Dark Rise

Dark Rise #1

by C.S. Pacat, Christian Coulson (Narrator)

14 parts 15 hours 28 minutes

The ancient world of magic is no more. Its heroes are dead, its halls are ruins, and its great battles between Light and Dark are forgotten. Only the Stewards remember, and they keep their centuries-long vigil, sworn to protect humanity if the Dark King ever returns.

Sixteen-year-old dock boy Will is on the run, pursued by the men who killed his mother. When an old servant tells him of his destiny to fight beside the Stewards, Will is ushered into a world of magic, where he must train to play a vital role in the oncoming battle against the Dark.

As London is threatened by the Dark King’s return, the reborn heroes and villains of a long-forgotten war begin to draw battle lines. But as the young descendants of Light and Dark step into their destined roles, old allegiances, old enmities and old flames are awakened. Will must stand with the last heroes of the Light to prevent the fate that destroyed their world from returning to destroy his own.

Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult, LGBT, Queer, Romance, Fiction, Audiobook

Audiobook

First published September 28, 2021

About the author

C.S. Pacat is the USA-Today best-selling author of Dark Rise, the Captive Prince trilogy, and the GLAAD-nominated graphic novels Fence.

Born in Australia and educated at the University of Melbourne, C.S. Pacat has lived in a number of cities, including Tokyo and Perugia, and currently resides and writes in Melbourne.

Reviews

[ELLIAS (elliasreads) · Rating 4 out of 5]

OH SHIT!!

The book is the byproduct if Demon Slayer had a threesome with Lord of the Rings, and The Dark is Rising series. I'm dead serious.

This was really good, in a slow moving and elegant kind of way. I would shelve this as 'light fantasy', so newcomers are welcome and anyone looking for less high strung intricate fantasy.

This is exactly the type of book I can see blowing up on BookTok (TikTok). We got a super slow burn romance, enemies to lovers, villain origin stories, characters reborn and reimagined, and basic YA tropes (chosen ones, best friend, warrior, love interest, etc.) all subverted and flipped on their heads. Very very nice.

However, while the beginning started off extremely strong, the middle half of the book kind of dragged a bit and I was looking at a 3 star read. And then the last 50 pages and the ending happened and so I'm left screaming and panicking and already NEED the next book.

FUCK.

I can already tell things are about to get really, really interesting. '

Oh did I mention the main character is bisexual? HERE FOR IT.


Anyways, 4 DARK STARS.
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[jessica · Rating 5 out of 5]

me, reading this book: a summary

pages 1-400: oh, this is cool. i like the old timey london, the magic, the ancient order of stewards/guardians, the fight of light vs dark, and the chosen boy who is born to defeat evil. hmm. a little slow. yeah, definitely slow. and wheres the romance? oh yeah, its c.s. pacat. that wont happen until book 3. at least theres nothing problematic so far. lol. im really liking this. 🙂

pages 400-464: WHAT!? no way. oh my gosh. oh my gosh. what the heck!? *screams* 😱


THAT. ENDING. the reveals! the twists! the plot thickening! all of it - absolutely delightful.

i went on a mini rant awhile ago about how predictable i have been finding YA books, so the fact that how the plot progressed towards the end caught me off guard is a gift from the book gods. im beyond thrilled by the turn of events.

what a way to start a series.

↠ 4.5 stars

[Claudia Lomelí · Rating 4 out of 5]

Decir que los últimos capítulos me dejaron en shock es un UNDERSTATEMENT. WTF, CS PACAT, MI CORAZÓN NO PUEDE CON TANTO. ¿Y ese último intercambio de diálogos en el capítulo final? DISCULPEN MIENTRAS ME TIRO AL SUELO Y LLORO. Wow, wow, wow.

Legit tengo mucho que decir de este libro, cuando ordene mis pensamientos haré una reseña más decente. Ahora mismo I’M REELING.

En serio que esos últimos cuatro capítulos me hicieron querer ponerle 5 estrellas porque WOW, INCREÍBLE. CS PACAT TEACH ME YOUR WAYS. La cosa es que, antes de eso, sí estaba pensando en ponerle 3 estrellas, entonces creo que 4 estrellas es lo justo.

EN FIN, no me hablen. No estoy bien. QUISIERA SABER CÓMO SE RECUPERA UNO DE ESE FINAL???

[Alex ✰ Comets and Comments ✰]

things that have been confirmed by the queen herself;
1) "this story is a classic battle of good and evil in a world full of ambiguities, reversals and twists, where nothing is as it seems."
2) it's a whole new cast of characters and YES the books will have "LGBTQ+ characters as well as some intense relationships"
3) it's releasing sometime during fall 2021

things that alex can confirm hereafter;
1) i'll take 20 please and thank you.

[rin · Rating 3 out of 5]

my biggest problem with the book is that it's VERY VERY pacat during the will & james scenes (the chemistry is off the charts, balls to the wall, the dialogue is excellent, james is my little meow meow, another blond bitch boy with a trauma to my collection)

but the rest of the book felt like a very 2014-esque YA novel... i was just so bored. until the plot twist/cliffhanger. i had seen it coming from a mile away BUT i vibed with it a lot and that's why i did not completely give up on it. i wouldn't call it a game changer or trope wrecker but i would say it was nice. however you can clearly tell the entire book is basically just a setup for the ending (a very long, drawn out and tedious setup at that) and perhaps that's why my reaction to it was more negative than positive. i expect a lot of people will dnf the book early never reaching the fun stuff and im not gonna blame them

also i spent 80% of the book being annoyed at the protagonist because i felt like he had a personality of wet cardboard (only flourished in the scenes with james) BUT i would say it WAS salvaged a little by the cliffhanger, so we'll see.

(but i really wish the pov switches weren't a thing here. violet is a good character but she never felt like a lead and she had as many pov scenes as will did. i feel like she doesn't get established much as a character, she doesn't really develop that strong of a bond with will, we don't really focus on HER growth. to me she still felt like an npc by the end of the book, and i wish it wasnt the case.)
(and what was the point of katherine pov?)

also the super far-fetched romance.... glad it was flipped by the end of the book because it came absolutely out of nowhere

i PERSONALLY feel like pacat is way better at character-driven stories, not plot-driven stories, i wasn't very sold on the plot here.

but the dialogue, the push & pull, the power dynamics between will & james? the way those power dynamics got FLIPPED? the (potential) relationship built on LIES? insane. im looking forward to the next book only because of it. it's promising to be super juicy if she plays her cards right

in conclusion,
dark rise 2 stars, kept giving me whiplash on how GOOD will & james scenes are and how much of a slog is the rest of it (excluding the last ~15% but)

dark rise (JAMES ST CLAIR CUT) 5 stars, 11/10, will wait for the second book please pull a pg

P.S. SIMON IS A TERRIBLE VILLAIN NAME it kept throwing me out of the book every damn time

[Silvia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Probably 4.5 stars but h

[Noah · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'd lower the world in a flood or, better yet, I'd cause a drought / If I was a riptide, I wouldn't take you out (Anything But – Hozier).

