I unfortunately forgot to download the e-book on my kindle before it was archived and/or lost interest in the book because it’s been on my tbr for way too long, so I wasn’t able to read and review it (on time). Since I Must give a star rating, I’ve given it 3 stars to stay neutral/in the middle. Sorry to the publisher for not having gotten around to actually read it. I never request a book without the best of intention to read it and review it, since I know how important it is to the authors in particular. But sometimes life happens and/or reading preferences change so much that you just don’t always get around to read a certain book anymore, even though at the time of requesting I was definitely planning to actually read it of course.

Enjoyable world building and romance! I’m really looking forward to the next book coming out and finding out what happens next. Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read this!

I really liked how this book transcended and blended my favorite parts of different genres. It has fantasy, romance, dystopian and so much more. We also have a mixed race main character which is something nice to see and it was an impressive debut novel that is for sure.

#TheHalfClass #NetGalley

A really interesting read between dark and light classes; something I can identify with, especially if I had been born in Evie's world. Chances are I'd be categorized as half class under Prince Cass's father's rule.

Being looked after by her Madam aunt, Evie's life is narrowing down to choices: either marry, or work for her aunt, neither of which truly appeals to her. As part of a rebellion, Evie sees the much bigger picture that is shifted once she meets Prince Cass and draws closer to him. This relationship is a perfect 'in' for the rebels and Evie is now torn between love, changing her future, and changing her world into a more balanced and free one.

I enjoyed The Half-Class and hopefully will be able to read a sequel soon.

This was a great YA read! I loved the fantasy throughout this story and it kept me going the entire time. Great story and I can’t wait to reread it!

Well. This is my first less than positive review featured on the blog, and while it was bound to happen, I’m bummed it’s this one because I was actually really interested in the premise when I requested it on NetGalley. Despite my initial interest, now that I’ve read it, I found little to like, and a lot that I disliked, so I guess I’ll just get into it.


I’ll start with the one thing I didn’t dislike: the writing. The book was in the first person, which again, I’m not the biggest fan of, but this book didn’t stray into overtly cringey territory. In fact, I barely noticed the writing; it wasn’t incredible as to catch my attention, and it wasn’t bad as to make me want to throw myself out a window. It was just fine. Which made me a lil sad when I realized that it was my favorite part of the book.

Now for my…less positive comments. To start, I’m just going to share a little snapshot of the notes I made while reading the book, so you can really see what my thought process:

- babes i’m not super into this
- nothing had really happened? and we’re 34% in?
- the world building is barely existent i want to know moreeeee
- the insta-love is off putting im sorry
- 57% in not interested in many characters :/
- scratch that, 83% in and i’m not even remotely invested in the characters
- finally done — no real plot, just vibes huh

So yes we’ll start with the plot/story itself because honestly, it was probably the most disappointing part. The premise sounded cool and interesting, but the meat of the plot wasn’t really there, or it didn’t feel pressing at all, until the last 5% of the book or so. The book really lacked world building too; I wanted more context and information about the conflict and the struggle, and I got just about none. The premise and world had potential, but in the end, it just fell painfully flat.

The Half Class was very character-focused, which admittedly, I wasn’t expecting when I originally read the description of the book. But don’t get me wrong; I don’t mind character focused books. In fact, I love them. I’m a character driven reader, and there’s rarely a time that I’ll give a book 5 stars if that heavy character exploration and presence isn’t there. But the problem with this book, as outlined above in my notes, was that I couldn’t bring myself to care, even 1%, about a single character. All characters fell into two groups: really irritating characters, and characters I just had no opinion about because they were so incredibly irrelevant to my reading experience. I was both bored and irritated by the main character, immensely bored by the love interest, and their insta-love relationship had no chemistry, which made the little bit of plot that snuck through, feel like a stretch.

Finally, a smaller one of my qualms was simply the treatment of sex work in the book. I won’t elaborate, but let’s just say it left a bit of a bad taste in my mouth.

Overall, a disappointing 1.5/5 stars. I was really hoping for more, and I’m sad I didn’t get it :(

I received a copy of this book for a fair and honest review. This is is a book that taking the reader on a wild ride between classes divided and the line that is in-between. It shows that we all have something to overcome. That not everything is as it seems. I like Evie is an interest character. She is part of a group that is trying to take doing the upper crust known as the Light Class. She is part of the half-class that is to dark for the Light Class, but to light for her the Dark Class. The King is planning something that could destroy the Half-Class and in the process of trying to find a way to stop the King Evie meets Prince Cass at her Aunt's place of business. Now those she is working with want to use him for their cause. Evie is torn for she is developing feeling for Cass. What is a girl to do?

