Title: Half CityAuthor: Kate Golden
Series: Harker Academy #1
Pages: 496
Publication Date: Feb. 17, 2026
Publisher: Berkley
Genres: Fiction / Romance / Fantasy / Romantasy
Synopsis:
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?
This blog uses affiliate links for some book recommendations, and if you purchase through them, I may earn a small commission. Thanks for supporting this little bookish corner of the internet!
Kate Golden is an auto-buy author for me, so I was thrilled to get an early copy of Half City. It was fantastic! From the very first chapter, I knew this was going to be my kind of romantasy. Demon hunters, a hidden academy, a found family, a broody demon with secrets, and a swoon-worthy love story…sign me up! lol
Viv is such a compelling protagonist, and it is so easy to become immersed in her chaotic, complicated life. She’s juggling a thankless job, a boyfriend she doesn’t even like, a mother she can never quite please, and she hunts demons in her spare time. And now, she has to attend a super-secret and dangerous academy where the odds seem stacked against her. The grief over her father’s murder shapes everything about her, from her moral code to her isolation, and I loved how layered and dynamically developed she was. She’s reckless, and sarcastic, and cocky at times, and watching her slowly grow, soften, and let people in was fantastic.
The world-building is really interesting, too, and has a gritty, dark feel to it. The lore around deviants, the chasm, and the hunters’ legacy is rich, and once Viv gets to Harker Academy, I was obsessed. Secret wards, combat training, magical theory, and political intrigue fill the days, and with all the lies, secrets, and viciousness, there’s never a dull moment for Viv. I loved learning more about the school and society alongside Viv as she attends her classes. She is as uninformed as the reader in many ways, and I liked how the author revealed these elements through classroom instruction and dialogue. It’s also interesting to learn about her father’s ties to the school and how it all relates to Viv.
And the found family? My heart! This is one of my absolute favorite tropes, and it’s done so well here. Watching Viv go from being alone to building friendships with people who understand her was the best! Sophia, Elliot, and Peter brought humor, warmth, and charm to the story (and to Viv’s life) that balanced out the heavier moments well. With Sophia, Elliot, and Peter, Viv can be herself and doesn’t have to hide anything or pretend to be something she’s not. She gets to be fully Viv, powers, trauma, sarcasm, and all. The warmth, the banter and teasing, and the loyalty she receives from her friends contrast her relationship with her awful family well, and highlight just how lonely she’s really been.
Of course, my favorite part of the story is the romance between Viv and Reid. Ahhhh, Reid!! Broody, secretive, and morally complicated, he’s also so clearly gone for Viv long before she is ready to see it. The slow burn between them was perfection. It’s tense and layered, and riddled with sexual tension. The fact that Viv is a demon hunter and Reid is a reformed demon (the same kind tied to her father’s death) adds so much tension to the story, and it changes everything Viv knows about the very creatures she hunts. The sparring, the arguments, the charged silences, the angst and longing all added to the swoon-worthiness of their love story.
I thought this was a fabulous start to Golden’s new series. It’s immersive and layered, and by the end, I was emotionally wrecked in the best possible way. The magic system, the academy setting, the found family, the high-stakes mystery, and that slow-burn romance all make for a memorable read. I loved the characters, and I’m feeling a little desperate to know what happens next! lol Special thanks to Kate Golden, NetGalley, and Berkley for providing me a copy of the book. All thoughts are my own.
“When we’re together, Viv…I don’t know. I feel reborn-I see myself in your eyes, and I like the reflection.
- dark academia
- demon hunter FMC
- demon x demon hunter
- forbidden romance
- he falls first
- found family
Kate Golden is the USA Today bestselling author of The Sacred Stones trilogy. She lives in Los Angeles where she works in the film industry developing movies with screenwriters and filmmakers. When she isn’t telling stories, Kate is an avid book reader, puzzle addict, and game night enthusiast which she hosts with her husband and puppy, Milo. You can find her on Instagram at @KateGoldenAuthor and on TikTok at @Kate_Golden_Author.
