Author: Charlie Cochet
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Length: 224 Pages
Category: Urban Fantasy, Mystery/Suspense
At a Glance: Darkest Hour Before Dawn is definitely going to be another hit with THIRDS fans, and a win for Cochet.
Reviewed By: Jules
Blurb: THIRDS Team Leader Sebastian Hobbs and Chief Medical Examiner Hudson Colbourn are as much in love now as they were nearly seven years ago when a tragic event on the job destroyed their relationship. The two drift together only to be pulled apart time and time again. When Hudson draws the interest of dangerous enemies, both within and outside the organization, Seb wants nothing more than to protect the man who still means everything to him.
As life and death events, an uncertain future, and startling truths draw Hudson and Seb to each other yet again, they must make a choice: trust their love and take strength from what they share, or lose what matters most for good this time.
Review: It feels like we’ve been waiting forever for this book. At least, it feels that way to me! I’ve been excited for Seb and Hudson’s story since I knew there had ever been a Seb and Hudson. And, now here we are at last…Darkest Hour Before Dawn is here. Charlie Cochet has filled in the remaining blanks on what happened to rip our heroes apart, given them their much deserved HEA, and taken them (and us) on a little rollercoaster ride along the way!
It’s crazy to think about this series as a whole so far. Darkest Hour Before Dawn is book nine in Cochet’s much loved THIRDS series. Book NINE! That’s pretty wild. We’ve really gotten to know these guys well over those nine books. But, not just the teams, though—we’ve also gotten to know some of the families and friends outside the THIRDS, and I love how they are regularly incorporated into the stories. In this book, of course, we get to spend more time with Sebastian’s family. It’s obvious that Hudson misses them a lot. Since his own family is so disappointing, it’s wonderful that Seb’s family is there to love him and show him he belongs somewhere. After seven years, Hudson decides to close some of that distance and rekindles his relationship with Julia and Thomas, which made me very happy. There is also a really great scene where Rafe has a little heart-to-heart with Hudson in his office, that I loved. The Hobbs family has no problem showing Hudson how they feel.
The fact that it’s been seven years since Seb and Hudson split up is just bonkers. How could they let themselves be apart for that long, when they are so clearly still SO much in love? (I’ll tell you how…Hudson. But, more on that in a minute.) And, the fact that they clearly are still in love is both swoon-worthy and unbelievable. Swoon-worthy because guhhhhhhhhhh…they’re so awesome together. And, unbelievable because I can’t believe Seb has let Hudson keep him on the string for this long! I know…I know…the bond…the love…etc… But, I can’t be the only one who thinks Hudson has been sort of a brat and has taken way too long to do all the eye-opening he does in this book. I wanted to shake him quite a few times. Hmph. When that light bulb goes off for him, though? And, his eyes are truly opened. It’s a great moment in the book.
The Seb and Hudson reconciliation actually seemed like a fairly small-ish part of the story, though. I found myself realizing I was at thirty percent in the book, and they were only talking for the second time. To be fair, in the second half there are definitely some significant things that happen that directly involve them, and get them where they need to be, but the bulk of the book was about keeping the main THIRDS story thread going. We get a little deeper into TIN, and find out which team members are working with them, and in what capacity. We learn about a mysterious, secret group, called the Makhai, a pro-Therian group who are willing to go to great lengths to keep Therians the dominant species. And, we see quite a bit more of Wolf, the psycho-for-hire who tortured Dex in Smoke & Mirrors.
It wouldn’t be a THIRDS book if there wasn’t some heart-stopping action—and there is. There are two main action scenes, both of which are adrenaline-filled and fantastic. But I honestly felt like there could have been a little bit more. I wanted more of the tension and drama and intrigue and fun we’ve gotten from some of the previous books. Wow, I’m a greedy little thing, huh?! It’s not that I didn’t enjoy the hell out of this book. I totally did. I just also felt like quite a bit of time was spent rehashing, and there was just a liiiiittle somethin-somethin lacking.
There was, of course, way more that I loved about the book than didn’t. Being made to swoon by Sebastian; Lobito; any page time for Dex—ok, and Sloane; Seb’s partner, Dom, who was fabulous; the extra little bits of insight into Seb and Hudson’s history; and the ennnnnnnnd. The end was so, so, so good, you guys. Darkest Hour Before Dawn is definitely going to be another hit with THIRDS fans, and a win for Cochet. With the further development of TIN, and with Wolf and these nutjob factions still out there, we know there’s more to come—so, bring it on! I can’t wait to see what’s next.
You can buy Darkest Hour Before Dawn here:
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