I love romantasy but sadly I think this one missed the mark slightly.

The world and the plot were intriguing but I think it's important to go into this expecting a story that has the pacing of a YA fantasy. The characters are 19-20 so I believe this is being marketed as "new adult." I wouldn't describe this as a "spicy" book but there are a couple of intimate scenes. Unlike a lot of romantasy books I've read recently, it felt like there was a purpose to these scenes and they weren't thrown in randomly. which was great.

However, I do think there could have been more build-up to the relationship. The MCs barely spent any time together before declaring they were in love with each other. Also, the love interest had no personality, and it felt like they existed simply to be the love interest.

Some aspects of the plot were predictable but there were also some twists and turns I didn't expect.

Would recommend it if the synopsis intrigues you. It was a good time but not super memorable.

DNF'd at 49% - I struggled to keep going with this book. The plot was promising, but it didn't hold my attention and I had no interest in the characters (I found them really basic)

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House UK for the advance reader copy,

Firstly I would say that this book has some interesting ideas and I would have liked a bit more written about the magic/belief system because it seems to play a large part within the story.

This book was ok - I think there were pacing issues especially in the beginning and the end. The last chapters felt rushed and I think more could have been put into them.

I wouldn’t say this is YA as there is explicit sexual content, so would say this is more a new adult/adult.

Overall the book was fine, and I’ll probably continue the series.

My thoughts on The Half King completely changed by the end of the book. At first, I thought that it was more YA than the NA it was pitched as, and so the sex scenes were a bit of a surprise when they first appeared, and they stood out from the rest of the book up to that point. I found myself wishing for more of the adult tone that I'd expected, and that it wouldn't just come from the presence of the on-page sex.

However, as the plot progressed and reached the final quarter, I felt like I understood the NA rating. The story had some twists that genuinely took me by surprise, and the impact of these plot points on the characters was emotional and it definitely brought me back around. It left me really excited to read the final book in this duology, and I get the feeling that I'll enjoy it even more than The Half King based on where the characters have ended up.

Disclaimer: I received an Advance Reader Copy from NetGalley but this is my voluntary and honest review.

Delightful surprise! I didn't expect to enjoy this as much as I did but I flew through it. It was fast-paced and I LOVED the premise. All of the first-born children of the noble houses are doomed to suffer different curses after their ancestors committed a great betrayal of the goddess of creation and tried to kill her. Our FMC sets out to break the curses alongside our MMC, The Half King, In a nutshell. There's magic of course, themes of faith, misogyny and patriarchal systems. I wouldn't say it read like a "scorching-hot NA fantasy", more like an upper YA and the focus is definitely not the romance if that's what you're looking for, I liked all the characters though, (main and secondary), there's some banter, a reveal that took me by surprise towards the end (not the villain - that was obvious from the start) and a cliffhanger that definitely left me wanting to pick up book two.
Thank you NetGalley and Random House UK and for the eARC!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the digital ARC!

This is definitely a book that grew on me. I say that because I almost stopped reading it around 20% of the way through because I was unsure how I felt about it. But I'm glad I persevered with it because I found myself enjoying it by the end.

Our main character, Cerise, is a second-born child in a world where birth order matters. Firstborns are cursed - whether to turn into shadows or turn mad from gaining too much knowledge, whereas secondborns are given to the temple to either be gifted with magic and become a priest for boys or gain the Sight and become a Seer for girls. The only problem is that Cerise hasn't gained the Sight yet, so she can't become a Seer in the temple but instead become a servant.

That is until she's suddenly sent to the Mortaras kingdom to serve as the temple emissary to King Kian Hannibal Mortaras. He's the last of his line and is cursed to fully disappear into shadow one day and never come back. Whilst there, she meets others such as Father Padron, the head of the Order who commands the priests, and Daerick, a firstborn destined to go mad. Circumstances lead to Cerise attempting to find a way to break the curse that her goddess, Shiera, had laid upon the noble families a thousand years ago - will she do it? Will she get the Sight? And what about her attraction to King Kian?

I will say that this book does not read very NA or adult. I'm not sure what it's being marketed as, but it felt very YA. In fact, the very first chapter had me thinking it was a flashback and that the main character was about 5 or 6. It wasn't - she was 19! That gave me a bit of whiplash, and I found Cerise to be very naive about things. This is explained in that she grew up in the temple, a place where neither the women nor men give in to love or desires to avoid ruining the purity of their magic. She grew up a bit throughout the story, but she remained a little too innocent for my liking.

The other thing that I found myself side-eyeing was how fast things progressed. Character development and relationships that should have taken weeks or months took only days. I think the whole time period between the start and the end is like...two or three months? Not enough for me to truly believe the love and relationships, but I experience this a lot in books, so I just have to take it with a pinch of salt.

