Half City by Kate Golden

Buffy-inspired vibes meet forbidden tension.

Half City pulled me in right away with its early-2000s urban fantasy energy. The demon hunter premise carries strong Buffy-inspired vibes that felt familiar in a comforting way, and I was immediately curious to see where the story would go.

Viv is a capable heroine, and I appreciated that she enters the story already skilled rather than starting from zero. At times, though, her internal narration leans too heavily on telling us how ruthless she is instead of letting her actions show it. The friendships were a highlight for me, especially Penny and the found-family dynamic that develops at Harker Academy.

The romance had moments that worked emotionally, and I liked the tension of a forbidden connection, but the execution didn’t always land. Some of the more intimate scenes pulled me out of the story, and there’s still so much left unexplored about Reid that it made the relationship feel uneven. The pacing was also inconsistent. There are strong action beats and an intriguing mystery tied to Viv’s past, but slower sections caused the story to drag for me.

The book ends on a major cliffhanger that almost convinced me to continue the series, but I’m still on the fence. Overall, Half City has a strong concept, likable characters, and nostalgic urban fantasy vibes, but uneven pacing and execution kept it from fully clicking for me. A solid middle-of-the-road read.