BOOKS | Review: The Half King by Melissa Landers

Name: The Half King (The Half King #1)

Author: Melissa Landers

Publisher: Transworld (Penguin)

Date published: Originally November 2024, this edition 2025

Genre: Fiction, young adult, fantasy, romance

Pages: 480

Rating: 4/5

A king by day. Shadow by night...
Long ago, the kingdom’s noble houses rebelled 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, 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 centre sits His Majesty Kian Hannibal Mortara, with his haunting eyes, sharp tongue, and an unerring ability to send her pulse skittering.
As the spectre of his twenty-first birthday – and the full force of his curse – approaches, the kingdom holds its breath.
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.

- From Goodreads. 

This story had a lot of twists and turns which made for an exciting plot! There was definitely always something happening. I figured out a couple of the plot twists, but not all of them, so the storyline still suprised me.

Kian and Cerise were both interesting characters and I enjoyed their romance, they did fall for each other very quickly, but it was very sweet so that did not really stop me from enjoying it, and I liked how after arguments and disagreements, Kian helped Cerise to learn that it would not mean the end of their relationship and they could talk through things and understand each other, it was very refreshing to read.

This was not a perfect story, but it was certainly enjoyable and the suspense of the mysteries and challenges they had to face kept me reading! I will definitely read the next book to find out what happens next. 

BOOKS | Review: Paladin's Grace by T. Kingfisher

Name: Paladin's Grace (The Saint of Steel #1)

Author: T. Kingfisher

Publisher: Orbit

Date published: First published February 2020, this edition published April 2025

Genre: Fiction, adult, fantasy, romance

Pages: 384

Rating: 5/5

 

Whilst foraging for startleflower, perfumer Grace finds herself pursued by ruffians and rescued by a handsome paladin in shining armour. Only, to outwit her hunters they must pretend to be doing something very unrespectable in an alleyway.
Stephen, a broken paladin, spends his time knitting socks and working as a bodyguard, living only for the chance to be useful. But that all changes when he saves Grace and witnesses an assassination attempt gone wrong. Now, Stephen and Grace must navigate a web of treachery and poisoners, while a cryptic killer stalks one step behind.

- From Goodreads. 

This was such an enjoyable story, it had a really brilliant sense of humour that was balanced well with the more serious moments, loveable characters, and fascinating world-building.

I really loved the romance between Grace and Stephen, they had both been through some really terrible things in their pasts, so it was understandable why they both felt uncertain and struggled with believing they could be in a relationship, but it was very heartwarming seeing them eventually being able to find comfort and trust in each other. I think the way the attraction between them and their feelings for each other were slowly built was well done and was written and paced very well and the story ended in a satisfying place for them.

I think the side characters were written very well and I am quite curious to see more of each paladin in further books in the series.

I will definitely be continuing with the series as I am intrigued to see how the story continues, learn more about the characters and the world, and I will definitely enjoy reading more of T. Kingfisher's writing style. 

BOOKS | Review: The Lord of Stariel by A.J. Lancaster

Name: The Lord of Stariel (Stariel #1)

Author: A.J. Lancaster 

Publisher: Camberion Press

Date published: October 2018

Genre: Fiction, adult, fantasy, romance, faeries, cosy

Pages: 322

Rating: 5/5

The Lord of Stariel is dead. Long live the Lord of Stariel. Whoever that is. Everyone knows who the magical estate will choose for its next ruler. Or do they?Will it be the lord’s eldest son, who he despised? His favourite nephew, with the strongest magical land-sense? His scandalous daughter, who ran away from home years ago to study illusion? Hetta knows it won’t be her, and she’s glad of it. Returning home for her father’s funeral, all Hetta has to do is survive the family drama and avoid entanglements with irritatingly attractive local men until the Choosing. Then she can leave. But whoever Stariel chooses will have bigger problems than eccentric relatives to deal with. Winged, beautifully deadly problems. For the first time in centuries, the fae are returning to the Mortal Realm, and only the Lord of Stariel can keep the estate safe. In theory.

- From Goodreads. 

This was such a lovely, cosy fantasy, the concept of the sentient land that the family has a connection to was so interesting and I loved how at first Hetta felt so distanced from it and her family, but slowly began to feel closer to it and to feel like she really belonged amongst her family there. It was very heartwarming to see her find her place and her confidence.

The romance was also very sweet, I think the author built the chemistry well, along with the tension, and I think the mystery around the love interest and the secrets he had really added to that.

All the side characters felt well fleshed-out and full of personality too, and they all felt well-defined and distinctive from each other, even though there were quite a lot of them.

I am really curious to see how the story continues in the next book, as although I think it wrapped up Hetta's journey of returning to Stariel and finding her place there in a satisfying way, it still left plenty of plot lines unresolved and I think it will be exciting to see what happens in the rest of the series. I'm especially fascinated to see which of the faerie characters we will meet and what part they will play.

Overall this was a very charming and fun book to read and obviously I'll be continuing with the series, and I would like to read more from this author in general as I very much enjoyed their writing style.