The Half King

The Half King, Book 1

By: Melissa Landers

Narrated by: Piper Goodeve

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.

©2024 Melissa Landers (P)2024 Recorded Books

Loved it

A seer in training has become the king’s new emissary. The king is one of several cursed lines. He’s called the half king because he’s only present during the days, fading to darkness every sunset. It progressively gets worse until he disappears forever. The new emissary makes it her job to try and break the goddess’s curse. There is a journey, comic relief, a plot twist, several surprises, and a slow burn introduction to spice for the maiden. I laughed and cried. The epilogue will leave you ready for book two!

I almost DNF’ed this BUT it was just a bad one me. I was listening to the audio and doing several things at the same time. I kept losing track of the storyline with all the distractions. And it’s book 1 so there is the world building, stage setting. I finally sat down with the book the last quarter and -man! So good. There is comic relief. Slow burn first love, first spicy experience. Several things were thrown at me towards the end that I did not see coming. I laughed. I cried. I could be a stand alone with a few loose ends until you read the book epilogue. That really has me waiting on book two. I really like this.

TROPES
First love
Slow burn
Family found
Forbidden love
A quest
Found family
A sidekick for comic relief
Hero’s journey
Magic

So awesome!

Talk about a fantasy that's easy to get swept up in! The world building was very well done! I almost didn't even realize it was happening cause it flowed so well with the plot! The characters are introduced so well and are easy to love! Blue might be my favorite, though 😉 I thought for sure this was going to be a standalone right up until those last few sentences. Can't wait to see what happens next!

Definitely listen to this story

I was truly impressed with this book! One way I knew what would happen but the twist was excellent! The story was good liking the characters and the plot. If there’s another, will get it.

It was ok. Half way through it I lost all interest for it.

It was meh. Ok. Half ay through it I lost al interest for it. Other than that it was ok.

kept me guessing

I enjoyed the narrator! She did an excellent job. The story was interesting and kept me guessing throughout. The romance was a bit too insta love for my taste. overall enjoyable, would recommend.