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4.13 AVERAGE
4.13 AVERAGE
I need to process this considering how quickly I powered through it but Holy crap what a book. What a story, what characters and what an ending!! I'll very likely be starting book 2 tomorrow because this story has me in an absolute chokehold.
adventurous
dark
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
hopeful
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
This book had some horny energy, you can’t change my mind.
William Billiam Kempen, or Will as he likes to go by, is on the run. Mysterious men killed his mother and are now after him too. After he receives a clue from a former servant, Will is captured by Lord Simon Crenshaw, the man behind it all (or is he). Violet, a girl whose family is associated with Simon, longs to join him alongside her brother, Tom. When the ship they’re all on is attacked by the Stewards, Violet helps Will escape (but not before Will does some cool Jedi Force powers on a powerful, evil sword that’s thrown into the Thames).
Will and Violet are looked after by Justice, a beautiful, brave, strong man (who is Chinese, hella) who also happens to be a Steward. He explains that the Stewards are all that remains of an ancient order of warriors fighting against the evil Dark King, who destroyed the world of magic thousands of years ago and of whom Simon is a descendant. The Dark King was eventually killed by the Lady and Justice believes Will is her descendant by way of his mother, capable of fighting against the darkness. He and Violet are taken into the great hall of Stewards to be trained to fight back the Dark King’s forces, but not before running into James, the beautiful and mysterious general of the Dark King reincarnated, to whom Will feels an odd attraction to and James feels the same (not to himself but to Will, idk how to write summaries anymore XD).
Also, there’s Katherine. She is horny and she is amazing and you can’t change my mind.
Think of this book as a mix of Lord of the Rings, Star Wars, The Dark is Rising, with a dash of Narnia without the Christian allegory, and maybe even a little Erha Husky and his White Cat Shizun in there XD. Somewhere on the Dark Homoerotic Explorations Scale between Eddie Brock and Venom to Will Graham and Hannibal Lecter lies Will and James.
If anyone knows me well (or asks me about the tattoo on my right arm), they’ll know that I’m a big fan of C.S. Pacat’s first series, Captive Prince. I love that series to death and I’ll criticize it to death. I know it’s not perfect. If you wanna go back to my first review of Captive Prince, I rated it three stars. I did a brief reread a while back and I realized how whack the pacing and the plot development are.
So, I knew as I read Dark Rise that those problems, while a little better polished, were still in the writing.
The first third or so of the book, was not so hot. Since this is the first time C.S. Pacat has done serious worldbuilding, you can tell she wants to get all out there. You learn and relearn the rules and history. There’s terminology and explanations again and again. Some cool shit happens... but you’re told about it later cuz it happened off-screen. It’s really not so different from many YA fantasy out there.
By the second third, something’s smelling fishy and you can’t help but keep reading. Will does or says something that stands out from how the writing showed him before. James says or does anything and you can’t help but feel enamored by him. Katherine is horny and it’s great.
At the last third, you’re hit left and right with plot twists and bamboozles. If your mouth isn’t gaping open from shock, the next scene leaves it wider. Your heart’s palpitating at ninety miles an hour from all the emotional whiplashes. Look at you, you’re crying, idiot (that’s me talking to past me).
God, I have so many theories. Pls, Pacat, one meal isn’t enough. (Take all the time you need, king, we’ll wait for you.)
Real quick, I just want to give a shoutout to Katherine. Katherine wasn’t very popular with many readers and I get that. However, I raise you this. That is, I loved her. Like most of this book, I read her horny energy as off the charts, but like a subtle off the charts where you can’t really tell unless you’re reading into her movements and observations. (Showing your wrist, William Billiam Kempen? Agasp! This isn’t a pornographic theater!”) I guess it’s because I rewatched Bridgerton before this came out and I was still feeling that sexy Regency energy. I read into Katherine’s actions as taking advantage of what little agency she had as a woman of that time period.
Honestly, what a time period this is. Georgian era, late Regency vibes, ripe Romanticism—Austen and Shelley and Byron, oh my. I know we don’t spend much time in London or “the mundane world,” for lack of a better term, but I hope the historical context and attitudes can be expanded upon in the later books.
