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A review by foxholebookcourt
Dark Rise by C.S. Pacat
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-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? No
5.0
Dark Rise by C. S. Pacat
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/5
Here it is. Finally, the first five star of the year. But what else could I expect from the brilliant C. S. Pacat. Having loved the Captive Prince trilogy, I bought this book without even bothering to look for a description. I had absolutely no idea what this was about. And I was not dissapointed. This book felt like the love child of Lord of the Rings, but with a very interesting twist that I will not be spoiling.
Pacat is THE master of enemies to lovers, even though the focus of this book isn’t the romance. But even that takes an unexpected turn. How am I supposed to wait for book two now, I don’t know. As for the plot, it was magical, with a surprisingly good mixture of what felt like an Arthurian aesthetic and the setting of Victorian London. This two may not exactly sound combinable but Pacat makes it work smoothly, with not one but at least two jaw dropping twists that had me gasping audibly. At first I thought the author was going for a classic High Fantasy story, but knowing them, I should have known it wouldn’t be just that, and I’m so excited.
Besides the excellent plot and world building, we also have amazing characters. Because we all know that Pacat has a knack for writing multi layered characters. And we haven’t even seen much of them, since this is only the first book. By far the most intriguing one was James from start to finish, but after the plot twist, Will reached the same level. And of course, we have characters building and developing relationships that make me wonder how some of them will react upon finding out certain... facts.
I just know now that this author will never disappoint me. If you are looking for a more original approach to the standard fantasy genre, this is the book to look for. I cannot wait for the sequel.
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/5
Here it is. Finally, the first five star of the year. But what else could I expect from the brilliant C. S. Pacat. Having loved the Captive Prince trilogy, I bought this book without even bothering to look for a description. I had absolutely no idea what this was about. And I was not dissapointed. This book felt like the love child of Lord of the Rings, but with a very interesting twist that I will not be spoiling.
Pacat is THE master of enemies to lovers, even though the focus of this book isn’t the romance. But even that takes an unexpected turn. How am I supposed to wait for book two now, I don’t know. As for the plot, it was magical, with a surprisingly good mixture of what felt like an Arthurian aesthetic and the setting of Victorian London. This two may not exactly sound combinable but Pacat makes it work smoothly, with not one but at least two jaw dropping twists that had me gasping audibly. At first I thought the author was going for a classic High Fantasy story, but knowing them, I should have known it wouldn’t be just that, and I’m so excited.
Besides the excellent plot and world building, we also have amazing characters. Because we all know that Pacat has a knack for writing multi layered characters. And we haven’t even seen much of them, since this is only the first book. By far the most intriguing one was James from start to finish, but after the plot twist, Will reached the same level. And of course, we have characters building and developing relationships that make me wonder how some of them will react upon finding out certain... facts.
I just know now that this author will never disappoint me. If you are looking for a more original approach to the standard fantasy genre, this is the book to look for. I cannot wait for the sequel.