The Dark Days Club by Alison Goodman
The Blurb On The Back:
London, April 1812. Lady Helen Wrexhall is set to make her curtsey to Queen Charlotte and step into polite Regency Society. Unbeknownst to Helen, that step will also take her from the glittering ballroom of Almack’s and the bright lights of Vauxhall Gardens into a shadowy world of demonic creatures, missing housemaids and deadly power. Standing between those two worlds is Lord Carlston, a man of dubious reputation and infuriating manners. He believes Helen is destined to protect humanity, but all he can offer is danger, savagery and the possibility of madness. Not the kind of destiny suitable for a young lady in her first London Season.
It’s April 1812. 18-year-old Lady Helen Wrexhall is preparing for her first London Season (a series of balls and presentations for debutantes). Her aunt and uncle, worried by the scandal attached to Helen’s mother (an unconventional woman labelled as a traitor) are keen for Helen to quickly snare a husband, but Helen would rather live independently with her brother first and find love in her own time.
Everything changes when she meets the arrogant Lord Carlston, a man with a scandalous reputation and no respect for the proprietaries of Regency society. Lord Carlston believes that Helen is a Reclaimer - a person with supernatural abilities who can help in combating Deceivers (demonic creatures that suck the life force from people). He wants her to join him in the Dark Days Club (an organisation dedicated to battling the Deceivers). But as Helen’s powers grow and she learns more of the Reclaimers’ activities, she realises that Carlston is keeping secrets and that being a Reclaimer could cost her sanity, her health and her standing in society …
Alison Goodman’s YA historical fantasy (the first in a trilogy) is an elegant tale of manners, evil and the limitations that Regency society placed on smart women with drive and ambition. Billed as Cassandra Clare meets Jane Austen, I found it more a case of Buffy meets Georgette Heyer as this is very much a story about a woman coming into her powers (emotionally, intellectually, physically and supernaturally) while also experiencing her first feelings of love (in this case a potential love triangle involving Carlston and the Duke of Selburn). Goodman’s done a lot of research and I really enjoyed the details of Regency society (including foods, etiquette and dances) and the appearance of real people, notably Queen Charlotte, the Prince Regent and Beau Brummel (who I’d love to see more of given what happened to him). I thought that the types of Deceivers got a bit convoluted at times and I wasn’t quite sure of the differences between them (not helped by the terminology) but the Reclaimer abilities was more interesting and clearly thought through and I enjoyed the difficulties faced by Reclaimers in trying to defeat Deceivers, both in battle and in terms of the difference in numbers. The ending promises a change in setting to Brighton and based on this book, I definitely want to read more of Lady Helen’s adventures.
The Verdict:
Alison Goodman’s YA historical fantasy (the first in a trilogy) is an elegant tale of manners, evil and the limitations that Regency society placed on smart women with drive and ambition. Billed as Cassandra Clare meets Jane Austen, I found it more a case of Buffy meets Georgette Heyer as this is very much a story about a woman coming into her powers (emotionally, intellectually, physically and supernaturally) while also experiencing her first feelings of love (in this case a potential love triangle involving Carlston and the Duke of Selburn). Goodman’s done a lot of research and I really enjoyed the details of Regency society (including foods, etiquette and dances) and the appearance of real people, notably Queen Charlotte, the Prince Regent and Beau Brummel (who I’d love to see more of given what happened to him). I thought that the types of Deceivers got a bit convoluted at times and I wasn’t quite sure of the differences between them (not helped by the terminology) but the Reclaimer abilities was more interesting and clearly thought through and I enjoyed the difficulties faced by Reclaimers in trying to defeat Deceivers, both in battle and in terms of the difference in numbers. The ending promises a change in setting to Brighton and based on this book, I definitely want to read more of Lady Helen’s adventures.
THE DARK DAYS CLUB was released in the United Kingdom on 21st January 2016. Thanks to Walker Books for the ARC copy of this book.
London, April 1812. Lady Helen Wrexhall is set to make her curtsey to Queen Charlotte and step into polite Regency Society. Unbeknownst to Helen, that step will also take her from the glittering ballroom of Almack’s and the bright lights of Vauxhall Gardens into a shadowy world of demonic creatures, missing housemaids and deadly power. Standing between those two worlds is Lord Carlston, a man of dubious reputation and infuriating manners. He believes Helen is destined to protect humanity, but all he can offer is danger, savagery and the possibility of madness. Not the kind of destiny suitable for a young lady in her first London Season.
It’s April 1812. 18-year-old Lady Helen Wrexhall is preparing for her first London Season (a series of balls and presentations for debutantes). Her aunt and uncle, worried by the scandal attached to Helen’s mother (an unconventional woman labelled as a traitor) are keen for Helen to quickly snare a husband, but Helen would rather live independently with her brother first and find love in her own time.
Everything changes when she meets the arrogant Lord Carlston, a man with a scandalous reputation and no respect for the proprietaries of Regency society. Lord Carlston believes that Helen is a Reclaimer - a person with supernatural abilities who can help in combating Deceivers (demonic creatures that suck the life force from people). He wants her to join him in the Dark Days Club (an organisation dedicated to battling the Deceivers). But as Helen’s powers grow and she learns more of the Reclaimers’ activities, she realises that Carlston is keeping secrets and that being a Reclaimer could cost her sanity, her health and her standing in society …
Alison Goodman’s YA historical fantasy (the first in a trilogy) is an elegant tale of manners, evil and the limitations that Regency society placed on smart women with drive and ambition. Billed as Cassandra Clare meets Jane Austen, I found it more a case of Buffy meets Georgette Heyer as this is very much a story about a woman coming into her powers (emotionally, intellectually, physically and supernaturally) while also experiencing her first feelings of love (in this case a potential love triangle involving Carlston and the Duke of Selburn). Goodman’s done a lot of research and I really enjoyed the details of Regency society (including foods, etiquette and dances) and the appearance of real people, notably Queen Charlotte, the Prince Regent and Beau Brummel (who I’d love to see more of given what happened to him). I thought that the types of Deceivers got a bit convoluted at times and I wasn’t quite sure of the differences between them (not helped by the terminology) but the Reclaimer abilities was more interesting and clearly thought through and I enjoyed the difficulties faced by Reclaimers in trying to defeat Deceivers, both in battle and in terms of the difference in numbers. The ending promises a change in setting to Brighton and based on this book, I definitely want to read more of Lady Helen’s adventures.
The Verdict:
Alison Goodman’s YA historical fantasy (the first in a trilogy) is an elegant tale of manners, evil and the limitations that Regency society placed on smart women with drive and ambition. Billed as Cassandra Clare meets Jane Austen, I found it more a case of Buffy meets Georgette Heyer as this is very much a story about a woman coming into her powers (emotionally, intellectually, physically and supernaturally) while also experiencing her first feelings of love (in this case a potential love triangle involving Carlston and the Duke of Selburn). Goodman’s done a lot of research and I really enjoyed the details of Regency society (including foods, etiquette and dances) and the appearance of real people, notably Queen Charlotte, the Prince Regent and Beau Brummel (who I’d love to see more of given what happened to him). I thought that the types of Deceivers got a bit convoluted at times and I wasn’t quite sure of the differences between them (not helped by the terminology) but the Reclaimer abilities was more interesting and clearly thought through and I enjoyed the difficulties faced by Reclaimers in trying to defeat Deceivers, both in battle and in terms of the difference in numbers. The ending promises a change in setting to Brighton and based on this book, I definitely want to read more of Lady Helen’s adventures.
THE DARK DAYS CLUB was released in the United Kingdom on 21st January 2016. Thanks to Walker Books for the ARC copy of this book.