Anyway, I shall sit here consumed with lust for the rest of... until book 2 comes out. *proceeds to lie on the floor and listen to Mitski while trying not to cry and failing not to cry*
William Billiam Kempen, or Will as he likes to go by, is on the run. Mysterious men killed his mother and are now after him too. After he receives a clue from a former servant, Will is captured by Lord Simon Crenshaw, the man behind it all (or is he). Violet, a girl whose family is associated with Simon, longs to join him alongside her brother, Tom. When the ship they’re all on is attacked by the Stewards, Violet helps Will escape (but not before Will does some cool Jedi Force powers on a powerful, evil sword that’s thrown into the Thames).
Will and Violet are looked after by Justice, a beautiful, brave, strong man (who is Chinese, hella) who also happens to be a Steward. He explains that the Stewards are all that remains of an ancient order of warriors fighting against the evil Dark King, who destroyed the world of magic thousands of years ago and of whom Simon is a descendant. The Dark King was eventually killed by the Lady and Justice believes Will is her descendant by way of his mother, capable of fighting against the darkness. He and Violet are taken into the great hall of Stewards to be trained to fight back the Dark King’s forces, but not before running into James, the beautiful and mysterious general of the Dark King reincarnated, to whom Will feels an odd attraction to and James feels the same (not to himself but to Will, idk how to write summaries anymore XD).
Also, there’s Katherine. She is horny and she is amazing and you can’t change my mind.
Think of this book as a mix of Lord of the Rings, Star Wars, The Dark is Rising, with a dash of Narnia without the Christian allegory, and maybe even a little Erha Husky and his White Cat Shizun in there XD. Somewhere on the Dark Homoerotic Explorations Scale between Eddie Brock and Venom to Will Graham and Hannibal Lecter lies Will and James.
If anyone knows me well (or asks me about the tattoo on my right arm), they’ll know that I’m a big fan of C.S. Pacat’s first series, Captive Prince. I love that series to death and I’ll criticize it to death. I know it’s not perfect. If you wanna go back to my first review of Captive Prince, I rated it three stars. I did a brief reread a while back and I realized how whack the pacing and the plot development are.
So, I knew as I read Dark Rise that those problems, while a little better polished, were still in the writing.
The first third or so of the book, was not so hot. Since this is the first time C.S. Pacat has done serious worldbuilding, you can tell she wants to get all out there. You learn and relearn the rules and history. There’s terminology and explanations again and again. Some cool shit happens... but you’re told about it later cuz it happened off-screen. It’s really not so different from many YA fantasy out there.
By the second third, something’s smelling fishy and you can’t help but keep reading. Will does or says something that stands out from how the writing showed him before. James says or does anything and you can’t help but feel enamored by him. Katherine is horny and it’s great.
At the last third, you’re hit left and right with plot twists and bamboozles. If your mouth isn’t gaping open from shock, the next scene leaves it wider. Your heart’s palpitating at ninety miles an hour from all the emotional whiplashes. Look at you, you’re crying, idiot (that’s me talking to past me).
God, I have so many theories. Pls, Pacat, one meal isn’t enough. (Take all the time you need, king, we’ll wait for you.)
Real quick, I just want to give a shoutout to Katherine. Katherine wasn’t very popular with many readers and I get that. However, I raise you this. That is, I loved her. Like most of this book, I read her horny energy as off the charts, but like a subtle off the charts where you can’t really tell unless you’re reading into her movements and observations. (Showing your wrist, William Billiam Kempen? Agasp! This isn’t a pornographic theater!”) I guess it’s because I rewatched Bridgerton before this came out and I was still feeling that sexy Regency energy. I read into Katherine’s actions as taking advantage of what little agency she had as a woman of that time period.
Honestly, what a time period this is. Georgian era, late Regency vibes, ripe Romanticism—Austen and Shelley and Byron, oh my. I know we don’t spend much time in London or “the mundane world,” for lack of a better term, but I hope the historical context and attitudes can be expanded upon in the later books.
