Naupaka – Book One
A young surgeon begins seeing things he was never meant to see.
Fleeing political persecution, French surgeon Balzac Voclain crosses the world to 1820s Hawai’i seeking safety – only to enter an island kingdom in upheaval and face visions medicine cannot explain.
What others are saying about A Half Flower
“The worldbuilding … is absolutely incredible.”
Lily · Goodreads
“I loved the descriptions of the Hawaiian locations and the sense of adventure throughout the book.”
Erin · Goodreads
“Balzac in particular is a very well written character. He is complex and often conflicted, but has a sense of humour and playfulness.”
Natalie · Goodreads
About A Half Flower
A young surgeon begins seeing things he was never meant to see.
Forced from France by dangerous political loyalties, Balzac Voclain crosses the world with Catholic missionaries and reaches 1820s Hawaiʻi hoping for safety—and perhaps allies for the cause he left behind.
Instead, he finds an island kingdom in profound upheaval. Old beliefs are being pushed aside, Protestant influence is reshaping daily life, and a French Catholic is hardly a welcome guest. As Balzac struggles to make a place for himself—and grows close to Mayme, a Hawaiian woman whose world he only partly understands—the strange visions that have haunted him since youth become harder to dismiss. Medicine offers no answer. The people around him might.
Across the ocean, Victor and Jèrriais refuse to abandon either Balzac or their revolutionary ideals. Their pursuit of French gold for Haiti draws them into piracy, danger, and a relationship neither can safely name.
Three friends set out to fight injustice. None of them expects freedom to demand so much in return.
What you’ll find inside
Historical medicine
A young surgeon trying to understand a world—and experiences—his training cannot entirely explain.
1820s Hawaiʻi
An island kingdom undergoing profound religious, political, and cultural change.
Outsiders and divided loyalties
Characters caught between countries, beliefs, cultures, friendship, and desire.
Adventure across oceans
Fugitives, missionaries, revolutionaries, pirates, and stolen gold connect France to Hawaiʻi.
History beneath the story
A Half Flower is built around a period of extraordinary change in Hawaiʻi and France. Medicine, religion, political power and cultural identity are not merely decorative backdrop—they shape what the characters believe they can do, whom they trust and how they understand what happens to them.
The Naupaka Series
A Half Flower is Book One of Naupaka and can be read as the beginning of the series. Naupaka explores the outlander experience in a historical setting rich in adventure.
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FAQs
Is A Half Flower historical fiction?
Yes. Historical fiction is the novel’s primary genre, with adventure, romantic subplots and ambiguous visionary elements woven into the story.
When and where is A Half Flower set?
The story begins in 1816 France and later moves principally to Hawaiʻi during the 1820s.
Is A Half Flower a romance?
Romantic relationships matter to several characters, but A Half Flower is primarily historical fiction rather than a genre romance.
Do I need to read another book first?
No. A Half Flower is the first book in the Naupaka series.
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