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4.09 AVERAGE
4.09 AVERAGE
Part 1: Small, stupid problems
This is a stellar series so far. I have very few problems with it, and the ones I have with it are mostly due to my stupid personal taste. I guess I will get those out of the way. First of all, I dislike the name Helen. Yes, that is a stupid problem but sometimes names define how much I like characters. Secondly, Helen draws in too many different kinds of breath. When I read Dark Days Club for a second time (and it was good enough to warrant a second reading), I counted that she drew in some kind of breath, whether “rattling” or “sharp” at least fifteen different times, and this trend did not change for the second installment. Again, small, stupid quibble that does not detract from this work as a whole. One last thing is that I wish Helen had been the one to reveal the Dark Days Club and her powers to the Duke. I was just waiting for him to be all impressed with her when she revealed it to him, but instead it was Hammond who got to do that. Oh well, can’t win them all.
So there’s that out of the way.
Part two: Feminism and the freaking Duke
First and foremost, Alison Goodman’s depth of research and preparation for building Helen’s world must be commended. Such attention to detail and historical accuracy cannot be achieved by a mediocre author. Because Goodman portrays regency England so well, the more fantastical side of the story does not overpower the intriguing depiction of the era.
This brings up the feminist aspect. I love what Goodman has done here. The fact that this is set in Regency England in which women had so many rules and regulations and could not step one toe out of line gives the character Helen so many more difficulties than if this were set in the present day. For example, as a woman she is not allowed to go anywhere unattended, or wear anything except what women are supposed to wear, or have her own say in anything. These are not issues that generally plague the women of England today, so the setting in time of the novel gives it a nice degree of complexity, especially in the way Helen is treated by the many men in the Dark Days Club. Enter the Duke of Selburn.
Selburn. God, what a man. In Dark Days Pact the Duke becomes a much more annoying presence than in Dark Days Club. Every time he entered I rolled my eyes and waited for the damage. That being said, he is a fabulous character, and a good representation in modern times of how a man can believe he is acting in the best interest of a woman, even if he is acting in opposition to her wishes. The Duke is, by definition, an admirable man who is still willing to respect Helen even after she has been in disgrace, but he doesn’t realize that when she tells him to stop following her and that she can protect herself, she is dead serious and knows that his involvement in her predicament might end up with him hurt. Take a hint, Selburn.
Additionally, what I love about Helen is that she, unlike some feminist characters, actually likes looking pretty and enjoys the events she attends as she comes of age in early 19th century England. Why do all feminist characters have to dislike everything about things women do? The fact that Helen likes dresses and dancing does not make her any less of a strong woman.
Part three: Writing style
What makes Goodman such a good writer is her ability to construct action scenes. I didn’t write a review of the first book, so I will just say here that the scene where Helen’s powers burst out of her was so incredibly exhilarating to read, and so well done. Goodman’s skill lies in the way she is able to convey to the reader how Helen is feeling, sometimes without Helen knowing what is going on. For example, when Helen passes out after the struggle with the Ligatis in the bawdy house, her drifting in and out of focus was extremely believable. I can’t say enough about Goodman’s pacing and tone during the fighting scenes.
Part four: Plot
Overall the many different conflicts ands alliances that went on over the course of this novel made me nervous in a good way. I was so worried to see how everything would end up. The many twists (Helen is causing Carlston’s madness, Helen can fix Carlston’s madness, Pike’s wife may be an Unreclaimable, Helen is betrothed to the Duke and Carlston’s wife may be alive) were surprising and engaging every time.
Wow, seems like I have a lot to say about this book. I could keep going for days about how great all the characters are but this is enough for now. I highly recommend this series to teens and adults who love the Regency period as well as fantasy and historical fiction.
