Dark Rise

Written by C. S. Pacat

Narrated by Christian Coulson

* Instant New York Times Bestseller * Indie Bestseller *

In this stunning new fantasy novel from international bestselling 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.

Like V.E. Schwab’s A Darker Shade of Magic and Shelby Mahurin’s Serpent & Dove, Dark Rise is more than just high intrigue fantasy—it’s fast-paced, action-packed, and completely surprising. Readers will love exploring the rich setting of nineteenth-century London. This thrilling story of friendship, deception, loyalty, and betrayal is sure to find a passionate audience of readers.

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperCollins
• Release date: Sep 28, 2021
• ISBN: 9780063137325

C. S. Pacat

C. S. Pacat is the bestselling author of the Captive Prince trilogy and the graphic novel series Fence. She lives in Melbourne, Australia. Find her online at cspacat.com.

Reviews for Dark Rise

[Rebecca · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Not what I expected. Going to leave the series on DNF. A great story if you're into good vs evil, found family, and a lot of redemption.

[catalinapilar · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I loved this soooo much, went through it in a day and a half.

[Sunna · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I felt that it was really simmilar to Darker Shade of Magic and that's kind of the only thing I liked about it, still going to continue the series and see if book 2 convinves me to love this series

[nmy541376 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Great!!!! Loved it so much, narrators voice was nice, and made everything feel like I was there!

[tornadox-962417 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The title and worldbuilding started off feeling like it was a riff on The Dark Is Rising series, but it becomes its own story. The three main characters struggle with how to be good people, or at least do good in this world. Of course, it's complicated by family expectations, blood, destiny, and the choices we make along the way;

I looke forward to reading the next book.

[Todd · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Chapters and chapters of repetitive self-doubt and angst. Perhaps I would have liked this as a teenager or young adult but as an adult who has time for 12 hours of angsty boredom?

[Branka · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Amazing, magical, BEST ReAD Ever
Is THere a sequal COming

[Riley · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

An absolutely enthralling world with amazing and deep characters. I've read/listened multiple times and every time is just as wonderful!

[Isabelle · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

At first it was little boring, the book is long and we don't know where they want to take us but it all makes sense in the end. I stayed because I really liked the characters, they had so much potentiel and I'm glad I listened to the end.

[Fena Reti · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I loved it but-
It was a bit too long. It might be my fault that I struggled to follow the plot sometimes because I’m not used to reading fantasy.

Apart from that, I loved the writing style! It was very skilled and beautiful.

[Wendoline Mercado Rojano · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Very good. I had enjoyed other books from this author and this one didn't disappoint. I highly recommend it.

[Raz · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I love the sense of magic and tension between the characters (especially Will and James!) The visual descriptions are beautiful. I've been listening to this audiobook multiple times. I can't wait for the other two books to come out!

[SC · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Why oh why did I start this series before it was complete. Oh I just want to read MORE!

[Paolo Queiroz · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

WOW, one of the best of the year, no doubt about it!
This book is amazing, everything works in it, from the characters to the plot twist, and what plot are these huh?!
Until now proceeding this ending. A AMAZING book!

[Lauren P · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I came here immediately after the Captive Prince trilogy, and I read the spoiler-free reviews before starting this. So I knew to expect the switch from CP's more mature tone to a more trope-y YA one here...and it's something you do have to consider before starting this book.

The not-so-good: Like many other people commented, this book's pacing dragged and was simply pretty dry to me, especially the bulk of the middle portion. WIth multiple perspectives thrown in and perhaps not enough substance to truly love the characters, I often found myself feeling too old to care about the typical "high stakes, boy saves the world" story I thought I was listening to. I wasn't incredibly invested in the Stewarts or Simon or even James...until the ending that is.

The (shockingly) good: Again, many people have said the same thing...but the ending saved this book. I must admit I was not astute like other readers, so the big reveal(s) did come as a fascinating shock to me. It's incredible how CS Pacat can pump an adrenaline-filled spike of magic into the last few chapters of this book, and I was holding out for this exact moment. This book went from a solid 2-3 stars to a 4. I'm really curious about book 2 now!

[john williams · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

It was slow at the start and i was doubtful that I'd finish this book let alone desperately wait for the second book but it was mind-blowing just like her Captive Prince series. The twists and turns, the plot,story and world building was amazing. I'd definitely recommend it to the fans of dark fantasy.

[Thorn Hill · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

It was an enjoyable listening. The story did hold me. The ending was WTF. I had to listen it again to be sure I got it right. I ve no idea how the story is going to go from this point. Everyone mentions how great James' character is but imo we see so little of him so I can't really tell. It gets a bit repetitive sometimes but the great narrator made it up for me.( Im going to binge-listenall his works ❤️) .Normally I would give it 3 stars but the narrator deserves one more.

[Kayla Pratt · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Well, that was quite the cliffhanger!

I hope I don't have to wait to long for book 2. I might forget everything. But I digress. This was good! I did not see that outcome. I love when a book fools me and the ending is either not what I expected or BETTER than I could have ever hoped for. Or both. This was definitely both and I am excited about book 2.