Thank you to NetGalley, The Parliament House, and Kayvion Lewis for an ARC of this book. Everything in this review is my own.

This book gave me major Red Queen vibes and I appreciated that a lot. The book follows Evie, a half-class citizen as she tries to overthrow the current class system set in place by the monarchy along with a group of rebels. She wants out of the life she knows currently, wants better for herself and all of the other half-class people, and doesn't feel like people need to be classified based on the color of their skin or their birth. (US societal issues anyone? I was HERE FOR IT!) There are light class people (elite) and dark class people (lower class but still ok if they were pure) and then artificial light or dark - meaning they were a mix of light and dark class parents. Evie gets used and abused throughout this book as she works for her cause, and while I had issues with some of her decisions I can't necessarily say I would make different ones in her shoes - I don't know what I would have done in her shoes. As I drew closer to the end I realized that the book was going to end on a massive cliffhanger and I was not ok with it, and sure enough this is listed as book 1 but I see no evidence of book 2 yet, so this is my formal petition for book 2 to be shown as in production of some kind soon. I really did enjoy this book, even if there were times I was not thrilled with character decisions, but I think that shows good writing. Overall: 4.5/5

This book was simply phenomenal. The plot, the characters and - yes - even the tropes, were all perfectly constructed. Kayvion's writing is beautiful. It's the time of writing that flows so well you almost forget you are reading words on a page. There is a story and you are in the story.

My only critique is that classes are not defined from the beginning. It is confusing at first because I thought it was about magic, I only realised way into the book that we were talking about skin color.

Overall it was a great book and I HIGHLY recommend.

I really enjoyed reading The Half-Class! It was really compelling fantasy that I found super enjoyable.

Actual rating: 3.5/5

In The Half-Class by Kayvion Lewis, Evie finds herself stuck in between a prince and a rebellion against an empire that divides people by race.

Ever since King Dreux invaded her home, Evie has had to grow up an outcast, stuck between the world's two classes. It was only natural she joined the rebellion.

Evie is such a headstrong character. The book is upfront about this and it only grows are the book progresses. I found her stubbornness admirable, even if it got her into trouble in certain situations. It fit well with her drive to be better, to be free of the class constraints. While she has moments of growth throughout the book, her character arc remains unfinished as the book ends on a cliffhanger. I am very interested in seeing how it will progress in the rest of the series.

As far as Cass is concerned, I found him endearing. He's a good match for Evie, though he never manages to temper her in any way. Lewis did some really interesting things with his character when it came to how he presents himself inside and outside of the palace as well as during visits to his father. I thought their relationship was sweet. Their dialogue is fun with plenty of banter, and Evie's feelings for him become the biggest part of her character arc, as well as how she fits those feelings into her mission for the rebels.

Evie's relationships with the other characters are also dominated by that stubbornness. At 17, she has little time left before she must find a way to sustain herself, or work in her aunt's brothel. This puts a strain on her relationship with her aunt and colours the one she has with her cousin. Kat uses her talents as a sex worker to assist her outside her job, something that Evie is conflicted about. While they start off close, the events of the book and Evie's getting close to the royal family drives a wedge between. Despite this, I enjoyed their dynamic as it brought out both their strengths and their flaws. Evie's friendships with her aunt's other sex workers also serve to shine a light on how real each character seems. Their stories, their talents and ambitions all come out at some point or another during the book, giving each of them unexpected depth.

The Half-Class by Kayvion Lewis present a very vibrant world to its readers. All of Lewis's characters drive it forward, whether that be main, secondary or even background characters. When Evie describes patrons to Cass, she makes the world truly feel lived in which I really appreciate in any fantasy, but especially a debut. As for the more general worldbuilding, I found it fascinating though I wish Lewis had delved into it more. The first half of the book really concentrates on Bexbury and how the king's laws affect its people but there's little explanation as to why. Once we get to the palace, the class system becomes more concrete but I would like to see more of the religion that led to this in future books.

One of my biggest complaints is how Evie's relationship with Luke is handled. Even though she admits that their relationship isn't progressing the way she wants, she still gets angry when it does take a different turn and then gets over it within the span of a few pages. That whole subplot added little to the story other than drama which wasn't needed when the stakes were already this high.

