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The Dark Trilogy #2
Dark Carnival
"I noticed countless eyes following me. They belonged to shop-keeps closing up for the night, the homeless watching me from their makeshift beds, call girls pretending to wait for their next tricks on the corners, but all the while, wary of my every move. I didn’t belong here and they knew it. I could feel Les Foncés all around me, too, watching me from behind the tombs of the cemeteries, waiting for me around the corners of St. Louis Cathedral. With each breeze that floated off the Mississippi, I could feel their breath on my neck."
The city of New Orleans beckons Leigh Benoit into its mysterious arms in this sequel to the popular Dark Bayou. She continues with her mission to learn the art of the Traiteur while ancient beings threaten to tip the balance to the dark side. With the clock ticking, it’s a race to find a cursed antique during Mardi Gras—a celebration that is about to become the Dark Carnival.
The city of New Orleans beckons Leigh Benoit into its mysterious arms in this sequel to the popular Dark Bayou. She continues with her mission to learn the art of the Traiteur while ancient beings threaten to tip the balance to the dark side. With the clock ticking, it’s a race to find a cursed antique during Mardi Gras—a celebration that is about to become the Dark Carnival.
225 pages, Kindle Edition
First published June 10, 2012
61 people are currently reading
321 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 30 reviews
December 30, 2012
I so love this book, can't wait for book 3: Book of Noah ...
July 17, 2012
Book Two of the series was even better. Got off to a slow start--that's the Southern way--then picked up speed and revealed intricately-woven plot points along the way that kept me reading to the end. It's hard to explain the subtle shadowyness of the story line. Makes it easy to believe it all could really happen. And in NOLA, maybe it can...
Awaiting Book Three!!
Awaiting Book Three!!
December 26, 2012
Great book! Quick read! I really good sequel to the last book. Looking forward to the 3rd book.
August 26, 2019
Not sure how I feel about this. I started out really enjoying it, but it became convoluted after a while, and I'm torn now. I'll probably finish the series just to find out what happens.
December 27, 2015
As I explained in my review of Dark Bayou, I got this because of a name association with the title: Dark Carnival is the name of a wonderful bookstore I used to visit in Berkeley, CA. I know this has nothing to do with the bookstore, but creepy stories from Louisiana can be a lot of fun anyway (like George R.R. Martin's Fevre Dream). I was worried that the stories wouldn't be any good, yet the power of the name association compelled me. The first one wasn't, but in a way that surprised me: the writing was more abominable than I imagined, but the story was actually good (not excellent, but good).
In this sequel I can't tell you how happy I am to express that the writing is much improved. Fewer than half the sentences include the word 'I', they're not nearly as choppy, and the descriptions are much more natural. Some time is spent actually expressing what's in the protagonist's head, so we get to know her better and some of the relationships (Noah, Lucas) feel more real. This wasn't nearly as painful to read as its predecessor. I don't know if the author did anything to improve her writing in between books or just got more comfortable writing, but it is definitely better.
Unfortunately, the story itself isn't as good this time. I would describe it as "unbalanced". There's a lot of rehashing the previous book and nothing happens for almost half of this one. It's not creepy and it doesn't build tension, or even spend time developing antipathy between the good guys and the bad guys. In addition, much of the mystery is now explained and there isn't much new mystery to replace it. A lot of time is spent developing a romantic angle and on a character who doesn't last long, when it should have been spent on another character who turns out to be pretty fundamental to the plot. So things kind of happen without much justification and the reader is left afterwards having developed little anticipation and thus getting little fulfillment out of events. There's a natural ending that doesn't end the book, and the rest is kind of tacked on and needed to flow better from what seemed like it should have been the ending. The pacing, similar to the first book, is still somewhat plodding and steady. There needs to be less time spent on nothing and more time spent on developing dread and interaction between the good and bad guys. More time on conflict, less time on conflicted backstory.
And the paladin thing... still not buying it. Expanding it to include the idea of a dark paladin isn't helping, especially since it's way too easy to cross the line. The funny thing is I have liked the idea of someone crossing to the dark side and using their powers for good, the dark hero, for a long time. But here it's just not done well enough. It's too easy to become a dark hero and we don't see the supposed additional temptation to just become evil.
In this sequel I can't tell you how happy I am to express that the writing is much improved. Fewer than half the sentences include the word 'I', they're not nearly as choppy, and the descriptions are much more natural. Some time is spent actually expressing what's in the protagonist's head, so we get to know her better and some of the relationships (Noah, Lucas) feel more real. This wasn't nearly as painful to read as its predecessor. I don't know if the author did anything to improve her writing in between books or just got more comfortable writing, but it is definitely better.
