Review: Half Lost (The Half Bad Trilogy, #3)

You know the stories where the ending is all they-live-happily-ever-after? Well, Half Lost (The Half Bad Trilogy, #3) by Sally Green isn’t one of those stories.

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.

The Good

• Underlying Theme – I think the underlying themes in this entire series has been good, but I wanted to really highlight it in this review. Green does a great job about introducing topics such as discrimination, and being able to really extend them throughout the entire story. Some authors introduce themes at the beginning of a book or series and then let them get lost in shuffle and pushed aside. However, Green never does this. The reader is fully aware of the awareness and prejudice throughout the series. Nathan is constantly being the victim of discrimination because he’s a Half-Code and I loved how Green portrayed this.
• Plot – If you like stories where the plot gets dark, messy, and kind of depressing, then you will love how the plot of this trilogy develops throughout all three books. But in Half Lost, shit gets really dark. Revenge, murder, and inner demons are all alive and well here. Let’s be honest, Nathan doesn’t have the happiest of lives.
• The Ending – Dammit, that ending wrecked me. It was both beautiful and sad, and I really wasn’t prepared for it.

The Bad

• The Romance – Yes, yes, yes… I’m still not completely sold with this relationship. I mean it’s portrayed wonderfully and all, but I just still have a hard time with it. I feel like I missed the buildup and because of that, I can’t fully get behind it. It started too soon and ended too soon.
• Messy Climax – I feel that the final battle and culmination of this entire series was just a bit messy. I think things were wrapped up too easily and lacked information that would have helped answer some questions that I still had. I think this could be said for quite a few trilogy finales, actually.

Overall, this was a great book and series. I enjoyed the darker aspects of the characters and plot. I thought it was also a really unique approach to the overdone witches storyline. It was also much more mature than your typical YA paranormal series which I really appreciated. And for me, the cons weren’t enough to detract from my overall experience with this book. Yay!

Final Verdict: 5/5 Stars

Have you read Half Lost? What are your thoughts on this series? Do you think I’m being too generous with my rating?