Review: The Darkest Hour by Maya Banks (Rating 4 Wine Glasses)

From Goodreads: 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

Bought on Amazon to read for Book Club

What I Loved: The Kelly’s are such a wonderful close-knit family that was the first thing that struck me about this book. The brothers each had such unique personalities and yet they mashed together really well. This was one cohesive unit even when they were disagreeing, mad because others were making unilateral decisions, and at times growling at each other (mom and dad included) but it all seemed to reinforce how important family was to them. The strong story that introduced all these wonderful characters was engaging and thrilling. It was very military based though more in covert ops type of way and you were rooting for them all the way. Rachel and Ethan had a very moving storyline that had you pulling for them against all odds and I will admit I cried a few times.

What I Liked: Rio, Steele, PJ, and all other ops team members were on the tops of my list to learn more about. They weren’t in the book overly much but they were refreshingly fun. Sean and Rusty were also good additions to this character palette enforcing the family principle whether by blood or heart. It was the well rounded cast of characters that really made the book shine.

Complaints: None

Why I gave it a 4: I had fun reading this book from beginning to end. I laughed, cried, got angry, and wanted to reach through the book a couple of times. All signs of a good read.

Who I would recommend this too: This is a romantic thriller that I think would appeal to military thriller readers and contemporary romance readers a like. I am thinking of suggesting it to my dad–I bought it on Kindle so he never has to see the cover LOL.

Author Website: http://www.mayabanks.com/

Other Books in the Series:
The Darkest Hour (Ethan’s Story)
No Place to Run (Sam’s Story)
Hidden Away (Garrett’s Story) March 2011

Challenges: