Dark Heir is the second book in the series. Go read Dark Rise!! (I promise, it is so good). There’ll be spoilers for it in this review. Oh, my goodness Pacat, these books are criminal! (In the sense that they’re criminally good, keep working on the third book please.) In this sequel, C.S. Pacat continued the pace of the first book, while bringing together threads, showing parallels, and widening our cast of characters while also having an absolutely criminal (in the against the law sense this time) cliffhanger ending. After the devastating blows to the Hall in the first book, Will, Cyprian, Grace, and James head off to Italy. Specifically: Sinclair’s dig site, where Sinclair has been digging up relics of the old times for more than a decade. When the crew arrives, more and more mysterious things keep happening to the Italian landscape, while Will keeps trying to step away from his identity as you know who, and a new foe enters the mix. Will Will be able stop his fate from happening and save the world in the process?
Let me just tell you, this book was so Good!! While I have to admit, James and Will did kind of carry this book, all of the characters still had their time in the spotlight, and the dynamics are just… *chef’s kiss*. Like Dark Rise, the Dark Heir has a slow, constant uptick, leading up to the big whablammo of an ending. Of course, this can be a downside to people, but honestly, Pacat kept the pace going to the point where I didn’t really notice when it was dragging a bit (and yes, it did drag a bit). The only truly negative thing I have to say is that I thought more was going to happen in this book. I thought by around halfway (or maybe even 75%) through that the main conflict (that being Sinclair and the digging operation he has going on) would be mostly resolved, but it wasn’t. Again, it wasn't enough to knock off a star, but it was mildly disappointing. Bottom line: An amazing sequel that carried on the legacy of the first book. (Pacat give me the 3rd book. Now.) Five out of give stars.