Half

In essence this is a book about the balance between love and acceptance, selflessness and selfishness.

It centers on Luca, who has a mystery illness that essentially means he has weak/dizzy spells, and coughs up blood. We don't really find out a lot about his illness, how it developed, or how he's been coping with it up until the start of the book.
The book quickly gets into him visiting the healer Kin that his father recommended, which is essentially his last hope after six years of not being able to find a cure. Kin and Luca end up falling for each other and start a relationship, which increases the stakes of finding a cure for Luca.

The relationship bordered on instalove a little bit too much for my taste, but it was sweet and the conflict over the possible cure for Luca also felt real.

Speaking of the cure, this book absolutely did not go where I thought it would. I'm not sure if I like where it went or not, but it definitely did surprise me. I kept expecting things to happen, but they never did, and it was a little refreshing to not entirely know where the story would go.

This is a story about family and relationships with the MC's illness being the vehicle to explore connecting and reconnecting with loved ones. Whilst the book may not have gone where I thought it would, or even where I may have wanted it to, it was definitely a refreshing and important look on the choices people can make.