Thursday, September 13, 2012

[Kame's Review]: "The Darkest Hour"

The Darkest Hour by Maya Banks
Publisher: Berkley (September 7, 2010)
Series: KGI, 1
Genre: Contemporary--Romantic Suspense/Military

Intelligence: high. Body: hard. Mission: what no one else can do.
It's been a year since ex-Navy SEAL Ethan Kelly saw his wife Rachel alive. Now he's received an anonymous phone call claiming Rachel is alive. To find her, Ethan will have to doge bullets, cross a jungle, and risk falling captive to a deadly drug cartel that threatens his own demise.


 
Where to Buy*:
More Info:

Series:
1- The Darkest Hour (available now)
2- No Place to Run (available now)
3- Hidden Away (available now)
4- Whispers in the Dark (available now)
5- Echoes at Down (available now)
5.5- Softly at Sunset (available now)
6- Shades of Gray (Dec. 31, 2013)




Kame's Review:

“He’d hoped if he drank enough the night before he’d sleep right through today. Instead his eyes popped open at eight A.M….”

This book contains the most emotionally charged opening chapter I have ever read.  My heart was breaking for Ethan in just the first five pages. The chapter describes Ethan Kelly’s day.  June 16th, the first anniversary of his wife’s death, “…the day everything went to hell.”  His wife Rachel died in a plane crash on her way home from a mercy mission in South America. Unable to sleep thru the day he picks up the roses he purchased, her favorite color and goes to the cemetery, disgusted with himself for rarely buying them for her when she was alive.  His departure is delayed by a delivery – which he tosses on a table in the foyer.  At the grave he leaves the roses and tells his beloved Rachel  
“If I just had one more chance. I’d never let a day go by that I didn’t show you how much I love you”. 
After sleeping the rest of the day the package catches Ethan’s eye.  He opens the nondescript envelope, pictures, diagrams and a note fall out, the note was only a few words, “Your wife is alive”.

In Ethan’s heart knows this is true, his beloved Rachel has been held captive for the past year. He knows just the people to bring her home.  His brothers.  Together they will risk their lives to bring her home.  Is this a trap or is Rachel really alive, and if she is alive what have they done to her this past year and why? Once home Rachel must adjust to a life she can not remember.  As the pieces come back into focus Ethan and Rachel’s love will be renewed and challenged.  Not only must they fight for their love, but they must fight for their lives as someone wants to make sure Rachel never remembers.

This fantastic book kept my heart racing at times, and had me weeping at others. Wonderfully written characters, you meet the entire family and I felt I understood their personalities.  There are a few auxiliary characters I hope we will meet again in other books. My favorite scenes were the ones between Ethan and Rachel as they were rediscovering each other.  The Kelly Group mission scenes did not flow as well as their scenes at home, they seemed more rushed and not as detail oriented, but those few scenes did not detract from the book as a whole – and are the only reason I would not give this book a 5 star rating.


This is the first book in Maya Banks, Kelly Group International series (KGI). A super elite top secret family business run by the Kelly brothers.   All six brothers have served in different branches of the military.  It is a family full of Alpha males who are extremely close but different.  A friend recommended this series to me, I borrowed the book from the library – but loved it enough that if I spot a deal on any other books in this series I will snap them up because I am on a HUGE waiting list for the remaining titles in the series at my public library!



4 1/2 STARS-- AN INTENSE READ!





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Not a review copy--Kame received this book from the library.

*Note*: All quotes used in this review are the property of Maya Banks. Kame and TBQ's Book Palace do not claim them in anyway.
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Meet Kame:

Kame is part of a family of readers; one day she picked up the Nook she purchased for her husband and discovered her love of e-books. A few months later he purchased one for her so he could have his back! Kame’s Nook is never far, and she is hard pressed to pick a favorite book, genre or author. As long as there are characters that make her want to sit down and have a chat and a plot keeps the pages turning, she’ll read it.

Kame's GoodReads 
 


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Oh, I am so glad to hear that you loved this one, Kame! I've had my eye on this series for a while now; perhaps it's time to give in and buy it for my NOOK! :)


Who doesn't love a military man, right? Whether he's still in service or not, the man is still military, never forget that! Have you read any of the KGI books yet? Please share! :)




Enjoy!



Until Next Time,
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*TBQ's Book Palace is a member of both the Amazon and Barnes and Nobles affiliates program. By using the links provided to buy products from either website, I receive a very small percentage of the order. To read my full disclosure on the matter, please see this post!

7 comments :

Unknown said...

Pooh my gosh, what an intense start to a series. I'm buying this so I don't forget to read it.

The_Book_Queen said...

:) I know! I shouldn't be buying more books, but...I can't resist with these ones! :D

Enjoy!
TBQ

Kame said...

Sallie its awesome! I just went to the UBS to try to get the series and they had none - so I guess it will be on my Nook...

Sapphire16 said...

Great review, Kame. Captures the interest of the reader! I have heard many good things about this series. Definitely something to seriously consider.

Kame said...

Thank you Sapphire - My friend (Pat!) told me I wouldn't regret it and I loved it! I am looking for the next books in the series - I could not find them in a used book store I went to today - so I might buy for my Nook. Maybe the Book Queen will let me come back and review the remaining books in the series.

The_Book_Queen said...

:) You are more than welcome to review the rest!

Pst--they have most of the series (paperback) used from ThriftBooks.com. They're all around 6.50-7.50, shipping in the US is free, and if you did choose to get them this way (and if you are a first time customer) I can send you a coupon for 15% off. Just so you know! Not sure the price on NOOK, so perhaps that might be cheaper still?

Enjoy!
TBQ

Kame said...

7.99 each on Nook - so not much of a savings, and if not much of a savings I would rather have them on my Nook than a shelf. I just broke down and downloaded "No Place To Run" #2!

Thanks for the invite to review the rest! I will let you know when I am done #2!