The Half-Class by Kayvion Lewis was a fresh and promising debut. She uses her own experiences to paint a stark world where race rules all which, fantasy or not, delivers a strong message. I am eager to see more from her!

So when I read the premise of this book I was interested instantly. Starting out it was a solid read, the writing style is easy to get through, no convoluted sentences.

Unfortunately, the more I read, the less I liked the characters.

Evie, our main character, is naïve and annoying. She claims to want things but doesn't want to take the required risks to attain them. She lives in her aunt's brothel. At 18, which she will be in 3 months, she has to either work or get out. She made a promise to take care of her until she turned that age.

Evie is constantly talking about how she could never work in a brothel, never be a mistress. The author wrote a "I'm not like other girls" character because she doesn't want those options and reads. That's what makes her different.

She reads. She acts almost like a brat about it as well.

She's part of a rebellion. Her country of Morra was taken over by a neighboring country and the king has been instilling strict laws that follow his country's religion.

Y'know, colonizing 101.

In this world we have light classes, dark classes and half classes although that isn't really a true class. Light class is light-skinned. Dark is dark-skinned. Half class is easy to figure out from there.

Evie is too light for the dark class and too dark for the light class.

I will say that singular aspect about her was relatable and will be for a lot of mixed race readers.

Evie ends up needing to "date" Cass, the prince, for the rebellion. And she starts falling for him.

She has a light class friend named Luke and Luke is in love with her.

He's also disgusting. At first I just thought he'd be the typical unrequited love character.

The he grabbed Evie and wouldn't let her go when she demanded it and plotted in ways to make sure she knew she was his.

So I'll put a trigger warning for abusive and stalker behavior.

All of the characters are frustrating at points and I just stopped caring about them.

I appreciate that the book is dealing with issues like race and the way those with a dark complexion are treated as less than because of any number of ridiculous reasons. The author has potential and the story does too.

But I can't stand the characters. I couldn't root for Evie because she was just...annoying.

I'm giving this book a 2 out of 5.

I received this ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Usually when I go on Netgalley to see what books to request, I make a well thought out decision. After all, when I request a book from Netgalley, I want to be sure I can review it and will still want to read it closer to release date. With this book the thinking didn't take long. This sounded like my kind of story in a world I totally wanted to learn more about. Friday evening I started reading, planning on reading"10% a day", 3 days later I finished the book.

There are a few things making this book a must read. The first is the importance of the world and the class system. This is the kind of book where people who rarely see themselves represented get to see themselves and their issues. It's also the kind of book allowing white people, like me, to spend some time in the footsteps of someone less privileged than me. I really want to thank the author for writing a book this vivid, this raw and this real and to invite me to come with them.

Secondly I think the characters in this book are amazingly well written. And that's mostly because none of those characters are perfect. They make mistakes, they mess up. Sometimes they're not doing something when they should have. Sometimes they're doing something when it was better not to. Sometimes they go a few steps too far and sometimes they go not far enough. It makes them realistic, it makes it easy to root for them, to feel for them and to end up loving them.

Thirdly the book doesn't shy away from true horrors. Although the story is still suitable for young adults (especially if an adult with knowledge on the matter can discuss it with them), it's not sugarcoating this society, it's not making it easy for our heroine, it's not only showing the pretty stuff. On the contrary. It makes the book heavy at times, but those heavy moments are mixed with really cute and lovely scenes, portraying a sweet kind of love, and small glimmers of hope.

I hope that loads of people will give this book a chance. Yes, if you've read a lot of stories the plot might follow a known pattern, however, this society and these characters are worth reading it anyway!

The Half Class tells a story about Evelyn who was living her life as a half class, too dark for the natural light class and too fair for the natural dark class. By day she was just an ordinary girl while at night she turn into a rebel by joining one group of rebellion whose trying to take down the king and his unjust laws towards half classes people.
Then, Evie accidentally met the young prince, Cassian and find out he wasn't as bad as she thought he would be. Now, Evie was torn between choosing her loyalty to the rebellion cause or her new happiness with the prince.

I was excited to read this book because it's been so long since the last time I read a dystopian novel.
The story is pretty simple, predictable but still enjoyable to read. The writing style is very easy to read and the story is easy to follow as well as easy to understand.
I appreciate the author for trying to explore the heavy topics in real life into this book and combine it with a lot of morally gray characters which makes their action neither right or wrong at the same time.

