Daph's Reads 📚✨ | Dark Rise (Dark Rise, 1)

Dark Rise (Dark Rise, 1)

C. S. Pacat

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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.

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Posts about this title from Daph's Reads 📚✨

Daph's Reads 📚✨\ \ Daphne\ \ • Mar 25 2025

My entire fantasy physical TBR!

My entire fantasy physical TBR! 📚🔮⚔️

#booktok #fantasybooks #tbr #toberead #bookhaul #bookrecommendations #bookrecs #fantasy

17 books

Posts about this book from across Bindery

Ladybug Books\ \ Samantha\ \ • Nov 1 2025

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[Hello friends, and welcome back to my weekly newsletter! I had a new five-star read this week that I absolutely loved! And in honor of daylight savings and the sun now setting at 4:30 pm, I thought I would recommend some books where "darkness" is part of the magic system.\ \

- *\ \ Reading Updates Audiobook | DNF: What the River Knows \ \ DNFed at: 41%\ \ Thoughts: There were parts of this story that interested me. I really liked the setting and I was intrigued by the mystery, magic, and banter between Inez and Whit. Unfortunately, the main character was so insufferable that I couldn't enjoy the story and had to stop reading. The audiobook narrator definitely made it worse, but I would have struggled regardless.\ \ Paperback | Currently Reading: To Bargain with Mortals \ \ Progress: 61%\ \ Thoughts: I'm really enjoying To Bargain with Mortals! I really love the way this book is challenging Poppy's character and forcing her to confront her bias and privalege. I am excited (and STRESSED) to see how the characters face the impossible tasks in their future.\ \ Ebook (ARC) | Finished: The Fake Divination Offense \ \ Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐\ \ Release Date: May 19, 2026\ \ Thoughts: Apparently I only read my ARCs really early or really late lol. Bramble blessed me with very early access to The Fake Divination Offense, the follow-up to An Entanglement of Rival Wizards. This was exactly what I wanted it to be: a fun, sweet, sexy fantasy rom-com. I really love the way that Sara Raasch balances spicy romance plots with emotional character arcs and relationships. I do feel like the story started to feel a little bit too over the top towards the end. The severity and scale of the plot along with the realtionship dynamic became a bit hard to take seriously. I do prefer the first installment simply because the relationship dynamic and setup interested me more in The Entanglement of Rival Wizards. But I would eagerly pick up even more romance stories set in this world, and I am excited to read more from Sara Raasch. \ \ Audiobook + Ebook | Finished: The White Octopus Hotel \ \ Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐\ \ Thoughts: I absolutely loved The White Octopus Hotel. I was immediately captivated by this time-bending spiral of a story. The White Octopus Hotel is a quiet, almost melancholy, story about grief, love, hope, and healing. It is about forgiving yourself and finding a hand in the dark. There is a subtle sense of surrealism and magic woven throughout this story that keeps you guessing. I loved uncovering each new layer of the story. It always felt like there was something dark lurking in the background of the hotel, lending the story a slightly gothic feel. Bell really captures the haunting nature of grief and guilt. There is a quiet emotional weight to the character relationships in this story. I loved how raw and real Max and Eve's relationship felt and the unflinching way they handled each other's darkest truths. I cannot recommend this enough to fans of The Warm Hands of Ghosts by Katherine Arden.\ \
- *\ \ Future Reading Plans \ \ This past reading week was filled with a lot of unexpected reads so my future reading plans remain very similar to last week including: The Everlasting, The Sacred Space Between, and Kill The Beast.\ \ \ \ One new addition to my immediate TBR is my most recent Illumicrate book: The Isle in the Silver Sea. I admit I'm not as confident that this will be a win for me, but my friends have been giving this glowing reviews so I remain optimistic.\ \ I also have Ancillary Justice and City of Dragons in my library on Libby as possible audiobook reads. Not sure if either of these will make for good audiobook reads but I need to focus on my physical TBR in these last two months.\ \
- *\ \ Book Recommendations \ \ As promised I bring you dark/shadow magic recommendations! Light and dark as some of my favorite themes to explore in fantasy books and I love seeing the unique ways they are incorporated into worlds and magic systems.\ \ \ \ Dark Rise: I am not so patiently waiting for news of the third book in this series. In this historical fantasy world the ancient magic has long been lost after the destructive war between the Dark and the Light. Our main character Will discovers that he may actually be deeply connected to this magical world and he has an important role to play in the oncoming battle against the Dark. I love a story about the manifestation of darkness and light and the way that history can be retold and warped. This book also plays with reincarnation and fate. The character relationships are so emotional and the sequel is even better!\ \ \ \ Book of Night: The second book in this duology recently came out so I found myself rereading the first book to prepare for the sequel's release. Book of Night follows ex-con artist and thief Charlie who is trying (not that hard) to live a normal life. One night she finds herself forced into a deal with the man who haunts her nightmares. He wants her to track down his missing book of shadow magic. In this urban fantasy world certain people have the ability to manipulate their shadows, using these "quickened" shadows to performs magical feats. But there is always the deadly risk of a shadow absorbing too much from their host and gaining sentience as a blight. Though the world building is a tad undeverdeloped, I found myself so invested in these characters and the romance subplot.\ \ \ \ The Serpent and the Wolf: Though I haven't talked about this book much, The Serpent and the Wolf is a romantic fantasy that I really enjoyed! Vaasa is forced into an arranged marriage and tasked by her brother to use her marriage to infiltrate the rival kingdom. Vaasa chooses to take her fate into her own hands and escapes on her wedding night. But her new husband, Reid, tracks her down and makes a deal with her, one that could change the fate of both kingdoms. One of the things I loved most about this book was the emotional story of healing and the way that Vaasa's relationship with her shadowy magic represented her trauma and her journey of recovery.\ \
- *\ \ If you have any specific book recommendations that you've been looking for let me know and I'd be happy to include them in the next newsletter. See you next week with more reading updates and book recommendations.\ \ Happy reading!\ \ Samantha (ladybug.books)\ \ Join for free or login](https://ladybug-books.binderybooks.com/item/kU0tdhz23kOzDSggZvrT/)

