Oh boy, this book was wild!

This book was exactly the fantasy book I needed to get back on my fantasy fan train. I really enjoyed this book, it was urgent and unexpected. I flew through reading this, needing to know what happens next. It is filled to the brim with well-loved YA tropes (enemies-lovers, chosen one, etc).

I thought the writing was exciting and jumped off the page. There are quite a few potential triggers, so please consult content warnings before jumping into this one,

The twists... oh the twists.

Thank you to Harper Collins Canada for the ARC!

First of all thank you to netgalley & the publisher for early access to this book!
CS Pacat is an author I’ve had on my radar since the captive prince books, but seeing a medieval seeming ya fantasy really peaked my interest. And it’s a series! I loved seeing the sort of historic London and the main character explore the city. There is very little romance in this story which did disappoint me just a little but the story really kept me held in.
The downside of reading early books is you have to wait longer for the sequels to come out! I will be reading #2 when the time comes.

What a refreshing read! Fantasy has come to dominate the YA genre over the years, and while there are *many* good ones out there with unique takes on magic systems and relationship trajectories, it can get stale after a while. C. S. Pacat has proven that YA fantasy can still churn out fresh ideas.

If you're a fan of high fantasy with dark elements and classic YA tropes like enemies-to-lovers, Pacat's DARK RISE is a book you'll love.

This book was intriguing with all of the characters having many layers and the author slowly revealing the truth about them. I liked how no one was what they seemed. Unfortunately there were so many twists and turns that by the end it felt almost convoluted. I did enjoy the overall story, but I'm not sure how I feel about how much everything played into fate.

This was an excellent book one to what is sure to be an engaging series that promises to deliver an even more interesting book two. While it certainly took me some time to get into this one since it takes a little to get into the story proper, I enjoyed reading about this world and these characters. Pacat was able to create a world with an interesting magic system that is integral to the plot. I absolutely adored Violet's character, and would read an entire book just focused on her. And most importantly, book two needs to answer some major questions that get set up in book one.

If you are a lover of high fantasy, this book will certainly be enjoyable, with the rest of the series promising to be even stronger!

Can I start by saying that this book BLEW MY MIND?

Will has been on the run from the same people who killed his mother. When an old servant tells Will that he is descended from the ones meant to defeat the Dark King, he is thrown into a world of the Stewards, warriors of the Light who will stand against the dark.

This was so well crafted - as the pieces of the puzzle started to come together, I was absolutely glued to this story. I’ll admit, there were times where I thought it was dragging a bit, that we were hopping around to a bunch of unneeded information and then something else happens that puts it into the light. I don’t want to say too much because I was SHOCKED by the last few chapters, and I want every to experience it in that way.

The characters were all so interesting, and I wish that the sequel was out now so that I could be put out of my suffering, but then I’d just have to wait around again for the finale, so alas, my pain will continue for a while.

Pick up this book, it is not nearly as hyped as it should be!

Unfortunately DNFing at chapter 10.

I had such high hopes for this; I love the premise of light magic and dark magic, and it was very atmospheric but my interest just isn’t being held right.

i will definitely pick it up again in the future as I think it has what I want from a story but it just wasn't grasping my attention at this point in time.

Thank you to HarperCollins and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review

I really look forward to wear this story is going. This book felt a bit slow but I understand it set up the necessary details for future books. I’m really hoping for some enemies to lovers action

I really liked this one. The main characters are Will, a 16 year old boy being hunted by the men who killed his mother, and Violet, the half sister to one of these men. Circumstances have them both fleeing for their life when they find refuge with the Stewards, an ancient community of monk-like warriors. They are told of how the world used to be a place filled with magic, where Dark forces battled the Light. In the present day, the same men chasing Will seek to resurrect the Dark King and bring about humanity's destruction. It becomes clear that Will and Violet will play an important part in the battle to come.

The best part of this book was the twists. It was a little slow at the beginning largely because there was a lot of world building being set up, but the second half was super fast. I thought I knew what the big twist at the end was going to be but the actual twist was like my expected twist on steroids. There were multiple times when I actually gasped at the reveals and their implications.

It got kind of dark in some parts. There really was no glossing over the death as is sometimes the case in YA novels. So I really enjoyed this because it didn't feel like a typical YA book. I was actually surprised at how young the characters are supposed to be because I pictured them a lot older in my mind based on their actions and the situations they were dealing with. Especially James, it was hard to picture him as a 16 year old and I kind of wish this story was told in the New Adult genre instead.