Look, I’m not one to take enjoyment in hating on something that everybody liked (it’s the truth! I promise), that’s a game for the younger me, and I know that this author’s work is very beloved, so I’ll try to keep this brief. I know, I know, famous last words and all that, but I just want to bе loud, so loud, I'm talking seismic! If it sounds like I didn’t like this, it’s only because of how disconnected I felt throughout my reading experience. I think I was expecting more of a Six of Crows vibe when I instead got Adam Silvera’s Infinity Son, only with a peppering of Dragon Age: Origins to give it a bit of an edge. Okay, I realize that I’m just listing a bunch of things at this point, but the Dragon Age similarities are uncanny! Slight spoilers if you’ve played those games, but one of the twists about an ancient order in this story is literally the same as the Grey Wardens' joining ceremony. Otherwise, the core of the story was simple enough. I was able to follow along, I think. Maybe. Though, in my opinion the pacing would frequently get bogged down by the weight of its own lore. I mean, more often than not, my head was spinning at all the millions of names and terms and tidbits being thrown around with reckless abandon. Which is wild because none of this should have been an issue in the first place, considering both Will and Violet are classic “diamond-in-the-rough,” "fish-out-of-water" characters, coming from our world, not the fantasy one. You'd think that this would give the book ample time to let us learn about the story in a more natural way along side the characters, but… nah. I certainly didn’t think so. It was a little disappointing that this was one of those stories where normal schmucks from our world walk into a secret fantasy world and find out that they’re super special over there. Don’t get me wrong, I think that this story convention works best for coming-of-age stories and that there’s something instantly nostalgic and harrowing about traveling to Narnia or Terabithia (Spirited Away's another good one... oh wait, I'm listing things again!), but my favorite fantasy stories are always going to be the ones where the characters have a history with the world they’re saving. Sorry, but my heart will always belong to Cyrodiil and Thedas! And when I wasn’t busy thinking about other fanciful stories or being bombarded with history lessons, I was left alone with my thoughts, noticing certain annoying patterns. The patterns, I see them! The thing is, if I were to really break it down, this book is really just a series of people (mostly Will) getting captured. Like, “Hey, let’s go everyone! Oop, they got me.” Not to throw shade, but is this like, the author’s thing? I know that Captive Prince was big into that, so I’m guessing it’s a common motif. You could say that I didn’t find it all that captivating! Har har.

I guess it’s no secret that it took me a loooo~ooong while to get through this book. I’d put it down one moment and the next it’d be like trying to lift up Mjölnir to get back into it! I was literally updating my reading progress after every chapter because it felt like such a monumental task. And honestly? It was. Congrats to me! Seriously though, I thought I’d be out here looking like Norman Bates’ mother by the time I was finished reading! But I got there in the end, damn it! I powered through... sheer force of will, if you will. If there's a will, there's a way. The main character is named Will. Bad puns aside, I really did have enough faith-a-faith-a-faith-ah that this book would be worth finishing. And… it was? I mean, I’m glad I can say I read it. Though it’s not exactly one of those “I’ll take my bed at 3”-type of novels and more akin to that one book on your dad’s nightstand that he's been “currently” reading for the last two decades. And because I was bored more often than I’d like to have been, most of my time was spent waiting for something LGBT to happen. Yeah well, I came away rather disappointed in that department. I should talk about the characters some, huh? That’s why I’m here after all. I think that sometimes authors try so hard to write gray characters in a gray story that they can accidentally come across as inconsistent whenever they try to dip their toes into something more heartfelt. Powerful and emotionally raw scenes end up lacking the emotional resonance because these clowns were never written with "likability" in mind in the first place! Why should I care about them if all they've ever been is nasty? Spoilers, but in one of the mentor character’s last moments, they’re all trying to impart final wisdom on the heroes as if they didn’t take part in exiling and coldly rebuking Violet out of blind bigotry thirty pages prior! If I were her, I’d be in grudge mode, ruining the somber mood like, “Where was all this about my strength as a Lion thirty pages ago? When I was being exiled!!” But then again, that’s why I’d be a terrible character in a fantasy book. Then again, again, you could say that I’d be a gray character. I'd fit right in with all the other assholes. Um, despite everything, I still liked Will and Violet. Almost enough to consider reading the next one, even. (I probably won't though, "Still love when you see success, everything with me is blessed"). I especially enjoyed Will because, start to finish, he really did have a satisfying character arc. His whole life he’s been on the run, and when he does finally find safe haven, he's instead trapped between two ancient factions, finding himself again running around like a herded animal. It’s a powerful story hook (and a relatable one if you’ve ever been to Ikea), and one that pays off in the best kind of way. It’s good stuff! From a scared child to strong leader who never let the awfulness of others dilute his kind heart. Nice! I was rooting for him from his frightful first moments to the last, where his confidence reverberated off the page. I really do understand why so many people are engrossed with these books. My issues with Dark Rise had nothing to do with the structure or the characters or even the adventure, it’s mostly just a “seen it all before” kind of thing. Also, not to repeat myself, but please let me know if something LGBT happens in the next book. Or in real life. I'll take anything at this point.

[Marti · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is not an"OMG I loved it so much I'm screaming" sort of book (like Captive Prince was). Through the first 100 pages or so, I was pretty bored and a little disappointed. It's still too good for me to give it less than four stars I think, regardless of the parts I didn't like.

I want to say I’m very tempted to add hidden spoilers to talk about some specific parts, but I don’t want to tempt you if you haven’t read it because being spoiled in this book would really ruin it for you. So, if you’ve read it and you want to discuss some spoilers, message me!

In short, I found the beginning boring and the ending amazing. If that's enough for you, go read the book. In case it isn't, I'll be a bit more specific.

The story:
Will's mother is brutally murdered in front of him. Since then, Will is in hiding, working on the docks of London trying to figure out who's behind his mother's death. Long ago, in the old world, there was a Dark King who threatens to come back, and if he does, he'll bring the end of the world as Will knows it. Will is captured by the people who are trying to bring the Dark King back, and he starts to look for the part he plays in this battle to stop the Dark King from rising.
By this poorly executed summary you can probably pick up at least three plot archetypes in fantasy: the dark lord, the chosen one, and the battle between good and evil. There are many other subplots: romances, betrayals, mentors, family drama, special artifacts, and more.

The beginning:

I think it was roughly the first 25% of the book that had me bored. I did not connect with Will, and the setup seemed to be overcomplicated at first. Too many characters, too many promises. It feels like there are too many plot points being juggled around, and it would be easy to lose some along the way. So much is happening to so many characters that it’s hard to follow at first. Mind me, this is at first when you have no idea where the story is going. It pays off to know all these things in the end.

