#The Dark Days Club

[ofliterarynature]

TBR TAKEDOWN: Week 4 (June 23)

TLDR: I have too many unread books, and I’m asking tumblr to help me downsize. Pick one or none, and comment if you can - a convincing sentence is worth a dozen votes! You’re also welcome to just choose the one that sounds the worst :D Book descriptions below the cut, see my pinned post for more info.

Stars Uncharted by S.K. Dunstall

Three people who are not who they claim to be:

Nika Rik Terri, body modder extraordinaire, has devoted her life to redesigning people's bodies right down to the molecular level. Give her a living body and a genemod machine, and she will turn out a work of art.

Josune Arriola is crew on the famous explorer ship the Hassim, whose memory banks contain records of unexplored worlds worth a fortune. But Josune and the rest of the crew are united in their single-minded pursuit of the most famous lost planet of all.

Hammond Roystan, the captain of the rival explorer ship, The Road, has many secrets. Some believe one of them is the key to finding the lost world.

Josune's captain sends her to infiltrate Roystan's ship, promising to follow. But when the Hassim exits nullspace close to Roystan's ship, it's out of control, the crew are dead, and unknown Company operatives are trying to take over. Narrowly escaping and wounded, Roystan and Josune come to Nika for treatment--and with problems of her own, she flees with them after the next Company attack.

Now they're in a race to find the lost world...and stay alive long enough to claim the biggest prize in the galaxy.

A Prince Without a Kingdom by Timothée de Fombelle

(description taken from book #1, Between Sky and Earth)

A breathless adventure from international award winner Timothée de Fombelle charts a desperate search for identity across the vast expanses of Europe.

In a world between wars, a young man on the cusp of taking priestly vows is suddenly made a fugitive. Fleeing the accusations of police who blame him for a murder, as well as more sinister forces with darker intentions, Vango attempts to trace the secrets of his shrouded past and prove his innocence before all is lost. As he crisscrosses the continent via train, boat, and even the Graf Zeppelin airship, his adventures take him from Parisian rooftops to Mediterranean islands to Scottish forests. A mysterious, unforgettable, and romantic protagonist, Vango tells a thrilling story sure to captivate lovers of daring escapades and subversive heroes.

The Dark Days Club by Alison Goodman

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?

[winterune]

“Even without the Grand Reclaimer bond, Helen, you are my heartbeat. My pulse. You are the fire in my blood and the laughter in my soul.”

Lord Carlston, The Dark Days Deceit

[books-to-add-to-your-tbr]

Title: Lady Helen

Author: Alison Goodman

Series or standalone: series

Publication year: 2016

Genres: fiction, fantasy, historical fiction, paranormal, romance, supernatural

Blurb: On the eve of 18-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?

[diaryoftruequotes]

Only a fool would blindly believe everything she was told.

Alison Goodman, The Dark Days Club

[geraniums-red]

Alison Goodman - The Dark Days Club

Book 1 of the Lady Helen trilogy

This book is a strange combination of fairly period-accurate Regency romance and stereotypical Chosen One YA fantasy (complete with superpowers, forbidden romance and obligatory love triangle). As a result, it has very uneven pacing as it swaps between the staid world of balls and marriage matches and the danger and excitement of fighting the demonic Deceivers.

When starting the book I assumed that it was a stand-alone, but it's actually the first in a trilogy, and the ending doesn't resolve very much. I'm not a big fan of forbidden romance and obligatory love triangles, so I checked some spoilery reviews of the third book to be sure that the story was going to play out the way I thought it would (I was correct), and I won't bother reading the rest of the trilogy.

[wallflowerlore]

Lady Helen Wrexhall, you’ve loved The Tortured Poets Department.

[mygeekcorner]

Book Instagram Ask, because I know I'm the only follower who knows how BADLY you wanna beg for people to send you these PATHETIC little ask games. Grovel at my feet, peasant...

...anyway: 1, 4, 5, 6, 9, 12, 16, 20, 23, 24, 28, 30

Thank you for indulging me TTwTT

1. The last book you read

This is how you lose the time war - Max Gladstone and Amal El-Mohtar and it was lovely in every way in a way I didn't expect at all

4. A book you want to be a movie

Matched - Ally Condie "want" is a strong word, but I do remember thinking that it Would make for a pretty good movie as I was reading it way back when, which is a first for me

5. A book with a trope that you love

The Demon King - Cinda Williams Chima I'll keep it real with you, I haven't read this one since the series finished in 2012 so I don't actually remember loads of it. But I remember loving it when I did read it, and it does have the Princess - Street Kid pairing which is such a fun trope when you do it right

6. A book that you have reread, or wanted to

The Chronicles of Narnia - CS Lewis I don't reread books in the way my younger self used to do, but these were on a steady cycle as I grew up

9. Your favourite book of all time

The older I get the harder it is to pick favourite anythings, let's be real. But reading The Star-Touched Queen - Roshani Chokshi got me out of a reading slump as easy as flipping a switch and altered my brain chemistry for weeks, so it is certainly up there. Who doesn't love an epic romance with Death with the most gorgeous language ever?