There was less romance than I was anticipating but the plot more than made up for it and just like the world building, there's a lot of romantic set up. The main romance does have a love triangle vibe to it, which I'm not usually a fan of but somehow here it was actually executed really well. It kind of reminded me of a King Arthur, Lancelot, Guinevere situation in that there's this tragic fated element to it, but with a twist. I'm interested to see how it progresses especially given the events at the end of the book.

Definitely recommend for all fans of fantasy!

Dark Rise by C.S. Pacat is the first book in a new series. It follows Will, who is on the run and being pursued by the men responsible for killing his mother. An old servant of his mother tells Will about his destiny to fight alongside the Stewards. The Stewards are sworn to protect humans from the Dark King if he is to rise. Will meets many friends along the way, and they all must band together to protect the Light from the Dark.

This book is very twisty. I found myself constantly surprised by the events that unfolded in the story. I’m very intrigued to see what the direction of the sequel will be!

Thanks to NetGalley & Quill Tree Books for the early copy in exchange for an honest review. Sadly, I was unable to finish and left it at 20% of the way through.

"Dark Rise" follows several characters as they work to escape and eventually defeat the rising evil in London.

I haven't read Pacat's other stuff before so this is my first time reading their books.

This book was agonizingly slow and couldn't hold my interest. I would be willing to re-visit this title at a later time but I'd really have to concentrate to figure out all the plot threads/characters/etc because it's *that* kind of book that can be confusing. I do notice some elements of LOTR here, if anyone is interested. This title feels more like a light vs. evil story than anything.

Was not able to read before publication. This book was purchased for my library's collection. I will recommend when doing reader's advisory. I LOVE CS Pacat, so I'm excited to recommend this book to patrons.

I cannot begin to express how fabulous is this novel is! I wanted to wait for my review until I had my physical copy in hand so I can annotate some of my favourite quotes. This book has blown me away and exceeded my expectations

I love C.S. Pacat, Captive Prince. I think that Pacat is a better writer for adult novels than YA because Dark Rise and Fence both were unfulfilling to me. While I enjoyed Dark Rise, it didn't have the depth or standard that I was expecting after Captive Prince.

I'm a big fan of C. S. Pacat and was super excited to read this one. I picked it up several times, but was just never in the right mood. But once I finally committed to it, I loved it!
It's a bit slow moving, but not too high fantasy. It's got a super slow burn romance (which normally I cant' stand, but it's so well written), enemies to lovers, villain origin stories, and chosen ones.
The middle of the book kind of dragged a bit but the last 50 pages or so were INTENSE.

I loved the characters in this one! The pacing is excellent and I was interested int he story the entire time I was reading. I loved the unexpected twist at the end and cannot wait for the next book!

I desperately wanted to pace myself when reading this story, because I know it will be a while before the next installment is released, but I just couldn't help myself. Dark Rise is a phenomenal opening to what's bound to be the next great YA Fantasy series. It was inclusive, creative, and just plain entertaining! I am absolutely looking forward to the rest of the series.

Fun fantasy read for fans of Six of Crows. I had a problem distinguishing between character voice. I also was confused with the time settings in the beginning and what was happening when which made it difficult to figure out what was going on in the plot.

Much like the first book of the Captive Prince trilogy this book is a little bit of a slog to get through at first. The writing is excellent but in the beginning there's a paint by numbers feel to the whole thing, and a few of the characters - who by the end are all interesting and enjoyable in their own right - take a while to coalesce into something more than ciphers.

But man, once this book gets going it captivates. The major twist is telegraphed fairly early on (...as early as the cover, say) but everything Pacat does with it, along with the other really great turns, is all super interesting. What in the earlier part of the book was well-trodden ground becomes at once more complex and engaging, and the last hundred or so pages practically fly.

I could probably have done without the constant "it felt like the ancient world was in the room with them" and the super basic terminology had me going back and forth the entire book, but the writing and story are ultimately strong enough to counterbalance all that - and, I mean, that ending was delicious - so I can absolutely recommend this book, and I will definitely be back for the sequel.

So it took me a bit of time to really get into Dark Rise. I don’t know if I just wasn’t in the right head space or maybe I was mentally expecting Captive Prince when this would be nothing like it, but once I got past my preconceived notions, I ended up loving it!

I really enjoy CS Pacat’s writing. She has a way of creating characters that I’m going to fall in love with and stories that I will want to read again and again. I read all of Captive Prince back to back, so I’m excited that I get to experience this series as it’s released!

Bring on Book 2!!!!