Review: The Dark Days Club by Alison Goodman

The Dark Days Club (Lady Helen, Book #1)
by Alison Goodman
Release Date: January 26th 2016
2016 Viking Books for Young Readers
Hardcover Edition; 482 Pages
ISBN: 978-0670785476
ASIN: B00X5938K2
Genre: Fiction / YA / Historical / Paranormal
Source: Review copy from publisher

4 / 5 Stars

Summary
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?

My Thoughts
The Dark Days Club was quite different than what I expected; the strong mystery, the paranormal element, the intrigue, the regency element, and the romance combined with a very strong-willed and interesting heroine make for intriguing and fun reading.  I was already a huge fan of her fantasy duology Eon: Dragoneye Reborn and Eona: The Last Dragoneye, so I was thrilled to receive the first two books in the Lady Helen trilogy in the mail.

First of all, what I really like about this author's books is the way she is able to blend the fantasy into her settings.  So our heroine, Lady Helen, was brought up in true Regency style, learning to become a proper young lady, destined to possibly marry a duke or an earl. With a very rigid moral code, she struggles to become the proper young lady her uncle and aunt demand of her, especially as she seems to have inherited this restless energy and wild side that cause her to do impetuous and impulsive things that get her in a lot of trouble.  When she learns what that restless energy actually means through a chance meeting with Lord Carlston, she struggles to deal with what her aunt and uncle want from her and what this more restless and exciting side of her wants to do.  As a modern woman, it is really hard to understand the constraints put upon young women during this time period, and I tend to really identify with Lady Helen's struggles; if she chooses to go against society, she could lose everything that is dear to her including her family and friends, but if she chooses to go with her heritage, she could lead an exciting if ultimately dangerous life.  I think it would be really hard for us modern women to really understand the struggles Lady Helen faced and how difficult the decision would have been. 

I really like the struggle that Lady Helen faced upon learning she may be destined for more than just marrying a duke or early and attending parties for the rest of her life.  There was a part of her that really liked the idea that there was something more in this life for her, and that perhaps her mother was something much more than what she was told.  What I especially liked in this story is that she was never forced into her role, she was always told she had a choice as to which role she wanted to accept.  And I liked her thinking as she made her decision as to which role she wanted and why; it just showed another level of maturity and intelligence to her character that I liked.  It didn't mean that I liked her choices, but I liked how methodical she was in making them. 

The author pays a lot of attention to detail, and although the book is a bit slow in the beginning, it really didn't bother me too much as the descriptions were really interesting; it is very evident she has put a lot of research into this book which made the Regency period feel very much alive.  She does the same thing with her characters, and I will admit a bit of frustration towards the end, but in a good way, as there were some things I just didn't understand, especially regarding Lord Carlston. The tension between them was fun and I can't wait to see how things turn out. Very little has been revealed about the man, and although we learn he is decent and good, there is a part of him that is hurting and struggling.  Naturally, there is always a third person involved and I am hoping we don't end up with a love triangle as I am not a big fan of those.

Verdict
The Dark Days Club was quite original, and very different from what I was expecting.  The characters developed quite naturally, and while we learn quite a bit about each of them, it is just enough to be tantalizing, but not enough to totally satisfy. I found the plot to be quite engrossing, and I liked how Lady Helen was allowed to make her own decisions about her own involvement in things, even if I didn't necessarily agree with them.  I am looking forward to reading The Dark Days Pact, the second book in this trilogy, which I just got for review. 

Review: The Crown's Game by Evelyn Skye

The Crown's Game (The Crown's Game, Book #1)
by Evelyn Skye
Release Date: May 17th 2016
2016 Balzer & Bray
Ebook Edition; 399 Pages
ISBN: 978-0062422583
ASIN: B014DUR8KW
Genre: Fiction / YA / Fantasy / Historical
Source: Review copy from publisher

3 / 5 Stars

Summary
Raised on tiny Ovchinin Island her whole life, Vika is eager for the chance to show off her talent in the grand capital of Saint Petersburg. But can she kill another enchanter—even when his magic calls to her like nothing else ever has?

For Nikolai, an orphan, the Crown’s Game is the chance of a lifetime. But his deadly opponent is a force to be reckoned with—beautiful, whip smart, imaginative—and he can’t stop thinking about her.

And when Pasha, Nikolai’s best friend and heir to the throne, also starts to fall for the mysterious enchantress, Nikolai must defeat the girl they both love... or be killed himself.

As long-buried secrets emerge, threatening the future of the empire, it becomes dangerously clear... the Crown’s Game is not one to lose.

My Thoughts
The Crown's Game is a fantasy world of tsarist Russia, and while the premise was somewhat interesting, I actually found that the novel dragged quite a bit.  I enjoyed the characters, enjoyed the interplay between the characters, but found the actual plot to be lacking in tension and excitement.  Naturally, it had the usual elements often found in young adult novels: the love triangle, the 'I can't live without you' element, and the insta-attraction / love, something that just gets on my nerves.  From the moment the two main characters meet is actually when I began to lose interest in the story.

First of all, I liked Vika and Nikolai before they met.  I liked how they were ambitious and worked hard to hone their craft; I also enjoyed learning about their backgrounds and how they were able to do what they did.  Learning about the Crown's Game should not have really tempered their ambitions too much, but I guess there needed to be a reason why these two would not want to fight to the end, even if that reason was a bit lame. I have never been a fan of insta-attraction, and to just fight back feebly because you think the other person may or may not want to kill you seems pretty silly to me.  Personally, if I knew there was a fight with only one victor, ordered by the Crown, I would probably do everything in my power to win, no matter what.  Because of this lack of effort in trying to win, the novel got bogged down in details that were uninteresting and just dragged the story down, in my opinion.  I would have liked to have seen some tension between the two of them and some serious magical fighting.  There was one interesting scene where Vika attempted to destroy everything Nikolai owned and I finally thought we were getting to something good, then suddenly, all the fight went out of Vika, and that was that.  As a reader, I was left feeling pretty disappointed.  

Then suddenly we have the love triangle. Don't get me wrong, I liked Pasha, I thought he was interesting, but quite different for an heir to a throne. I just couldn't picture him as a possible love interest for Vika, and I think it would have been much more interesting if he had just remained her friend as it would have been much more believable.  As it stood in the novel, what Pasha felt for Vika felt much more like a crush and the resulting behaviour was a bit childish, but had deadly consequences for the two combatants.  And we are supposed to feel sorry for Pasha because he let his emotions run away from him and couldn't see what the consequences would be? Unfortunately, the actual Game felt overshadowed by this triangle and the resulting contest didn't feel like a contest to the death, but more like two Enchanters showing off their skills.  

Verdict
The Crown's Game is a very light fantasy that doesn't quite live up to its premise.  There is a definite lack of tension between the two combatants which made it seem more like they were showing off their skills rather than fighting to the death in a deadly contest.  What an Enchanter actually does, other than advise the tsar, is rather murky and lightly fluffed over, and I'm still not quite sure why there needs to be only one when the two of them were doing quite nicely all this time.  While I thought the writing was fine, the characters themselves were rather one-dimensional and I didn't really empathize with any of them.  It says a lot when I didn't really care one way or another who won the Game.  Would I recommend this book?  I'm not sure as I didn't hate it, but there were definitely some elements that had me rolling my eyes.  But I definitely get the appeal, even if it's not for me.