Book Review

I Still Believe That I Cannot Be Saved — Half Lost by Sally Green {Book Review}

Half Lost by Sally GreenTitle: Half Lost (Half Bad #3)
Author: Sally Green
Publisher: Viking Books
Release Date:  March 29th, 2016
Standalone/Series: Part three in a trilogy
Genre: Young Adult – Fantasy

Goodreads link

My rating in stars: 4,5 stars
My rating in words: I loved it!

What it’s about:

This is the final battle.

The Alliance is losing the war, and their most critical weapon, seventeen-year-old witch Nathan Byrn, is losing his mind. Nathan’s tally of kills is rising, and yet he’s no closer to ending the tyrannical rule of the Council of White Witches in England. Nor is Nathan any closer to his personal goal: getting revenge on Annalise, the girl he once loved before she committed an unthinkable crime. An amulet protected by the extremely powerful witch Ledger could be the tool Nathan needs to save himself and the Alliance, but this amulet is not so easily acquired. And lately Nathan has started to suffer from visions: a vision of a golden moment when he dies, and of an endless line of Hunters, impossible to overcome. Gabriel, his closest companion, urges Nathan to run away with him, to start a peaceful life together. But even Gabriel’s love may not be enough to save Nathan from this war, or from the person he has become.

Set in modern-day Europe, the final book in the Half Bad trilogy is more than a story about witches. It’s a heart-achingly visceral look at survival and exploitation, the nature of good and evil, and the risks we take for love.

My thoughts (Spoiler-free):

“You’ve been away a long time. Were you lost?”
“I was wounded, not lost.”

Ugh. This book. I’m not sure whether I love or hate it. I mean, obviously I love this series. It’s one of my all-time favorites. And this finale was amazing and delivered on so many fronts. But man, it also broke me. I can’t deal. I can’t get over it. I can’t write a coherent review.

As for the amazing, Half Lost continues with everything I already loved from Half Bad and Half Wild. The unique and super personal writing style. The moral ambiguity in every single character. The most real main character ever. The emotions. The friendships. The love. This book made me laugh and cry and cheer and mourn and root and angst. Everything a book should make me do.

In Half Lost, the stakes are even higher. The Alliance has taken a heavy hit and Nathan is struggling. He’s obsessed with revenge and slowly losing himself in the process. His character development both in this book and in the series as a whole is just so perfect. He is one of those main characters that will stay in my heart for a long time still.

Also in my heart? Gabriel. I have loved Gabriel from book one and it has been so amazing to watch his relationship with Nathan develop. Though it hurt to have Nathan friendzoning Gabriel in the past, this book really makes their relationship shine. OTP right here.

But there is so much more going on than Nathan and Gabriel. They are not the only characters. There are plenty of amazing side characters that will easily make you fall in love with them. But it’s still a dark, bleak book. A war is going on and there will be losses. Guard your heart. I haven’t sobbed this hard over a book in a while.

As for the ending, I am still torn as to how I feel about it. It’s brutal. Bittersweet. But brilliant. This entire series was just brilliant.

Favorite quotes:

“Learn from your mistakes but expect your enemies to learn from theirs.”

“Is Gabriel still mad at me?”
“Nesbitt hesitates and then says, “On a scale of one to ten, I’d say he’s at nine and a half.”
“So, it could be worse then.”
“He’ll calm down.” Nesbitt nudges me and says, “The best thing about arguments is the making-up after. I see a big reconciliation ahead for you two: you apologise and he takes you into his arms and –“
“Nesbitt, shut up.”

“Gabriel says, ‘He swears like Nathan, but any uneducated idiot can do that.’
I swear at him now, not sure if he’s joking or not. ‘Just tell her it’s me, Gabriel.’
He comes to me, puts a hand on my chest and looks into my eyes, saying, ‘But is it you?’ Then he
leans closer to me, his body against mine, and he moves his mouth to my ear and I feel his breath as he whispers, ‘You’ve been away a long time. Were you lost?’
I turn to him, my lips brushing his hair as I mumble, ‘I got fucking wounded, bloody lost and
climbed the shitting Eiger.’
‘Close, but not exactly –’
‘I’m sticking to the spirit of it rather than word for word.’
Gabriel turns to Greatorex, saying, ‘It’s him. But still feel free to shoot him.”

Have you read Half Lost? What did you think about it?