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Half a Dark Heart
  • Published: 3 February 2026
  • ISBN: 9780241738429
  • Imprint: Penguin
  • Format: Paperback
  • Pages: 400
  • RRP: $19.99

Half a Dark Heart

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A gloriously gothic Victorian YA horror-romantasy about first love, sisters, and how far we will go to protect the ones we love

The Horrors gain strength when things in our world are broken.

A bone. A promise. A heart.

Ever since she first encountered 'The Horrors', Alice has hidden herself safely behind the walls of her family's Whitby guest house. Only her beloved sister, Lucille, knows why: that Alice can see things - gruesome, terrible things - in the darkest corners of our world. Shadow-monsters which will do anything to satisfy their violent cravings - and seemingly nothing can stop them. Of course, no one would believe them if they told them - and so the girls stay silent.

That is, until Lucille goes missing, and the boy she was in love with turns up dead. All of which coincides with the arrival of Austin - a dashing young actor from London, who claims a demon has stolen his voice, and only Alice can help him.

Faced with a world and powers she never even knew existed, Alice must race against time to save her sister, herself, and perhaps the only other person who's ever cared about her. As well as send a demon or two back to where they came from . . .
  • Published: 3 February 2026
  • ISBN: 9780241738429
  • Imprint: Penguin
  • Format: Paperback
  • Pages: 400
  • RRP: $19.99
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About the author

H. F. Askwith

H.F. Askwith is the author of three YA gothic fantasy thrillers – A Dark Inheritance, A Cruel Twist of Fate and Half A Dark Heart. She is a Northern Writers' Award winner and has an MA in Creative Writing. When she's not writing, she loves solving puzzles, playing board games with her family and running.

portrait photo of H. F. Askwith

Also by H. F. Askwith

A Cruel Twist of Fate
A Dark Inheritance
See all

Praise for Half a Dark Heart

Praise for A Dark Inheritance: "A powerful, heart-racing story of family, fate, and writing your own destiny. Intricately plotted and luminously written - I loved it

Laura Steven, bestselling author of Our Infinite Fates

Haunting, atmospheric and suspenseful, Half A Dark Heart is a completely captivating gothic mystery. I haven’t been swept away by a book like this in a long time and I don’t think I’ve ever had so much fun being utterly terrified.

Bea Fitzgerald, bestselling author of Girl, Goddess, Queen

Half A Dark Heart is the atmospheric horromantasy I’ve been craving! With a devastatingly tender love story, an evocative gothic setting, and a deep exploration of the power of sisterhood, this book is going to stay with me for a long time

Laura Steven, bestselling author of Our Infinite Fates

I absolutely loved Half a Dark Heart! It is such a gripping, multilayered read, [which] evokes Whitby in all its Gothic glory absolutely superbly. It's sinister, poignant, and utterly enthralling. It's taken so many elements of Victorian literature and reimagined them in a way that shows Heather's love for literature, but also a wonderfully innovative approach to the genre. The Otherworld is a truly horrific invention (in the best sense!), and I am absolutely here for Alice and Lucille's future adventures!

Naomi Kelsey, author of The Burnings