If I had to choose one word to describe "Dark Heir," it would be 'OTHERWORLDLY.'
It is everything I could ever wish for!!!

Thanks to Allen & Unwin and also Netgalley for giving me the ARC of the sequel of my dreams.

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 his portrayal can be interpreted 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 captivates me, as there are times when he can be both lovable and 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 wholly served!

This book series undoubtedly serves as 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.

And oH MY GOD. THAT ENDING!!!
I have fantasized about *that* final line but I thought it was cheesy and that it might be something more like Prince Gambit's "The King! Damianos! He lives!" but it was not like that at all 🤣🤣🤣
It's my dream cheesy line 💜💜💜