I remember being completely mind-blown and obsessed when I read Dark Rise, and honestly the sequel Dark Heir did not disappoint. The vibe is a bit different in this one because we are seeing everything playout in an established world, so there is less world building needed to support the story, but I feel like that really gave space for the characters and their relationships to grow. I loved being back in this world and seeing how everything unfolded, and the plot continued to have me guessing and gasping all the way through. The ending was incredible – I can’t wait for the next book in the series!

Dark Heir is an enchanting continuation of the Dark Rise trilogy! After the ending of the first book, I couldn’t wait to dip my toes back into this universe. The complexity of this world and the twists and turns that ensue never cease to amaze me. Pacat is truly a phenomenal storyteller and this is an easy recommendation if you read and enjoyed Dark Rise.

This book is where everything starts to unravel - leading up to what I hope will be a thrilling and intense finale! This took me quite some time to get through - however I’m so happy I pushed through as the stakes just kept getting higher! Suspense, darkness, and intrigue kept this story afloat and although I did feel like it was quite slow at some parts in the beginning, this was still an overall very engaging story.

If you read Dark Rise and were left on the edge of your seat after how it ended, please pick this up! This was a titillating continuation of a dark, YA fantasy series and I personally cannot wait to see how the story wraps up in the final instalment of the Dark Rise trilogy!

Dark Rise was great but Dark Heir is next level! Similar to Dark Rise, it builds slowly and ends in a spectacular heart racing fashion. Can't wait to see how the series will end!

Thank you so much Allan and Unwin for approving my request for my most anticipated read by my most favorite author in the world! You have changed my reader life and I will forever be grateful!
.
CW: Blood, Gore, Violence, Mentions of Suicide/Mass Suicide, Vomiting
.
I find it hard to review this next installment because it is more complex and more complicated situations commence which makes this book so exhilarating, exciting, and intense. I will be talking in general sense so as to not give away anything that could spoil the book.
.
Dark Heir is, again, more complex this time around as it gets to explore where Dark Rise left off but with new intriguing characters, delving into their past Adult selves, and (a personal favorite) more moments and interactions between Will and James more so known as Wames (which I was the very first person to ever dub the ship name. Just thought to say it because that was one of my proudest moments.).
.
One thing I would like to point out the most about the book is that there are bouts of moments where the writing reads very intimate where sensuality has been interwoven with the magical elements making a whole new fantastical experience that I have never read before. Plot devices were used in such ways that evoke feelings intersecting to romanticism but is not inherently meant to be romantic in itself, all while maintaining an eerie and, in a way, painful atmosphere.
.
C.S. Pacat writes in such ways that your attention is commended every start of chapters and makes sure every end of chapters will want you to turn to the next page. The Prologue? Sublime. The last chapter? Last line, divine. Very glorious and genius writing as always.
.
On a more personal note, if you happened to see my stories reacting as I read, you will know how much screaming and stopping to breathe I have done. And I personally loved how my Elizabeth gets more time to shine. >Favorite Chapters are: Prologue, 7, 14, last.<
.
Overall it was an amazingly written sequel to Dark Rise that gave so much emotional highs. Anyone who has loved Dark Rise will find love again with Dark Heir.

My gosh!! Ah, that ending! That cliffhanger!!
Dark Heir was all go. Building upon the world and character developments from Dark Rise, our gang set out to stop Sinclair. I feel so much for Will! James reminds me of golden hair Laurent.
The slow burn romance continues and CS Pascat knows how to keep me hooked. If I had the next book already I would be stright onto it, but I don’t *cries*. I love the characters, the world, the concept of the reborn, pretty much everything.
Dark Heir was just brilliant. If you liked Dark Rise, you would love Dark Heir. 5 stars.
Thank you Netgalley and Publisher for an eARC of this amazing book. All opinions are my own.

If I had to choose one word to describe "Dark Heir," it would be 'OTHERWORLDLY.'

Reading this book was a surreal experience, almost like a sudden storm hitting me all at once. It was like being pulled into a whirlwind.