Unfortunately, the story itself isn't as good this time. I would describe it as "unbalanced". There's a lot of rehashing the previous book and nothing happens for almost half of this one. It's not creepy and it doesn't build tension, or even spend time developing antipathy between the good guys and the bad guys. In addition, much of the mystery is now explained and there isn't much new mystery to replace it. A lot of time is spent developing a romantic angle and on a character who doesn't last long, when it should have been spent on another character who turns out to be pretty fundamental to the plot. So things kind of happen without much justification and the reader is left afterwards having developed little anticipation and thus getting little fulfillment out of events. There's a natural ending that doesn't end the book, and the rest is kind of tacked on and needed to flow better from what seemed like it should have been the ending. The pacing, similar to the first book, is still somewhat plodding and steady. There needs to be less time spent on nothing and more time spent on developing dread and interaction between the good and bad guys. More time on conflict, less time on conflicted backstory.
And the paladin thing... still not buying it. Expanding it to include the idea of a dark paladin isn't helping, especially since it's way too easy to cross the line. The funny thing is I have liked the idea of someone crossing to the dark side and using their powers for good, the dark hero, for a long time. But here it's just not done well enough. It's too easy to become a dark hero and we don't see the supposed additional temptation to just become evil.
January 9, 2013
Dark Carnival
By Nancy K. Duplechain
This is the second book in The Dark Trilogy series continuing the story of Leigh and her fight against the dark powers. She has found out she is a Paladin with healing powers. She is set up with a trainer to help her hone her newfound skills. She is brought to a deeper understanding of what she is there to fight. She also learns that secrets have been kept and they can change the course of her life forever if she isn’t careful. . We learn more about those she works with. I love the way Nancy Duplechain brings her characters to life and her descriptions are so vivid. It is easy to get lost in the story feeling it come alive in your mind and imagination. I give it five stars and long for the third part. Duplechain again shows us an evil so dark and haunting that the good becomes so much brighter. I started this book and found again that like the first part it was difficult to put down. I kept wanting to read more. It is a must read.
Bella Doerres Ma.Ed. 12/08/2012
By Nancy K. Duplechain
This is the second book in The Dark Trilogy series continuing the story of Leigh and her fight against the dark powers. She has found out she is a Paladin with healing powers. She is set up with a trainer to help her hone her newfound skills. She is brought to a deeper understanding of what she is there to fight. She also learns that secrets have been kept and they can change the course of her life forever if she isn’t careful. . We learn more about those she works with. I love the way Nancy Duplechain brings her characters to life and her descriptions are so vivid. It is easy to get lost in the story feeling it come alive in your mind and imagination. I give it five stars and long for the third part. Duplechain again shows us an evil so dark and haunting that the good becomes so much brighter. I started this book and found again that like the first part it was difficult to put down. I kept wanting to read more. It is a must read.
Bella Doerres Ma.Ed. 12/08/2012
April 19, 2015
~~3 HEARTS~~
I kind of got bored there for a little while and then it picked up at the end. I will say that it did leave me wanting to find out how this story ends.
June 25, 2012
even though angels are not my favorite supernatural being for stories...I still liked it.
March 23, 2013
Can't wait for 3rd! This was just as good as book 1
May 9, 2013
please oh please hurry book #3!!!!
November 8, 2018
Fantasy meets voodoo in New Orleans. Leigh Benoit comes from a family of paladins, people with special abilities who heal the sick and keep dark forces at bay. She is sent to New Orleans for training as a Traiteur, a healer, but she is also caught up in a quest to find a cursed antique mask as time for Mardi Grau draws near.
I found this an interesting alternative Fantasy. The paladins have individual 'gifts' in a way that reminded me of X-men, though more subtle. Leigh meets some of her own kind who are friendly and some who are not so friendly, but they have a common quest to stop dark forces. Apart from being followed by a "cute guy" (oh gee, where do you suppose THAT will go?) the story has a lot of original elements that make it a fascinating read.
Leigh is likable and no wiser than her nemesis about why she was sent for training when adequate training for what she is meant to do was available at home. There is some other purpose for why she needed to come to New Orleans, which we learn eventually.
For the most part, this book really held my attention. There were a couple of places where I thought Leigh and her companions were just a little too lucky in a battle or some really horrific imagery fizzled into nothing, but most of it moved the story along and kept me interested in Leigh's eventual fate.
This is one of those gems I sometimes find in the free slush pile, a book I've really enjoyed reading. There is a series, but the book stands alone very well. Some fascinating ideas and alternative ways of using Biblical entities as characters.
I found this an interesting alternative Fantasy. The paladins have individual 'gifts' in a way that reminded me of X-men, though more subtle. Leigh meets some of her own kind who are friendly and some who are not so friendly, but they have a common quest to stop dark forces. Apart from being followed by a "cute guy" (oh gee, where do you suppose THAT will go?) the story has a lot of original elements that make it a fascinating read.
