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thetypedwriter · 4 months

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Dark Heir Book Review

Dark Heir by C.S. Pacat Book Review

Warning: *Spoiler Warning for both Dark Rise and Dark Heir*

Dark Heir by C.S. Pacat has been my most anticipated read. Not of the year, not of the month, just in general. More than any other sequel coming out, I could not wait for Dark Heir.

In preparation, I even reread Dark Rise to ensure that I had a full and complete understanding of every sentence and nuance put forth in Dark Heir.

I was so incredibly excited for this book, especially as I found Dark Heir to be titillating and maybe the last book I read that truly took me by surprise and made me gasp out loud.

I wouldn’t say I’m disappointed, because I think Dark Heir is good, but I also don’t think it’s perfect and having the astronomical expectations that I did have certainly didn’t help.

Dark Heir picks up immediately after Dark Rise ends. Similarly to the first book, the gang is trying to stop the dark king from reaching his full power and face off against Sinclair, Simon’s father, in various moments with an array of tension and methodologies, all interwoven with intrapersonal moments of romance, friendship, and self-actualization.

The biggest weakness of the first book was its middle. The beginning of Dark Rise starts off intriguing, with Will on the loose and an action-packed fight scene onboard a ship.

The ending of Dark Rise hits you like a bomb. The realization that Will is actually the dark king will never not be one of the greatest plot twists of all time.

Other than the middle slog, though, Dark Rise was excellent.

My biggest frustrations with Dark Heir are the treatment of the villain and the multiple POV’s. In Dark Rise, Simon is the big baddie. He’s calculating, manipulative, powerful, and charismatic. In Dark Heir, however, C.S. Pacat tells you that you’ve got it all wrong.

It’s not Simon that is characterized by all those traits, but his father, Sinclair. All the attributes given to Simon in the first book are essentially just handed over to Sinclair with the attitude of making you feel stupid for thinking Simon was the villain in the first place…even though that’s what we were told in book one and Sinclair hadn’t even been mentioned previously.

I find it frustrating when authors diminish an antagonist from one book to make another villain seem worse and more powerful later on.

Let Simon and Sinclair stand on their own, separate and distinct. Don’t minimize what happened in book one so that Sinclair seems more evil and important in the sequel.

It didn’t work for me, and the fact that we don’t even see Sinclair is also a poor choice. For the villain to never even show up (other than possessing others) reduces his threatening presence overall and the tension I get as a reader decreases every time another page passes without Sinclair ever showing his face (it worked in Harry Potter only because another villain was there to fill the void).

My second frustration is the amount of POV’s. In the first book, there were three POV’s: Will, Violet, and Katherine. In book two, we get Will, Violet, Cyprian, Elizabeth, James, and Visander.

It’s too many. Three is already pushing it and by increasing it from three to six, the overall arc for each character gets less spotlight and therefore less development.

That being said, I like all the characters and loved seeing their POV’s. However, because there were just so many of them, I felt like it was quantity over quality.

Whereas I would have preferred the quality of less POV’s than the breadth of more, especially as several of them were with each other, as in the case of James, Will, and Cyprian and then Visander and Elizabeth.

Will’s agony of being the dark king and trying to fight against himself, meanwhile seeking understanding and acceptance, is nothing short of brilliant. Will’s chapters were by far my favorite because they were so conflicted, in the most interesting of ways.

After Will, my favorite POV is Elizabeth’s. Her childlike way of speaking and understanding the disturbing world around her was always intriguing and poignant (and often hilarious). I liked that her POV offered a different view of what was going on compared to Will and his gang. However, her POV makes Visander’s obsolete.

Violet’s POV could have been good, but she is imprisoned the whole time. I actually think the only reason is C.S. Pacat did that was because having Violet around the gang would have influenced the plot too much, so she just needed Violet locked away—cue Mrs. Duval with her controlling powers (which was never explained???).

Violet’s chapters were boring, which is a shame because I really adore Violet. I would have loved to have seen the tension in Will’s chapters by having Violet close by the whole book and to see her relationship with Cyprian blossom and grow.

But no. Instead she’s locked up for 90% of the book before escaping just in time for the climax, interacting with virtually no one except some old journals.

Cyprian’s POV was fine, but useless, as he was with Will 90% of the time.

James’ POV was interesting, but not needed. I actually think a part of James’ allure is his mystery. What is he planning? How is feeling? What are his intentions?

