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A review by suzie2006
The Half King by Melissa Landers
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.25
The Half King was well done and an enjoyable read, but not quite a four star read for me. Cerise and Kian as characters are likeable, but I feel like their relationship wasn’t done as well as it could have been. I wanted more tension, more angst and more development. I feel like it was 0-60 a little too quickly to be plausible.
Secondary characters were good but not great with 100 more pages I feel like Daerick, Nero, General Petros and Lady Delora could all have a little more character development. I also figured out some of the “twists” (but not all). There were also a few questions that were created but never resolved- I don’t want to list them, because I don’t like to write spoilers in my review. Since this is a series, it could be that they will be addressed in a future book- but somehow I don’t think so. I think the author feels like she tied up the loose ends with a couple sentences in the final 20 pages. If so, this is a 3 star read- solid instead of 3.25, so I am giving it the benefit of the doubt.
This is fundamentally a story about how power corrupts, the power of love (romantic and family) and how secrets and lies are never a good idea. This book has good “bones” and with a little more slow burn romance and character development this book could easily be a 4-5 star read, but in its current form I will read Book 2, but I don’t feel the need to re-read or keep this one. Good way to spend an afternoon, but ultimately a “one and done.”
Secondary characters were good but not great with 100 more pages I feel like Daerick, Nero, General Petros and Lady Delora could all have a little more character development. I also figured out some of the “twists” (but not all). There were also a few questions that were created but never resolved- I don’t want to list them, because I don’t like to write spoilers in my review. Since this is a series, it could be that they will be addressed in a future book- but somehow I don’t think so. I think the author feels like she tied up the loose ends with a couple sentences in the final 20 pages. If so, this is a 3 star read- solid instead of 3.25, so I am giving it the benefit of the doubt.
This is fundamentally a story about how power corrupts, the power of love (romantic and family) and how secrets and lies are never a good idea. This book has good “bones” and with a little more slow burn romance and character development this book could easily be a 4-5 star read, but in its current form I will read Book 2, but I don’t feel the need to re-read or keep this one. Good way to spend an afternoon, but ultimately a “one and done.”
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Misogyny, Sexual content, and Religious bigotry
Moderate: Death of parent