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A review by mcaliz
Dark Rise by C.S. Pacat
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Content warnings: gore, use of the term “mongrel” for brown bodies,
Rep: a biracial female mc, nonconforming gender roles, reincarnation, sibling love, magical creatures, a character w/ albinism
Thoughts
Neutral thoughts:
I overall really enjoyed this book & would recommend others to give it a try!
~When you start the book, just know that you’re going to immediately be thrust into the action. I personally really liked it and it got me sucked into the story. But it MAY be a little confusing, but honestly by the 25 page mark I think you’re good to go.
~I honestly felt like I was watching a Pirates of the Caribbean & a LOTR’s movie mash up in a book format. Like if you plucked the characters (minus Jack Sparrow) of PoTC and put them in (movie) Gondor and (movie) Rivendell. Ever thought that I would every mash those two things together, but this seriously felt like those two things
~Also, there’s queer characters in this! Nothing is specifically about certain characters about them either identifying as bi, or pan, or gay, or asexual or demisexual or demiromantic, but there are hints that there are queer characters/people in this world. I have seen many reviews claim that Will is bi, but he doesn’t confirm that in the book. You definitely see that he feels attraction towards men and women, but there is honestly so much going on that he doesn’t pay much to it. (Okay, we DO see the kindlings of a enemies to lovers relationship be planted in this with between him and James & I AM SO HERE FOR IT)
Pros:
~Some of the quotes in this were so beautiful? Like, I’m usually not one to have a huge emphasis on them for my enjoyment, but the ones in here? I literally had to stop and re read them & let them sink in.
~I appreciated/liked Will’s and Violet’s friendship/bond. They were both THRUST into the battle/war that is going in the magical world that they discover that they’re a part of & they rely on one another because they don’t have anyone else to turn to. And it was nice to see a bond between two people of opposite genders just be purely platonic in their friendship without there being the potential to be romantic.
~I love reincarnation & this had it! And the way that it was in here was really interesting!
Gripes:
~We follow multiple perspectives, but it’s not clear until you get further into the chapter whose head you’re in. I would have liked for that to have been clear when we started a new chapter.
~Out of all of the perspectives, I disliked Katherine’s the most. It was just REALLY superficial & we would not have lost anything from NOT having her POV in the story. I understood AT THE VERY END why we got her perspective, but it still wouldn’t make a difference, in my opinion, if we didn’t get her POV. It honestly made me dislike this book a little bit when we would be in her head. Granted we only got her POV like 3 or 4 times, but that honestly 3 or 4 times too many.
~I wish everyone had been aged up. For the most part our main cast of characters are around the age of 16/17. I just felt like this would have had a much deeper character arc and exploration, especially since the book talks about “light” and “dark” and what makes up those two things in words and in actions, that I would have just liked to have seen these characters REALLY struggle with these things. I think that the ages of these characters and their comprehension of these huge philosophical things was a little stunted and lack luster. We do get to see in certain characters ,like Will and Violet, huge emotional growth, confidence and determination as the plot progresses, important plot points and information is revealed & I really liked that part of it. But with them being as young as they are, I had to suspend my disbelief about how QUICK their growth happened in the span of time that we cover in the book (which is like 4ish, maybe 5 months).