4 stars

[Dusan Gojkov · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

People, read it or listen to it, belive me, you wont regret it!!

+ ending is just mind blowing!

[Kinley · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Top shelf! Well written, well read. Grandeur of character and characters. Strong adults, strong children, strong women, strong men. Any more would just be gushing and spoilers.

[iam · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Great book, classical YA fantasy of the fight between good and evil, light and dark, but full if unique twists

[Mint Leaf · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

The voice acting! AHH! It's so good! I could feel the emotions of the characters, and it was easy to distinguish them. Even the subtle emotions could be felt. And all the dang plot twists! ESPECIALLY THE LAST ONE. I didn't see it coming!

I love these characters, the skillfully and artfully created story the lore, just when I thought I knew something, BAM! Completely wrong. Plot twists had signs of foreshadowing that were so subtle I didn't pick them up, that you'd have to be paying full attention to catch. The ending left me wanting so much more! I can't wait for the audiobook of the "Dark Heir", and will be pre-ordering it ASAP!

I HIGHLY SUGGEST THIS BOOK! It made me cry, laugh, smile, and internally scream!

[sammelsurium-831072 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

As you start this book, you may think that it's another one of the mediocre "Chosen One" stories that are so ubiquitous in fantasy, especially children's and YA fantasy. You'll immediately notice a lot of capitalized words signifying important worldbuilding vocabulary, a convention that mediocre YA fantasy is infamous for. It's also very, very obvious that this author has read Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter. But if you can get past all the mediocrity front-loaded in the first half of the book, you may be surprised where the story takes you. There are some great character moments, good twists, and compelling relationships in the latter half of this book. Dark Rise is mostly memorable because it has a lot more to say than most YA: in drawing on Tolkien, Rowling, and other fantasy of the kind in the way it does, it makes a critical commentary on those works that I've never seen presented in this format. The book also alludes strongly and interestingly to themes of queerness, race, and immigration, even without making issues like racism and homophobia explicitly central to the plot. In the end, I found the book to be fairly enjoyable and not at all generic--and though many parts of it were awkward or not to my taste, the ending of this book left me desperate for the next one.

[ktreads22 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Okay. So buckle up.

Do you want a book that has all of the ingredients of a regular coming-of-age, prophesy, LGBTQ fantasy but then MAKES SOMETHING ENTIRELY DIFFERENT THAT YOU END UP CRAVING FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE?! Because this book delivers that experience. Stupidly strong female character who you LOVE? Prophesized hero/villain trope with a twist? And a dash of HOMOEROTIC SEXUAL TENSION? MAGIC? MURDER? MYSTERY? AND its just the first book in the series that for SURE will RIP your heart out and STEP on it and make you BEG for MORE?! Then you should definitely read this book.

Also, if you liked The Captive Prince series, you know that C.S. Pacat delivers a great fantasy read with unexpected twists and turns that both END you and WARM you. I HIGHLY recommend. like SO MUCH.

[brittaniethekid · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

While I ultimately really enjoyed this book, it was a little over-stuffed with Lord of the Rings-esque lore (that seemingly ends up being completely pointless) and some very trope-y insta-friendships (love?) that didn't really work for me. The last 100 or so pages of this is what really makes it, with twists and punches one after another.
Aside from the obvious LOtR influence, it's interesting that it takes place in late 1800's London but where reincarnation is key to unlocking ancient magics. Will has been on the run his whole life and watched his entire family murdered one after the other. His only way to survive is to keep the promise he made his dying mother and to keep running. Unfortunately, he's captured anyway but learns his true purpose during an unexpected rescue. He, along with his new friend and sidekick Violet, are taken to another world where ancient lore is the way of life and collecting artifacts the key to survival. Will, at only 16, seems to be the smartest in the room and figures a few things out throughout the book that leads to an ultimate betrayal and a world-ending awakening.
If you can get past the majority of the book, I think it's a good payoff and will make a hell of a series, especially if you secretly rooted for Saruman's armies.

[tikimoof · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

To be honest, a lot of the plot was pretty standard YA fare, and the twist was extremely obvious. There was stuff in the world-building that I think was supposed to make me sad, but I wasn't reading closely enough to really feel anything about the unicorns being dead or anything. But the characters were fun even when they were betraying each other. Violet being the bruiser was awesome, she was my favorite character by far. Solid, but nothing groundbreaking.

[rivkat_2 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Will is on the run from Simon, a magician of some kind who killed his mother and wants to kill him. Will is the descendant of the Lady, who defeated the Dark King, and he’s supposed to fight the reborn/resurrected Dark King, but can’t figure out how to do it. Violet is the illegitimate daughter of a merchant who works for Simon; she shares her half brother’s unnatural strength and wants to follow in his footsteps, but a chance encounter with Will changes her course. It starts as a fairly standard “chosen one” narrative, but takes some interesting turns along the way. Decent YA; violence but not sexualized (there is a bit of close-to-chaste consensual kissing).