The characters:

James, James James. You came around and created this fog over all the other characters (which are a lot), and since the moment I saw you, all I could think about was you. I think this was intended but it also backfired, because James was present for so little and the boring parts felt so much more boring without him, and all I could think of was I couldn't care less what's happening to Will right now, let's see what James is doing. CS Pacat is great at creating blond perfect boys, elegant tigers that can stand perfectly still and attack at any moment, who will kill you both with their looks and their knives given the chance. Is James Laurent? No, nor was he supposed to be. Was he my favorite part of this book? Of course yes. I'm sure he'll appear much more in book 2 and I’m thankful for that.
Will was, sadly, very much the opposite. Let’s say with James it was love at first sight, whereas with Will it was a very slow burn. I found him plain. In every scene he was in except at the end, Will blends with the background. Even if you’re seeing things from his point of view, even if things are happening to him, you kind of forget he’s there. I have a theory on why this happens but I can’t say it cause spoilers. Knowing this, I kind of forgive his boringness.

I liked Violet since she appeared. Her character arc in the book was my favorite one because it was handled so beautifully. We immediately understand how important her brother Tom is to her. We know what she wants, what she can’t have, and what she loses if she makes "the good" choice. The most emotional sections of this book come from her POV, and a couple of those happen in the middle of that beginning I’ve been bashing so much. (It’s not that bad then, you see? You can survive through it.) I’d talk about her more if I could spoil, so when you’re done reading this please come back and text me so I can get it all off my chest.

The secondary characters are there to tell you that you might like them. They are also there to say they could be killed at any minute. Or not. Who knows? I guess that’s the fun of it huh? Be careful who you give your heart to. You’ve been warned.

The scary YA promise:

I’m tired of YA guys. Like, really, really tired. I don’t want to be, because I have SO FREAKING MANY young adult books I still need to read, and I love them. I do! Don’t look at me like that, I swear to you I do enjoy them most of them while I read them. It’s just lately I feel like I've read the same YA book over and over: underdog character needs to do something. They don’t know how to. They learn how to, something goes wrong and there’s a secondary (but who are we trying to fool, it was always the main) romance plot. There are always very dark discussions but it’s always just mentioned, you never see people dying grimly or people having sex, which should be pretty normal right? I have a specific YA in mind now, Wither, where the main character manages to stay a virgin for so much longer than would be realistic considering her situation.
I don’t know, maybe it's because I’ve been reading more adult stuff now, but I really hate when these things happen. The point of this useless rambling was that I was scared when I learned this was going to be a YA book. I should’ve known to give CS Pacat some credit. I heard her describing the genre as a young adult with adult crossover, and I agree. There are some tropes of the YA genre (parents are dead, protagonists are young kind of,) but it’s darker than a YA. I’d almost confidently say it’s the darkest YA I’ve read so far. She managed this crossover brilliantly, is what I mean.

The World Building:

*Can I say it was awesome and leave it at that? No?*
Well then, when I started reading the book I was worried. I’ve had bad experiences before of fantasy books taking place in our world. Some authors I think (won’t mention anyone specifically because I don’t want to be mean), don’t want the job of coming up with a whole new world. I’ve found that this often leads to lazy writing. You still need to research the shit out of whatever time period you’ll set your book in, you still need a believable magic system, a well-structured plot, and it can almost be harder because you need to keep in mind aspects from the real world while also being true to whatever you’re creating. In a fantasy world, if something doesn’t work you can make it work by changing the world as you wish. You can’t do that with the real world. A young girl wearing pants in Rome during the 1500s without any explanation would sound a little weird, it might take you out of the story.
Dark Rise was obviously very well researched, and the world-building is spectacular. Really I thought I’d hate it, but it ended up becoming one of my favorites. Nothing is said or shown or done by chance.

The inevitable Captive Prince comparison:

It’s not better than Captive Prince. I’m sorry. It was great, I really enjoyed it, I’m REALLY looking forward to the next one, but guys. Captive Prince is just too high of a bar for me. I’m writing this section mostly because many of you have asked me the question is it better than Captive Prince? so there, that’s my answer.
I’ve read one or two books in my life, and I don’t think there’s a story I go back to more than Captive Prince. The plot is so complicated, the characters are SO complicated (so much so in fact, that it’s made it highly controversial among our community). I love everything about it. I still need to write an appropriate review for it because I want to take the time and explain what’s so great about that series, especially for the people who get scandalized by the dark themes. But more on that some other day. Dark Rise isn’t like Captive Prince. It didn’t grip me since the beginning, I didn’t finish it in half a day.
But before I keep boring you, let’s play a little compare and contrast, shall we?

- In Captive Prince, the most important things are not said to you. You know how Laurent feels in a scene because of how he moves, how he reacts to what surrounds him, and not because you’re told Laurent looked sad. There is not one single “I love you” in Captive Prince. Did you know that before I said it? That’s how good it is at letting you infer. This isn’t absolutely true for Dark Rise. Even if there are many things left to the reader to imply, there’s a lot more than they tell you about what’s happening or how characters feel about this thing that has happened.
- Both Damen and Will are unreliable narrators.
- The way characters are crafted is similar in the sense that you feel you know them even if they just appear in one scene.
- There are multiple POVs in Dark Rise, so you get a breather from Will (I’m sorry. He’s really not so bad. He gets better. Omg I’m so sorry).
- The impossible tension between Damen and Laurent doesn’t exist in any character of Dark Rise (at least so far). There is some tension, but nothing that compares to those two.
- Dark Rise is less graphic. By that I mean there’s no sex. Nevertheless, the blood and violence in Dark Rise exceeds that of Captive Prince, at least in my opinion.
- They are both so well thought. I know for a fact CS Pacat thought about these stories so hard, it’s going to be very hard for you to find a plot hole.
- Some of you are worried about the triggers for Dark Rise. If you’re one of these people, you can rest easy. There’s no slavery, rape, or anything like that in Dark Rise. Okay while I was writing that I remembered something. Let’s try it again. Don’t worry, there’s almost no slavery and rape (none that happens in the present.) It’s definitely much less than in Captive Prince.

The question of romance

I've seen plenty of you complain about the fact that there isn't much romance in the book. (I think what you mean is you're sad that Will and James didn't sleep together, but maybe I misunderstand you.) Knowing CS Pacat, I wasn't expecting to find even a little kiss on the cheek between two characters, so I personally wasn't disappointed. If this is your case though, I would advise you to read certain scenes again, maybe parts where the characters you're shipping interact with one another, and read between the lines.

The writing:

I think it won’t surprise you by now that CS Pacat is one of my favorite authors. Her writing is fascinating, from the way she transports you to a setting to the way she makes you fall desperately in love with non-existent people. Her writing is, simply put, magical. She masters the art of creating beautiful sentences, and as a fan of aestheticism, I find this very satisfying while I am reading. If your enjoyment of books is mostly measured by the quality of the writing, you are going to love Dark Rise.
Overall, I’d say this book didn’t disappoint me. Of course, I didn’t expect to like it more than Captive Prince, but I did enjoy it a lot. I hate that we have to wait for the next one because I have a feeling it’s going to be even better.