A big part of my initial curiosity about James stemmed from those questions. In Dark Heir all that disappears. Because we get James’ POV, gone is the mystery about what James is planning, his true motivations, and his feelings.

Honestly, if the whole book had switched off between Will and Elizabeth that would have been perfect. If three was absolutely needed, then I would take Violet too, but otherwise? All the other POV’s were not needed and only took away from other storylines.

I feel so strongly about this because I really like all the characters. I find them all complex, intriguing, highly motivated, and conflicted for a variety of reasons.

C.S. Pacat did such a great job creating them that I want to see their storylines through. What I don’t want are filler POV’s that don’t offer much in the way of plot.

The last niggling frustration I’ll briefly mention before getting to the ending is the setting. In book one, we get huge (maybe too long) descriptions of the Hall of the Stewards and of London.

In book two, we get none of that. We get descriptions of the dark palace and some small villages in Italy and that's about it. For a huge epic fantasy, the world felt very small and very unimaginative.

The highlights for the book were definitely the characters and their interactions. Those proved to be just as good as the first book, if not better.

The relationship between Will and James, between Will and Violet, Violet and Cyprian, Cyprian and James, Violet and Tom, Visander and Elizabeth—they are all chef’s kiss!

Truly, each and every character has such intense and significant ties to all the other characters that it kept me devouring each page like a starved man. This is where C.S. Pacat really shines.

The last thing I’ll mention to bring this review to a close is the ending. Did it have the bombshell explosive conclusion like Dark Rise?

No, no it did not.

Was it still good?

Yes…for the most part. The culmination of all the characters meeting underneath the mountain in the dark palace was great. However, I wanted more.

There were several moments where a huge revelation or climactic fight was about to happen when the castle just happened to shake, or an earthquake appeared, or chunks of rock fell from the ceiling.

It felt cheap and frustrating to get cut off from an important moment, especially as this happened not once, but several times near the end.

Additionally, the twist of James wearing the collar in the final pages would have been so much more powerful and shocking if we hadn’t literally read in the chapter before that the collar clicked around his throat by Sloane/Sinclair.

It doesn’t make any sense.

Why give away your biggest shock factor? I have no idea.

Even after writing this, I realize that James’ POV might have actively been a detriment to the book overall, but especially to the ending, which was nowhere near as crazy a plot twist as Dark Rise.

In general, I still liked this book. I would consider it leagues better than other YA novels, especially in terms of characters and their relationships, but it’s not without its issues, even compared to its predecessor.

Frustrations aside, I enjoyed Dark Heir. The plot was palatable enough—there’s a dark army slumbering beneath a mountain in a hidden away palace that cannot be woken up, but it’s the characters, their interactions, and their desires that I found truly appealing.

Recommendation: Reread Dark Rise like I did to fully appreciate the brilliance of it, and then read Dark Heir. It won’t be as good, but that’s okay. You’ll still get the character moments you’ve been craving before it’ll leave you wanting more.

Let’s hope that the next book will fulfill any lingering needs we have and (dark) rise to the challenge.

Score: 7/10

#dark rise #dark heir #cs pacat #book blog #book review #book recommendations #ya fiction #book rec #popular fiction #books #popular books #top books #favorite books #fantasy #lgbtqbook #7/10

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theunapologeticallygaypirate · 2 years

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I think the most frustrating thing is that even when you do e v e r y t h i n g right, you can still fail. My collection of horror stories, Nightmare Fuel, comes out in 2 weeks. My next novel, A Call of the Sidhe, comes out on November 18th. I've shared, I've posted about it EVERYWHERE, I've actually paid for ads, and yet, I'm still still stuck at 3 and 1 preordered copies, respectively.

And I'm pretty confident that it's not because they're bad, they're just not reaching the right people. Nightmare Fuel is a collection of horror stories featuring predominately queer, poc, and qpoc characters, while A Call of the Sidhe is a queer fantasy/romance about the Fae. So, if you could share this, I'd be ever so grateful. Pre-Order Nightmare Fuel here

Pre-Order A Call of the Sidhe here

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jbankai89 · 1 year

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Shoutout to the 15 lovelies who have bought A Call of the Sidhe so far! My new novel is available on Amazon in Kindle, Paperback, and Hardcover, and on Kindle Unlimited!

