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A review by soartfullydone
Dark Heir by C.S. Pacat
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
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
4.5
Now that's what I'm talkin' about!
It's so hard to talk about this book and this trilogy without spoiling the whole game, and I'm not going to do that. I actually didn't write a review for Dark Rise for that very same reason. So I'll make this brief. Dark Rise sets up the shot, so that Dark Heir never misses.
Where the first book did struggle at times with repetition and simplicity that's typical of the genre, it stood out in all the ways a C.S. Pacat book does: with weird, wonderful, and messy characters and delicious homoerotic tension. And for a YA book, that's really saying something.
Dark Heir picks up immediately where Dark Rise left off, with Will, James, Violet, and Cyprian reckoning with fallout, consequences, and an impending doom they must stand against regardless. Where the first book was, in many ways, an establishment and set-up book, its sequel avoids second-book syndrome entirely by burrowing deeply into its characters, who propel the plot forward in interesting and tragic ways. I loved everything I was given about the main four and couldn't get enough of Will and James, especially. I wanna gnaw my hands off, they're everything. Violet remains best girl, and I have such a special place in my heart for Cyprian.
And if that weren't enough, Pacat proceeded to bless me with more scenes with Devon and introduced Visander, who I didn't know I needed. Again, with no spoilers, Pacat is truly insane for everything she did with them, I won't lie. I also enjoyed Elizabeth's POV, including her straightforward directness, which only a child who takes themselves very seriously can muster.
I have a certain weakness for stories that are about characters trying to defy their fate, or their nature, or a terrible future of some kind. They try so hard that every choice they make only winds up pushing them closer and closer to the very thing they want to avoid or prevent. There's a special sort of ache and dread that you feel as an observer to this that's unmatched, because you see why they're making the choices they're making. You know, logically, why it all makes sense for them. At the same time, you witness these characters exhibit a certain kind of human arrogance: one that says, "Even if the worst should come to pass, I'll make a different choice. The right choice. I know what's coming, so I can avoid it." It's watching characters believing they can control everything to achieve the outcome they want, only to be faced with how much is truly out of their control.
This trilogy is that kind of story, and I will eat it up every time. It makes the wait for the final book no less intolerable, however.
It's so hard to talk about this book and this trilogy without spoiling the whole game, and I'm not going to do that. I actually didn't write a review for Dark Rise for that very same reason. So I'll make this brief. Dark Rise sets up the shot, so that Dark Heir never misses.
Where the first book did struggle at times with repetition and simplicity that's typical of the genre, it stood out in all the ways a C.S. Pacat book does: with weird, wonderful, and messy characters and delicious homoerotic tension. And for a YA book, that's really saying something.
Dark Heir picks up immediately where Dark Rise left off, with Will, James, Violet, and Cyprian reckoning with fallout, consequences, and an impending doom they must stand against regardless. Where the first book was, in many ways, an establishment and set-up book, its sequel avoids second-book syndrome entirely by burrowing deeply into its characters, who propel the plot forward in interesting and tragic ways. I loved everything I was given about the main four and couldn't get enough of Will and James, especially. I wanna gnaw my hands off, they're everything. Violet remains best girl, and I have such a special place in my heart for Cyprian.
And if that weren't enough, Pacat proceeded to bless me with more scenes with Devon and introduced Visander, who I didn't know I needed. Again, with no spoilers, Pacat is truly insane for everything she did with them, I won't lie. I also enjoyed Elizabeth's POV, including her straightforward directness, which only a child who takes themselves very seriously can muster.
I have a certain weakness for stories that are about characters trying to defy their fate, or their nature, or a terrible future of some kind. They try so hard that every choice they make only winds up pushing them closer and closer to the very thing they want to avoid or prevent. There's a special sort of ache and dread that you feel as an observer to this that's unmatched, because you see why they're making the choices they're making. You know, logically, why it all makes sense for them. At the same time, you witness these characters exhibit a certain kind of human arrogance: one that says, "Even if the worst should come to pass, I'll make a different choice. The right choice. I know what's coming, so I can avoid it." It's watching characters believing they can control everything to achieve the outcome they want, only to be faced with how much is truly out of their control.
This trilogy is that kind of story, and I will eat it up every time. It makes the wait for the final book no less intolerable, however.