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 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 if 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, all while trying to ace her classes, avoid falling for a demon, and make it through her first year at Harker in one piece. How hard could that be?

Half City by Kate Golden has engaging mysteries and a new view on demon hunting. I love the presentation of Viv, her strange abilities even among her own kind and the mysteries that surround her and the school. The mysteries keep you engaged as does the relationship between Viv and Reid, as she realizes not everything is what she expected.

The love-hate relationship between Viv and Reid is carefully built and has a great resolution just as things come to head with the strange occurrences plaguing the students. I love that there are several surprises but I wish the story didn't end in as much of a cliffhanger as it does. The ending does make me want to come back for more but I prefer a more straightforward ending.

If you like urban fantasy with a gritty bite and a bit of romance, you will like this intriguing novel by Kate Golden. It has a fiery heroine, a devilishly handsome hero and tons of engaging mysteries and found family. I can't wait to read the next installment.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5 knives. ~~ Andrea Rittschof

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