Lady Helen and the dark days pact by Alison Goodman

Lady Helen bk 2. Angus and Robertson, 2017. ISBN 9780732296100
(Age: 15+) Highly recommended. Regency period. Brighton. Paranormal. For lovers of both the paranormal and the Regency period, Lady Helen and the Dark Days Pact is a must read. It follows on closely from the events in Lady Helen and the Dark Days Club and has everything in it that a reader would want from a sequel - Lady Helen grows in strength and understanding, Lord Carlston is as enigmatic and darkly attractive as ever and the action is very exhilarating. Lady Helen's family have disowned her and she is staying with Mr Hammond and his sister in the fashionable town of Brighton where she must learn to control her powers. When the secretive Mr Pike, who is in charge of the Dark Days Club, arrives with a difficult task for her and Mr Hammond, and casts doubts about the loyalty of Lord Carlston, It is Lady Helen who must bring together all the threads of magic and betrayals to ensure that all is well in England.
Set in the fabulous town of Brighton, Goodman vividly describes the fashionable life of the aristocrats in Regency times as well as the poverty, brothels and grimness of the lower classes. Those who have travelled to Brighton and enjoyed seeing the grand homes and wonderful buildings that the Prince Regent installed will enjoy seeing it all again in the mind's eye, while others will want to go there just to feel the ambiance.
Lady Helen is an indomitable character, who is able to think things through and make decisions for herself by the end of the book. Dressed as a young man she has no hesitation about putting herself in danger in order to protect the realm and those in her circle. The action was quite breathtaking at times and the unexpected ending will ensure that the next book is grabbed as soon as it appears in the bookstores.
Pat Pledger