Half City by Kate Golden | Characters, review, spice, triggers etc
Half City by Kate Golden is a demon x demon hunter dark academia romantasy with Buffy & Supernatural vibes.
This one absolutely blew me away! I’ve written a Half City book review to explain in detail why and also included a Half City character guide plus trigger warnings, tropes and a few other tidbits.
And look, if you are seeking info on the Half City spice levels and spicy chapters (whether to sidestep them or to run straight there… no judgment, we support both), I’ve also got you covered.
So put on your demon hunting boots and get ready to meet Viv Abbott, Reid Graveheart and a cast of delightful found family. Including Hound, the dog!
Happy reading!
Half City 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?
Half City characters.
Half City is narrated from a first person point of view, from the perspective of Viv Abbott, a twenty-one year old woman, navigating new friendships, grief and belonging in the fantastical city of Astera, which has a giant chasm down the middle. (Sidenote: Totally gave me NYC vibes).
Here is a list of all Half City characters we meet in the book one of the series, by Kate Golden.
Main characters.
The main characters in Half City are:
Vivienne Abbot, aka ‘Viv,’ aka ‘Huntress’, our FMC.
Reid Graveheart, our demon boy MMC and Harker Academy combat instructor.
Art shared by author @kategoldenauthor and artist @lyyzis_art via Instagram.
Supporting characters.
Here’s a list of all the characters named in Half City apart from our main ones.
Penelope Pine, aka, Penny (Viv’s bestie)
James Pine (Penny’s brother and Viv’s boyfriend)
Deacon
Nora (Viv’s sister)
Fiona Hyde (Nora’s wife/Viv’s sister in law)
Beatrice Abbot (Viv’s mother)
Laura Pine (Penny’s mother)
Stan Pine (Penny’s father)
Baz
Ward
Finn
Caspar Harlock
Marta
Burrito mom
Professors and staff of Harker Academy
Reid Graveheart
Professor Gemeline Lisette
Dean Edgar Driscoll
Professor Rosalind Dawnmere
Professor Maxwell Crowley
Students of Harker Academy (besides Viv)
Sophia Valentine
Kitty Briggs
Peter Roydon
Elliot
Matt Peverell
Mila
Ingrid
Lyra Roth
Mentioned in Half City.
David Abbot
Ada Cadell
Review: Half City by Kate Golden.
View my Half City review and follow me on GoodReads here.
Spice level: 🌶🌶🌶
3/5, it’s a slow burn, but it’s explicitly detailed open door spice
Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Charmed. Supernatural. Some people might label these late 90s to 2000s TV series as washed up or nostalgic but I’d personally call them formative to my childhood/youth and perhaps somewhat responsible for my fascination with attractive morally conflicted demons.
Either way, Half City by Kate Golden (and K Pop Demon Hunters) reiterates what I (and maybe you) already knew: there’s just something compelling about that demon x demon hunter enemy dynamic that makes it hit harder, especially when boundaries blur. That's why reading this gave me that same feeling as those TV series of yesteryear.
Additionally, characters have to interrogate their pre-conceived ideologies about who is worthy of empathy and I think authors need to be really careful when playing around with this dynamic. But I think the author understood the weighty implications and responsibility of dem real world parallels and did a fantastic job in being meaningful in the way characters expressed their ethical killing codes and challenging species hierarchy and discrimination.
And this depth extends beyond ideology into worldbuilding. Astera absolutely gave me NYC vibes (ILY NYC 💌) except fantastical and with a giant chasm down the middle of it.
Similarly, I get the comparisons to my favourite dark academia series, Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo, in regards to sprawling academic institutions, sentient compendiums, magical creature lore and eclectic ensemble of supernatural beings. I won’t spoil the fun in naming the supernatural beings, I def recommend discovering them for yourself (here are some emoji hints for the super obvious ones though: 🧛♀️🐺😈🧚♀️).
