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A review by lucybbookstuff
Dark Rise by C.S. Pacat
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
I DNF'd this in June 2024, picked back up and finished in October. Leaving up my DNF explanation for my records, will leave full review underneath that.
Soft DNF. I'd like to stick this out eventually, but I'm too excited about other things right now to wade through this clunky exposition.
I'm vaguely intrigued by the conflict and the characters, but I'm honestly struggling to care since I've been dropped in the middle of it, with no setup whatsoever before everything turned to shit.
And once it did turn to shit, all the setup has been extremely, as I said, clunky. It's already, at less than 20%, been so repetitive. The characters just keep putting themselves in and staying in ridiculously stupid situations in the name of info dumping and establishing very flimsy character relationships.
And for now, what little has been explained sounds very cliche and cheesy.
I do think that if I stick out this clunky beginning, the intrigue will pick up and I'll eventually like it. But I'm not in the mood to try right now.
(Just so I know, if/when I come back to it: I got through chapter 8.)
Full review:
When I picked this back up, I was reminded immediately why I had DNF'd it. That clunky storytelling never really went away, and neither did the cliche/cheesiness.
To be honest, for me, this book really coasted on its plot twists, which I concede were somewhat interesting and not always predictable. But it doesn't have much else going for it. I found the writing, the central conflict, and most of the characters incredibly shallow. A lot of the worldbuilding made little/no sense; nothing was explained very well. Just given to me at face value and I'm supposed to care. Spoiler alert: I did not. The main character especially was way too "good" and adaptable to the crazy changes in his life. The pacing was COMPLETELY off. And the writing at the line level was often awkward.
The one thing I really did enjoy was the introduction of the tragic sadboi love interest. 👀 Lol I do love me one of those.
I may eventually pick up book 2 for the promise of this romance alone. But it definitely won't be any time soon.
Edit a week or so later: downgraded from 3.25 to an even 3. Just felt right. 🤪 It's certainly not the worst book ever, but it really feels best suited to 13/14-year-olds.
Soft DNF. I'd like to stick this out eventually, but I'm too excited about other things right now to wade through this clunky exposition.
I'm vaguely intrigued by the conflict and the characters, but I'm honestly struggling to care since I've been dropped in the middle of it, with no setup whatsoever before everything turned to shit.
And once it did turn to shit, all the setup has been extremely, as I said, clunky. It's already, at less than 20%, been so repetitive. The characters just keep putting themselves in and staying in ridiculously stupid situations in the name of info dumping and establishing very flimsy character relationships.
And for now, what little has been explained sounds very cliche and cheesy.
I do think that if I stick out this clunky beginning, the intrigue will pick up and I'll eventually like it. But I'm not in the mood to try right now.
(Just so I know, if/when I come back to it: I got through chapter 8.)
Full review:
When I picked this back up, I was reminded immediately why I had DNF'd it. That clunky storytelling never really went away, and neither did the cliche/cheesiness.
To be honest, for me, this book really coasted on its plot twists, which I concede were somewhat interesting and not always predictable. But it doesn't have much else going for it. I found the writing, the central conflict, and most of the characters incredibly shallow. A lot of the worldbuilding made little/no sense; nothing was explained very well. Just given to me at face value and I'm supposed to care. Spoiler alert: I did not. The main character especially was way too "good" and adaptable to the crazy changes in his life. The pacing was COMPLETELY off. And the writing at the line level was often awkward.
The one thing I really did enjoy was the introduction of the tragic sadboi love interest. 👀 Lol I do love me one of those.
I may eventually pick up book 2 for the promise of this romance alone. But it definitely won't be any time soon.
Edit a week or so later: downgraded from 3.25 to an even 3. Just felt right. 🤪 It's certainly not the worst book ever, but it really feels best suited to 13/14-year-olds.