A review by jnordgren
The Dark Days Deceit by Alison Goodman

2.0

This was such a slog. The author did her research but incorporated it into the text fairly clumsily. She makes oblique references to events and customs that make it seem more like she wants to rub your own ignorance in your face. The world-building was needlessly complex, and at the end I still didn't really understand the mechanisms that made the plot make sense. The plot was so poorly paced. The twists and turns were fairly boring. The characters made me want to grind my teeth. I understand that a woman of the Regency Period would likely have put up with Selburn's possessive bullshit, but I have a hard time believing that a feminist audience would have patience with the excuse after excuse Helen makes for the Duke's gross behavior.

And lastly, Carlston and Helen's love story has the most anticlimactic ending. If you're going to put me through so many scorching glances and hearts beating in time then you damn well better give me a love scene.