I devoured this book in just TWO DAYS, which is unexpected given my typically SLOW reading pace. It's worth noting that "Dark Heir" is considerably longer than "Dark Rise" (with "Dark Rise" comprising 34 chapters and "Dark Heir" containing 51). It is fueled by my eagerness to continue the story after a two-year wait, particularly following that cliffhanger!

Will has always been my favourite character since "Dark Rise," and this sequel only amplifies it. I perceive his struggles with the truth of his identity, as the Dark King, as a metaphor for internalized queerphobia. Many queer youth, including myself, have been told that our queerness is evil and abhorrent, leading us to hide and deny our true selves in the pursuit of acceptance from others. Will's yearning for his friends' acceptance, especially from Violet, his best friend.

Many of us would be delighted to see that James has multiple POV chapters in this book! It's great how it delves into his perspective on not only his relationship with Will or Sarcean, but also the traumatic past with his family with Cyprian, Marcus, and Jannick.

I'm equally excited about the introduction of the new character, Visander, and I'm thrilled that he can be read as trans. Knowing that CS Pacat identifies as genderqueer/non-binary, I would like to see him writing more trans-coded characters. Visander is a character who fascinates me, as there are times when he can be both lovable, yet totally frustrates me.

Praise Pacat (again), who has been so generous to give us the “Surprise POV” from the characters’ past lives which made me scream and jump up and down at 2 a.m.

I seriously love the flashback scenes of the Old World. The twists within them are both surprising and, in a way, expected. I've always held the belief that history tends to be written by the victors, and as a result, the truth about the Dark King and the Betrayer wasn't quite as the "light side" had painted them. It was also very gratifying to see that the characters that were once thought of as the paragons of virtue were not very saint-like after all.

Doubtlessly, the flashback scenes of the Old World are my favourites. And I yearn to have even more of them in Book 3 because I want to know more details about how Sarcean came to power- and later his downfall, and also the truth about his relationship with Anharion! I wouldn't mind the book stretching to 60+ chapters to accommodate it.

Pacat has indeed delivered on his promises to infuse this sequel with even more "on-page gay" content, so readers need not fret about the shortage of romance. They are plentiful, to say the least.

Dark Rise is my true love in the form of a book series, and I’m glad to see Dark Heir as a sequel totally served!

This book series undoubtedly is a great form of escapism for queer youths, many of whom find themselves sympathizing with villains (who are often queer-coded).

For those of us who have been vilified, demonized, alienated, and even disowned from an early age by the people who were supposed to protect us—our parents and guardians—it is essential to remember that we are not evil. We do not deserve the abuse directed at us, and it is not our fault. There is nothing wrong with us. We deserve happiness, love, safety, and acceptance.

I enjoyed Dark Rise, sure. Dark Heir blew me away.

In my opinion, Dark Rise was a decent YA fantasy. It had unique world-building and a solid twist ending but I wasn’t screaming in love with it, I just thought it was good. Had a fun time, you know.

DARK HEIR, I want to read again immediately. The plot balances on the edge of a knife for most of the book and it takes you into the shadow and back again in all the best ways. I’m still trying to figure out who’s actually good or evil.

This sequel boosts this series up into one of my favourite Young Adult series and I cannot wait for the end of the trilogy. I hope it’s as darkly devastating as this one was.

potential mild spoilers from Dark Rose below. I’ll be honest I was very close to this being a DNF.

After the events at Bowhill and Will’s realisation of who he really is, the squad regroup at the Hall of Stewards to figure out how to stop Sinclair. A message from the “ghost” of the Elder Steward sends the group to Italy in search of the one man who can help them stop the Dark King from raising his army.

Look. I loved Dark Rise. But this was a big of a drag. The first half of the book was slow and seemed to be all about Will reckoning with the realisation he is the Dark King reborn, and convincing the others that James (his boy toy in the old world) isn’t going to betray and kill them all.

It’s not until they all get split up and half of them end up in Italy where Sinclair has a team digging up the Dark Palace in order to raise an army of the dead do things pick up a bit.

