Whew. This took a while to read — not the least because I've been on a huge reading slump, but also because I wasn't as invested in the story as I'd hoped. It really picked up near the end, which is why I'm still giving it a good rating, but I do wish it had picked up a little sooner than that.

In truth, my biggest qualm was with the worldbuilding. Though it is solidly done, and the world mythos is quite interesting, there is so much infodumping in this book. The characters are constantly learning new things about the world through chunks of explanation given in dialogue, and though the content is interesting, the scene itself turns out boring, because so much is being told rather than shown through the action. I don't remember Captive Prince doing it nearly as much, but I might be biased...

That's much of what kept me from finishing it as quickly as I would otherwise have, because I was really quite invested in the main quartet of characters. Will, James, Violet and Cyprian were all very well developed, and their relationships feel appropriately nuanced. Katherine and Elizabeth are... okay. They definitely fall short when compared to the rest, probably because their story is barely there in comparison (which works to keep the mystery going, but not to flesh out their characters and make one properly interested). There's also the fact that the relationship between Katherine and Will was rather poorly executed, and Elizabeth hardly there at all — though I expect this will change in future instalments.  As for the ending,

though I did begin to see the twist coming, I couldn't be mad about it — not when it's as good a twist as this. And I have to say I definitely wouldn't be mad about a pretty corruption arc in the next books, either...

The focus is most certainly on Will and James, and I'd quite like it kept there, thank you very much. They share by far the most interesting dynamic, and while it is possible to see echoes of Damen and Laurent in some of their interactions, they are very much their own characters, which is great to see. I'll be looking forward to seeing where Pacat takes the story next.

I finished this yesterday after listening to the last half for hours but I needed some time to gather my thoughts.

I didn't have the highest expectations but I read Dark Rise anyway because of it's popularity. AND I LOVED IT SO MUCH MORE THAN EXPECTED!

This is a great start to the series, I was immediately intrigued by the world even though it felt like nothing new. The author put some unexpected twists on the "hero(s) saves world from darkness".

I didn't expect a lot of romance and there wasn't but THE CHEMISTRY. I was trembling. Screaming. Can't wait to see more of it in the sequel!

On the other hand, this book is not flawless. The biggest problem is the size and pacing. It's definitely very slow in the beginning which is why I recommend the audiobook and long train / car rides for starting it! 2.5x speed and the pace barely bothered me. Violet had so much potential but her POVs didn't add much to the story, even though I liked her more than Will. Some scenes could've easily been left out.

I highly recommend it anyways and I'm really looking forward to part 2 and 3!

I think I'll read The Captive Prince series soon, I need more books by this author! 

**Thank you to HarperCollins Canada for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.**

I so wanted to love this book. The concept was so intriguing and the book started out so strong! But there were just some things that didn't work for me alongside the things that did work. It took a little time and some conversations/reviews for me to be able to piece together all of my thoughts.

I do think the one thing this book did really well was keep you guessing and continually throwing curves and reveals at you. This was my first read by Pacat so I am not sure if that is common to their writing, or if that is a unique element to this book. But there were numerous moments when you think you might finally have something figured out, and then a reveal is thrown at you and it leaves you reeling trying to figure out where you are now and where things will go next. I can't get into much more detail about that though, because these should definitely not be spoiled!!
I will also say that I really liked the characters of Will, Violet, and James. I think they are well-done characters and I was intrigued to see where their stories were going, how they all weaved together. Especially for James - somehow he ended up being the more complex character!

Now, unfortunately, there were more things that didn't work for me than there were things that I liked. 
The first is that I REALLY struggled with the pacing of this book... The beginning pulls you in so quickly and you are entirely caught up in what is going on, trying to figure things out and follow the characters. There is lots that happens at the onset of the story, and you can't help but be pulled along with the characters. HOWEVER, the entire middle of the book drags on sooooo slow. The best way that I can explain it is if it were like a roller coaster ride where there was a big exciting drop at the very beginning, and then the longest length of straight coasting track before a final ascent and a loop-de-loop at the very end... I think it was almost 200 pages of just slowness through the middle that seriously dragged for me - to the point where I ended up skim reading some sections closer to the end of the book because I had lost a lot of my interest. It was so disappointing.

I think a big part of that stems from the fact that while the beginning and the end have so many things happening TO the main characters, the entire middle of the book is seemingly events happening AROUND the main characters that they are often not involved in and do not understand. It just made things a lot slower. And while I liked the main characters, it was difficult to keep track of which side characters I was supposed to be paying attention to.

Characters that were quite developed and piqued my interest were suddenly killed off part way through, while characters that had little to no development were still around at the end of the book. It was a big odd and confusing. I completely understand that it is a fantasy novel and you cannot get too attached to characters (believe me, I know) - but it was a bit odd for which characters were developed and killed off, along with the majority of the characters, and the final characters that were left in as part of the continuing narrative.

Anyways. I think maybe if the pacing issues hadn't been there, I would have enjoyed this book so much more. I just wish that it had been paced a bit better... BUT if you are okay with a slower, slightly uneventful middle to a book, this one definitely has some great characters and unique concepts to get you through! Let me just say: magical sex slave collar... if you know, you know. HAHA.

This book!!!!! 

I didn't think I would fall in love with this book the way I did, but I did. I absolutely loved every single page of this book. 

I've always enjoyed books where fantasy worlds existed in our own worlds, albeit a different era. And I absolutely loved the idea of Light battling the Dark. 

The plot twists in this book were plenty and every single one surprised me. Although, the Big Reveal was something I had not seen coming! It was definitely unexpected and I didn't connect the dots until the Big Reveal. 

The main characters were also fun to read about as well as the battle sequences, the magic, the lore, and the history. 

I cannot wait for the sequel!