the mysterious King was delicious, but their actual time together was pretty brief. This is the first in a new series but do I anticipate they’ll have a lot more scenes in the next instalment. The scenes we are treated, however, to were sizzlingly addictive.

Overall, a great series opener that already has me eager for the sequel!

Also, a huge thank you to Anne at Random Things Tours and Bantam Books for the gorgeous proof.

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kmiamattingly's review against another edition

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hopeful lighthearted fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.75

I think the book's title is representative of a lot of what went wrong here. This is a book that wants to be about stuff that it ends up being only half about, and half-formed ideas. The title is a reference to the male lead, however the book is largely attempting to be a critique of a patriarchal religious/political system and how it disenfranchises, decenters, and oppresses women. And yet the book is named after a man who, I can't stress enough, really doesn't DO anything -- thus, factually, overshadowing all the stuff the heroine actually does do. 🙄

The world-building was very weak. Going back to "the half king" as a thing, the reason given in the book/synopsis is he gets the name because he fades away every night due to a curse. The name never really ended up earning how punchy it sounds, because we spent no time dealing with how this shadow curse has impacted his rule as a very young king. No time actually thinking about how supposedly most people disdain him, but not enough they'd rebel. I just feel like we never actually thought about what the impending end of a dynasty looks like politically.

The characters, sadly, were flat and/or static. I can't tell if this book was supposed to be YA, but it FEELS YA. And not in a good way. I wasn't a fan of the insta-love, and the plot felt like we were going breakneck pace. I literally could not give you a reason as to why the two leads like each other by the end of the book. Not a clue. I could see a version of this story that easily could've been chopped up across several books to allow for actual world building and character interaction/developments. I think I mostly finished because by the time I figured out nothing interesting was going to happen, I was already halfway through the book and didn't want to give up. This came to me in a romantasy box, and sadly it ended up being a losing combination: not enough interesting romance to justify the romance, not enough interesting world to justify the fantasy.

That said, it wasn't entirely bad. There was so much I genuinely wanted to like, it was just things got in the way. The book attempts critique at the patriarchal religious system, but isn't self-aware enough to chastise the two main male characters/supports for looking down on our female character's "foolishness/naivety/faith". This book is also INCREDIBLY male-heavy. There are no supporting female characters and we don't even call attention to that and take time to think about what it's like to be a woman in a male-dominated space. We also don't really ever dwell on this idea that she's in a relationship that's incredibly imbalanced in terms of power/agency with the king. Yeah, he's a good guy, but that doesn't eliminate the imbalance of power. It just feels better/safer/less hostile than being under someone who flaunts that power.

I really want this author to try writing again, because I don't think her style is unreadable, and the best parts of this were her thinking about how this character takes strength and inspiration from this goddess. I just wish she'd done a little more thinking about where she ought to place her focus when writing.

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