Oh. I can’t write this without mentioning the very heave innuendo between Will and James, I’m particular when James is pushing against Wills door to release his “magic” 😅

I feel that the ending was a bit of a let down. Between Cyprian and everyone else having one belief for themselves and not believing in Will, to the very short battle and raising of the army. But maybe the next book will improve on it…

Thank you, NetGalley, Allen & Unwin and C. S. Pacat for providing me with an ARC of Dark Heir - Dark Rise Book 2 - for review.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ - Available 14 November 2023

I think that this is my book of the year so far. I absolutely loved this book. I have had Dark Rise on my bookshelf for about a year and hadn't gotten to it. When Allen & Unwin approved me for this - THANK YOU - I had to make the room in the TBR to jump them forward.

ABSOLUTELY WORTH IT.

I was so in love with Dark Rise that I had to move straight onto Dark Heir as soon as possible so I got to read them back-to-back.

This fantasy is so compelling. The morally grey situation - I don't even know if that is the correct term for Will but whatever he is - is absolutely perfect. Like a new favourite trope/theme/character arch unlocked. PERFECT.

All the different characters and perspectives are handled so well and give it so many layers. Obviously, the main twist is at the end of Dark Rise but this story kept delivering on my ‘what about that character?’ thoughts. Highly recommend. Plus a Melbourne/Naarm Author 😁

Talented, brilliant, incredible, amazing, show-stopping, spectacular, never the same

The way C. S Pacat is such an auto author for me, and she never lets me down. This was heartbreakingly amazing once again, I missed my children <3 Literally cannot wait until the next one!!! 5/5

Thank you to Allen and Unwin/ Netgalley and the Author for the opportunity to read an E-ARC of this fantastic series.

This was one of my most anticipated books for the year, having *adored* the first part in this series, so I knew it was always going to have a high bar to live up to.

Did it do that? Yes and no. There was a little bit of middle book syndrome here but I still found myself mostly enjoying it and I am exceptionally excited for how the final part will play out.

Will and James are easily my favourite characters and their interactions and chemistry are by far the most engaging part of the story. Lord knows C. S. Pacat knows how to write phenomenal morally grey, slow burn, enemies to lovers dynamic.

I found I struggled a bit with the Elizabeth’s POV chapters, primarily cause I have little interest to inhabit the brain of a righteous 10 year old but I appreciate how critical it is to the story development. I found myself kind of rolling my eyes a bit at all the righteous goodness the light team stroll around with too. Again- give me morally grey any day.

Man that ending was a doozy though. Let me just tear my heart out and put it in a blender- Jesus Christ. A solid 4 star entry!

"Yes, that is his way. ... Every action looks innocent on the surface, and has dark tendrils growing beneath."

The thing I loved most about Dark Rise was the way it became a different book in retrospect.
After the twist at the end of Dark Rise, everything that happened before changes into a new light. Sentences are woven with hints and double meanings, and it was astounding. As easily as I missed them the first time, so obvious were they during a reread. Innocent on the surface, dark underneath.
With this twist revealed, would book 2 be just as interesting?
I’d say yes. The double meanings are everywhere, and give almost every scene a hint of suspense and dramatic irony. There is no eye-opening moment at the end, but every single scene is filled with layered conversations and things not said.
I am in awe of the way this author makes conversations feel so layered, as if every word was chosen deliberately to say one thing and mean another. I cannot think of a single other book that managed to use connotations as well as this one.

Another thing to make it so ironic is the many parallels between the characters.
Dark rise was written as ‘reclaiming of the queer villain’ (this was in the front of my ARC as description) and it showed.
Will, Violet and James were all assigned ‘evil’ upon their birth. They did not choose it but they are punished for it, just like queer people are.This felt like the red thread in the entire story.
The book discusses what makes a person evil, is it inherent or taught? And do evil actions make a person evil if the victims are not blameless?
Will and Violet are each other’s mirror, both choosing not to follow the path they were assigned, but falling into it nonetheless. Violet wields heroes’ weapons, just like the heroes who used to fight for good, but how good is she? James is to blame for the Stewards’ demise, but so are the stewards, for willingly tying themselves to shadows and trying to kill the child James used to be.

