I felt a little lost at the beginning of the story but I persevered and found it interesting, it is a bridging novel and I can see some things being set up here. Helen has to choose between duty and devotion and is building her support team while at the same time the built-in sexism is annoying everyone.

I'm interested in what happens next. ( )

This book was generously provided to me by the publisher via Library Thing. let's start with the pacing. This book was a little slower going for me. I found the characters were not wholly fleshed out ( this may be because it is book two and I haven't yet read book one).

The world building was of reasonable quality. I did feel certain elements could have been delved into a bit deeper, such as when someone is considered unreclaimable. the descriptions of clothing were apt for the time period of the story.

I liked how she handled her token gay. that being said that is all it felt like, a token character. I felt the grand deceiver/ reclaimer bit refreshing. nobody is expected to save the world alone here.

ultimately it was a decent book, it just didn't fully click for me at this time. I will reread down the road after having read the first book. ( )

I wasn't sure I liked this initially but it managed to suck me in quite effectively when I wasn't paying attention. Unexpectedly clever in all sorts of ways. Highly recommended to everyone, even people who don't usually like this sort of thing.

I recieved a free copy of this book from the publisher for review. ( )

This series continues to be great period fun and games. The strong Regency style and sensibility works to really heighten the emotional and romantical elements, though I found it occasionally a bit of a liability in the action sequences. I think this second book hung together even more strongly than the first, able to really develop and weave its elements, and leaving things wonderfully poised for a cracking finale in the third book.

Basically: Buffy the Vampire Slayer done Austen-style, with the occasional page-long wallowing in the scalding moment of sexual tension inherent in a gentleman helping a lady-masquerading-as-a-gentleman out of her too-tight coat. If that sounds like your cup of tea, get thee ahold of this delightful teapot. ( )

I loved the first Lady Helen novel and expected to enjoy this one, but did not expect this to be even better. Of course, I'm a sucker for a good romance novel, and, at heart, this is a romance novel, albeit one with monsters. I loved watching Lady Helen come into her own and stand up for herself and those she cares about. I could go into more detail, but I'm honestly still kind of in swoony space. If you like Regency-set romance, girls fighting monsters, political machinations or just a good story well told, pick up The Dark Days Club (the first Lady Helen novel) then track down a copy of this one and then spend the next year (or more) waiting in anxious anticipation with me for book three. ( )