Dara Kent's "Halfway Wicked" offers readers a ticket to the supernatural arena, where demon-fighting sisters Riss and Lily Wilde navigate a treacherous world filled with secrets, lies, and unexpected twists. While the novel promises an adrenaline-fueled journey through the realms of Heaven and Hell, it falls short of delivering a consistently engaging experience, earning it a three-star rating.

The narrative kicks off with Riss and Lily Wilde, two sisters who were thrust into the world of demon-fighting at a young age. Settled in Nashville, Tennessee, the sisters find stability after years of battling creatures from the depths of Hell. However, when a fellow hunter is found dead, the story takes an unexpected turn, revealing secrets that challenge everything Riss and Lily thought they knew.

Kent introduces a mix of supernatural elements, from demons and angelic forces to the potential unraveling of the universe. The premise holds promise, and the urban fantasy setting is a playground for creative storytelling. The world-building, while intriguing, lacks some necessary depth, leaving readers with only a partial understanding of the rules that govern this supernatural realm.

The characters, particularly Riss, are the novel's strength. Riss's determination to protect her loved ones at any cost is a driving force, and her complex relationships add depth to the narrative. The sisterly bond between Riss and Lily is a focal point, providing emotional weight to the story. However, some secondary characters feel underdeveloped, with missed opportunities to add layers to their personalities.

The pacing of the novel is uneven, with moments of high tension interspersed with slower, more introspective scenes. While this variation can create a dynamic reading experience, it occasionally disrupts the flow of the story. Additionally, the plot's twists, while meant to be surprising, may leave some readers struggling to connect the dots between the various revelations.

The writing style is straightforward, with a balance of action and introspection. Kent's descriptive prose effectively paints the scenes, allowing readers to visualize the supernatural elements at play. However, some readers may find the dialogue and narrative lacking the depth and polish needed to fully immerse them in the story.

In conclusion, "Halfway Wicked" by Dara Kent is a three-star read that ventures into the supernatural realm with a promising premise and a strong protagonist. While the novel offers moments of excitement and emotional resonance, inconsistencies in world-building, pacing, and character development hinder its full potential. If you're a fan of urban fantasy with a penchant for familial bonds and celestial battles, "Halfway Wicked" might still offer an entertaining escape, albeit with some narrative hiccups along the way.

Really enjoyed this book it was fast paced which I enjoyed. I could not put it down. The character development was great and felt like I was invested in seeing what would happen Thank you Netgalley for allowing me to read it.

I did not enjoy this book unfortunately.. It felt like there was no stakes, the characters are one dimensional, and there's no plotline. It also felt like the various scenes were jumping around and at times made very little sense

What did I just read? I thought it was supposed to be about demons/monsters/hunters. The characters were not likable, nor personable. Too much sex- and it wasn’t even good sex. I don’t know, but not my favorite.

Unfortunately this wasn’t for me, the writing I thought needed work, it was quick read which was the bonus, whilst the premise of the book interested me. I found it cliche and nothing original, it was like so many other books had done before but not as well. Lacking in decent developed characters and plot.

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a free copy for an honest opinion

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for early access to this title! Unfortunately I didn’t get through the book past the half way mark, it wasn’t to my taste but I wish it all the best!

I wanted to love this book so much - the cover and concept were wonderful - but it just fell so flat. Flat enough that at 65%, I dnf'd. I couldn't take any more of the whining from the main character, Riss. I just couldn't force myself to spend any more time with that character. All in all, not one I'll be picking up again, or any other in the series in the future.

Did Not Finish

I found this to be very cliche writing, from the magic (sounded like every basic magic book out there, or tv show) not original at all, or even realistic. It was almost like the author hand picked their favorite magic things from favorite stories and used it. The sex was described so basically in comparison to what it could have been.

I feel like it’s just another story like every other , so I couldn’t finish it. Lacked major originality in characters and plot.

i really enjoyed reading this book, it had what I was looking for in this type of book. The characters were great and I enjoyed the adventure.

This book was a wild time. I felt like some of it was probably rushed as well? Sad the sisters had to fight in a ring but also being marked by heaven and hell what did they expect?

This is the first time I have read anything by this author before. I really enjoyed this book . I was hooked from the first page. I can’t wait for the second one. There was lots of twists in the book that I did not see coming at all. The story about Riss and her sister lily that have been twice marked and are fighting demons so they go to heaven. I warmed to the characters straight the way . I liked how it left you on cliff hanger. I hope the second book is just as good.
Thank you NetGalley for letting me read this book.