And we're all agreed that we can classify James—Viv’s regular human boyfriend—as a complete prick, right? Get in the bin, James.
Yet I think the thing that truly stood out to me in Half City was the FOUND FAMILY. I think this is one of my favourite found families I have ever imprinted on? Sophia, Peter, Elliot and Penny felt so warm and serotonin boosting and were just a joy to read about anytime they were on page. If you are familiar with Jessica Jones and Trish Walker, you may see parallels between FMC, Viv, a demon hunter with black cat energy and Penny, her ray of sunshine bestie flatmate. Also a shoutout to Hound, Viv & Penny’s dog, who they found in a dumpster. (Adopt don’t shop.)
Now I think in some parts especially, some readers are going to find Viv’s decisions and attitude a bit insufferable, self-pitying and even self-sabotaging and that’s totally fair. However, I interpreted it as character development and growth, and look, I ain’t gonna judge our girl Viv for it, she’s been through a lot. Such as watching a bunch of demons kill her beloved father in front of her, as a helpless child, and probs dealing with a bunch of grief, loneliness and trauma. Hence the demon hatred she's harbouring.
And the part everyone is probably curious about: the romance. YES. WE LIKE. I’m invested. Spice is between 2-3 🌶 but it takes a while to get there and it is earned. And it’s worth noting I am always apprehensive about the student-teacher relationship because it can be problematic for obvious reasons, but this was handled with care and unproblematicness, in my personal opinion.
Okay and ultimately… yes, there are some twists in the last 30% or so but what really got me was THE ENDING? I have written down so many theories. So many. I almost drew a diagram. I was waiting to see if I was correct. But I can assure you no loose ends were tied up. I repeat, there are no tidy bows, there is no closure. In fact, the door has been kicked open to new possibilities and directions in the second book. It’s diabolical. I am a wee bit outraged.
So yes, Half City is exactly my taste. And I super highly recommend it to anyone who feels the same joy and nostalgia and fondness for all the same things as me.
A huge thanks to Kate Golden for reaching out and sending me an advance copy via Netgalley and Quercus.
View my review and follow me on GoodReads here. I chat about books a lot.
Half City book FAQs.
SPOILER ALERT:
Some answers WILL spoil this book if you haven’t read it already. Proceed with caution.
Is Half City part of a series?
Yes, Half City is the book one in the The Harker Academy series by Kate Golden.
When will Cursed City, book 2 in the Harker Academy series by Kate Golden come out?
Cursed City is listed on Goodreads to be published on the 13 of October 2026.
What are the content and trigger warnings?
Blood
Death
Death of parent
Injury and injury details
Explicit sexual content
Violence
Murder
Classism
Gore
Torture
Grief
Cursing
Toxic relationship
Confinement
Coercion
Fantasy drugs
Medical content
Injury detail
Is Half City spicy?
Yes Half City is pretty spicy! But imo, it’s earned.
What is the Half City spice level?
Spice level: 🌶🌶🌶
3/5, explicitly detailed open door spice in a couple of places.
What are the Half City spicy chapters?
As always, spice is rated on a highly subjective spice scale, ranging from one chilli for mild and more chillies for the hotter and more explicit. Here’s where all the Half City spicy chapters and action lives.
Chapter 36: 🌶
Chapter 37: 🌶🌶
Chapter 45: 🌶🌶🌶
What are the Half City tropes?
Morally grey characters
Forbidden romance
Student x teacher
Mortal enemies to lovers
Demon hunter x Demon
Touch her and die
Who did this to you
Hurt/comfort
Black cat FMC x Sunshine bestie
Black cat FMC x grumpy MMC
Slow burn
Dark academia
Enjoyed reading Half City by Kate Golden? You may also enjoy reading:
Arcana Academy by Elise Kova
Terror at the Gates by Scarlett St. Clair
The Book of Azrael by Amber Nicole
We Who Will Die by Stacia Stark
Daggermouth by H. M. Wolfe
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