The Dark Days Pact

The Lady Helen Trilogy, Book 2

By: Alison Goodman

Narrated by: Fiona Hardingham

Length: 15 hrs and 17 mins

Publisher's summary

Sequel to New York Times bestselling author Alison Goodman's acclaimed The Dark Days Club - a smashing combination of Buffy and Jane Austen!

Summer, 1812.

After the scandalous events at her presentation ball in London, Lady Helen has taken refuge at the fashionable seaside resort of Brighton, banished from her family and training as a Reclaimer with the covert Dark Days Club. She must learn to fight the dangerous energy-wielding Deceivers and prepare to face their master, the elusive Grand Deceiver.

As she struggles to put aside her genteel upbringing, Helen realizes that her mentor, Lord Carlston, is fighting his own inner battle. Has the foul Deceiver energy poisoned his soul, or is something else driving him towards violent bouts of madness? Either way, Helen is desperate to help the man with whom she shares a deep but forbidden connection.

When Mr. Pike, the hard bureaucratic heart of the Dark Days Club, arrives in Brighton, he has a secret mission for Helen: find the journal left by a mad rogue Reclaimer, before it falls into the hands of the Deceivers. Coerced by Pike, Helen has no choice but to do as ordered, knowing that the search for the journal may bring about Lord Carlston's annihilation.

©2017 Alison Goodman (P)2016 Brilliance Audio, all rights reserved. Recorded by arrangement with Viking Children's Books, a division of Penguin Young Readers Group, a member of Penguin Group (USA) LLC, a Penguin Random House Company.

Terrific middle episode

What makes a trilogy really work is the ability to tie up loose ends in each individual volume. Goodman develops a strong story that, while building on the story arc established in the first book, managed to open new ground and further develop already strong characters. Of course there are issues that will wait until the finale to ripen and finish, but this episode is complete in itself. Well performed satisfying episode that has be eager for the next!
“AUDIBLE 20 REVIEW SWEEPSTAKES ENTRY”

i love these books. can't wait to see what happens

this story has my favorite components, strong female lead overcoming adverse social conditions with courage and fortitude. love interest, espionage, supernaturals and historical relevance. can't wait for the next book!

A satisfying sequel

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Yes -anyone who likes fantasy or supernatural, as well as historical fiction, will love this. It is absolutely necessary to read the first book as this is not a standalone.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Helen - I loved seeing her arc as a character grow stronger and stronger. She was independent, strong, brave and such a departure from who she was in the beginning of Novel 1.

Any additional comments?

My god, the Duke of Selburn storyline was infuriatingly annoying. He just keeps hanging around, lingering though no one in the book, including Lady Helen, can stand the man. He is constantly telling Helen what to do, even though she is a warrior and has told him to buzz off. He spends most of the book being a busybody and a pest and a distraction for the plot and I was BUMMED when he was kept on throughout the book in a way that means he'll be in the following books. My advice to the author? Lose the Duke.

Much better!

I liked the first book, but it had a really slow beginning. This caught my attention much faster. It was funny, action packed, and heartbreaking! A much better book than the first! All but the annoying characters of the Duke and Lady Margret.

Wonderful

Better than the first. Cannot wait for the third. Excellent writing and narration. Starts a bit slow, but so worth getting through to the end. Loved every bit of the story.

A fun compelling mystery

Enjoyable retelling from Regency era. Well-deviled characters. Despicable villains. I will read more of this author.

good complexities and entertaining

I enjoyed this book, just as I did the first book. and look forward to the third one. Though plenty of the subject is not for the young, with violence and morality topics that are intense, it is also a plot that can be light hearted and entertaining at times. In general, there are dark topics discussed, but not a vulgar book, this is appreciated when touching on deeper topics without becoming illicitly explicit.

Pride and Prejudice Gals fighting Demons

The title pretty much sums it up I love it soo much it reminds me of that series Cassandra Clare wrote. I think their called the Infernal Devices but yea its historically correct and the romance is not overly erotic but still romantic, and the characters are very funny and well-developed

Anxious? Get ready to be stressed out.

This book is Murphy's Law personified. Nearly everything that can go wrong does. The amount of sexist bullshit our lead has to endure is disgusting. Sadly, I'm sure that it is accurate for the time.

I will finish this series but then I think I'll need to take a break. I'll probably pick up the light hearted Royal Spyness series where I left off. One sensitive soul can only take so much and this book plus the stresses of the real world are feeling a might much.

Very unique story, and love the reader

I love the story, lots of likeable characters and I really like the reader. I am starting on the 3rd book now.