Week 21 Review: Dark Rise

From Goodreads:

In this stunning new fantasy novel from international best-selling author C. S. Pacat, heroes and villains of a long-forgotten war are reborn and begin to draw new battle lines. This epic fantasy with high-stakes romance will sit perfectly on shelves next to beloved fantasy novels like the Infernal Devices series, the Shadow and Bone trilogy, and the Red Queen series.

Sixteen-year-old dock boy Will is on the run, pursued by the men who killed his mother. Then an old servant tells him of his destiny to fight beside the Stewards, who have sworn to protect humanity if the Dark King ever returns. Will is thrust into a world of magic, where he starts training for a vital role in the oncoming battle against the Dark.

As London is threatened and old enmities are awakened, Will must stand with the last heroes of the Light to prevent the fate that destroyed their world from returning to destroy his own.

My Review:
Oh, wow! I loved reading this book, it was so fantastic, and I couldn't put it down! This world was incredible, and I loved reading about these characters-but boy, could I not get attached, because the probability of them surviving decreased with every page! Man, was it wild!

This world was so interesting to read about, with the old world of magic, and the Dark King, that ended with the Lady killing him, and now there's only the Stewards to guard from the return of the Dark King. I needed to learn more! 

We mostly follow Will, who's descended from the Lady, and then Violet, who is a lion, whose family works for Simon. And then there were a few of Katherine, who was Simon's fiancé. I enjoyed seeing everything from all their different perspectives, of what they all knew, and wow, when the story came together-some of the secrets that these characters were hiding, yeah, it was so epic! 

Along the way, there were some really brutal reveals-like why Violet's dad had her raised with her brother, like where the Stewards got their powers. And on top of that, there's the threat of the shadows. Brutal, man, just brutal! I kept wondering, is there going to be any romance? And with so, whom? And then that part happened, and oh, was it a game changer! I think Justice hit hardest! 

I'm pretty glad of when I read this book, but oh, do I wish that I had read it when we had a release date for book 2. The wait is going to be evil, and the not knowing is going to drive me up the wall. I need to know what's going to happen next, darn it! 

This was an amazing read, and now I'm dying for book 2!

Author: C.S. Pacat
Series: Dark Rise #1
Read: May 27th, 2022
Source: Edelweiss/Library
Reason Why: Sounded really great, and it's a Prequel & Sequel Challenge 2022 Book and a WoW Book!
Publisher: Quill Tree Books/Harper Audio
Published: September 28th 2021

5/5 Hearts

5/5 Books

5/5 Stars