The Dark Days Club

Starred review from October 19, 2015
In a delicious collision of Regency romance and dark fantasy, Goodman (Eona) tells the story of Lady Helen Wrexhall, a wealthy 18-year-old orphan on the eve of coming out at the court of King George III.
If things go as planned, she will pass from the house of her choleric uncle to that of a suitably noble husband. Rumor has it that the Duke of Selburn (the catch of the season) is interested; unfortunately, so is the disreputable Earl of Carlston, though he has something other than marriage in mind. Helen is dissatisfied with a vapid life of endless parties, and she’s also aware that she has begun to develop abilities that seem inappropriate for a young noble woman, like extraordinarily acute hearing and lightning-fast reflexes. Then Carlston tells her about the Dark Days Club, its secret battle to preserve English society from a monstrous enemy, and her destined role in that battle. Lady Helen is a well-drawn heroine, and her struggle to free herself from the stilted life of an early-19th-
century noblewoman and embrace her wilder, darker self is powerfully delineated. Ages 14–up. Agent: Jill Grinberg, Grinberg Literary Management.