12. A fantasy book you love

The Dark Days Club - Alison Goodman is just so juicy with the regency setting and demon slaying in high society and I read the whole series in a manic week lol

16. A book that you want to read soon

I found a gorgeously old edition of The Hunchback of Notre-Dame - Victor Hugo at a second hand store years ago but have yet to read it, but that still doesn't mean it'll be the next one I pick up once I finish my current book, just that it is in the ever-growing piles meant to be read ^^;

20. A book that you think about often

Soulless - Gail Carriger ( @gailcarriger on here, hi!) managed to nestle it's way into my dark little soul from the get-go with all the improper sassing a spinster in steampunk Victorian London can get away with before the werewolf lord just Has to marry her. And don't forget about all the hats! 10/10 God I Wish That Were Me.jpg

23. A book that you are afraid to read

Afraid how? I have had Emma - Jane Austen staring at me from the shelf for years and I have been slow at actually picking it off of it to read because what if it disappoints me? Does that count?

24. A book with a perfect TV-adaptation

Those exist? I can only remember True Blood and Game of Thrones out of books I've read (no, I still haven't watched or read Good Omens, sue me), and those are both .. not very true to their origins, you know... Can I say mangas? I'm gonna say mangas!

Old-Fashioned Cupcake - Sagan Sagan had a spot-on adaptation. I would know because I started reading it within a day after I finished the show, and they are both lovely

28. The book that you wish you wrote

The Night Circus - Erin Morgenstern is the perfect embodiment of how I would have wanted my writing to read, and the kind of story I would have liked to tell, and I will be forever grateful that Someone got to write it so I could read it <3

30. A book you always recommend

The Deed of Paksenarrion - Elizabeth Moon I don't know about "always", but I do find myself recommending it quite often so why not give it another mention here? This is one of the ones that I probably should reread soon though.

This took so much time and thinking lmao!

But I had a lot of fun thinking back on books I've loved, so thank you again for indulging me <3

[landoguy75]

[la-fumettista]

Don’t mind me, completing Mab’s Drawlloween Club Day 21 on day 22… anyways, the theme was crow so I drew Eileen the Crow from Bloodborne.

[v1rtualv4mp]

˚⟡˖ ࣪" When you grow up , your heart dies . "

[bardicious]

Sudden thought, I wonder if Erik is actually not aware of Charles’ limitations. Erik meets Charles as the latter jumps into the ocean to save him. Charles is calm all through out. Seemingly not afraid to sacrifice OR knows he will not need to sacrifice anything to meet Erik down below.

Charles tells Erik he knows everything about him. To some extent maybe, but not really. Charles gets the gist of people around him. Goes in enough to know who’s a threat, who can be trusted, but he asks Erik’s permission in finding that sweet memory of Erik and his mom. Charles didn’t know about it beforehand.

Erik didn’t even think Charles would feel Shaw’s death, nor the people on the boats. He assumes Charles has the option to not feel it, presumably. Or doesn’t know how bad it could be.

Erik leaves Charles on the beach before Charles learns he can’t feel his legs, he doesn’t see Charles’ breakdown and Charles keeps himself together admirably beforehand. Reigning in what must be extreme amounts of pain.

When Erik sees Charles again, Erik presumes that Charles could and would use his powers on Erik, stop him whenever he wants, because they’re enemies now. When he realizes Charles can’t do that, it is still unfathomable to him. And on the plane it all suddenly makes sense. Charles valued his ability to walk more than his powers, Charles chose to remove his powers. Charles abandoned them all to pretend at being normal.

Not for a second does Erik believe Charles is anything but all put together, all knowing. Presumably naive, Erik knows better how cruel the world is. Has experienced real hardship while Charles, as much as Erik loves him, lived a pampered one. It makes sense to Erik that Charles would pick being human.

Not once does Erik think Charles may have been abused by a step father and a step brother. Suffered an alcoholic mother who possibly drank herself to death long before 1962. Charles simply doesn’t say anything and quite honestly prefers to move on from them, because they don’t matter. Raven and Erik matter tho. His little team of mutants mattered, and every single one he’s met at first year of school and through cerebro matter.

Charles is strong enough to help the mutants in need, guide them, and if he were just willing to see Erik’s point of view, fight the good fight against the humans. Because Charles doesn’t make mistakes, Charles doesn’t have failures, but he fails the rest of them.

Charles, unfortunately, isn’t seen as a fallible person to even Erik. More akin to a god, that Erik needs to protect his mind from, because otherwise, his god will exact judgment and punishment. Take his free will away from him because Erik has disobeyed him. To Erik, while Charles and him are equals, both god figures in their own right, with his helmet he levels out a playing field Charles doesn’t even see.

