[ARC Review] The Half King by Melissa Landers

✨ PUBLISHER'S SYNOPSIS: A king by day. Shadow by night…

The Great Betrayal changed everything for the Allied Realm. Long ago, the kingdom’s noble houses rose up against the goddess... and for their treachery, the firstborn of each noble family was cursed.

One with perilous beauty.
One with destructive knowledge.
One with insatiable bloodlust.

But the royal house Mortara received the worst affliction of all. For while the king exists during the day, he fades into nothingness at night...until his twenty-first birthday, when he will be lost to the shadows forever.

Now an acolyte has arrived at court. Like all the second-born children of the Allied Realm, she’s destined to serve the goddess and become a Seer...only Cerise Solon has no gift of foretelling. In fact, she has no magical gift at all.

Instead, she’s surrounded by courtiers and priests—smiling sycophants whose hearts are filled with secrets and lies. And at the center of it all sits His Majesty Kian Hannibal Mortara, with his haunting eyes, sharp tongue, and an unerring ability to send her pulse skittering at the worst possible moments.

Falling for him is unthinkable. Because the king is the last of his line, and as the specter of his twenty-first birthday—and the full force of his curse—approaches, the kingdom holds its breath.

But there’s only one way to save a dying king... and it lies with the one person who’s hiding the biggest secret of all. Cerise.

✨ MY THOUGHTS: Landers pulled me into this story right from the very first chapter, and I was caught up in the action, magic, secrets, and romance until the very last page. 

Cerise has a typical fantasy trajectory: plucked from obscurity, catches the eye of the tall, dark, and handsome character, discovers her destiny, and saves the day. But while the formula is familiar, Cerise's story has so many unique elements. From her backstory to her character development, the path Cerise found herself on was anything but ordinary. With many of the main cast of characters in their early 20s, Cerise's journey did have a lot of "chosen one meant to save the world" elements that I usually find more in YA fantasy, but Landers included so many other elements to this story that I didn't once mind any of the tropes that were used in this story. 

I thought all the characters in this story were well written. Each one had their own strengths while also leaving me to question their motives or intentions at least once. I loved not being sure about how any of the characters would react to every new situation, but I especially loved being able to root for my favorites all the way to the end. 

There were a lot of elements that went into this story. From rising up against the accepted norm, to undoing curses, to commentary on blindly following the group dynamic, this story ended up being so much more than just a girl saving the people she loves. I was truly wrapped up in Cerise and Kian's adventure from start to finish, and highly recommend The Half King.

[A huge thank you to Entangled and Red Tower Books for sharing an advanced copy of this book. All opinions are my own.]

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Release date: 11/19/24

Format: eARC

eARC provided via: NetGalley widget/Entangled Insiders