The Dark Days Club

The Lady Helen Trilogy, Book 1

By: Alison Goodman

Narrated by: Fiona Hardingham

Length: 14 hrs and 59 mins

Publisher's summary

London, April 1812. Eighteen-year-old Lady Helen Wrexhall is on the eve of her debut presentation to the Queen. Her life should be about gowns and dancing, and securing a suitable marriage. Instead, when one of her family's housemaids goes missing, Lady Helen is drawn to the shadows of Regency London.

There, she finds William, the Earl of Carlston. He has noticed the disappearance, too, and is one of the few who can stop the perpetrators: a cabal of powerful demons that has infiltrated every level of society. But Lady Helen's curiosity is the last thing Carlston wants - especially when he sees the searching intelligence behind her fluttering fan. Should Helen trust a man whose reputation is almost as black as his lingering eyes? And will her headstrong sense of justice lead them both into a death trap?

In The Dark Days Club, internationally best-selling author Alison Goodman introduces listeners to a heroine who is just as remarkable as Eona - and yet again reinvents an established literary genre, making it her own.

©2016 Alison Goodman (P)2015 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.

Critic reviews

"Narrator Fiona Hardingham expertly portrays the characters in this novel with doses of snobbery, passion, and wit.... Hardingham consistently engages the listener, keeping the action and dialogue moving at an excellent pace." (AudioFile)

Very entertaining and Transporting!

Loved it! I couldn't stop listening! Great Performance! can't wait to start the second book!

Exquisite!

This book grabs you and takes you through the life and times of a young Woman during a time when they were told what and how to do things in life. There are many twist and turns that surprise and delight readers! Well written and even has historical flare and facts!

devine

Truly loved every moment of not only the plot but also the narration. Enraptured from beginning until end. Can't wait for the new installment.

Fabulous Trilogy

I devoured this trilogy! Absolutely deliciously narrated and written, with twists and turns unexpected. I want to read all of Alison's books now! Can't wait to get started on another set. Her descriptions are effortlessly created, making it easy to create the story and characters in your mind. Delightful!

Not what I expected

I am not big fan of fantasy in books , but I listened to the whole story due to excellent, outstanding performance and author’s use of knowledge about this historic period . I liked how she used a vocabulary, language , to create the atmosphere of the époque .

A book That took me back into time.

Allison Goodman had me hooked within the first chapter of the book. I loved how she wove me into the time period, the characters and into the wickedness of those days. It was an exciting book for me!

Dark Days Club Will Lighten Your Day

An excellent read! As an avid reader, especially of fantasy, I appreciate the discovery of a unique take on the world. I don’t want to spoil anything further but if you enjoy fantasy you will love this book. The historical accuracy is a fun romp as well!

“The Dark Days Club”- not so dark, but still delig

This was my first Regency era read ever. I have always enjoyed period films so I took a chance on Alison Goodman. First let me say I enjoyed the book. The pressures that Helen had to endure resonated with me well. She spent so much time fretting over if she was doing the right thing that it made the reader an easy cheerleader for the main character. The introduction Helen received into this really scary reclaimer world was not as believable as the problems she faced as a society woman, but I did enjoy the attempted. I wanted a little more back story as to where these spirits and animals came from but did not receive it. I did enjoy the courtyard runaway horse part. That would have been a sight to see in reality. Overall I did enjoy the storytelling enough to find out about the sequel (which proved to be a little confusing) I was very very curious as to the Duke and who he really was. I think he is the great deceiver the Dark Days Club is waiting for. Overall not amazing but nice read.

Came across more adult than YA

This one was a surprise to me. I had thought it would be YA, which it is still described as such. However, the themes covered feel heavier and carry more gravitas than YA. Not a bad thing, but readers may have expectations going in. The author clearly did a lot of research about the Regency period and it shows. I respect the writing, the relevant and more themes, and the development of the characters, but at times the story felt longer and slower than it needed to be. So b/c of the latter, it wasn't a love for me, but a decent like.

love it!!

amazingly narrated, love the plot and the characters. I'm excited to read more about Hellen's history. lately i have been loving historical fiction and this one was amazing