~OKAY, like I have noted up above, there is a biracial character in here! Our Biracial character is Violet; and we learn that her mother is/was Indian (not sure if her mom is dead or not, but Violet never said that she was so I’m not sure) & her dad is white. And the gripe that I have with Violet is how her character is USED. Being a biracial woman myself, I love seeing biracial characters, seeing them struggle with their identity being composed of different cultures, customs, religion and languages and we see the character having to navigate with these two different cultures. And usually when we see biracial characters we see them be outcasted, belittled, hated in some cases but generally just seen as an “other” when that character is with ONE of the groups of people that their parents are from. With Violet, we know that she has definitely been “othered” by her “step mom”, as we learn that Violet is a bastard child from an affair that her dad had while he was in India doing work for a man we learn about in the book named Simon. As we the story progresses, we learn that Violet has some powers, and her older half-brother, Tom, (who is just full on white) has these same powers as well (and we learn that their father has these same powers). And when we learn about these powers, we learn about WHY Violet was born & the PURPOSE she is supposed to serve and I did not like that at all. As essentially the only brown character, the only South Asian character, she is reduced to only being seen as “animal” or “creature” because of her powers and the name that those with her powers are called. They’re known as “Lions.” Not really sure why, but we just know that in the Old World, the Dark King and the people of the Light called people like Violet “Lions.” And her being half Indian easily could have been because her dad is an actual racists piece of shit, and their powers labeling them as “Lions” could just be COINCIDENTAL, but they EASILY could have been called something ELSE, not “Lions.” The light just so happens to claim that these “Lions” are these “horrible creatures” AND THEN THIS INNOCENT BROWN GIRL WHO HAD ABSOLUTELY NO IDEA, is now constantly fearing for her life for powers that she born with because of her dad; constantly worried that people are going to turn on her because she a “Lion”. And while Violet does grow to embrace her powers and what she is and to embrace the “Lion” identity and use her gifts for the greater good, I just had some problems with it? Aside from Violet, there’s only one other POC, Grace (who I think is African? Or she may be from the Caribbean? It’s never specified, but she nonetheless is brown body) is a servant. So I expect, and I want, for Violet and Grace and any other BIPOC character that comes into the rest of the story to be treated better than these have been
The romance(s):
While there was no straight up romance in this one, we definitely see the potential of a romance to happen between Will and James. These two literally scream enemies to lovers & I cannot WAIT to see what happens between the two of them (ESPECIALLY after information we find out about the both of them at the end) AAAAAAAAAAH. I can’t wait!
This is KIND of spoilery, but I honestly wish I had seen in mentioned in someone’s review. This is about Will and his interactions with one of the female characters we meet. SO HERE WE GO When we meet Katherine, essentially every time we’re following her POV it’s cause she’s interacting with Will. And every time that they interact, Katherine feels like she has “feelings” for Will even though she doesnt know a thing about him (but she’s 16, so I guess we can let her immediate infatuation slide 🙄). But we also learn that Will is feeling/felt something for her as well??? And when see/read about it, I was COMPLETELY THROWN OFF. I was NOT HERE FOR IT. But thankfully it is VERY short lived, and things happen at the very end that indicate that nothing is going to happen between them, but I still didn’t like the little bit that there was. It felt weird.
Characters: (that I think are worth mentioning)
Will: Our main man. A boy on the run after a tragic night that puts him on the path of revenge. I liked him overall & the growth that he went thru. I am VERY interested in what he does in the next two books after the revelations we learn about at the end of the book.
James: MY FAVORITE CHARACTER OF THEM ALL. A boy with a lot of power & a VERY interesting past that we learn about. I honestly felt for him with all of the things that have happened to him & I just cannot wait for the next book!
Simon: Also known as: Lord Crenshaw, son of the Earl of Sinclair. HES 37 YEARS OLD YALL. A CREEP who’s trying to marry 16 year old. But he also is filled with secrets
Violet: Tom’s younger sister, biracial (Indian & British). I liked her. Violet uses she/her pronouns, but she does not stay in the expected gender roles/expectations/looks that women did in the 19th century in Europe. And as someone who HATED having to only buy/wear clothes that came from the girls section of clothing stores, opposed to wearing what I wanted to, REGARDLESS of what “section” of clothing I was in, I liked seeing Violet, a biracial woman (like myself) dress how she wanted to & not feeling ashamed of it. And I liked how gender fluid she was as well. And I honestly really felt for her. Her “step mom” ACTIVELY disliked her & was very vocal about her hatred for Violet. I did have some qualms about how her character was used, like I mentioned in my gripes section, but I have hope that her character is treated better in the next installment.
Tom: Violet’s older brother, one of Simon’s “men” Known as the “Lion” for the gifts that he has. I anticipate that we’re going to be seeing more of him in the next two books.
Justice: a Steward of the Light. He’s described as being asian, but we don’t know where he comes from. But I also liked him; he was like a mentor/older brother for Violet as she came into her powers and her identity
Katherine Kent: Simon’s fiancée, almost 17 years old. She was “okay”, very superficial, naive that I could NOT handle & WAY to quick to romanticize her interactions with Will or any man tbh. The biggest bimbo I’ve ever read up to date.