Ladybug.books newsletter (10/26/25 - 11/1/25)

7 books

Rachel Skye Reads\ \ Rachel\ \ • Jul 23 2025

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Read these if you want to support trans representation in the book industry

*In this post I am using the term “Trans” to include all non-binary and gender-expansive identities. These books have either a Trans or Gender-Expansive author or prominent character. Read these if (part 29) if you want to support trans representation in the book industry: 📖 Brighter than Scale, Swifter than Flame by Neon Yang (coming May 2025) from @tordotcompub 📖 The Sunbearer Trials by Aiden Thomas 📖 Dark Rise by C.S. Pacat 📖 The Deep by Rivers Solomon 📖 Mistress of Lies by K. M. Enright 📖 A Taste of Gold and Iron by Alexandra Rowland 📖 Infinity Alchemist by Kacen Callender 📖 Fable for the End of the World by Ava Reid 📖 Don’t Let the Forest In by C.G. Drews #trr25 #TransRightsReadathon #TransRightsReadathon25 #bookreccomendations #ifyoulikethisreadthat #rachelskyereads

9 books

Queer as Books\ \ José\ \ • Jul 22 2025

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📚 June Reading Wrap Up! 🌈

Better late than never! 😂😂😂

12 books

The Biblio(files)\ \ Brooke \ \ • Jul 18 2025

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It’s just a @BarnesandNobleOfficial haul okay 😅 #booktok

4 books

Queer as Books\ \ José\ \ • Jul 12 2025

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“Dark Rise” by C.S. Pacat: Video Review ✨

An epic, atmospheric queer YA dark fantasy that grabbed me from the start, even when I had no clue what was going on (which, honestly, was a big chunk of the beginning, lol).

1 book

Queer as Books\ \ José\ \ • Jul 7 2025

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\ \ Join for free or login](https://queerasbooks.binderybooks.com/item/tReOJH5E72xv4pv282A5/)

"Dark Rise" by C.S. Pacat: Review

Dark Rise is an epic, atmospheric fantasy that gripped me from the start, even when I had no clue what was going on (which, honestly, was a big chunk of the beginning, lol).

1 book

Queer as Books\ \ José\ \ • Jun 5 2025

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📚 Book Club’s June Pick ✨

We're reading C.S. Pacat’s queer YA epic fantasy.

1 book

Queer as Books\ \ José\ \ • Jun 2 2025

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Help me pick June's Book Club read!

Next month's theme is Queer Epic Fantasy.

3 books

Daph's Reads 📚✨\ \ Daphne\ \ • Mar 25 2025