This is a stellar series so far. I have very few problems with it, and the ones I have with it are mostly due to my stupid personal taste. I guess I will get those out of the way. First of all, I dislike the name Helen. Yes, that is a stupid problem but sometimes names define how much I like characters. Secondly, Helen draws in too many different kinds of breath. When I read Dark Days Club for a second time (and it was good enough to warrant a second reading), I counted that she drew in some kind of breath, whether “rattling” or “sharp” at least fifteen different times, and this trend did not change for the second installment. Again, small, stupid quibble that does not detract from this work as a whole. One last thing is that I wish Helen had been the one to reveal the Dark Days Club and her powers to the Duke. I was just waiting for him to be all impressed with her when she revealed it to him, but instead it was Hammond who got to do that. Oh well, can’t win them all.
So there’s that out of the way.
Part two: Feminism and the freaking Duke
First and foremost, Alison Goodman’s depth of research and preparation for building Helen’s world must be commended. Such attention to detail and historical accuracy cannot be achieved by a mediocre author. Because Goodman portrays regency England so well, the more fantastical side of the story does not overpower the intriguing depiction of the era.
This brings up the feminist aspect. I love what Goodman has done here. The fact that this is set in Regency England in which women had so many rules and regulations and could not step one toe out of line gives the character Helen so many more difficulties than if this were set in the present day. For example, as a woman she is not allowed to go anywhere unattended, or wear anything except what women are supposed to wear, or have her own say in anything. These are not issues that generally plague the women of England today, so the setting in time of the novel gives it a nice degree of complexity, especially in the way Helen is treated by the many men in the Dark Days Club. Enter the Duke of Selburn.
Selburn. God, what a man. In Dark Days Pact the Duke becomes a much more annoying presence than in Dark Days Club. Every time he entered I rolled my eyes and waited for the damage. That being said, he is a fabulous character, and a good representation in modern times of how a man can believe he is acting in the best interest of a woman, even if he is acting in opposition to her wishes. The Duke is, by definition, an admirable man who is still willing to respect Helen even after she has been in disgrace, but he doesn’t realize that when she tells him to stop following her and that she can protect herself, she is dead serious and knows that his involvement in her predicament might end up with him hurt. Take a hint, Selburn.
Additionally, what I love about Helen is that she, unlike some feminist characters, actually likes looking pretty and enjoys the events she attends as she comes of age in early 19th century England. Why do all feminist characters have to dislike everything about things women do? The fact that Helen likes dresses and dancing does not make her any less of a strong woman.
Part three: Writing style
What makes Goodman such a good writer is her ability to construct action scenes. I didn’t write a review of the first book, so I will just say here that the scene where Helen’s powers burst out of her was so incredibly exhilarating to read, and so well done. Goodman’s skill lies in the way she is able to convey to the reader how Helen is feeling, sometimes without Helen knowing what is going on. For example, when Helen passes out after the struggle with the Ligatis in the bawdy house, her drifting in and out of focus was extremely believable. I can’t say enough about Goodman’s pacing and tone during the fighting scenes.
Part four: Plot
Overall the many different conflicts ands alliances that went on over the course of this novel made me nervous in a good way. I was so worried to see how everything would end up. The many twists (Helen is causing Carlston’s madness, Helen can fix Carlston’s madness, Pike’s wife may be an Unreclaimable, Helen is betrothed to the Duke and Carlston’s wife may be alive) were surprising and engaging every time.
Wow, seems like I have a lot to say about this book. I could keep going for days about how great all the characters are but this is enough for now. I highly recommend this series to teens and adults who love the Regency period as well as fantasy and historical fiction.
3.75/4⭐ As with the first installment, this book was incredibly slow to begin with, but I can't help but still enjoy it regardless! All of my thoughts from book 1 still apply😉
This one was a little slow going to get into but really caught my attention by the end.
I adore this book. I struggled to put it down. Wonderful. However I'm heartbroken!
minus a star for a love triangle, but I so love this series!
I CANNOT BELIEVE that that is where this ended and I feel personally victimized
How could this end like that? I have to wait till later in the year for the next one to come out! What the frig! Everything better work out way better for Helen’s sake. She’s had to sacrifice so much so far omg
This book was a long old journey for me. I actually fell into a bit of a slump while reading it, which was aggravating as it's the kind of book which requires a bit of attention to detail and could be classed as 'heavier' reading. I adored the first book in this 'Pride & Prejudice' retelling series, especially the relationship between Helen and Carlston and the level of detail of the time period. Goodman's books are historically accurate as well as entertaining! This book was not quite so enjoyable as the first was, but I still liked it a lot.