[Melanie (meltotheany)]

DNF @ 50%

i haven't picked this book back up in two weeks, and i just really don't want to force myself to read the rest and put myself into a worse reading slump than 2021 has already been. but i would 100% die for Violet, and i'm 99% sure i'd die for Will, too. i might pick this one back up at a later date, and if the reviews from my friends come back positive, but right now i just don't have the urge.

trigger and content warnings up until the 50% mark: blood depictions, loss of a loved one, murder, death, torture, captivity, violence, branding (willingly), colorism + racism (always in a negative light but still doesn't feel good to read, especially because it includes the use of words like rat and mongrel to the biracial south asian mc >.>), brief mention of animal abuse/death, and an impending arranged marriage with a very gross age difference (17 and 37 - again, always in a negative light)

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[Virginia Ronan ♥ Herondale ♥]

We have a cover and a synopsis! YAY!!! XD
I'm sure this is Will on the cover! <3 This is going to be fun!
I can't wait for this to get outttttt!!!! AHHHH!!!
_________________________

I'm on my way to work right now and I almost choked on my coffee reading this!

OMG!!!
Please someone tell me this is going to be gay!!! 😍🌈

I've been waiting for another C.S. Pacat series for ages!! I'm dying here just knowing there will be one in 2021. *weeps*

[Lia Carstairs · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really wasn't expecting to enjoy this so much like just wow this was amazing??? THE WAY IT GOT SO DARK TOWARDS THE END OMG I LOVE IT SO MUCH.

"The bright star holds, even as the darkness rises."

This was my first C.S. Pacat book and it definitely won't be my last. I can't believe it took me this long to read one of her books especially with how much I've seen her name going around. Dark Rise started off pretty slow but as I read it kept getting better and better.

I love the way how the beginning made me think it was just the typical good vs. evil but then changed so dramatically. Like I predicted the plot twists but it was the type of plot twist that I was hoping would happen and am so happy it did.

The characters had so many layers to them *thinking about two characters specifically* like the moral grayness in this book was *chef's kiss* I'm so very much in love with them.

"We don't choose the moment. The moment comes whether we will it or not, and we must make ourselves ready."

I wasn't sure about Will at first. He wasn't really interesting but then I began to like him which eventually turned to love. His character is actually super interesting. The calm demeanor he has, being really careful and logical with the decisions he makes + very intelligent in a quiet like manner. It's insane how he's able to come to the right conclusions so often?? And I can already tell that there is still so much we don't know about Will, I'm so so excited to learn more about him.

"Her world, all her dreams, narrowed down to this cell, her false lives stripped away to show the truth: she wasn't wanted."

This is one of many times where I wish I could give a character a big hug. VIOLET DESERVES SO MUCH LOVE ANYONE WHO HURTS HER FACES MY WRATH🔪🔪 Literally want to murder so many characters for daring to bring her pain. She's such a strong and loyal friend, I adore her so much. Violet and Will's friendship was LITERALLY EVERYTHING. Like the loyalty they have for each other and their protectiveness🥺 It makes my heart swell with love, I really hope this relationship isn't destroyed in any way because I will be heartbroken.

"I think what people were is less important than what they are. And what people are is less important than what they could be."

JAMES OMG JAMES I LOVE YOU. Is it really any surprise that I ended up loving James in this book?? He's definitely the character that had the most depth. So many revelations I wasn't expecting from him and he too made my heart hurt from the pain. And can I just scream about the tension between him and Will??? I read in other reviews that theyre all prepared to wait many books for the main ship to get together and oh no😭😭 I'm ready to go crazy over all the angst and with the way this book ended- *incoherent screaming*

"Dark times lie ahead. But even in the darkest night, there is a star."

There's one more character who I really came to like and honestly wasn't expecting to with the way they were introduced. Cyprian is definitely an interesting character and though he didn't have many appearances in here, I can so see that he'll play a bigger role in book 2. And I see the potential for a new ship to sail👀 but we'll have to see for ourselves in the sequel. I would certainly love to see how it develops hehe

"Dark times lie ahead. But even in the darkest night, there is a star."

All in all this was such an unexpected delight and I highly recommend it to anyone and everyone. Dark Rise also gave me The Infernal Devices vibes--especially in the beginning. Once you get past the beginning with its world-building, it gets super good. There's so much potential for this series and I can't wait to see how it all develops from here on out.


Thank you Harper Collins Canada for sending me an ARC in exchange for an honest review!!

______

finally reading this sdfsdfs please let this be my third 5 star in a row✨

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the fact that two of the characters are named Will and James🥺🥺

[Lucie V. · Rating 4 out of 5]

✅✅ James
✅ World-building
✅ Plot
✅ James and Will's interactions
✅🆗 Rest of the characters
✅🆗 Pace
🆗 Kinda romance?
❗️❗️ Not a cliffhanger per se, but some HUGE revelations are just dropped like bombs before the book ends.
❗️❗️ Not too explicit violence, murders, and torture


3.5 stars


WTF?! This is NOT where I thought this was going... That ending... I am still shocked. 😲

Ok, so this is a good book, but I was expecting more. I was promised a dark queer enemies-to-lovers romance, and I didn't get it. There are hints that imply that it might be coming in the next book, but still, I am disappointed. Also, having absolutely ADORED the Captive Prince series, I was hoping for amazing characters with incredible character development, but that's not exactly what I got...

“Long ago,” said Justice, “there was a world of wonders – of what you and I might call magic. Great towers and palaces, fragrant gardens, and marvelous creatures.”
It was like the words of a familiar story, yet it was one Will had never heard before.
“In that world, a Dark King rose, growing in power and killing those who stood in his path.”
The light from the room’s only candle flickered, obscuring the planes of Justice’s face.
”It was a time of terror. The Dark King’s shadow spread out across the lands. Armies broke against his power. Cities fell to his hordes. Heroes gave their lives to hold him back just for a moment. The lights of the world went out one by one, until there was only one light left, the Final Flame. There, those on the side of the Light made their last stand.”

The Stewards are a group of gifted men and women who are fighting the dark evils of the world for the last few thousand years. Their enemies are Simon and his followers, the ones trying to resurrect the Dark King, and will stop at nothing to see it done (it gave me LotR vibes)... And, stuck in the middle of the war is young Will Kempen...

Will has been on the run for months now after the brutal murder of his mother. He doesn't know why she was killed, only that he needs to constantly be on the move because whoever killed her is after him now. His life takes an unexpected turn when he meets Violet who is the bastard daughter of a wealthy aristocrat working for Simon. Violet wants nothing more than to impress Simon and earn her place by his side... That is until she discovers that he and her father don't care about her at all and are also responsible for some horrendous acts. The only problem is that Violet has her family's blood in her veins, automatically marking her as an enemy of the Stewards, and now she doesn't know where she belongs and who to turn to. On the other side of the battlefield is James. He is The Betrayer come back to life. He was the Dark King's most trusted general thousands of years ago, and is now alive again, thanks to a dark ritual. He is currently "Simon's Prize" until the Dark King rises again and James can take back his place by his side, and his mission, for now, is to locate Will, capture him, and destroy the Stewards.

