{Blog Tour} THE DARK DAYS CLUB by Alison Goodman: Review & Giveaway

Welcome to my stop on The Dark Days Club Blog Tour. I've got a review and giveaway for you, but be sure to check out the rest of the stops (schedule at the end of the post) for more awesome content, including interviews and guest posts from the author!

Title: The Dark Days Club
Author: Alison Goodman
Series: Lady Helen, book #1
Publisher: Viking Books for Young Readers
Publication Date: January 26, 2016
Source: ARC received from publisher
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble

New York Times bestseller Alison Goodman’s eagerly awaited new project: a Regency adventure starring a stylish and intrepid demon-hunter!

London, April 1812. On the eve of eighteen-year-old Lady Helen Wrexhall’s presentation to the queen, one of her family’s housemaids disappears-and Helen is drawn into the shadows of Regency London. There, she meets Lord Carlston, one of the few who can stop the perpetrators: a cabal of demons infiltrating every level of society. Dare she ask for his help, when his reputation is almost as black as his lingering eyes? And will her intelligence and headstrong curiosity wind up leading them into a death trap?

Did you enjoy Buffy the Vampire Slayer? Do you like Regency era fiction? Then hold on to your bonnets because you are going to loooove this book! It really is an incredible cross between the two, with Lady Helen battling demons in her petticoats, while also trying to maintain her reputation as a well-bred lady.

There's also a Chosen One vibe coming from Lady Helen, but this is only the first book, so we shall see. :) Also like Buffy, Helen is steadfast and fiercely loyal, two qualities that make her a very good person to have on your side. But she's also clever and sneaky and stronger than she appears, so you don't want to cross her if you can help it.

I rather enjoyed reading as Helen attempted to preserve a certain sense of propriety, even in her dealings with The Dark Days Clubs and the demons they fought. She has only just begun her Season in London and it would ruin all of her aunt's plans if Helen's reputation were besmirched before she'd even had an offer of marriage. And yet Helen cannot resist the pull to do something about the demons that plague her world.

There's also the magnetic pull of the enigmatic ne'er-do-well who brings her into the folds of The Dark Days Club. This slow-burn romance -- the best kind, if you ask me -- was just lovely. The antagonism, the dark looks, the half smiles. It's amazing -- and a demonstration of the writer's abilities -- how sensual those encounters could be without the characters ever touching. Lord Carlston might not be the villain everyone claims he is, after all. Yet for every answer he provides, a million more questions present themselves to Lady Helen. Of course, her very life is in danger just by being associated with The Dark Days Club, and if she were smart, she'd simply walk away from that world.

I knew before I even started reading The Dark Days Club that I was going to love it because it's from the mind of the incomparable Alison Goodman, but I didn't realize just how much I was going to enjoy this story. It's made me want to re-read Eon/Eona to revisit another world that she makes truly breathtaking.

This book was plain fabulous! So well-researched and just perfect...everything I'd hoped it would be and then some. I have theories about the direct inheritor and the Grand Deceiver, and I can't wait to see how things play out in the next installment. It will be well worth the wait.

GIF it to me straight:

About the author:

Alison is the author of the upcoming Lady Helen series, a trilogy of historical supernatural adventures set in the Regency. The first book–The Dark Days Club–is due for release in January 2016. Alison is best known for her New York Times bestselling fantasy duololgy EON and EONA, and her ability to dance a mean English contra-dance. She also writes award winning science fiction and crime fiction, and lives with her lovely husband and their machiavellian Jack Russell Terrier in Melbourne, Australia.

Find Alison:

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads | Pinterest | Instagram

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Tour Schedule:

1/18 – Guest Post – Addicted Readers 1/18 – Review – Book Nerd Addict 1/19 – Review – Love is not a triangle 1/19 – Would You Rather? – The Social Potato 1/20 – Top 10 list – The Eater of Books! 1/21 – Book Soundtrack – Once Upon a Twilight 1/21 – Review – A Dream Within A Dream 1/22 – Interview – Lili's Reflections 1/22 – Review – The Starry-Eyed Revue 1/25 – Guest Post – Gone Pecan 1/25 – Review – Jessabella Reads 1/26 – Interview – Fiction Fare 1/27 – 25 Random Things About Me – Please Feed The Bookworm 1/27 – Review – The Hollow Cupboards 1/28 – Interview – WinterHaven Books 1/29 – Character Playlist – My Friends Are Fiction