The friendships were great in this, with people caring for Cerise wanting to see her succeed and protecting her. The villain was as terrible as you'd expect, and there was plenty of magic involved to satisfy anyone who wanted a fantasy kick.

Overall, I found myself enjoying this the more the book went on, and it managed to pull itself up to a solid 4 stars!

4 stars - fantasy romance.

Cerise's kingdom is split into four noble houses, that were cursed years ago due to an uprising against the magical goddess Shiera. The curses are different per family, based on the part they played in the uprising, and affect the first and second born children. House Mortara is the royal family who's only remaining heir is cursed to fade into smoke, Cerise learns she is potentially the one to break the curses, and travels to meet King Kian. A quest begins to find the objects to break the curse within the next three moons, before Kian turns to smoke forever.

It took me a little while to understand the world building and curses of the story but once it fully began, I found it hard to put down. Once the mission / quest began I found the story quite easy to read and quite fast paced with the different aspects of the plot and romance coming together.

I would say the story starts as YA and ends up becoming Upper YA / NA with some moderate spicy scenes that I felt relevant to the story progression and didn't take away from the overall main story.
I found the characters very likeable and I was rooting for a happy ending between Cerise and Kian, I especially loved Blue!

I was shocked by the twists and turns towards the end of the book and heartbroken by one of the deaths. The epilogue was so intriguing and I will definitely be picking up the sequel.

Brilliant! I absolutely loved this book I have been in a fantasy slump and this just rekindled my love! Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for access to this title.

I really loved this book! A lot of books in the romantic fantasy genre tend to be similar to others, but this one was totally different and fresh! The world building and magic system were so unique!
I loved the characters, especially Cerise the FMC. She had so much character growth throughout the book! I loved her relationship with Kian, who was another complex and well written character! There is some spice but not a lot that it takes away from the plot.
The friendships in this book were another aspect I really loved. No one could resist Cerise's sweet nature and charm, even the tough general referred to her as my girl! (Swoon) Blue also deserves a mention as being the best pup!
I thought this book was very well paced and full of twist I did not see coming. The ending wasn't really a bad cliffhanger, which is nice! I can't wait to see what happens in the next book though!

I would like to thank the publisher and NetGalley for allowing me to read and honestly review an advanced reader’s copy of this book.

Stayed up late to finish this one last night! It reads a loll bit younger than expected, but I actually found myself enjoying that. It made the love interest a little bit more believable for me, it made the story flow in a pleasant way; and if you’re looking for your next romantasy shadow-daddy, this might hit. (Because he literally turns to shadow every night.)
There is some spice here, but it’s not a ridiculous amount. (Great for me, easy to skip)

The plot itself moved fast; a little too fast in certain scenes. I found myself having to go back a few times, just to make sure I was following correctly.

Overall, this was a solid read, and I’ll probably pick up the sequel!

*thank you to netgalley and the publisher for an early copy of this book in exchange for an honest review*

Wow!! An absolute page turner! What a fantastic read! This was my anticipated read and it did not disappoint! An exciting and fast-paced adventure that grabs your attention from the first page. With vivid world-building and intriguing characters, this book pulls you into a captivating tale of political intrigue, personal growth, and unexpected alliances. Landers masterfully blends action, emotion, and suspense, keeping you hooked until the very end. Fans of sci-fi and fantasy will love the clever twists and the strong, relatable protagonist. Highly recommended for anyone looking for a thrilling and immersive read! A must read!

I loved this book so much! Really into my romantasy era now and this was so good!
One of those books you will just fly through, such a page turner!
I loved the characters so much!
So I happy to have a beautiful fairyloot edition of this book!

I really enjoyed this book and would give it 4.5 stars, rounded up to 5. It’s a fast-paced, thrilling adventure with an incredible plot and amazing characters. The story is filled with unexpected twists and surprising revelations, keeping you engaged from start to finish.

I absolutely loved Cerise, and her character development was great. Raised in isolation under strict religious rules, she remained open-minded when she finally stepped into the real world. She listened to her own feelings and the guidance of her goddess, gradually uncovering the truth about the corrupt system she grew up in. Once she discovered her own power, mastering it became a top priority for her. Despite her abilities, the power never went to her head, she remained humble and kind-hearted throughout and I loved this.

One of my favorite aspects of the book was her friendship with Daerick.He was the best friend she could have ever hoped for. He helped her uncover the truth without ever trying to take advantage of her or her powers, which speaks volumes about his character.