The whole concept is interesting and well developed. The whole battle between dark and light is nothing new, but I liked that it took place in a Victorian London setting instead of a fictional fantasy world. Honestly, the world-building is great and I really felt and enjoyed the vibe of this book. The pace was quite slow for the first half though. The second half picks up as there is more action, more traveling, and more interesting interactions between the characters (#JamesIsTheBest). The last 50 pages or so are just brutal, it's plot twist after plot twist and I was shocked. Now the book is over and I am still reeling about those revelations and wondering about what will happen to Will and James!?

“My whole life, all anyone's ever wanted was to possess me," said James. "The only one who ever set me free was you.”

James is definitely my favorite character in this book. He honestly saved the day when he started to be more important in the plot after the 50% mark. His chemistry with Will is insane and their dialogues were a delight to read. Pacat does know how to create great characters with great chemistry. Will on the other side was a little disappointing honestly. He redeemed himself with the last part of the book and he was starting to get more interesting so I have good hopes for the next book because he didn't impress me much for the first 60% of the book. He is not a bad character, but he was nothing super original or impressive either. He felt like the typical YA "chosen one", only with a little Londonian vibe.

"The boy savior," said James conversationally.
"Simon’s Prize," said Will.

Still... James and Will... There is so much potential for an enemies-to-lovers (or even just an enemies-to-BFF would make me happy) between them and it's the main reason why I want to read the next book. I need to know what will happen to them, and also between them. There is obviously a pull there, part of it might be magical, but I also see great potential for an M/M romance, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed!

“I think what people were is less important than what they are. And what people are is less important than what they could be.”

A big part of this book is about characters and the choices that define them. Violet shows us that just because you're born in a family that serves the "dark side", doesn't mean you're meant to be evil and that you will inevitably turn evil. The opposite is also true, being "on the good side" doesn't mean that you won't do bad things for good reasons, or that you won't end up having to choose between two bad options that will hurt people around you.

Now, there was one completely useless character (in my humble opinion): Katherine. Why did she get her own chapters at the end? I didn't care about her at all honestly because we almost didn't see her for the whole book. Then she just appeared and become a somewhat important character just before the end of the book... The kinda-romance involving her also felt quite far-fetched and useless to the story. It is explained in the very last chapter, but it still felt pointless to me. But again, that's just my opinion, and I admit that I didn't like her as a character from the beginning so I might be biased.

This book as a whole was good enough but not as epic as I was hoping for. Still, the next one promises to be better and I will definitely read it because I want more Will/James moments and I'm dying to know how their relationship will develop.


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[fer bañuelos · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cállense el hocico en este instante que necesito procesar este libro.

Yo ya conocía a esta autora por su serie de novelas gráficas Fence , que es mi favorita por cierto, pero nunca había leído su trabajo en la fantasía. Está de más decir que después de este estoy dispuesto a leerme absolutamente todo lo que esta mujer escriba, porque este libro es excelencia pura.

Llegué a ver muchas reseñas que decían que todo el libro hasta el final les había parecido lento, y mi experiencia no podría ser más contraria. Si hay una palabra con la que puedo describir este libro es CONSISTENTE. Las 451 páginas que tiene me mantuvieron enganchado. Puede que se deba a que desde el inicio sentí que estaban ocurriendo cosas, al igual que el word building me parecía magnífico. Todo lo que te dice C.S. Pacat importa: cada palabra, cada descripción. Desde el inicio te va planteando todo con cuidado para pintarte lo que será Dark Rise como trilogía y siento que rindió frutos.

El final, como han dicho muchos, me parece impactante, especialmente porque se logra cerrar perfectamente el primer arco de trama. El punto de terminan todos los personajes se siente lógico y correcto. Todos los cimientos quedan demasiado bien planteados para la secuela y esas últimas páginas me dejaron salivando por más. Es excelente la manera que tiene la autora de llevar todo lo que ha estado diciendo a lo largo del libro a un punto en específico, y no puedo imaginarme cómo serán las continuaciones a este libro, ya que pintan para ser brutales.

Hablando de los personajes, estoy completamente enamorado de este cast. Todos y cada uno de ellos me enamoraron, más porque son el claro ejemplo de cómo tener un cast diverso en toda la extensión de la palabra: en personalidad, en étnia, en debilidades, en valores, en construcción. Will tiene el potencial de convertirse en uno de mis protagonistas favoritos. Tiene el toque perfecto de unreliableness (???) que me gustan en los personajes que son más de lo que aparentan. Violet es una bad ass bitch en toda la extensión de la palabra y con todo el transfondo que se expone en este libro tiene tantas oportunidades para explotarse que espero la autora sepa aprovechar. James, Katherine, Cypres, Justice, todos tienen algo especial y oh como me enamoré de ellos en este libro. No puedo esperar a volverlos a leer.

Con solo este libro ya se que el resto de la trilogía me va a encantar. Ya tengo algunas teorías y algunos deseos para sus siguientes partes. Siento que si C.S. Pacat sabe como llevar su historia nos puede dar un desarrollo espectacular y un final épico (tengo muy claro cómo me encantaría que acabe esta trilogía pero quiero ver cómo se nos lleva a ese punto). Sin más que decir solo me queda recomendarles este libro inmensamente y recordarles que lo de sacrificar mi nalga izquierda no era broma. 100% la doy a cambio de un arc.

[Cecilia · Rating 5 out of 5]

4,5 ⭐️

Primera vez que leo a la autora y me ha gustado bastante la manera que tiene de describir el mundo creado como la construcción de los personajes. Me gusto que se tomara el tiempo de mostrarnos los impulsos, pensamientos y miedos de los protagonistas.

Si bien ya sabía acerca del giro “inesperado” del final, lamentablemente me había spoileado, igual me gusto la manera en que se comienzan a revelar los misterios y la forma en que encajan las piezas.

El planteamiento del conflicto entre las fuerzas del bien y del mal sumado a una posible redención o traición por parte de uno de los protagonistas me tiene intrigada y hace que quiera poder leer ya la segunda entrega.

Además, de ese romance que desde que apareció James que ya quiero que surga 😬; hasta el momento el romance no es el centro de la historia, dedicándose a mostrarnos el mundo construido, lo cual me parecido correcto; sin embargo, quiero saber si en el segundo se explora un poco más respecto al personaje que mencione anteriormente 😅.

[h o l l i s · Rating 2 out of 5]

Hmm. Hmm. Hmmmm.

Honestly, I don't know about this one. Let's get this out of the way first : I did not hate my time with this one. But did it grip me, surprise me, pull me in? I have to say.. no.

In some ways this book is pretty predictable. And by some I mean.. almost all of it? Add to that fact that the pitch of this set up an expectation of a big dark queer enemies romance and we get none of it in DARK RISE. The story ends in a way that implies it could still happen in book two but I obviously had prepared myself for something that I did not see pan out. So that's kind of a bummer. So between the predictability, the lack of romantic tension, and then..

Well, I've kind of lost track of some of the POVs but most of them are new to this fantasy world. Only two really matter in the point I've trying to make though which is : the outsiders seem to have become bigger players than those who had been in this world, living this fantasy life, the whole time. And eventually there is a reason for this (a spoilery one) but at the same time I felt like there was just little to no shock value? No reluctance to believe? I feel there often should be a balance between struggling to come to terms and also settling in all nonchalant like and yet not being too much one or the other. I'm not sure I can properly explain this without you experiencing it but hopefully you know what I mean.

