Half City - (Harker Academy) by Kate Golden (Paperback)

About the Book

"Welcome to Harker Academy for Deviant Defense. Keep your daggers sharp and your wits sharper. Viv Abbot is just like any other 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 mother's approval. She also happens lead a double life as a demon hunter. After Viv's hunter father died, she became a lone wolf. Not only does she hunt deviants alone now, but everyone, including her family, sees her as an outsider...until she crosses paths with the dangerously alluring Reid Graveheart. The reformed demon tells her of a school for people like her: Harker Academy for Deviant Defense. If she enrolls, not only will she learn to hone her craft, she'll never be alone again. Though if it were that easy, wouldn't Viv's father have told her about it before he died? Viv has a deadly secret. One that she can't reveal to her new friends at Harker. Not when the school holds the answer to the many questions Viv has, from untangling the mystery surrounding her father's death to understanding her very existence. All she has to do is try not to fall for a demon and make it through her first year of school in one piece. How hard can that be?"-- Provided by publisher.

Book Synopsis

This deluxe, first-edition trade paperback of Half City will feature beautifully stenciled edges and captivating interior cover art!

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 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?

Review Quotes

"Kate Golden deftly fuses a lush and bewitching dark academia setting, complex characters, and a sizzling slow burn romance in Half City, the unputdownable first installment of a trilogy that will leave readers breathless."--Julie Soto, New York Times bestselling author of Rose in Chains

"Packed with edge-of-your-seat action, steamy scenes that will set your curtains on fire, and some of the wittiest banter I've ever read, Half City is the urban fantasy / dark academia book this Buffy fangirl has been waiting for all her life. I don't know what sort of magic Kate Golden weaves into her books but I hope she never stops. The Harker Academy series is my newest obsession."--Jenna Levine, USA Today bestselling author of Road Trip With a Vampire

"Welcome to Half City, in which Kate Golden does nothing by halves: full-throttle action, a twisty mystery, and a deliciously tense romance make this an absolute romp. Our lead, Viv, is equal parts badass and messy, and her love interest may give you a thing for claws. Absolutely fabulous action writing by Golden, beautifully offset by a story about acceptance, belonging, and what it means to be human."--Brigitte Knightley, author of The Irresistible Urge to Fall For Your Enemy

"Half City is the dark academia demon hunter fantasy novel of my dreams. Kate Golden delivers high stakes and sizzling romance set in an exciting new world. The chemistry between Viv and Reid is electric, and the twists and turns kept me up way past my bedtime. Half City is wickedly sexy and outrageously fun, and I'm obsessed!"--Sarah Hawley, USA Today bestselling author of Servant of Earth

"Is it too early to say this is the best book of 2026? Yes? No? Because it has been a long time since a story has made me feel this way. Bad ass fmc? Check. Academy vibes? Check. Enemies to lovers romance? Check. Refreshing world building with enough nuance and mystery to leave me desperate for more? CHECK. Kate takes all the beloved genre traditions of urban fantasy and academy books and makes it her own, and the result is something rich and entirely new. It's going to be a long time until I get over this book."--Laura Thalassa, USA Today bestselling author of The Four Horsemen series

About the Author

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.