Review: Half City by Kate Golden

 

Half City (Harker Academy #1) by Kate Golden

Publication Date: February 17th 2026 by Ace

Pages: 496

Source: Publisher 

Rating: ★★★★

Links: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | Libro.fm | Audible | Goodreads

My Thoughts:

Twenty-one-year-old Viv Abbott has been fighting demons alone ever since she watched her father murdered right before her eyes. She’s spent years carrying that burden alone, so when an invitation arrives from Harker Academy for Deviant Defense, a school for demon hunters, she’s stunned to learn she’s not the only one out there. The offer becomes even more suspicious when it comes from Reid, a Brood demon she has every reason not to trust.

 

Viv has always felt like an outsider among her family and friends, forced to hide the truth about her life and constantly missing out when hunting called. At Harker, for the first time, she finds people who understand her. The camaraderie is immediate, the friendships fast and genuine. But the safety she feels is short-lived. When one of her new friends disappears and the academy is attacked, Viv and her tight-knit group are thrust into a dangerous mystery. I loved this crew, quirky, loyal, and determined to uncover what happened. The romance was a slow-burn, chemistry-heavy enemies-to-lovers that I’m on board for.

 

Half City starts with a slower setup as the world and characters are introduced, but the moment Viv steps onto Harker grounds, the story hits its stride. The mystery surrounding the missing student and the escalating attacks unfolds with several surprising twists, leading to a thrilling, high-stakes conclusion. The book ends on a to-be-continued note. I’m eager to see where Viv’s journey goes next!

4 Stars

Book Description:

Welcome to Harker Academy for Deviant Defense. Keep your daggers sharp, and your wits even sharper.

Viv Abbot is an average twenty-one-year-old girl. She lives in an expensive city where the rent is too high, works long hours at a thankless job, and is dating a guy she doesn’t even like in the hopes of winning her prickly mother’s approval.

She just also happens to be a demon hunter.

Ever since her father's murder, she's been forced to hunt deviants alone, meaning everyone, including her family, sees her as an outsider. . . . Until the day she crosses paths with a dangerously alluring demon, Reid Graveheart. The reformed deviant tells her of a school for people just like her: Harker Academy for Deviant Defense. If she enrolls, she'll learn to hone her craft, work with other hunters, and never be alone again.

But Viv has a deadly secret. One that not even her new friends at Harker can know about. Not when the school might hold the answers to untangling the mystery surrounding Viv's father’s death. When strange occurrences begin to plague the students, Viv will have to figure out who she can trust, and fast. All while trying to ace her classes, not fall for a demon, and make it through her first year at Harker in one piece. How hard could that be?

 

Audiobook Review: Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros

 

Fourth Wing (The Empyrean #1) by Rebecca Yarros

Publication Date: May 2nd 2023 by Recorded Books

Pages: 498

Audio Book Length: 20hrs 43min

Narrators: Rebecca Soler & Teddy Hamilton

Source: Purchased, library lend

Rating: ★★★★½

Links: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | Libro.fm | Audible | Goodreads

My Thoughts:

I’m not going to give a summary since this has been reviewed a million times, but the hype is real! Finished the audio of Fourth Wing last night and boy was it good! Even my husband loved it. I will say that I think the spicy parts wouldn’t been better if they were shorter, not so long and drawn out, but there weren’t very many, maybe two (?) so it's just a little niggle.

Other than that, the story and pace were top notch! Exciting and action packed with plenty of surprises! Some stories sacrifice emotional depth or character development when there’s a lot of action but that wasn’t the case here! Violet and her friends are well-fleshed out, their fear, joy, anger and longing palpable!

The audio narration was perfection! Rebecca Soler acted her heart out! She made you feel the intensity and urgency of the story as well as a whole range of emotions! Teddy Hamilton performs Xander in the end and he was excellent as well.

I borrowed a library copy and mine was the updated version. I guess there was an issue with the first recording. I also bought a copy since my lend was about to expire and I had to finish the story!

That ending! I wouldn’t say it’s a cliffhanger, more to be continued… but still! I’m eager for the next one!

4.5 Stars

Book Description:

Enter the brutal and elite world of a war college for dragon riders from USA Today bestselling author Rebecca Yarros

Twenty-year-old Violet Sorrengail was supposed to enter the Scribe Quadrant, living a quiet life among books and history. Now, the commanding general—also known as her tough-as-talons mother—has ordered Violet to join the hundreds of candidates striving to become the elite of Navarre: dragon riders.

But when you’re smaller than everyone else and your body is brittle, death is only a heartbeat away...because dragons don’t bond to “fragile” humans. They incinerate them.

With fewer dragons willing to bond than cadets, most would kill Violet to better their own chances of success. The rest would kill her just for being her mother’s daughter—like Xaden Riorson, the most powerful and ruthless wingleader in the Riders Quadrant.

She’ll need every edge her wits can give her just to see the next sunrise.

Yet, with every day that passes, the war outside grows more deadly, the kingdom's protective wards are failing, and the death toll continues to rise. Even worse, Violet begins to suspect leadership is hiding a terrible secret.

Friends, enemies, lovers. Everyone at Basgiath War College has an agenda—because once you enter, there are only two ways out: graduate or die.

My Favorite Non-Review Books for January 2021

As a blogger sometimes writing reviews can feel like a chore so it seems I rarely write reviews for non-review books anymore. I feel bad about that, because it's not that I didn't enjoy them less than the books I review here, just that I don't have the time or energy to write a review for each and every book I read. I thought it would be nice to list my favorite non-review books each month to bring more attention to them.

Here are my January 2021 favorites:

Click on cover for Goodreads link:

I bought this on an Audible Daily Deal and finally got a chance to listen to it. It was a great murder mystery/romance! Dr. Elizabeth Nolan helps others while overcoming her own tragic past.  A murder at the mental hospital throws Reed and her together. While he tries to solve the crime while keeping Elizabeth safe they slowly fall for each other. 

 This is the second in a series, but it worked well as a stand-alone. Teddy Hamilton and Callie Dalton narrate and I've listened and loved their performances in the past. Both Callie and Teddy have narrated Mariana Zapata's books (as well as others I'm sure I'm forgetting), so I was well acquainted with their voices.

An Agatha Christie classic that I've read several times, but it had been years. I listened to the audio for this re-read and it was narrated by Hugh Fraser, the actor who plays Hastings in the film versions of Agatha Christie books with David Suchet. He does an excellent job with both Hastings and Poirot!

I didn't remember the particulars of this mystery when I first began the story, but it started coming back to me as I listened. Still loved the story all these years and reads later!

What about you? Have you read any non-review books recently you'd like to praise?