London, April 1812. Lady Helen Wrexhall is set to make her debut at the court of Queen Charlotte and officially step into polite Regency society and the marriage mart. Little does Helen know that step will take her from the opulent drawing rooms of Mayfair and the bright lights of Vauxhall Gardens into a shadowy world of missing housemaids and demonic conspiracies.
Standing between those two worlds is Lord Carlston, a man of ruined reputation and brusque manners. He believes Helen has a destiny beyond the ballroom; a sacred and secret duty. Helen is not so sure, especially when she discovers that nothing around her is quite as it seems, including the enigmatic Lord Carlston.
Against a backdrop of whispered secrets in St James's Palace, soirees with Lord Byron and morning calls from Beau Brummell, Lady Helen and the Dark Days Club is a delightfully dangerous adventure of self-discovery and dark choices that must be made ... whatever the consequences.
Ages: 14+
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A fun and (objectively) historically accurate read (excluding the demon hunting), "Lady Helen and the Dark Days Club" has a strong, stubborn, intelligent protagonist, an alluring love interest and great female friendship. - Melissa (QBD)
Guest, 04/11/2017
Lady Helen & the Dark Days Club
I loved this book! Alison has very cleverly combined elements from several different genres into one exciting story. This is a young-adult-historical-fantasy-paranormal-romance.
Lady Helen is an orphan living with her aunt and uncle in Regency England. She has special gifts that are developing as she nears adulthood. Helen is presented to royalty, attends balls and parties in 'the season' and meets a distant cousin who is an Earl with a scandalous reputation. He introduces her to the Dark Days Club, a secret organisation dedicated to protecting ordinary citizens from the hidden demons living among us. Toward the end of this novel Helen has a choice to make; between using her genetic gifts or living a normal life.
I especially enjoyed the insight the author gave to everyday regency life, her research into the era is shown in her detailed descriptions of Lady Helen's life. Helen is a very strong female character in an era dominated by men. I liked how the characters interacted with each other - especially how Helen learnt from her aunt to 'manage men' and how to behave in Society.
I really look forward to reading the next instalment from this Australian author. I was lucky enough to meet Alison in person recently, she is a very entertaining speaker and loves Anne McCaffrey's Pern dragons as much as I do. - Kerryn
QBD the bookshop, 10/05/2016