Kian was the most complex character in the book. Just when he was on the verge of giving up, Cerise entered his life at exactly the right moment. His past was deeply sad and traumatic, leaving him with no hope for the future and Cerise gave him a reason to fight again.

The romance between them felt a bit like insta-love, with him being the one to fall first, but I really loved it. I was surprised to learn this book is categorized as new adult, as I would have expected it to be in the adult category due to the spicy scenes.

I had my suspicions about who was behind everything, but the ending still managed to surprise me. There wasn’t a major cliffhanger, but the conclusion set things up nicely for the next book and I can't wait to read it. I’m hoping we get more insight into the magic system, as it’s still a bit unclear to me how it works.

Thank you to the author, the publisher and Netgalley for the eARC, I can't wait to hold this book in my hands.

Cerise and Kian are adorable together, it was a bit insta-love but I actually didn't mind it at the start of their journey.

The world building is interesting, the mix of magic and belief along with all the prophecies and sight was intriguing.

It started off great, however the ending seemed very rushed and the revelations were anti-climactic along with what happens to the curse. It was just over very quickly after a great build up.

Thank you to Netgalley, the author and publisher for an eARC copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

This was a lengthy novel that may have progressed better if some of the filler had been removed, particularly at the beginning. I found the curses intriguing but they were never fully delved into with a lot of depth and world building.

This read as a fantasy YA novel however there were some explicit sex scenes written in that didn't seem to add much to the story, and Kian did not feel like a particularly well developed MMC.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the review copy. The concept of this was interesting, but for me this is another example of a book which is torn between being more YA in the general style of writing and overall tone but with some explicit sex scenes. These scenes and the romance in general feel quite insta-love and don't really add much to the story. In general, I also found the magic system and overall world building somewhat lacking. Although this book was not exactly to my personal tastes I did think it was an ok read and think most romantasy readers will enjoy this.

Overall this book felt quite mid-range for me. It has the usual sorts of things you'd expect from any romantasy book which I enjoy, it didn't give me anything new and riveting that I was hoping for.

The characters all felt rather 2D, I didn't felt a connection brewing towards any of them which was a bit disheartening. My favourite character was probably Daerick or the dog, Blue. As for Kian, the 'Half King', I don't recall us even being told why he is called 'The Half King', so I don't really get it.

There were a few parts of the book that I felt could have been omitted and the book would have had the same outcome without the length but as the same time there was an opportunity for the author to include more of Cerise and Kian's romance but chose to gloss over it with 'a few days later' - we read a romantasy for the romance as well as the fantasy and it wasn't fully delivered.

Feisty Cerise is the second-born child of her family and, as with all second-born children, she is expected to become a Seer. Things change however when she meets His Majesty Kian, cursed firstborn child of his family and destined to vanish on his 21st birthday. Tasked with the quest to break the curse, Cerise fights to save the kingdom and the man she loves. However, there are always enemies lurking in the shadows...

I really enjoyed "The Half King" and above all the character growth of Cerise. The love story maybe felt a bit instantaneously, but was still cute. I hope to read more from this world in the future.

This book began as a slow starter as there is so much about the world to take in. The world building is very well done and I found the take on religion so interesting!

Religion plays a huge part in this book as anyone who is a second child is taken to live at the temple to train to become either a priest or seer ready for their Claiming Day.

Cerise, the FMC, is a second born. And she is feisty. I really liked her character and I also liked how she came to question all of the things she grew up learning. She has an unrequited love for all animals, and they seem to love her back similarly. Her journey of self discovery and her literal journey to help break the curse that plagues the main families was exciting to read.

Our MMC, Kian, is also a very likeable character. As a first born of his family, he is cursed, and from that he can sometimes be very doubting of others abilities to help him. But through the tough exterior that he shows to most everyone, he has a huge heart.

Both MCs have great chemistry together. And although the relationship felt almost like it was insta love, the tension between the two made up for it and it didn’t feel too forced. There is spice, but it fits quite nicely into the story, and doesn’t take away from the main objective- to break the curse.

Overall I really enjoyed this one. The world building coupled with the twists and turns throughout really kept me going and questioning what was going to happen next. This read really well as a stand alone, but I can’t wait to read what will happen in the next instalment of this duology.

Cerise is a second born, so any day now she expects to come into her power as an Oracle. At least until she finds herself on a sacred mission to break an ancient curse, and has much bigger things to concern her ...

The Half King is a bit of a slow starter, and I wasn't sure about it at first. However, about a third of the way in it really picks up and I was very glad I'd stayed with it, because I couldn't stop reading. The romance happened a little bit faster than I would have liked, but the world building and the magic was brilliant, and the characters really well written. I do hope there is a sequel!

I received a copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review