This is also a downside. The many characters make for an interesting ensemble cast, but sometimes it was hard to keep track of everyone. The main focus is on Will, James and Cyprian, with a secondary plot for Violet and a third plot for Elizabeth. Devon from book 1 is lurking somewhere, Simon has multiple relatives, Violet’s brother is…. Also doing things??
In my opinion the large cast overshadowed the main characters, especially Violet’s part.
I loved the emphasis on friendship in book 1. Will and Violet are each other’s best friends and they express it without a doubt. It is so rare to see a male and female character show affection without hints of romance, especially if they are the two main characters.
For a person who was without a doubt the deuteragonist of book 1, Violet had little to do in this book and the main setup from book 1 (with her brother) did not go anywhere.
Cyprian and James got a lot of development, which was great, but I was disappointed that these two got promoted to main characters at the cost of someone who was already a main character.

The many magical objects and their lore were a bit overwhelming as well.
After reading two books, I am still not sure what the magic is, how it works for each character and what dark things happened to make it work the way it does. There are kings, portals, armies, remnants, reborn, returners…. Lots of stuff to keep track of.
The book continues right where book 1 ended, and the author provides a short recap of everything that happened in book 1, and it did not hinder my reading in any way. Everything gets explained well enough while reading, and it all made sense while reading, but I couldn’t explain it to anyone if they asked.
I have NO idea what might happen or where this will go. But I guess that is a good thing? Keeps the anticipation high for book 3.
I will certainly be waiting when book 3 arrives.

Spoilers for Dark Rise but spoiler free for Dark Heir.

I LOVED this sequel. It was very hard to put it down and I read it every opportunity I had. The plot was fast moving but never at the expense of the characters. It was fantastic being in Will's head because he was no longer hiding who he was from the reader, so you got to see more of the real him. How smart he is, how much of himself he holds back from others, how much he cares, how lonely he is. At the end of Dark Rise James was my favourite character, but by the end of Dark Heir Will has become my favourite. I love him so much. It makes me want to reread book one and two back to back I love him so much.

I've read other books where 'The Dark One' is the hero but with no memories of being the dark one. It always felt to me like there were no consequences to them being the dark one and that it is just for a shocking twist but ultimately goes no where. Not so in this one, Will definitely feels like the dark king returned, and the dark king seems to truely be a bad guy. There are consequences to this revelation and Will is dealing with it for the whole book. I loved this storyline the most and looking forward to how it all wraps up in book 3.

All the characters get a chance to shine. Violet probably has the short straw in terms of development, but her storyline has been set up for a magnificent arc in book 3. Both James and Cyprian had some amazing moments that had me emotional and on the edge of my seat. Elizabeth is a new favourite for me, it was so lovely seeing more from her. In book 1 James stole every scene he was in, Devon was that character in book 2.

The 'old world' gets expanded upon in this instalment. I'm so fascinated by it all. To me all the mythology surrounding the old world has the gravitas that the Lord of the Rings mythology has and I'm looking forward to learning even more in book 3. I feel like this book could be sold as 'imagine if Sauron was reborn but didn't have his memories'. Especially if you've read the Silmarillion and know his full backstory.

Much like Pacat's other books, the ending emotionally gutted me. I cannot wait for book 3.

Thank you Netgalley and Allen and Unwin for this review copy in exchange for an honest review.

"I told them when they ran me out of the hall that I'd come back to walk on their graves"

I could not put this book down. Which I really was hoping for that reaction. I was doing that classic meme. One more chapter!

It's kind of painful watching (reading) Will hide he's true identity. Hiding who he once was. And I love who he once was. It's so nice to see a story with a villain as the MC. Even if he is trying to be good. Will is so scared of them finding out who he used to be. And I feel so sorry for him. There is so much more to his past life that as the stories have been passed down have been wiped away.

James is such an intense character. Holding a confidence the others don't. He's embraced who he is. Who they made him be. But he also has many layers. And I'm just going to say. He's my favourite character in this series.

The other characters are pretty bad ass too. Like Violet. The "best" fighter in the group. It's interesting seeing how each of them fit in this story and world. The magic system is really cool too. I can't wait for book 3. I want it now.

I received a copy of this arc through Netgally for an honest review.