The Half King Readalong: Day 2!

Beautiful photo by  @bookish_archive

Hello fairy friends!

Welcome to day 2 of the September Romantasy readalong of The Half King by Melissa Landers.

Yesterday’s section was honestly so engaging and I’ve already grown to like Cerise!

Today we’ll be reading from Chapter 7 – to the end of Chapter 12.

When you’ve finished today’s section, catch up with me in the comments down below so we can discuss all of our thoughts!

Please be warned, the following section will include spoilers for The Half King by Melissa Landers from chapter 7 – 12. Please only read on if you have finished this section!

–!SPOILERS!–

Cerise wakes to the smell of smoke, and finding the room that it’s coming from, Kian materialises naked! Cerise is very flustered 😂 and it turns out that Lady Delora had been drugged by the smoke intended for Kian! 

Kian questions why Cerise wasn’t affected by it and she wonders if the necklace her sister had given her had protected her.

Cerise and Kians relationship is warming but seeing him attend to Delora makes Cerise feel things and she’s unsure why she feels achy…

Later when Cerise is having her hair done by three cute maid servants Wren, Lark and Dove, Lady Delora Champlain comes to her room to thank her for saving her life. Interestingly she tells Cerise that she had become the king’s courtesan thinking it would save her. I wonder what she means by that?? 

Daerick arrives at Cerise’s suite after and eats her breakfast 😂 I’m loving their fried and banter! 

Cerise tells him about her tour of the archives and the hidden room. Daerick says Father Padron is dangerous and to not let him know that she knows he hid something from her… 

Daerick is still trying to figure out what the old man had called Cerise and what ‘umbra sangi’ translates to… 

The Mortara dynasty’s role is also not recorded in the scrolls and Cerise surmises it must be because they gathered all the nobles for the Great Betrayal! 

Daerick takes Cerise to the previous emissary’s office, her notebook is missing but suddenly Father Bishop, the hostile priest walks in. He’d been very close to Mother Strout and cannot understand why she had poisoned herself when she had been a devout seer… definitely something more is at play here!

Cerise is on the way to the kennels with Lark, who comments on seeing Kian running drills with the soldiers, that he’s not been seen doing that for a long time! It seems that Kian is keeping his promise to Cerise to fulfil his duties as king! 

Cerise heads to the kennels this time with Kian and he jokes that she’s probably never even been kissed, which wasn’t true. Cerise is still confused about the lessons she’d grown up being told and what the truth could actually be… 

It’s clear Cerise adores animals and they adore her as she plays with some puppies! She bonds with an adorable puppy and Kian says he’s hers. 🥺 Is anyone else’s heart so warm from this cute scene?

Cerise meets Cole Solon for the first time, who seems to recognise something about Cerise’s eyes! He also asks her a few more questions and says he’ll look into it… Interesting! 

Cerise calls the king by his name and I’m honestly just loving their growing relationship! Although it seems that Cerise might be catching feelings for him. 

Cerise is talking to her sister Nina who she finds out is pregnant! But it means that her child will be a firstborn and also carry the curse. This spurs Cerise on to break the curses despite what the Reverend Mother saw for her.

Cerise tells her parents about the other Solon she had met but her parents are shaken and it’s clear they are hiding things from her! Hmm maybe she’s not actually a Solon? 

Cerise names her adorable puppy blue and tells him they’ll be family forever, so sweet! He even protects her the next day as of course she’s forgotten to lock the door… 

Cerise has already memorised habits that Kian has, honestly I live for their moments. Is anyone else so curious to know what he thinks about her??

There have been many attacks lately, especially as the deadline for Kian turning into shadows for good is drawing near. It seems that no one knows why the priests are bound to him but they’ve found a way to creatively get around his orders! 

Finally Cerise realises that there’s probably a hidden meaning in the journal! There are pieces of a drawing hidden in the pages that form what Cerise thinks is a way to break the curse as well as a code. 

Daerick, Cerise and Kian will set off on a quest to find the Petros blade, the key to breaking the curse. 

While in the gardens Blue runs after food 😂 and discovers Delora and her lover Philippa. Delora was stuck in a difficult position as her father wanted her to find a husband as he is old fashioned and so she struck a deal with Kian! 

Kian has just told Cerise he doesn’t resent her despite not liking the priests. Omggg Cerise and Kian almost had their first kiss! 😍 The tension is palpable and I’m sooo excited to see where it’s going to go!

Daerick of course interrupts their moment but his and Kians interactions are just so entertaining 😂 so I guess we’ll forgive him…

Cerise calls them her family, so cute! 

Their guide for the journey is someone who can wield magic and Cerise is once again learning that a lot of what she’s grown up being taught is not true.

The guide is one of the men who met Cerise and Daerick before, he tells them it’ll be a long journey and they don’t know what will come if they earn the runes. 

Although they don’t trust Father Padron, they’ll need his protection for the many beasts who will be after them on the journey. 

Nero wants to talk to Cerise alone and displays some of his magical ability. He asks what they want the blade for and tells Cerise that she isn’t the first to want to break the curse.

No one has found the blade as they haven’t been worthy of such a dangerous weapon, one that can never be destroyed but it can destroy everything…

Nero makes Cerise swear that she alone will touch the blade if she is worthy and to kill anyone who tries to take it from her…

Wow, I’m absolutely loving the story so far and I get so immersed reading that I just want to carry on! 

Do you prefer Cerise’s interactions with Kian or Daerick??
What do you think Cole Solon knows about Cerise?
Do you think Cerise will be worthy enough to claim the Petros blade? 

I’ll catch up with you all in the comments and see you tomorrow for another day of reading! 

Love,
Isla