Buy Here:

US UK Canada Australia

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maratellsstories · 22 hours

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Hello dear friends,

How is the weather in your corner of the world? In my parts, spring is coming, and the weather is growing warmer, I'm even waking up by the birds outside my window.

I'm spending my days reading the light novel Bloom Into You: Regarding Saeki Sayaka. Have you heard about it? The main story, Bloom Into You, was made into an anime, it's a lovely story.

Since I know it's a well-loved series, I've recorded my readings too and published them on my YouTube channel. You can find it on youtube.com/@maratellsstories.

#supportqueerauthors #queerauthor #lgbtauthor #lgbtqauthor #queerbook #lgbtqbook #allinclusive #autistic #autisticauthor #autisticauthors #autisticwriter #autisticwriters

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biggayenergypod · 5 months

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We are so excited because our November book club episode releases tomorrow and the author Devin Harnois joined us to talk about the book as well! Make sure you check out Rainbow Islands by Devin Harnois and our book club discussion!

#biggayenergy #biggayenergypodcast #bookclub #biggaybookclub #bookclubwiththeauthor #rainbowislands #lgbtq #queerbooks #lgbtqBook

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jbodenauthor · 9 months

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Last night at bedtime, I took my bedtime meds, went to bed, then at 3AM, began to wonder why I wasn't sleeping.

I got up to check my pill box because I had a bad feeling, and...someone, not gonna say who, accidentally took their daytime wake up meds instead of their sleepytime meds, and taking them together would be the kind of technicolour acid trip I am not prepared for, so I attempted to sleep until about 11AM when I gave up, and I've been in a haze ever since.

Suffice it to say, not getting much writing done today.

#writing #writeblogging #writers on tumblr #writerscommunity #lgbtq #lgbtqbook #lgbtqbookclub #queer author #sleepy

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nataliao29 · 1 year

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Zapraszam!

Ridero Małgorzata Szczepańska ‘Pamiętam Cię’

#książka #romans #dramat #lgbt #lgbtq #lgbtqbook #homoseksualizm #miłość #pasja #psychopata

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freckledlemon · 2 years

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WRITERS CHALLENGE

17 DAYS.

THREE-ISH WEEKS.

BRILLIANT PLAN.

I'm New, but I like a challenge. So starting tonight, I plan on writing 17 chapters of my first novel and publishing it on Movella. Yes, this is crazy and random and possibly stupid.

It's perfect. Wish me luck. :)

#writing #writing ideas #writing is hard #writeblr #writer things #creative writing #writer #lgtbq characters #lgbtq fiction #lgbtqbook #lgtbqfilm

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heidiandherbooks · 2 years

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Ben & Sally Oliver Sparshot 4⭐️ This was a great little book about love, heartbreak, friendship, and, of course, sex - this element was very descriptive and not for the faint of heart (putting it mildly😂). Much of it was very relatable; having been on the rebound after a difficult breakup, I completely understand Ben's needs. I couldn't stop laughing and enjoying getting to know Ben and Sally, and I can't wait for the next instalment. Thank you so much for gifting me a copy and inviting me to participate in this book tour. [pr product] #popsugarreadingchallenge a book with a misleading title Ben has ditched his entire life to move to London, and Sally needs a roommate. A match made in heaven? Maybe not - because Ben is more interested in sleeping in other men's beds than finding one of his own, and Sally is probably the worst housemate in the entire city! Based on a real-life diary, this funny, heart-warming and true story leaves NOTHING to the imagination. 🏷 #lgbtbook #lgbtbooks #bookstagram #lgbt #books #lgbtqbooks #lgbtq #book #gaybook #bookworm #booklover #gaybooks #instabook #booklove #lgbtbookstagram #loveislove #lgbtqbook #lgbtqia #writers #queerbook #gayromance #mmromance #mmromancebooks #heartstopper #queerbooks #bookaddict #graphicnovel #lesbian #queer via @preview.app (at Par, Cornwall) https://www.instagram.com/p/Cd61Ad_oAPL/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

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reinedespres · 1 year

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"A princess and temple daughter embracing"

The Oleander Sword shattered my heart in the best way, but truly nothing can beat the waterfall scene in The Jasmine Throne 🌿🌺

#the jasmine throne #the oleader sword #fanart #tasha suri #queer fantasy #sapphictrifecta #lgbtqbooks #sapphic art #sapphic fanart #fantasy art #sapphic fantasy #artdespres

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thetypedwriter · 1 year

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A Marvellous Light by Freya Marske

A Marvellous Light Book Review by Freya Marske

I finished A Marvellous Light three days ago and I’m already struggling to remember what I had to say about it. That does not bode well for Freya Marske’s debut novel.