Leigh is likable and no wiser than her nemesis about why she was sent for training when adequate training for what she is meant to do was available at home. There is some other purpose for why she needed to come to New Orleans, which we learn eventually.
For the most part, this book really held my attention. There were a couple of places where I thought Leigh and her companions were just a little too lucky in a battle or some really horrific imagery fizzled into nothing, but most of it moved the story along and kept me interested in Leigh's eventual fate.
This is one of those gems I sometimes find in the free slush pile, a book I've really enjoyed reading. There is a series, but the book stands alone very well. Some fascinating ideas and alternative ways of using Biblical entities as characters.
March 30, 2019
Wow this book was nothing like the first book! I did not like it at all. Didn't like the fallen angel element or how easily it was to stumble onto the "Dark Side".I stopped at 76% when it started getting gruesome, and mentioning orgies and fornication,not for me! Won't be reading anymore of this series!
November 15, 2020
A haunting trip into the supernatural. Leigh's family are paladins. Each generation inherits the power the fight evil. Now it Leigh's turn and she has to go to New Orleans to train. Soon she finds herself in a battle against fallen angels. If that wasn't enough, there are other nasty surprises waiting for her. Recommended read.
December 4, 2022
Better than the first book
Lots of adventure in this one. Fighting evil, death, life, love. It kept me stringing along quickly. There's a bit of a love triangle and I don't know who I want with who. Guess ill find out in the next book.
Lots of adventure in this one. Fighting evil, death, life, love. It kept me stringing along quickly. There's a bit of a love triangle and I don't know who I want with who. Guess ill find out in the next book.
July 2, 2019
Didn’t read the first book, but wasn’t too hard to figure out what was going on.
I’m not sure if this is a YA book, but kinda had that feel to me.
I’m not sure if this is a YA book, but kinda had that feel to me.
September 14, 2015
I didn't enjoy this book as much as the first, but it delved deeper into the story and still keeps me wanting to find out what happens next. Leigh goes to NOLA to train as a healer and as her power grows she finds out about all the dangers in the world around her and how very easy it is to cross that line to go from light to dark. Secrets are also revealed about her family and that is hard for her to take. If you like the supernatural and the battle between good and evil this series is one you would be interested in.
February 4, 2014
It got me there.
I read a lot. the first book in this trilogy grabbed my attention and I wanted to see where the characters continued to connect.and grow. book 2 is weaker on the plot and though there are some poor editing in spots and the author filled a lot of pages with step by step writing. I am now invested and will try the third book to see if i can find the mojo of the first book.
I read a lot. the first book in this trilogy grabbed my attention and I wanted to see where the characters continued to connect.and grow. book 2 is weaker on the plot and though there are some poor editing in spots and the author filled a lot of pages with step by step writing. I am now invested and will try the third book to see if i can find the mojo of the first book.
August 13, 2016
While visiting Louisiana, I wanted a book to read to offset the lack of touring and sightseeing I would be able to do. This was a compelling read with a bit of romance, suspense and New Orleans culture and information. While it is not a literary masterpiece, I found myself reading the second one and eagerly anticipating the third in the trilogy. A fun read - worthy of my time.
August 23, 2016
Thrilling Amazing
Grabs you by the seat of your pants and doesn't let go! I thought thrill 1st book was good, this one took me on a thrill ride from the first page. I had to stop for a few moments to catch my breath before I dived into the next book Highly recommend!
Grabs you by the seat of your pants and doesn't let go! I thought thrill 1st book was good, this one took me on a thrill ride from the first page. I had to stop for a few moments to catch my breath before I dived into the next book Highly recommend!
April 4, 2013
I thought a trilogy was 3. where's the 3 book.
June 10, 2013
It only got really good near the end. For me, it was just an all right book.
October 11, 2013
Can not wait for book 3!!!!
March 6, 2014
This is a continuation of Dark Bayou and takes place in New Orleans. It picks up on Leigh Benoit (the main character) learning more not only about her roots but the roots that will keep her alive.
April 2, 2014
Officially eagerly awaiting #3....
September 30, 2014
More fantasy than what I like. The first book in the series was pretty good, even with the "magical" aspect. This one I just couldn't get through.
March 11, 2015
Plot was a little thin
The plot was too thin. Like reading a cliff notes version of a book. Needed more storytelling and less jumping from point to point
The plot was too thin. Like reading a cliff notes version of a book. Needed more storytelling and less jumping from point to point
March 23, 2015
I think I like this one even more then the first book. A very quick and further interesting storyline. I really hope they explore Leigh's and Noah's relationship in book 3!
August 12, 2016
Rate the book!
I love this storyline! I admire Leigh for doing what she said she wouldn't do in order to save the man she loved.
I love this storyline! I admire Leigh for doing what she said she wouldn't do in order to save the man she loved.
Want to read
January 27, 2013Free on amazon
April 13, 2014
Can't wait until the 3rd!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 30 reviews