I'm also not sure I ever really felt any stakes after the first few chapters. Those had some good tension, a lot of uncertainty, but the deeper we went into the story, into understanding some of the world, which is when you would think the stakes get higher -- and I definitely should've felt this because they are basically end of the world as we know it stakes -- but.. I honestly felt nothing. Maybe because I wasn't invested in the world? Or the characters? I was never quite pulled away from this story or distracted by other things but I definitely was very conscious of reading things, not living things. If that makes sense.

Ultimately, now that certain events have played out, I think this is very much a first book in a trilogy/series (whatever it's going to be) issue. It's very possible, now that we have our footing and our reveals, and we stand on the precipice of the romance I wanted, that book two will give me something to sink my teeth into. I sure hope, at least.

But in the meantime.. lower your expectations a smidge. And it's possible you might enjoy this more than I did.

2.5 stars

** I received an ARC from the publisher (thank you!) in exchange for an honest review. **

---

This review can also be found at A Take From Two Cities.

[Heather K (dentist in my spare time) · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've been reading so much contemporary romance that I forgot what it was like to be swept into another world, but C.S. Pacat took me there.

I haven't read a full-length C.S. Pacat in years. My daughter and I buddy-read the Fence, Vol. 1 series, but I had honestly forgotten what power this author can wield. Dark Rise blew my mother forking mind.

I knew from reading some reviews that this book had some twists, so I was sort of prepared for emotional and mental mayhem, but I still was very surprised but a ton of the content. However, lots of authors can write twists into their books, but fewer authors can make it make organic sense.

Best of all, C.S. Pacat really stunned me with the phenomenal world-building. I was completely in it, almost from page one. For a book that is nearly 500 pages, the pacing and world-building was really remarkable. I read it all in one sitting (and I was holding a HARDCOVER! that $hit is heavy!), and I didn't want to put it down. This was a 2 am read for me. I would have read it all night.

There are some *very* minor hints at romance, but don't get your hopes up or read it for that. Primarily, this is a fantasy book, and a YA fantasy at that.

After reading this STUNNING book, I can't believe I have to wait another three months for the second book. It will be nearly unbearable...

Ugh, just buy this book. It ruined me, and I loved every minute of it.

goodreads|instagram

[Anyta Sunday · Rating 5 out of 5]

Incredible story, I need more

Talk about a book hangover!

I listened to the audio of this book over three days and every night went to bed dreaming about what I thought might happen, and I was soooo excited to read on, and was not disappointed! This first book is setting up for a most epic gay romance within the fantasy, and . . . God. C.S Pacat is pure magic with her pen.

I feel like once book two comes out, this trilogy will take off! Is it too early to already want a movie too? 😍😍😍😍

[moonlight ☾ [semi-hiatus] · Rating 5 out of 5]

AHHH. OH FUCK OH FUCK. AHHH. OH FUCK. aka pretty much my thoughts summed up while reading this book. i loved it. the world building?? the characters?? the plot twists?? i was fully invested and the twists had me shook. BRB OFF TO READ BOOK TWO—

(Will, James, Violet, Cyprian and Elizabeth are my babies!! must protect them. 😭)

[Andrea · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm so disappointed, I was ready to love this, but it fell so short for me.

C. S. Pacat took the age-old light versus dark fight and put her own spin on it. I really like what she attempted to do, but it didn't succeed for me, sadly.

It started off with an intriguing prologue, then went into an exciting start, with a character I immediately found likeable. I still enjoyed it until we got more into the magic and history of the universe. It all became more and more complex, but without being clear, and sometimes didn't make sense to me or seemed to contradict something we'd been told before (several times).

I will say that my favourite thing in the whole book was a world-building element: the old alphabet. Loved the look of it!

Magic element aside, I struggled to find things believable. I had no sense of time passing, so when a character said 'oh it's been three months', I thought what?!. A hall of warriors has the worst security possible, with people sneaking out and being sprung from cells; important places are within convenient distances (and when not, inexperienced riders can ride for days to get there fast); people can also ride alone through countryside to reach a place they've never been to before - they all must have built-in sat-nav or something.

Possibly my biggest disappointment was the character dynamic, though. I loved the interactions (well, most of them :P) in Captive Prince, so I had high expectations. But the characters here don't build relationships and trust. They're all just drawn to each other straight away and their rapport is already established like that. There's a small glimpse of an interesting relationship which we'll certainly see in the next book, but I'm also having trouble reconciling it with 16 year-olds.

The twist C. S. Pacat uses actually relies on her basically hiding critical information from the reader (and lots of readers still guessed where it was heading), so not even the ending saved it for me.

Last thing, but this is spoilery(ish) and long:

Occasionally, it was too reminiscent of Lord of the Rings. Not in terms of plot or characters, but in some details and phrases and scenes.

Dark Lord King who wants to rule over all, was banished, but is now gearing up to return
Nazgul Shadow Kings who were once mortal men now doing the Dark King's bidding
A ring collar which makes people covet it and become a shadow of themselves
The dead White Hawthorn Tree
A hidden city hall where no outsiders are allowed (yes, not that unique, but still made me think of Gondolin)
The name Ektahlion
Phrases like
"But even in the darkest night there is a star."
"The Dark King has no power here."
"Where was the Lady when Marcus was taken? Where was the Lady when my wife was killed? Where was [...]-" Gondor?

...and there were more. Maybe it was just me, in a Lord of the Rings mindset that I couldn't shift, but too many similarities for me.

[♥︎ Heather ⚔ (New House-Hiatus) · Rating 3 out of 5]

So. The beginning was alright. Pretty standard YA dark vs light/evil vs good.

Then, in the middle... well, I was so confused with wtf was going on. The plot got away from me a little. Like what was the actual plot?

And then the end is a massive plot twist, obv I'm now going to be reading book 2.







✎﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏
🤭🤫 Not me totally not sticking to my planned TBR and going off the grid for this gem bc Lila's review had me clicking hold so quick at my library... and it just came in this morning! 💃🏻

It's already SO. GOOD. 🖤

[✪ JY ✪ (conans version)(Semi-Hiatus) · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 STARSSSSS
Start a war ~ Klergy, Valerie Broussard ↺⭒
00:00──●─── 03:34
(why is this song practically made for this series??)
*EDIT*
i did a slight reread and i cant believe how obvious it was!!?
will knew from page 130 who he actually was🤦‍♀️

my first 5 stars in a looong time🥹

EVERTHING ABOUT THIS BOOK WAS JS SOO GOOD
its been such a looong time since I was so invested in a book like wanting to read it wherever I went and thinking about it when I wasn't reading....
and the funny thing is that i wasn't even planning on reading it anytime soon
also finalyyy a origaninal plot in a ya book


╰┈➤ ❝ The Characters ❞
I found myself relating or seeing myself in the characters which is pretty rare in a fantasy
most of all will and violet.also I loved them all to bitss even james?🤔

╰┈➤ ❝ The ending ❞
RLGFnk,tgbjnEgnrjk
the plot twists towards the end r crazzyy(though I sort of suspected that was gonna happen)

*SPOILER*
Im really excited about the whole will being the dark king plot!!!!!