The characters are pretty relatable even though they could get a bit frustrating sometimes. Evie was a bit annoying for me at some point during the story, she's indecisive and she could be sway easily. She wanted a lot of things but she didn't want to take risk.
Cass was too mysterious at this point and I couldn't really say anything about him. I wanted to like Luke but his action sometimes just too overwhelming.

I have to admit I feel slightly disappointed because the story has the potential to be more. I wanted more view from the rebellion group since Evie was fighting on their side, but instead the story seems to focus more on building the relationship between Evie and Cass. Don't get me wrong, I did like their relationship but I wanted more on the world building and the origin of the color classification.
I also hope there will be more development from Evie's character because right now she's still confuse about her choices.

Overall, it was a pretty good introduction book to the series. There's the potential to become a good series so I'm interested enough to want to read the next book.
This story is easy to read and refreshing for those who just read a very heavy topic books. It was pretty enjoyable for me and hopefully there will be more development on the characters and the world building!

Thank you to Netgalley, Kayvion Lewis and The Parliament House for the digital ARC in return for an honest review.

I’m not quite sure what to think about this book.
As someone who is biracial I can relate to the main themes of this book, but sometimes I felt as if that fact was lost a little bit. At times it felt as if it were only 2 classes, not 3. I think there should’ve been more emphasis made.
As for the characters? I loved Cass, then I didn’t.
I liked Evie then I didn’t.
I never liked Luke, or Kat. Aunt Jen was a strange character and so much more could’ve been made of her past.
I also think Gilow and Jace should’ve been much more bigger parts, especially considering their roles.
But the character I had the most problem with was Evie. She needed to be strong, and clear, and decisive. Instead she was passive and easily manipulated. She was a bit of a pushover.
There were strong selection vibes here, but that world was much more strongly anchored and explored. Here, I found it a little weak.
This book had so much promise, but unfortunately it fell a little flat for me, sorry!

I read the description of this book and I was instantly curious about it.
The Half Class is a fantasy romance, quite good and well written!
The worldbuilding is not extremely specific but we know that the population is divided in three classes: light, half, and dark class. I really appreciate this book about it, because it talks about racial discrimination, white privilege and also brutality in a fantasy world.

The characters are well developed (Cassian, my love), the plot is quite predictable (a sort of triangle between the protagonist- her friends - the prince) but is very enjoyable!
The final part OMG, too many emotions 😭

If you're a fan of this type of YA Fantasy books, I reccomend it and I rate it 3 stars!
I'm very curios about the second book!

This novel was an enjoyable read for the first book in the series. People are separated into classes, light and dark. Those in between are not part of either class, where they must always carry their papers, for if they are caught without it, they could be put into work camps. Evie is a young woman living in a brothel with her aunt and in the night helps her fellow rebels against the king. Everything changes when the king and his entourage come into their town. Evie meets Cass, whom she learns is the prince after they share their love of reading. Evie has now been given a mission to get close to Cass and the king, supplying the the rebels with information. But feelings and confusion gets in the way, and Evie needs to decide where her loyalties lie.
I received this novel as an ARC from net galley and the publisher. Thank you! All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This debut novel is about a rebellion. A rebellion from the half class against their cruel king. Kayvion Lewis through her story have explored and talked about caste discrimination and their struggles in focused and easy manner.

Evie is a half class, can't be part of too dark or too fair and this has been nothing but a punishment for her. She lives with her Aunt Jen who runs a brothel as half class girls are not for anything else. She too will have to do that when she reaches the age of 18 and this is not what she wants. She is member of a rebellion group who are finding a way to their methods as the King is in town.

Prince Cassian has a mystery to him. The night he enters the brothel, Evie befriends him unknowing to the fact that he is a prince as they share lot in common. Later everything seems to fall in place for their rebel plans using Evie as the mean. What she doesn't know that agreeing to this will only come back to bite her later.

The King is no less than a monster. My heart broke for Richal and Brison. I wanted to kill the king myself. I was hurting for them. He doesn't care about his own soon.

The author has written some amazing characters. She has ensured to keep us on edge with the thrill to the story. The end was a bit expected but it did not stop me from wanting to know what happens next. For a debut this absolutely amazing and we'll written. Definitely looking forward to the next in the series.

Thank you Netgalley and Parliament House for ARC of this in exchange of honest review.