I really enjoyed this book. I felt like there were a lot of twists and turns, which kept me turning the pages for more.
I was a bit apprehensive as demons have been done a lot recently, but this book had something new to offer, which I found refreshing.
I think it was a great way to open up the series and I'm looking forward to what comes next.

Okay, so the cover isn't half bad. However... that's about where it ends. The writing wasn't the best in my personal opinion, but atleast the book was a very quick read. I liked the IDEA of this story, I just didn't really like how it was done.

Sister Sister! This book was a great super-fast read that sucked me right in. Energetic, sassy, no f*** given with some good old spice! Yeah!
Set in modern-day, post-pandemic Nashville, two sisters who grew up fighting arena fighting demons now find themselves trying to hunt a killer that is hunting their kind. Always feeling like they are fighting their way out of tight spots, backs against the wall, these sisters will fight, tooth and nail for each other and the truth.
Definitely worth the quick pick and read.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC. This review was completely mine and written in my words based on my opinion.

Demon hunters, and sisters, Riss and Lily are twice marked - both Heaven and Hell claim their blood. In order to save their souls they have to kill as many demons as possible to hopefully cancel out Hell’s hold on them. When their friends start dying and Riss starts having more paranoid thoughts than normal she has to put aside her issues and find out who’s really going to help her free her sister’s soul. Nothing else matters but Lily’s safety to Riss, and she’ll do anything to keep her that way.

The premise was good. I liked the idea and maybe later books will be better overall but this just felt like a LOT of set up and not enough fleshing out. But I enjoyed the characters, the spice level was excellent, language was a bit much for my personal taste but overall I’m hopeful for the next books to have more depth.

Halfway Wicked has a great premise with twice marked demon hunters. I started have some major problems with it very early on. I get that the main protagonist, Riss, is going to have some issues that need to be overcome through the story but it felt like every page had her saying how messed up she was, why was she this way, or I hate this but she never tries to change. She is not likeable and I found her inner monologues boring. There is also the relationship with her on again/off again boyfriend as they both are so stubborn. Her only redeemable quality was her love of her sister. The concept of this story was so interesting I just wish it would have stayed on the plot instead of focusing on all her personal problems.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for an eARC of this book for an honest review.

I read this book till about 42 percent and could not continue it further. First of all, the book is categorised as a fantasy, and in the beginning 10 percent of the book, I was hooked. The heaven-hell thing along with fighting demons was really intriguing. However, the book barely had any fantastic elements after that and instead focused entirely on the on again off again romance of the protagonist and her ex boyfriend. The romance and sex became the primary plotline, which is not my cup of tea. Secondly, the thing which forced me to stop reading was that the book had the corona virus pandemic in it. The mentions of masks and sanitizers was too overwhelming for me, considering the fact that the pandemic is still very much going on.

This took some going, for me a book has to grip me from first few pages this disnt BUT I'm sooooo glad I stuck it out because omg what a book, I loved the story line to this but the main female character Riss omg she is my new hero this book has it all its definitely one of my favourite reads of 2022 so far and this is book 127 of the year, such an enjoyable easy but brilliant read, I've added this to my paperback collection.

Review on Amazon.co.uk under claire87 and goodreads as claires_book_adventures

2/5
Unfortunately, I didn't really enjoy this book and I really hated the love interest. He came off extremely creepy and was practically a stalker and for some reason, it was supposed to come off as him caring about her? I just couldn't really connect to any of the characters and the plot felt a bit boring towards me. Overall I didn't enjoy this book and I wouldn't recommend it.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for providing me with this arc in exchange for an honest review.

Lucky to receive this as an Arc via net galley for an honest review.

I really enjoy books with the angel/demon/supernatural theme so a book about a demon Hunter seemed right up my street.

Riss and Lily are twice marked demon hunters who strive to kill enough demons to allow their souls to go to heaven.
Except all is not as it seems when other demon hunters start to turn up dead, they need to find the culprit and what they were looking for.

I enjoyed this storyline, it moved at a good pace with some flashbacks to provide the backstory.

Unfortunately I didn’t really connect with the main character Riss, she was strong and could kill a range of demons with her custom blades but she was very selfish and manipulative, which didn’t make her very likeable.
Her relationship with Jensen, her on again-off again boyfriend seemed unhealthy with a power struggle for dominance between them. Lily the flower loving, demon bait was the star of this Scooby gang.

The story becomes more interesting in the final chapters leading to a cliffhanger, however I’m not sure I’m invested enough to want to find out more.