Of course, this is not unlike everyone else in Charles’ life, though where Erik sees a godly figure, everyone else sees Charles as a parent figure, placing him on a similar high pedestal. Seemingly everyone will tend to ignore Charles’ possible emotional instability or fallibility, the way a child might expect their parent to be all knowing. Charles’ wrongs become grander because surely he knows better. So why did Charles’ let this, whatever this is, happen?

[theladwhoisweird]

Do you think you're still my mother in another universe?

...hope not.

[sustancy]

Ok, writing about 7am romance and finishing now means there's a new post on Patreon! 𝐑𝐎𝐌𝐀𝐍𝐂𝐄 𝐎𝐍 𝐓𝐔𝐌𝐁𝐋𝐑 ♡ (Click the link to read the article).

I invite you to support my space, it's like buying me a coffee and you take with you my deepest thoughts, my vision of dark indie and also surprises like these that are written when I can't sleep and I rethink everything I think, how I trained for relationships emotional and maybe you can help me from your point of view.

[diaryoftruequotes]

Sometimes there is no good choice. Just the choice that has to be made. Alison Goodman, The Dark Days Club

[ustalochka]

[hyperbolicgrinch]

✨ weekend wip exposure club ✨

rules: post 7 sentences/a snippet of an unfinished work

@theotherwhybietoldmeso & @killerandhealerqueen

I'm late, I'm late, I'm late. Forgive me. I was fighting demons (imposter syndrome, crippling self doubt, fatigue, and a wild pack of mental illnesses). (⁠◕⁠દ⁠◕⁠) But! I'm finally back after like three ass weeks. <⁠(⁠￣⁠︶⁠￣⁠)⁠> So, here! A v unserious snippy from my we have to stay silly modern kidlaw au (yeah, shocker, it's them bastards again) that I've been doing sometimes on the side just for shits n giggles. 〜⁠(⁠꒪⁠꒳⁠꒪⁠)⁠〜

The call connected and Killer's accent crackled out of the speaker. “Law? What's up?”

“Nothing urgent. I just need to know if Eustass h—”

“Yeah, his phone’s dead again. He's in the shed. You want him?”

“What?”

“Hang on. I'll get him.”

Law pinched the bridge of his nose. Squeezed his eyes shut till he saw pinpricks. “No, I just need to know if—”

"Oi, Kid! Your boyfriend wants to speak ta ya!"

Law snapped his eyes back open and nearly crushed his phone as his hand clenched in a useless attempt to smother the speaker.

Ahead of him in the aisle, hands in his pockets, Cora stopped. His leg held out in front of him as he froze mid-stride.

Dammit.

After a beat, as if he'd been waiting for what he'd heard to start making a little more sense, Cora slowly turned on his heel. His other leg still stuck out in front of him and the hem of his heart-covered button-up twirling with him.

He stared wide-eyed at Law. The embodiment of flabbergasted. His raised boot absently clicking down on the supermarkets’ bland tiling like an accompanying exclamation point.

Dammit!

"He's not my damn boyfriend!" Eustass yelled, taking the words out of Law's mouth.

The heavy rock blasting from the shed’s stereo lowered enough in volume to not blow out Law's phone speaker and Eustass' voice dropped several octaves as he brought Killer's phone up to his ear.

“Miss me, did ya, sweetheart?”

His eyes bulging, Cora took several steps back in bewilderment and tripped over one of the restocking boxes stacked in the aisle.

"Shut up, Eustass!" Law snapped. His face igniting alongside his fury. "You're on speaker!"

There was a pause so pregnant it had reached its third trimester. Then Eustass chuckled. It had a grotesque amount of facetious glee in it.

"Am I now?"

So. That had been a mistake. But Law could only double down now.

"Behave," he said through clenched teeth. "Or I'll—"

"You'll what? Don't go making promises you can't keep, princess."

Cora toppled back over the box trying to get up and landed on his back with his legs sticking straight up.

"I'm going to—!" Catching Cora's eye from down on the floor, Law sighed. "Doesn't matter. I'll deal with you later. Cora-san wants to know if you have any dietary restrictions.”

He scrunched down into his jacket. Tense. Gritting his teeth. Law still wasn't sure how Cora had talked him into letting him come over and cook dinner. But if it had been a bad idea before, it was a horrendous one now.

Eustass Kid was an arsehole. Always had been. Always would be. Always was. There wasn't a chance in hell he could be trusted not to—

"Hold up. Cora's there?"

"Yesss," Law hissed, ready to brain him.

“Put him on then.”

“Don't tell me what to do!”

Cora looked from Law to the phone and then accepted it when Law clicked his tongue on his teeth in irration and offered it down to him.

Tagging @schwazombie (no pressure. You keep working on those kidlawgust prompts if you're still on a roll 😊) and anyone else that wants to give it a whirl ✨✨