REVIEW: The Dark Days Pact

The Dark Days Pact by Alison Goodman

Page Count: 496 pages

Release Date: January 31, 2017

My Rating: 5/5 stars

Goodreads Synopsis:

June 1812. Just weeks after her catastrophic coming-out ball, Lady Helen Wrexhall—now disowned by her uncle—is a full member of the demon-hunting Dark Days Club. Her mentor, Lord Carlston, has arranged for Helen to spend the summer season in Brighton so that he can train her new Reclaimer powers. However, the long-term effects of Carlston’s Reclaimer work have taken hold, and his sanity is beginning to slip. At the same time, Carlston’s Dark Days Club colleague and nemesis will stop at nothing to bring Helen over to his side—and the Duke of Selburn is determined to marry her. The stakes are even higher for Helen as she struggles to become the warrior that everyone expects her to be.

My Review:

I absolutely loved the first book The Dark Days Club, so its sequel The Dark Days Pact had a high standard to live up to. And IT DID NOT DISAPPOINT. No sophomore slump here people!

Once again, the setting (this time, the book takes place the summer of 1812 in the seaside town of Brighton) was meticulously researched and brought to life so well it was truly an immersive experience. Goodman portrays Regency life and customs so incredibly well - tons of detail, and yet it never feels like a slog of information.

^^^ YES, MR. DARCY, I APPROVE. All the characters I grew to love so much are back in full force, and the Will-They-Won't-They, Do-They-Don't-They potential romance between Carlston and Helen is more perfect and angst-producing than ever. There's a love triangle of sorts - both Carlston and Selburn vying for Helen's love and attention - and even though oftentimes love triangles can just be annoying and contrived, this one isn't. It's written in a very honest way, and as usual all the characters and their actions and reactions are completely believable. Basically, Selburn is like:

and Helen is like:

and then we have Carlston and Helen's relationship, where Carlston can do or say anything and Helen is like:

(But do we blame her? Carlston is everything!) In terms of plot: the story does not slow down in the slightest; in fact, now that Helen knows she is a Reclaimer the stakes just ramp up all the more. The plot moved in ways I didn't see coming, and there was the perfect mix of action, drama, and mystery - and of course a dash of romance and a large helping of demon-slaying!

This is a fantastic sequel and if you're looking for books that combine Regency history, amazing characters, demon-slaying, drama, secret societies and alchemy into one epic series, YOU'VE FOUND IT!