Half Bad (The Half Bad Trilogy #1) by Sally Green

Half Bad (The Half Bad Trilogy #1) by Sally Green

Goodreads Synopsis
Wanted by no one.
Hunted by everyone.

Sixteen-year-old Nathan lives in a cage: beaten, shackled, trained to kill. In a modern-day England where two warring factions of witches live amongst humans, Nathan is an abomination, the illegitimate son of the world's most terrifying and violent witch, Marcus. Nathan's only hope for survival is to escape his captors, track down Marcus, and receive the three gifts that will bring him into his own magical powers—before it's too late. But how can Nathan find his father when there is no one safe to trust, not even family, not even the girl he loves?

Half Bad is an international sensation and the start of a brilliant trilogy: a gripping tale of alienation and the indomitable will to survive.

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This book started off kind of "meh" to me since I didn't like the second person parts, but once Nathan re-identified with himself, it was a whirlwind of adventure. However, it felt underwhelming. Once certain pieces were mentioned in the book multiple times (and I mean multiple times), it was obvious they were actually going to happen. I would have liked more travelogue (and I hate those) to find out how Nathan got to various points in his journey after Trev. I also need more Arran and more Gabriel. Definitely more Gabriel. Gabriel was the best part of this novel and he was in like the last 10% of it. 

I think the world building was good though, and the mythology made sense, which is always a good sign.
But I just wasn't overly excited or anticipating anything. There was no big conflict and the ending felt extremely underwhelming. I know there is more and that this was the beginning of a trilogy, but it felt like nothing actually happened. Nathan grew up and turned 17. That's it. The book didn't really give much in terms of laying groundwork for a conflict; there was obviously some tension between parties, but it doesn't seem like enough to have two more novels based on. Hopefully the second book gives a bit more, especially in the magic department since there was like zero magic for a book about witches.


Overall: 3/5 stars specifically for Gabriel. He is my everything.