[Mon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dark Rise nos cuenta la historia de Will, un chico de 17 años que está destinado a impedir el ascenso del Rey Oscuro, aún cuando él desconoce quién es realmente.

QUE. PUTA. MARAVILLA.

Seguí el desarrollo de este libro desde el momento en el que la autora anunció que lo estaba trabajando. Los fans ya sabíamos que habría un gran giro, un enemies to lovers y el tropo del elegido.

Pero.

¡Qué forma de manejar el tropo más utilizado en la Fantasía!

Fuera de la información que tenía, no me quedaba claro qué tipo de ambientación tendría porque habían muchas contradicciones en los foros de fans, cuál fue mi sorpresa cuando comencé a leer y encontré un ambiente histórico que, por su puesto, me ha encantado. La autora parece sentir una inclinación especial hacia el pasado de la humanidad, ya lo habíamos visto con Captive prince, que aunque la historia transcurría en un mundo inventado, todo nos recordaba a la época romana. Aquí, sin embargo, la acción transcurre en el Londres de 1821 y nos hace pensar sobre qué partes de la historia son reales, cuáles están ocultas y cuáles son una completa mentira, algo que le agrega cierto realismo a la narración. Las descripciones son pocas pero importantes, Pacat solo describe con lujo de detalle aquello que va a ser importante para la trama en algún punto, pero, quienes la hemos leído, sabemos que su pluma es un tanto pesada, escribe para jóvenes pero no usa el lenguaje demasiado simplificado que suelen utilizar los escritores de YA.

La trama general sigue la lucha entre la Luz y la Oscuridad, siendo el protagonista clave para vencer la Oscuridad y traerle la victoria, una vez más, a la Luz. Se toca temas sobre la reencarnación, la magia oscura y hasta la existencia de animales mágicos, como unicornios. Sí, es un cliché enorme todo eso de la Luz contra la Oscuridad, pero el hecho de que el protagonista no pueda acceder a sus poderes tan fácilmente hace que sus compañeros tomen más protagonismo (para protegerlo) y, por tanto, la historia se transforme en algo distinto. Will pasa de ser la clave de todo a ser solo un espectador de los acontecimientos, pero entonces ocurre lo que se veía venir desde el principio y nos quedamos con la boca abierta pese a que ya estábamos advertidos.

Aunque Will es el protagonista, a su lado se encuentra todo un séquito de personajes, cada uno con un papel que jugar en la trama. Violet, Justice y Cipriano son los más importantes, los compañeros de Will y quienes arriesgarán todo para seguirlo. El grupo es muy diverso y eso le da un extra porque está perfectamente llevado según el contexto histórico. Violet es tan protagonista como Will, tiene casi tantos capítulos como él y su propio arco de desarrollo; ella debería estar en otra parte, con otras personas, pero elige seguir a Will sin apenas pararse a pensar lo que eso implica y va abriéndose camino hacia su destino. No es la elegida, pero es la mano derecha de este y eso hace que se encuentre presente en todos los momentos importantes y que pase las mismas situaciones que Will pero sin la certeza de ser lo suficientemente poderosa para salir con vida... Y aún así lo hace, por Will.

Y luego está Katherine. Yo no esperaba a Katherine. Sabía que Will iba tener dos intereses amorosos, una chica y un chico, pero no sabía quién sería la chica hasta que vi que Katherine tenía sus propios capítulos y todo fue evidente. Y siento que en esto Pacat falló, Katherine no tuvo el desarrollo que yo habría querido, de hecho la sentí como un obstáculo en lugar de una protagonista y eso no me agradó. Es evidente que Pacat quería que todos los lectores eligiéramos a James, algo que habíamos hecho incluso antes del leer el libro porque la premisa era, precisamente, Will y James, no era necesario que Katherine fuera reducida a un personaje tan vacío solo para favorecer el emparejamiento de los otros dos.

James me recordó mucho a Laurent de Captive Prince, pero mucho más peligroso y despiadado. Dónde Laurent tenía compasión, James tiene mil maneras de torturar a alguien. Es un antihéroe en toda la regla, no le importa matar a inocentes y lo que más quiere en el mundo es conseguir sus objetivos. ¿Cuáles son estos? Pues... habrá que leer el libro para descubrirlos. Pero, ¿por qué los lectores elegimos a James pese a su naturaleza malvada, por qué no a Katherine y su sencillez y buen corazón? Sabemos que James y Will se van a destrozar mutuamente, que NO DEBERÍAN estar juntos, que su relación no hará más que empeorar todo, pero eso es precisamente lo que nos hace ansiar sus interacciones, eso es lo que lo hace tan emocionante. Además, James es indudablemente carismático e impactante, desde el primer momento hasta el último quieres que acabe bien, no importa si merece o no un final feliz, quieres que lo tenga y punto.

Y finalmente, Will. El final no me tomó por sorpresa. Yo ya lo veía venir desde, más o menos, el 20 % del libro. Aún así, grité cuando finalmente Will tuvo acceso a una parte de sus poderes y resultó ser todo lo que esperaba de él, y más, mucho más. Me cayó bien, cosa que no me suele pasar con los protagonistas (casi siempre me caen mal o me dan igual). A Will lo quiero ver feliz y sé que tiene potencial para convertirse en uno de mis personajes favoritos en el futuro.

Con el último capítulo me quedaron muchas dudas de hacia dónde irá la trama ahora, está claro que el romance va a formar parte importante de las siguientes entregas, pero ¿y todo lo demás? No quisiera que algo tan grande se redujera a Will y James y Katherine, pero si pasa, lo aceptaré, ofendida, pero lo haré.

[Ellie]

will pay much money if this 'young descendants of Light and Dark' thing specifically manifests in an villain romance

[Lauren Lanz · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Crawl back to him, then. Crawl back to Simon and tell him, the Lion and the Lady stand against him, and as long as we draw breath, he will never conquer the Light.”

Kind of speechless right now... miss Pacat, what have you done…?

Dark Rise was somehow both everything and nothing that I expected. It was a culmination of magic and morals and romance and war, a mix executed in such a way that evoked delightfully cryptic and heartwarming feelings alike.

Dark Rise follows young Will, a dock boy who—while fleeing his mother’s killers— uncovers his destiny to become a warrior of the Light in a diminishing world of magic. His life is quickly upended by an old servant’s ominous message, one that points him in the direction of The Institution of Stewards, an ethereal future he’d never before imagined.
The Stewards are the last who remember the battles of old, and Will soon becomes their beacon of hope against the rapidly increasing threat of a new Dark Rise. A force that will end the world without hesitation.

“The bright star holds, even as the darkness rises.”

