diana_raquel's review against another edition
- 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
4.75
[Moment of fangirling: WHAT WAS THAT ENDING???? ALSO, PACAT, JAMES AND WILL BETTER BE ENDGAME!!]
Look, its very simple: everything Pacat writes, I read! I love every single book! This book is filled with mystery, intrigue and truly unexpected plot-twists. It also has a well-structured plot and well-developed characters. It has everything to be a favorite of mine! And it is! I loved it!
I can't wait for Dark Heir. Totally recommend!
Graphic: Death, Confinement, Child abuse, Torture, Gore, Violence, Blood, and Murder
Moderate: Genocide, Death of parent, War, and Violence
sophiesmallhands's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Violence
Moderate: Death, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Gore, War, and Murder
Minor: Adult/minor relationship and Colonisation
itisnatal's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Blood, Death, Gore, and Racism
Minor: Sexual violence
limabeans's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Spoiler
like why Will was able to touch the stone and blade. why katherine was sort of attracted to Will and kissed him out of nowhere (rip).james was probably the best character in this. i didn’t figure out until the middle/end that he was the ‘love interest’ though but that’s okay.
amazing cliffhanger ending, super excited to read book two.
Graphic: Death, Violence, and War
Moderate: Body horror and Gore
Minor: Pedophilia
bugcollector's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
and when is the next one coming out 👹😀
Graphic: Blood, Death of parent, Murder, Torture, Violence, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Gore, and Grief
freckled_frog_boi's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
Spoiler
have her adopted parents be racist and abusive in order to force her into a hero’s journey. And then it was never discussed again.Spoiler
she trains to become a strong fighter, and her “manliness” is given as one of the reasons she’s interested in swords and learning to fight. You can be feminine and like swords, goddammit. She doesn’t need to be masculine to like sword fighting!Spoiler
kisses a girl who I’m pretty sure is his cousin. Gross. And it’s not explained away. Later, when we realize he somehow knew the truth the whole time, none of the characters even blink once about it. It’s just not addressed.Spoiler
kissing his cousin,Graphic: Child death, Death, Animal death, Genocide, Gore, Violence, Death of parent, and Torture
Moderate: Death of parent and Abandonment
Minor: Classism, Injury/Injury detail, Bullying, and Colonisation
johnnytest's review against another edition
- 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
5.0
Honestly I think I liked it better the second time around for spoiler reasons but once you can piece everything together it is just so satisfying
original rating = 4/5
reread rating = 5/5
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Slavery and Gore
Minor: Xenophobia, Suicidal thoughts, Animal death, Sexual violence, and Torture
criticalgayze's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
What do you have here? The return of a Dark King, a hidden (albeit non-elfin) city, magical objects that enslaved human kings, and a "shining lady." (Plus, also a lot of Harry Potter and Star Wars-adjacent Hero's Journey tropes.)
What else did you have? Too much. This is supposed to feel like the first book in a trilogy, yet it felt like a standalone work. You have every trope of every major fantasy series stuffed into this single <500 page volume. You have mass slaughters. You have magical romances begun, then ended, and then new ones begun. You have torture and then escape. You have slaughter. You have first, second, and third reveals about each individual character. I cannot fathom reading another two books that can sustain this momentum, yet I also worry that I could be just as exhausted at the end of each installment.
Finally, while I haven't read their Captive Prince trilogy, I know there has been some discourse around their use of enslavement as the precipitation for romance. While I won't give away too much for those who want to read Dark Rise (DM me here or on Instagram - also @criticalgayze), I will say that this book doesn't make the best case for Pacat. While I have the CP trilogy on my shelves as a planned read this year, I will be entering it a little more wearily.
Now, I did give the book 3-stars because Pacat is clearly a talented writer. This was fast-paced with an intriguing universe, even if I did want it to be a little more fleshed out, and the first half especially is a very enjoyable read before you begin to feel a little gorged as a reader.
Moderate: Gore, Murder, Torture, Violence, Blood, Death, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Animal death and Incest
crdjrose's review against another edition
- 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
3.75
Moderate: Violence
Minor: Gore
kaseybereading's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Animal death, Blood, Death, Genocide, Gore, Violence, and Vomit