The book is another take on magical folk in England, this time in the early 1900’s. Marske has some interesting ideas about how magic works and the society around it, but none of the details truly blew me away or gave me a breathtaking new view on magical storytelling.

Marske’s magicians are secluded amongst magical families who keep magic to themselves and their bloodlines. You get a few bits of the society interwoven throughout the plot, like their version of the government called the Assembly, and the police force called the Coopers, but overall, it’s your standard take on magical people in old-timey London.

The setting itself was small. We don’t see a great variety of locations and those that we do see as readers are often contained to homes or cottages. This is one of the first criticisms that I picked up on.

Our two main characters spend most of the novel traversing between one minuscule setting and the next. One gentleman goes by the name of Edwin Courcey, a pale, cowardly, bookish young man from a well-known magical family.

The other half of the duo, Sir Robin Blyth, finds himself mysteriously and yet inextricably tied up in a magically evil scheme even though he doesn’t have a single drop of magical blood himself and didn’t know magicians existed before his current job of working for the liaison’s office.

By taking on the job after the absence of a previous employee, Gatling, and becoming unbusheled (aka, now knowing about magic), Robin finds himself the target of strange, powerful men who are looking for an item called the Last Contract.

For his ignorance on the matter, Robin is cornered, attacked, and cursed with a spell that causes him immeasurable pain and also awakens the power of foresight within him, allowing him to see bizarre and complicated visions with no understanding of their importance.

Thus begins Edwin and Robin’s journey to lift Robin’s curse, find out what happened to Reggie Gatling, uncover the bewildering truth behind the Last Contract, and perhaps even find love and camaraderie along the way.

When I write it out like that, the book sounds solid and like it has multiple perplexing mysteries going on simultaneously that would entice and engage the reader. It…doesn’t. The book is so slow and meandering that the mysteries, while promising at the premise, are so painstaking in the delivery that the book becomes a slog to get through.

After I finished reading, I was able to sum up the book into 5 distinct events: Robin finds out about magic and is cursed, Robin and Edwin go to Edwin’s family home and are tortured by sadistic siblings, Robin and Edwin almost die in a hedge maze before Edwin inherits an estate from a deceased, old woman, and Robin and Edwin figure out the Last Contract and confront, Walt, Edwin’s bully big brother and a leading force looking for the Contract by any means necessary.

Again, it sounds like a lot, but the book is nearly 400 pages. So in between those five events, you have nearly 80 pages of just…meandering nothingness. You have a lot of scenes of them dining on toast, sipping tea, looking at books, and, most erroneously, multiple sex scenes of gratuitous length and detail.

Now, I don’t mind sex scenes in adult fiction. They’re fine. Sometimes they’re even spicy. However, I could not figure out the point of the sex scenes in Marske’s book. This book isn’t Fifty Shades of Grey, it’s sole purpose isn’t to titillate or arouse like that book is.

And it wasn’t even one sex scene, it was several very long, very detailed sex scenes. But then she would immediately delve back into the plot and want you to take it seriously as a reader. The combination didn’t work for me. I found the long, drawn out sex scenes boring after the first page or two and the takeaway was just to…have a long sex scene? I didn’t get it.

So while the plot was decent in its idea, the execution took so long in the interim and was filled with such pointless fluff that it made the book tedious from one major plot point to the next.

The characters themselves were…fine. I can admit that I would understand people liking them. Edwin, cowardly and bookish, but so smart and stubborn. Robin, fiercely loving, jovial, and athletic.

The characters had a decent amount of characterization, but I was never sold. Edwin was the most interesting because he was the most nuanced, but everyone else fell into the category of good or evil pretty concretely.

Because of that, I didn’t fall in love with any of the characters and the developing romance between Edwin and Robin didn't hook me because it was so fast and they were all-in without having any real moments to make it seem realistic to me.

I’ve been pretty harsh on this book overall, but it wasn’t the most terrible thing I’ve ever read. It was a mediocre magical fantasy with some decent characterization and interspersed action. The writing itself was a little too verbose for my taste, but Marske’s writing style fits the tone and mood of the story she’s trying to portray.

She sets up the end in a satisfying way that resolves most loose ends, but also executes the premise for book two clearly to hook the reader. As much as I can see why people might like this book, I don’t plan on reading any sequels.

