Scan barcode
A review by lyakimov
The Dark Days Deceit by Alison Goodman
4.0
I'm very sad that this series is over! This is definitely an underrated period urban fantasy series, and, to me, reminds me of The Infernal Devices but with a good plot and much less of a focus on romance.
The romance is seriously the most angsty I have read in a long time. Honestly, it was ridiculous how invested I was in Carlston and Helen's relationship. However, the majority of their relationship development happens in the second book and not a great deal in this book. I wish there was an epilogue because, yes, it was mostly wrapped up and left a little open-ended, but I wanted just a couple more pages of them being happy!! We got like two paragraphs. That being said, I did still like the ending but I just wanted a LITTLE MORE!!! I think the unique situations and maneuvering out of both Helen's marriage and Carlston's marriage for them to finally be together was a very interesting way to conclude the romance and it gave real reasons for them not to be able to be together. I liked that it wasn't just some stupid miscommunication reason. They were important issues and really highlighted the time period they lived in.
I did love the relationships between all the characters, especially Darby and Helen's friendship. One of the funniest, most entertaining parts of the book is when Aunt and Andrew come to Chenwith Hall and everyone begins complaining and fighting over the fact that Carlston is there and around Helen. The drawing room and bedroom scenes took me OUT, they were funny as hell and I just loved the animosity. Such good entertainment value that we only get because of the great interconnection of the characters. I also cherished Helen's relationship with Aunt, they had such an interesting development and I love how Aunt was arguing with her over Carlston, but despite the disagreements, was always on Helen's side and even argued in Carlston's favor because it would benefit Helen. She was an amazing mother figure. Aunt and Darby are my favorites as always.
I do also want to say that all three of the books in this trilogy contained multiple conversations that passed the Bechdel test. In YA literature???? This is insane!! Give Alison Goodman an award because she deserves it.
The book was a little slow like the other two, but it really picked up within the second half of the book and it was definitely interesting. I liked the twist of Margaret and Selburn being the Grand Deceivers, I like how this author is not afraid of killing off major characters and causing large consequences for characters' actions. Also, Helen is such a likable main character and she is a truly strong female lead because of the grace with which she deals with the consequences of her actions and the content of her character.
I'm not ready for it to be over!!! I want more!!
The romance is seriously the most angsty I have read in a long time. Honestly, it was ridiculous how invested I was in Carlston and Helen's relationship. However, the majority of their relationship development happens in the second book and not a great deal in this book. I wish there was an epilogue because, yes, it was mostly wrapped up and left a little open-ended, but I wanted just a couple more pages of them being happy!! We got like two paragraphs. That being said, I did still like the ending but I just wanted a LITTLE MORE!!! I think the unique situations and maneuvering out of both Helen's marriage and Carlston's marriage for them to finally be together was a very interesting way to conclude the romance and it gave real reasons for them not to be able to be together. I liked that it wasn't just some stupid miscommunication reason. They were important issues and really highlighted the time period they lived in.
I did love the relationships between all the characters, especially Darby and Helen's friendship. One of the funniest, most entertaining parts of the book is when Aunt and Andrew come to Chenwith Hall and everyone begins complaining and fighting over the fact that Carlston is there and around Helen. The drawing room and bedroom scenes took me OUT, they were funny as hell and I just loved the animosity. Such good entertainment value that we only get because of the great interconnection of the characters. I also cherished Helen's relationship with Aunt, they had such an interesting development and I love how Aunt was arguing with her over Carlston, but despite the disagreements, was always on Helen's side and even argued in Carlston's favor because it would benefit Helen. She was an amazing mother figure. Aunt and Darby are my favorites as always.
I do also want to say that all three of the books in this trilogy contained multiple conversations that passed the Bechdel test. In YA literature???? This is insane!! Give Alison Goodman an award because she deserves it.
The book was a little slow like the other two, but it really picked up within the second half of the book and it was definitely interesting. I liked the twist of Margaret and Selburn being the Grand Deceivers, I like how this author is not afraid of killing off major characters and causing large consequences for characters' actions. Also, Helen is such a likable main character and she is a truly strong female lead because of the grace with which she deals with the consequences of her actions and the content of her character.
I'm not ready for it to be over!!! I want more!!