I adored every character of this cast, especially Violet, Justice and James. Violet was sword-slinging badass with a heart of gold (and a backstory that makes me ache). Justice…. Oh sweet thing. I couldn’t tell you exactly what it is about him… but I fell hard. And James. Lord. That (not so) evil boy is something else. (The enemies-to-lovers dynamic being established between him and Will is palpable, I swear).
Instead of being your typical chosen-one story, Dark Rise divulges into the telling of so much more since it is expressed by Will, a narrator who lets the supporting cast shine.

The atmosphere was another spectacular aspect of Dark Rise; easily one of it’s best attributes. I loved the heady essence of old magic in the Institute for Stewards, and was left with very few gaps of imagination after reading Pacat’s descriptions. The plot twists and pacing left me constantly entertained as well!

There is too much I have to say about this book, and not enough coherent thought left in my head to express it all… (thank u for ruining me C.S. Pacat <3)
Alas, I am left to mope in silence until I get my answers (and romance!) from the rest of this series. Which I can only hope is being promptly written…

[Briar · Rating 5 out of 5]

MY HEART OMG 🤯

RTC


__________________________________




seriously I'm not joking I will not shut up about this book until I have it in my hands and even then I'll probably keep going

[Jay H (Hiatus) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Alright dude what the flip???

This Book was a heck of ride!

It's fantasy it's multiple pov (which I LOVE) It's intertwined fates it's GAY it's amazing and those final chapters??? They had me reeling. This is the only time that I did not regret buying the whole series before reading book one (Maybe I should stop doing that)

[Meags · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 Stars

I wasn’t sure what to rate this at first, but after I’d referred to the awe-inspiring writing and incredible fantasy storytelling in my reactions to several friends while reading, I couldn’t rightly rate this story anything less than a full 5-stars this kind of unicorn piece of writing deserves.

Dark Rise is an 1800s London set story, full of hidden magic users, a dwindling secret-society of warriors fighting for humanities survival, and an ancient war brewing (with hints of history repeating), between those who fight for the Light and those who follow the Dark. It’s a harsh world where the lines are blurred between heroes and villains, masterfully executed to hold the reader in rapt attention from the first page to the last.

As far as queer YA fantasy storytelling is concerned, stories don’t often get as good as this. Pacat weaves such an original and immersive story here, that I couldn’t help but marvel at the skill and research that must have gone into the creation of such a story, let alone the kind of imagination one must have to come up with such a one-of-a-kind story, that feels both nostalgic and unique all at once. Honestly, I was swept me away by the whole reading experience, in a way I wasn’t quite expecting or prepared for.

Not expecting this sort of highly addictive, fully fleshed out fantasy epic from an author like C.S. Pacat really does feel like a major failing on my part—especially considering how I still rank her Captive Prince trilogy as my favourite MM series of all time. And yet, I am surprised by my reaction and the depth of my awe here. Silly me.

I held off reading this book—book one of a planned trilogy—mostly because the wait between the books of the last series almost did me in, and I didn’t want to experience such reader trauma again so soon. But when a friend suggested we buddy read Dark Rise now (two years after its release), with the sequel only a month away, it finally felt like the right time for a new obsession to be born… and obsessed I most certainly am!

I urge new readers to go into this blind—don’t even bother with the synopsis, if you're feeling bold and brave—because the thrill of the unknown was half the fun for me. It's, perhaps, darker in tone than I’m used to with most of my YA LGBT reading, and like with the first Captive Prince book, there is little to no romance (yet!), but the building blocks are well and truly in play now and, like with Captive Prince, Pacat proves yet again that she really has a masterful handle on an enemies-to-lovers romance done right!!!

As a series starter, I couldn’t recommend this highly enough. Again, if you’re a Pacat fan, this is a no-brainer, but it’ll likely also go over a treat with fantasy lovers in general… or even just humans that know how to recognize a legend at work in their chosen field of knowledge and expertise. Go forth and ENJOY!

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED! <3

******************************

Dark Rise Series

Book 1 - Dark Rise (5 Stars)
Book 2 - Dark Heir (4.5 Stars)
Book 3 - pending…

[Lottie from book club · Rating 5 out of 5]

if your favourite Pevensie sibling was Edmund then this book will put you over its knee and tell you you're bad while you both pretend not to enjoy it

[Morgane Moncomble · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am: mind fucked 🤯
I was screaming through all of it (I’m proud I saw that ONE thing coming tho 😌)

[Madison · Rating 4 out of 5]

Update 11/2023:
This book is so hilarious. It could have been an incredibly horny adult book but instead it's a bizarrely, regrettably horny YA book. The first half is unbelievably boring but the second half goes SO hard. It's such a weird one!!

Original review, 8/2021:
I've been watching the advance reviews for this book trickle in from places like NetGalley and Edelweiss and rolling my eyes at most of it, because the general consensus seems to be "this is not anything like Captive Prince and therefore I hate it." For one, the fact that it's not like CaPri is fantastic, given that this is a YA book. It's ostensibly for children, so we should all be glad about its thematic dissimilarities to erotic France vs. Sparta military fiction.

On the other hand, though, it actually is a lot like Captive Prince.

Let's back up a bit. At the outset, Dark Rise is a pretty straightforward YA fantasy novel. You've got a multi-POV cast of teens in various precarious positions within the war between Good and Evil. You've got a Most Special Special, a chosen one who has descended from the greatest ancient warrior and is destined to defeat the bad guys. You've got the Evilest Evil, a king who is the root of all badness, essentially Sauron without the eyeball tower. You've even got a magic school, where some of the teens go to train and make friends.

I read all this with trepidation; it's very reminiscent of cash-grabby YA books that have flopped in the last couple of years, the ones that jam in every possible trope, change perspectives every five pages, and plod along well-worn tracks with mediocre-to-bad writing carrying it all. If this had been an author I wasn't familiar with, I might have quit around 40%. But C.S. Pacat is an almost irrepressibly good writer, though it wasn't shining through very much in this book. I felt pretty confident that something would happen to improve circumstances. And then James shows up.

James is Laurent from CaPri, re-skinned as a magical teenager. There's really no other way to describe him. The moment he begins popping up a bit more, the book starts to sparkle. Every scene is suddenly breathlessly, laughably horny in the same way CaPri was, something that is perhaps questionable for YA but ultimately extremely fun. James is what C.S. Pacat does best, no question, and his mere presence among the other characters breathes life into what feels like a flat narrative.

And then, a little while later, the book itself takes a turn. It genuinely surprised me at a point when I'd given up hope that this book would be anything beyond the ordinary. I read the last half in one sitting, unable to put it down. For once, the relatively boring lead-up actually WAS setup for an interesting conclusion, something I'd dared to hope for but never received from a typical YA fantasy book. And it introduced me to a new kind of romance trope that I've never seen before and cannot WAIT to see enacted in book 2.

This was a four-star read because the beginning was so tough for me to get through, but I feel excited for the rest of this series. I think CaPri fans actually will recognize some similar dynamics here--though, yeah, she does keep the slave erotica to a minimum given that this book is, again, for children. And folks unfamiliar with her work will hopefully enjoy this book for what it is: a twisty and fun addition to the landscape of YA fantasy.