Recommendation: Every aspect of this book has been done better elsewhere. Want magic and fantasy? Read Harry Potter. Want detailed sex scenes? Read Docile. Want a mystery adventure? Read Dark Rise. Want a too-long story with imperfect characters and sex scenes randomly sprinkled in? Perhaps A Marvellous Light is the book for you.

Score: 6/10

#a marvellous light #freya marske #adult fiction #popular fiction #Popular Books #book blog #book review #Book Recommendations #book rec #book recs #magical fantasy #LGBTQ fiction #lgbtqbook #6/10

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theunapologeticallygaypirate · 1 year

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On a platform like tumblr, I have to wonder if blazing my (gay) books would make more people read it, or because ew advertising they'd be less inclined to do so.

I can't afford to blaze my own bowel movements, so maybe it's better that I don't? Idk Anyway, here's my (gay) books: I have 4 out as of this posting and they're all queer, the romance ones are HEA, and they're gooey.

Please Buy My Shit I Am Poor

(It's also available to read for free on Kindle Unlimited)

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jbankai89 · 1 year

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If you want to support your local trans person this week, here's your chance: I have four books out. <- clicky clicky

Do You Believe In Fairies? First novel. Fantasy, medieval type landscape. A fairy is in love with a human, and wants to show him that he exists, except he doesn't believe in fairies. Gay drama ensues.

Whispers in the Dark: Twelve Chilling Tales Second book. 12 horror stories, mostly with queer characters. Okiku's Curse--shinto beliefs and a ghost that has attached itself to a new mother. Rest Stop, a man needs to stop in a blizzard and is accosted by something mysterious. I See You, a non-binary person is relentlessly stalked. Nightmare Fuel: Twelve More Tales Nani's Attic, Samir's grandmother dies unexpectedly, and leaves him with a terrible weight to bear. That story was also featured on the podcast Scare You To Sleep, and you can listen to Part 1 Here and Part 2 Here. Other stories include Road Trip, where a trans girl goes on a road trip across Canada, Dylan's Ghost, where something is haunting young Dylan in his new home, and Anna's Cat, where Anna's new cat is causing the kind of mischief that leaves people dead... A Call of the Sidhe Second novel. Romance and Fantasy. Gay fairies, but buff gay fairies. Cedric Knight lands in a new town with a lot of trauma and status as an amputee. Gay drama ensues.

All my books are available on Amazon in Kindle, Paperback, and Hardcover. All my books except Do You Believe in Fairies? are available for free on Kindle Unlimited. Sales mean I can pay for extravagant things like food and shelter.

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theorahsart · 7 months

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Hello UK friends!! I'm partaking in a panel discussion in Brighton next week for Coast Is Queer Festival and talking a bit about my book (I think haha) 💖💖 The whole festival looks like it's gonna be very interesting aahh 👀

If you want to get a ticket for the panel, I've put a link below!! 😄 I'm looking forward to this and hopefully see some of you there!!

#lgbtq #lgbtqbooks #asexual #asexual books #asexual comic #ace comics #ace authors #graphic memoir #graphic novel #lgbtq book #queer comics

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queerbookmasterlist · 3 months

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WITCHY BOOKS WITH LGBTQ+ REP 📖

Do you have any other witchy books with LGBTQ+ rep? Drop your recs!

The Brilliant Death: 4.25/5⭐

Malice: 5/5⭐

Crumbs: 5/5⭐

Witch Please: ?/5⭐ (Unread)

It Ends in Fire: 3.5/5⭐

These Witches Don't Burn: ?/5⭐ (Unread)

Mooncakes: 4/5⭐

DISCLAIMER: I have not read all of these books so I cannot attest to their quality or the issues that may arise in them. I have tried to note which I have or have not read. It is also highly recommended that readers check trigger warnings to decide if a book is right for them.

It is also highly recommended that readers check trigger warnings to decide if a book is right for them.

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tojixzenins · 2 years

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[@fictiondaily event 2: Pride || @lgbtqia-litsource event 4 — celebrating pride. || @fictionnet event06 - pride.]

I Kissed Shara Wheeler by Casey McQuiston

'And to the girl who kissed me,' she says, 'I have done some of the best work of my life because of you. And I know you have done some of the best work of your life because of me. I don’t know a better way to explain what love means to two people like us.'

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