Cyprian: a Novitiate of the Stewards (and Stewards are essentially warriors). I found him very interesting; he has a lot of anger and grief that he carries, but he honestly is trying his best
Grace: a Janissary (which is like a servant for the Stewards, but they could also be craftsmen, or jewelers, or whatever work that they want to do that isn’t a warrior)
Devon: Has albinism, one of Simon’s men who is filled with secrets & has abilities of his own
Rep: a biracial female mc, nonconforming gender roles, reincarnation, sibling love, magical creatures, a character w/ albinism
Thoughts
Neutral thoughts:
I overall really enjoyed this book & would recommend others to give it a try!
~When you start the book, just know that you’re going to immediately be thrust into the action. I personally really liked it and it got me sucked into the story. But it MAY be a little confusing, but honestly by the 25 page mark I think you’re good to go.
~I honestly felt like I was watching a Pirates of the Caribbean & a LOTR’s movie mash up in a book format. Like if you plucked the characters (minus Jack Sparrow) of PoTC and put them in (movie) Gondor and (movie) Rivendell. Ever thought that I would every mash those two things together, but this seriously felt like those two things
~Also, there’s queer characters in this! Nothing is specifically about certain characters about them either identifying as bi, or pan, or gay, or asexual or demisexual or demiromantic, but there are hints that there are queer characters/people in this world. I have seen many reviews claim that Will is bi, but he doesn’t confirm that in the book. You definitely see that he feels attraction towards men and women, but there is honestly so much going on that he doesn’t pay much to it. (Okay, we DO see the kindlings of a enemies to lovers relationship be planted in this with between him and James & I AM SO HERE FOR IT)
Pros:
~Some of the quotes in this were so beautiful? Like, I’m usually not one to have a huge emphasis on them for my enjoyment, but the ones in here? I literally had to stop and re read them & let them sink in.
~I appreciated/liked Will’s and Violet’s friendship/bond. They were both THRUST into the battle/war that is going in the magical world that they discover that they’re a part of & they rely on one another because they don’t have anyone else to turn to. And it was nice to see a bond between two people of opposite genders just be purely platonic in their friendship without there being the potential to be romantic.
~I love reincarnation & this had it! And the way that it was in here was really interesting!
Gripes:
~We follow multiple perspectives, but it’s not clear until you get further into the chapter whose head you’re in. I would have liked for that to have been clear when we started a new chapter.
~Out of all of the perspectives, I disliked Katherine’s the most. It was just REALLY superficial & we would not have lost anything from NOT having her POV in the story. I understood AT THE VERY END why we got her perspective, but it still wouldn’t make a difference, in my opinion, if we didn’t get her POV. It honestly made me dislike this book a little bit when we would be in her head. Granted we only got her POV like 3 or 4 times, but that honestly 3 or 4 times too many.
~I wish everyone had been aged up. For the most part our main cast of characters are around the age of 16/17. I just felt like this would have had a much deeper character arc and exploration, especially since the book talks about “light” and “dark” and what makes up those two things in words and in actions, that I would have just liked to have seen these characters REALLY struggle with these things. I think that the ages of these characters and their comprehension of these huge philosophical things was a little stunted and lack luster. We do get to see in certain characters ,like Will and Violet, huge emotional growth, confidence and determination as the plot progresses, important plot points and information is revealed & I really liked that part of it. But with them being as young as they are, I had to suspend my disbelief about how QUICK their growth happened in the span of time that we cover in the book (which is like 4ish, maybe 5 months).