Anyway, I shall sit here consumed with lust for the rest of... until book 2 comes out. *proceeds to lie on the floor and listen to Mitski while trying not to cry and failing not to cry*
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
not what i was expecting at all, it felt a little slow to start but damn it really snatched my attention near the end
I really enjoyed parts of this book. Much of the writing is compelling, and the pacing kept me fairly engaged from the start. There’s undeniable atmosphere here, and the characters are intriguing. That said, as a longtime Tolkien fan, I couldn’t help but notice just how closely this book mirrors The Lord of the Rings in both theme and execution.
Several scenes felt almost directly lifted in tone or structure. One that stood out in particular was when Will is fleeing through the marshes, pursued by the Remnants, and narrowly escapes across the river and into the Steward lands. It immediately brought to mind the scene in The Fellowship of the Ring when Arwen flees the Ringwraiths with Frodo, crossing the river into Rivendell. The Remnants themselves feel like echoes of the Nazgûl or Ringwraiths; ancient, nearly unstoppable wraiths bound to a dark power long thought defeated. Similarly, the concept of the Shadow Kings strongly parallels the Ringwraiths: once great, now corrupted, forever tied to darkness.
The core setup, a lost heir hidden away, dark magic returning to the world, and a looming war between Light and Dark also felt so familiar that I found myself unintentionally comparing almost every major moment to Tolkien’s work.
These aren’t subtle nods; they’re significant structural and thematic overlaps that made it hard for me to stay immersed. I kept comparing Dark Rise to Tolkien’s world and unfortunately, it kept falling short. It didn’t feel like a fresh interpretation of familiar elements so much as a retelling that lacked the same depth and nuance.
I will say, listening to the audiobook while reading along with my paperback helped keep me focused. Without that, I think I would have drifted even more mentally checking out whenever the story leaned too heavily into déjà vu territory.
That said, I understand this is entry-level fantasy. If you haven’t read The Lord of the Rings, the similarities might not register, and Dark Rise could feel entirely original. But for readers familiar with Tolkien, the heavy borrowing from his world is hard to ignore.
I don’t regret reading it, and since I already own book two, Dark Heir, I’ll eventually continue the series. But this one definitely felt a bit overhyped for me.
Several scenes felt almost directly lifted in tone or structure. One that stood out in particular was when Will is fleeing through the marshes, pursued by the Remnants, and narrowly escapes across the river and into the Steward lands. It immediately brought to mind the scene in The Fellowship of the Ring when Arwen flees the Ringwraiths with Frodo, crossing the river into Rivendell. The Remnants themselves feel like echoes of the Nazgûl or Ringwraiths; ancient, nearly unstoppable wraiths bound to a dark power long thought defeated. Similarly, the concept of the Shadow Kings strongly parallels the Ringwraiths: once great, now corrupted, forever tied to darkness.
The core setup, a lost heir hidden away, dark magic returning to the world, and a looming war between Light and Dark also felt so familiar that I found myself unintentionally comparing almost every major moment to Tolkien’s work.
These aren’t subtle nods; they’re significant structural and thematic overlaps that made it hard for me to stay immersed. I kept comparing Dark Rise to Tolkien’s world and unfortunately, it kept falling short. It didn’t feel like a fresh interpretation of familiar elements so much as a retelling that lacked the same depth and nuance.
I will say, listening to the audiobook while reading along with my paperback helped keep me focused. Without that, I think I would have drifted even more mentally checking out whenever the story leaned too heavily into déjà vu territory.
That said, I understand this is entry-level fantasy. If you haven’t read The Lord of the Rings, the similarities might not register, and Dark Rise could feel entirely original. But for readers familiar with Tolkien, the heavy borrowing from his world is hard to ignore.
I don’t regret reading it, and since I already own book two, Dark Heir, I’ll eventually continue the series. But this one definitely felt a bit overhyped for me.
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I love the mystery that unfolds during the story and all of the characters are very loveable and unique. Also the plot twists left me in shock, but have great foreshadowing.
I can't wait for the final book to be released.
I can't wait for the final book to be released.
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
not feelin it. i usually enjoy cs pacat so chalking this up to just not being in the mood for a historical fantasy. and/or i just really wanna keep reading my current series (dense high fantasy) instead of taking a breather with a comparatively easier brain off book.
will probably attempt a revist by end of the year once current series is done and i can pick this up from the library again.
will probably attempt a revist by end of the year once current series is done and i can pick this up from the library again.