So let's start with the best bits? Goodman is still as meticulous in her world-building as book one. In fact, she expanded on so many things - both regarding the time period/context of the book AND the world/rules of the deceivers, the demons that Lady Helen and her companions fight in the book. It had been a long time since reading book one, but I remembered all the characters. In fact, I would say that Goodman did a really good job of expanding them further. I loved seeing the old (Darby, Mr Hammond and Lord Carlston of course) as well as new characters (Sprat was a particular favourite of mine). Goodman wrote really well and I liked the plot progression a lot. This did not feel like a filler book at all.
That being said...I can't ignore how long this book took me to read or how 'put down-able' it was. I enjoyed it of course and the book didn't CAUSE the reading slump, but it didn't fight it particularly hard either. Not only that, but towards the end I found it particularly difficult because while the plot pacing picked up a lot, I could see the inevitable cliffhanger 'everything has gone wrong' ending that was coming my way and I sort of lost hope. I was right. Everything HAS gone wrong. It has kept me desperate for book three to sort it all out, but I'm still mad about the ending and I'm mad that I didn't adore this sequel as much as I loved the first book.
So let's start with the best bits? Goodman is still as meticulous in her world-building as book one. In fact, she expanded on so many things - both regarding the time period/context of the book AND the world/rules of the deceivers, the demons that Lady Helen and her companions fight in the book. It had been a long time since reading book one, but I remembered all the characters. In fact, I would say that Goodman did a really good job of expanding them further. I loved seeing the old (Darby, Mr Hammond and Lord Carlston of course) as well as new characters (Sprat was a particular favourite of mine). Goodman wrote really well and I liked the plot progression a lot. This did not feel like a filler book at all.
That being said...I can't ignore how long this book took me to read or how 'put down-able' it was. I enjoyed it of course and the book didn't CAUSE the reading slump, but it didn't fight it particularly hard either. Not only that, but towards the end I found it particularly difficult because while the plot pacing picked up a lot, I could see the inevitable cliffhanger 'everything has gone wrong' ending that was coming my way and I sort of lost hope. I was right. Everything HAS gone wrong. It has kept me desperate for book three to sort it all out, but I'm still mad about the ending and I'm mad that I didn't adore this sequel as much as I loved the first book.
I CANNOT BELIEVE that that is where this ended and I feel personally victimized
Lady Helen is coming to terms with being disowned by her uncle. It actually isn’t very hard since her life is occupied with training to fight demons now that she is a full member of the Dark Days Club. She is working on her Reclaimer powers while spending the summer in Brighton, yet Carlston’s Reclaimer powers are affecting his sanity and his mood is changing toward darkness. When a Dark Days Club colleague threatens the club and Helen herself, will she be able to find a way to stay in the light? Will the Duke of Selburn accept the dissolution of their “understanding?”
The Dark Days Pact is the second book in the Lady Helen series. This book takes place immediately following the events of the first book and readers will be quickly pulled back into this extraordinary tale. Lady Helen is a dynamic character with fears and longings like most of the people who would read this book. Goodman has worked this story into an interesting time in history and makes the Dark Day Club a plausible group that was hidden in the shadows. The Dark Days Pact is a recommended read for those who enjoy action books, historical fiction and even those who are looking for a romance. I definitely recommend that readers start with the first book, though.
The Dark Days Pact is the second book in the Lady Helen series. This book takes place immediately following the events of the first book and readers will be quickly pulled back into this extraordinary tale. Lady Helen is a dynamic character with fears and longings like most of the people who would read this book. Goodman has worked this story into an interesting time in history and makes the Dark Day Club a plausible group that was hidden in the shadows. The Dark Days Pact is a recommended read for those who enjoy action books, historical fiction and even those who are looking for a romance. I definitely recommend that readers start with the first book, though.