Thank you to The Parliament House and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

The Half-Class by Kayvion Lewis is an #ownvoices dystopian fantasy romance that will appeal to fans of Kalynn Bayron and Namina Forna. First, I have to praise the very original premise of this book. I've never read a YA fantasy specifically focused on mixed-race characters before. The plot revolves around a girl named Evie who is half-class. In her world, people are divided into the light class, which is comprised of white people, and the dark class, which is comprised of black or dark-skinned people. In the middle is the half-class, which are treated as outcasts and inferior by everyone. People in the half-class can either work as prostitutes, like Evie's cousin, or they can become someone's mistress. At the start of this book, Evie gets entangled in a love triangle. Will she choose the friend who has always stuck by her? Or will she choose the prince that waltzes into her life one day?

Here is an exciting excerpt from beginning of Chapter 1:

"Don't draw attention to yourself.
Always have your paperwork ready.
Remember your class.
Maybe during the day. Maybe most nights. But not this night.
I let the mantra chase me as we raced out from the mansion. Those words strangled me almost every hour of every day. But when I was out with the rebels, on nights like this one, they could never catch me. The pounding hooves underneath me beat the words back as furiously as they carried me forward. I wouldn't let them catch me."

Overall, The Half Class is an exciting, stunningly original YA fantasy romance that touches on real issues of white privilege, racial discrimination, and police brutality. I love when stories of fantasy reveal real issues that are happening in the world today. I am also so happy to support an #ownvoices author of color writing about characters of color. We really need more books like these in the YA fantasy genre. One highlight of this book is the main character Evie. I found her character to be extremely relatable, especially in how she geeks out over fantasy books. If I had to complain about one thing, I would say that the plot is pretty straightforward and predictable. I still enjoyed reading this book though. If you're intrigued by the excerpt above, or if you're a fan of YA fantasy books, I highly recommend that you check out this book when it comes out in September!

2.5/5 stars ⭐️⭐️✨
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Thank you to the publishers and Net Galley for giving me a copy of this book! This is my honest review, all views are my own.
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The Half-Class is a story of rebellion, defiance, and risking it all. In Morra, a country conquered by the neighboring Ryland, Evie is a half-class: too dark-skinned for the light class, too light-skinned for the dark class. In an attempt to free herself from the ruthless laws restricting half-classes, she joins the rebellion in trying to take down the king. Along the way, she meets and befriends Prince Cassian, which pulls into question her loyalty and love for the cause.
I’ll admit, I heard this book compared to Cinderella is Dead—a book that neither myself nor my friends enjoyed very much—and I was hesitant. That being said, I was willing to give it a shot, as I’m a sucker for royal romances! In short: I wasn’t the biggest fan of this book, and I don’t really plan on reading the sequel(s) unless I hear something extremely compelling, but it was kind of fun while it lasted.
The writing was pretty easy to read, and often times it reminded me of the kingdom dystopian novels such as the Jewel and the Selection in terms of its writing style and the royalty vs. rebellion plots. Surprisingly, this book didn’t have any magic, and was less plot-heavy than it sounded. For the most part, the focus was on building up the romance and the increasingly complicated relationships with Evie, her family, and the rebels. Cass had me geeking out because of course the author would write about a book-obsessed nerd with pet names for his love, but otherwise I was frustrated with every single character at different points. I thought it was infuriating how naïve and snobbish Evie was, which didn’t help when she always rambled on about how she would never want to work in a brothel or as a mistress, or made herself “not like other girls” by reading. I was angered at the extreme levels of aggression and slimy schemes I saw Luke conduct. I was upset at Kat for… well, being Kat. My list can and will go on. My point is that the characters were flawed and not always likable. I did enjoy Cass and Evie’s romance, and I was cheering for them, but I couldn’t quite get on board with the story itself. Also, the book heavily relied on racist stereotypes found in the real world, such as the “light class” being the class that both half- and dark-class citizens deferred to, and dark class people being relegated to construction and servant jobs, while the light class was for artists and the like. It was a choice that made the story feel more impactful because it invoked the harmful situations in the real world, impressing them upon a fictional country to the extremes, but perhaps the stereotypes used were *too* similar to the real world…
In any case, this story felt pretty rinse-and-repeat from dystopian kingdoms such as the Selection, and as much as I enjoyed reading it, I don’t think I can say I enjoyed it enough to read on any further. 2.5 stars