~OKAY, like I have noted up above, there is a biracial character in here! Our Biracial character is Violet; and we learn that her mother is/was Indian (not sure if her mom is dead or not, but Violet never said that she was so I’m not sure) & her dad is white. And the gripe that I have with Violet is how her character is USED. Being a biracial woman myself, I love seeing biracial characters, seeing them struggle with their identity being composed of different cultures, customs, religion and languages and we see the character having to navigate with these two different cultures. And usually when we see biracial characters we see them be outcasted, belittled, hated in some cases but generally just seen as an “other” when that character is with ONE of the groups of people that their parents are from. With Violet, we know that she has definitely been “othered” by her “step mom”, as we learn that Violet is a bastard child from an affair that her dad had while he was in India doing work for a man we learn about in the book named Simon. As we the story progresses, we learn that Violet has some powers, and her older half-brother, Tom, (who is just full on white) has these same powers as well (and we learn that their father has these same powers). And when we learn about these powers, we learn about WHY Violet was born & the PURPOSE she is supposed to serve and I did not like that at all. As essentially the only brown character, the only South Asian character, she is reduced to only being seen as “animal” or “creature” because of her powers and the name that those with her powers are called. They’re known as “Lions.” Not really sure why, but we just know that in the Old World, the Dark King and the people of the Light called people like Violet “Lions.” And her being half Indian easily could have been because her dad is an actual racists piece of shit, and their powers labeling them as “Lions” could just be COINCIDENTAL, but they EASILY could have been called something ELSE, not “Lions.” The light just so happens to claim that these “Lions” are these “horrible creatures” AND THEN THIS INNOCENT BROWN GIRL WHO HAD ABSOLUTELY NO IDEA, is now constantly fearing for her life for powers that she born with because of her dad; constantly worried that people are going to turn on her because she a “Lion”. And while Violet does grow to embrace her powers and what she is and to embrace the “Lion” identity and use her gifts for the greater good, I just had some problems with it? Aside from Violet, there’s only one other POC, Grace (who I think is African? Or she may be from the Caribbean? It’s never specified, but she nonetheless is brown body) is a servant. So I expect, and I want, for Violet and Grace and any other BIPOC character that comes into the rest of the story to be treated better than these have been
The romance(s):
While there was no straight up romance in this one, we definitely see the potential of a romance to happen between Will and James. These two literally scream enemies to lovers & I cannot WAIT to see what happens between the two of them (ESPECIALLY after information we find out about the both of them at the end) AAAAAAAAAAH. I can’t wait!
This is KIND of spoilery, but I honestly wish I had seen in mentioned in someone’s review. This is about Will and his interactions with one of the female characters we meet. SO HERE WE GO
Characters: (that I think are worth mentioning)
Will: Our main man. A boy on the run after a tragic night that puts him on the path of revenge. I liked him overall & the growth that he went thru. I am VERY interested in what he does in the next two books after the revelations we learn about at the end of the book.
James: MY FAVORITE CHARACTER OF THEM ALL. A boy with a lot of power & a VERY interesting past that we learn about. I honestly felt for him with all of the things that have happened to him & I just cannot wait for the next book!
Simon: Also known as: Lord Crenshaw, son of the Earl of Sinclair. HES 37 YEARS OLD YALL. A CREEP who’s trying to marry 16 year old. But he also is filled with secrets
Violet: Tom’s younger sister, biracial (Indian & British). I liked her. Violet uses she/her pronouns, but she does not stay in the expected gender roles/expectations/looks that women did in the 19th century in Europe. And as someone who HATED having to only buy/wear clothes that came from the girls section of clothing stores, opposed to wearing what I wanted to, REGARDLESS of what “section” of clothing I was in, I liked seeing Violet, a biracial woman (like myself) dress how she wanted to & not feeling ashamed of it. And I liked how gender fluid she was as well. And I honestly really felt for her. Her “step mom” ACTIVELY disliked her & was very vocal about her hatred for Violet. I did have some qualms about how her character was used, like I mentioned in my gripes section, but I have hope that her character is treated better in the next installment.
Tom: Violet’s older brother, one of Simon’s “men” Known as the “Lion” for the gifts that he has. I anticipate that we’re going to be seeing more of him in the next two books.
Justice: a Steward of the Light. He’s described as being asian, but we don’t know where he comes from. But I also liked him; he was like a mentor/older brother for Violet as she came into her powers and her identity
Katherine Kent: Simon’s fiancée, almost 17 years old. She was “okay”, very superficial, naive that I could NOT handle & WAY to quick to romanticize her interactions with Will or any man tbh. The biggest bimbo I’ve ever read up to date.
Cyprian: a Novitiate of the Stewards (and Stewards are essentially warriors). I found him very interesting; he has a lot of anger and grief that he carries, but he honestly is trying his best
Grace: a Janissary (which is like a servant for the Stewards, but they could also be craftsmen, or jewelers, or whatever work that they want to do that isn’t a warrior)
Devon: Has albinism, one of Simon’s men who is filled with secrets & has abilities of his own