The Half King by Melissa Landers (book review)

GENRE: Adult Romantasy

LENGTH: 381 pages

 

PLOT

Long ago, four noble families rose up against their goddess. As punishment, their descendants were cursed – one family with perilous beauty, one with destructive knowledge, one with insatiable bloodlust, and one to vanish into the shadows. An acolyte named Cerise arrives at court and she is determined to break the curses.

 

CHARACTERS

Cerise is a very likable protagonist due to her kindhearted, innocent personality. Even in the face of great peril and betrayal she stays true to who she is and her core beliefs. Throughout the novel, she loses her naivety but not her inherit goodness.

Kian is the king who at every sunset vanishes into shadows and on his next birthday will be consumed entirely by the shadows. He is Cerise’s love interest and their initial interaction would make the reader think this is an enemies-to-lovers romance. That isn’t what it ends up being, however. Their relationship was so profoundly refreshing as Kian was all about healthy communication – romance readers know how rare a thing that is within the genre. He and Cerise are playful with each other. I loved how though they differed in their views on piousness, they never disrespected each other’s beliefs.

Daerick is a nobleman and Kian and Cerise’s friend. I initially thought he would be a secondary love interest to Cerise as she shared a similar rapport with him as she did with Kian. There isn’t any love triangle, though. The two are simply good friends.

I’ll quickly go over a few other important side characters. Nero is the groups guide when they journey to break the curses. Blue is Cerise’s dog – anyone who is a dog lover will fall for her loyal companion. I know some may consider this a spoiler, but since I know it can be a triggering thing, I will assure readers here that Blue doesn’t die in the book.

Finally, there is Father Padron. He’s the high-priest of the church. He was my least favorite character because he was so transparent. It’s obvious from almost the first meeting that he is going to be the antagonist. I just wish he had a little more depth. Still, his place in the story is to drive home the message the book is trying to convey about corruption in organized religion, and I suppose he does that job well enough.

 

WRITING

The novel is told from Cerise’s third person perspective. It had pretty solid pacing overall, though the romance was a tad instalove. The writing was good and easy to read. The world had interesting lore – the world building was one of its strongest aspects.

In my opinion, there was excessive nudity. I figured going in there would be intimate scenes – this is an adult romantasy after all. I am not a prude and can actually enjoy such scenes. I just felt like Kian didn’t need to constantly be reappearing from the shadows naked.

I was a little confused by the epilogue, but I do think the novel did a good job of wrapping up its main plot while also setting up conflict for the sequel.

 

FINAL THOUGHTS

If you’re looking for an easy to read romantasy then this is a solid pick. If you’re a religious person who is upset by less than glowing commentary on organized religion then I’d steer clear from this book. It’s important to note, however, that Landers isn’t villainizing religious beliefs in the book. The protagonist is very devout in her faith and remains so throughout the novel. It is more so a commentary on how some in the church abuse their power and influence.

I plan on picking up the next book when it comes out.

FINAL RATING: 4⭐️