The Dark Days Club (Lady Helen #1)

The Dark Days Club by Alison Goodman
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I enjoyed this book. If I could give it 3.5 stars, I would. I have always been an avid reader of Regency Romance, and I enjoyed this YA Fantasy take on the time period. It was interesting, unique, and I liked the characters.
Helen is a young girl ready to take on the London Season when strange occurrences lead her to The Dark Days Club and one of its enigmatic members, Lord Carlston. She discovers that she is also meant to be a member, and help rid London of evil beings who are bent on literally sucking the life-force out of the population. Helen must decide if she wants to fulfill her destiny and fight the terrible Deceivers, or try to find a way to maintain her socially acceptable life full of balls, suitors, and frivolity.
While this was a good book, I found it a bit sluggish in parts. It seemed that at least 2/3 of the book were expository, almost, like the whole thing was one big introduction for a big event. I kept waiting to get into the real meat of the story, even though I was well into the book. Although I did enjoy the first part of the book, I just kept getting the feeling it was all leading up to something bigger. Once I was 3/4 of the way through the book, I knew all the issues could not possibly be resolved in the remaining pages. While I like series and read them often, I still like for a satisfactory resolution to occur at the end of a book.
I also felt as though the author's focus on Regency-era details, while intended to enhance and help the reader, seemed to draw me out of the story. It could be because I was already very familiar with so many things from the Regency Period, and so other readers might find these things very useful and add to their enjoyment of the story. I felt as though it was a bit heavy-handed, however.
I did like the characters of Helen and Lord Carlston, and the secondary characters, including Darby and Lord Carlston's friends were well drawn. I could tell that each character had his or her own backstory and issues swirling beneath the surface, even if it was not expanded upon.
If the story had been a bit faster-paced, I would have given the book more stars. I did like the book, however, and will definitely read the next in the series. I would recommend it to any one who enjoys YA Fantasy, or anyone who is interested in a different take on historical and/or Regency Romance. It would be great for a fan of Georgette Heyer who is looking for something a little bit different.


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