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    The Darkest Hour
    The Darkest Hour
    The Darkest Hour
    Audiobook10 hours

    The Darkest Hour

    Written by Maya Banks

    Narrated by Harry Berkeley

    4/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    New York Times and USA Today best-selling author Maya Banks continues to thrill fans with her KGI novels. Ex-Navy SEAL Ethan Kelly thought his wife Rachel had died more than a year earlier. But then he receives an anonymous phone call claiming she's still alive. Now Ethan has to go up against a deadly jungle - and an even deadlier drug cartel - to get her back.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherRecorded Books, Inc.
    Release dateNov 2, 2012
    ISBN9781470324759
    The Darkest Hour
    Author

    Maya Banks

    Maya Banks is a #1 USA Today and New York Times bestselling author whose chart toppers have included erotic romance, romantic suspense, contemporary romance, and Scottish historical romances. She is the author of the Breathless Trilogy, the KGI series, the Sweet series, and the Colters' Legacy novels.

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    Reviews for The Darkest Hour

    4/5

    58 ratings23 reviews

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    • 5/5
      This book was a great, quick read with a pretty good story. There wasn't as much running from the bad guys as I was expecting, but the love story more than made up for that fact. I have a feeling that if the rest of the books in this series are as good as this one, I'm going to like it better than Lora Leigh's Elite Ops series which I absolutely loved!

      1 person found this helpful

    • 4/5
      Good story, good romance. I want to read the rest of the series.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 3/5
      3.5 stars

      This came as a pleasant surprise. I was definitely expecting something a little *ahem* raunchier than what I got, but I can't say I was disappointed. I really fell in love with the characters -- all of them -- and that was what kept me reading. The suspense in the book was okay, though I didn't really feel that urgency to turn the pages in regards to that.

      The brothers, though? They're why I'll keep reading.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 5/5
      Good story with lots of exciting action and an interesting plot where the hero had his work cut out for him to get his wife back. I liked the close family bond and their love for the tortured heroine. Ex-Navy SEAL Ethan thinks his wife Rachel is dead when gets a package claiming she is alive and asks his brothers to help rescue her.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 5/5
      Absolutely impressed with this book, since every review of Maya Banks' books I've read said that her books were heavy on the sex and bondage, though I really like the first and I'm really picky about how certain books tell the second. That said, here there is a woman who went through literally hell only to have a second chance in life with her family and her husband. Ethan's constant guilt was something really sad to see, but it fit really well with the plot. Loved all the characters, though Rusty is going to take some getting used to, he interactions between all of them were really realistic. Ethan and Rachel were quite the pair when they were together and even apart they always seemed to be thinking about each other and the other point that I really liked was the story's development with every problem getting its spotlight and being resolved in the end. Amazing!

      1 person found this helpful

    • 4/5
      LOVED IT!Any book from Maya Banks is definitely a good book, but she is wonderful writing suspense. I loved all the Kelly family, the suspense, the whys and the who's and all the drama. I must confess that the character I love the most was/is Marlene; loved the mom part and the way she commands them all. Can't wait to read the rest of the series.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 4/5
      This book was a different experience compared to other Maya Banks books I've read but I thoroughly enjoyed it. Will be working my way through the rest of the KGI series now.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 3/5
      I saw the synopsis of the book and knew that I had to have it on my Kindle immediately. Ex-Navy Seal – check. Ex-Navy Seal’s wife in danger – check. Military brothers willing to fight for their family – check. All of the above made for a good book. As a reader, you get to see Ethan at his lowest of lows as he lives through one of his worst days, his wife’s one year death anniversary. It is then that Ethan finds that Rachel just might still be alive and recruits his brothers for the mission to save her.What I loved about the book was it was action packed when the scene called for it. If felt like I was with these military agents, in the middle of the jungle, on a rescue mission and I felt that way throughout the book whenever the crap hit the fan (and it hits the fan plenty of times.)I loved Mr. and Mrs. Kelly (the parents of the military boys) throughout the whole book. You could tell that the love that the brothers formed with each other, that tight bond, was because love was in the Kelly household. However, I didn’t understand the sub plot line of them “adopting” the girl that broke into their house. I kept thinking to myself, “What just happened?”The main characters, Ethan and Rachel, are good characters. However, this plot is so commonly done that the characters and their love for each other needed to be so strong for this book to really make an impression. Unfortunately for me, it didn’t succeed. Don’t get me wrong, it is a good book to read but what it really lacked for me was just amazing passion between the two of them. Maybe it was because Rachel’s memory was somewhat lost, but when I finished, I was left feeling like there could have been more of “something.” So, while it wasn’t what I was hoping for, I still kept turning the pages until the very end because I found that I did become invested into the characters enough that I needed to know what happens.BookWhisperer Reviewer MC~

      1 person found this helpful

    • 1/5
      The background in this book -- the former military boys turned mercenary outfit -- has more promise than the story itself, which is fairly predictable and by-the-numbers. There are too many characters and too many points of view, and I didn't feel like I got to know any of them particularly well. They also lacked depth and were more identifiable as archetypes than as real people.

      I am also sorry to say I found the writing pedestrian -- more like the product of a freshman creative writing class than what I'd expect from a professional author. (And apparently I'm the only one, given the generally great reviews for this book.)

      1 person found this helpful

    • 3/5
      Boring. As I was reading the book, I kept thinking that it had to get better. The story was good, but had no detail or excitement. I expected after going through the jungle for a rescue, almost falling off a cliff, being chased by two goonsthere would be more. I thought the scenes were glossed over. The one with details, were good... But that wasn't where the action was. The writing was... blah

      2.5 stars rounded to 3 stars

      1 person found this helpful

    • 2/5
      I made it to about halfway through The Darkest Hour and had trouble wanting to read this book... I enjoyed all the secondary characters but Ethan and Rachel were just blah for me.. Ethan seems to "sensitive" and baby's Rachel way to much and Rachel - even though I understand she's been through a lot .. I don't know, just doesn't strike me as a strong woman. At this point I would normally move along to the next book in line.. but I was interested in the brothers and their stories... so I skimmed the rest of the story. This was the first book by Maya Banks that I have read, I keep hearing good things about her so I will probably try another of her books at some point.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 4/5
      Great book, but dislike where the best security team around can't keep one girl safe.
    • 5/5
      Now the people who know me are aware of my reservations on doing book reviews.First I feel that I suck at them. Two, I fear giving up spoilers and ruining it for another.Now there are books that simply prompt me to try my hand at reviews. I feel they "deserve" them because they are that good. The Darkest Hour by Maya Banks is one of those books. The Darkest Hour was my second foray with Maya's works. This was not as erotic as For Her Pleasure, my first Maya book I read.Was I disappointed? Heck fire no!The scenes were not only hot but major tear-jerkers. This book will invoke your emotions, I should give that fair warning out for my heart pained for the hero and heroine.Will I pick up further KGI books? You betcha! I found that I really liked the Kelly brothers, their interaction with each other and what they perceive as family. And, I really latched and connected with the character Rusty. I should warn all that I do have a penchant on liking side characters usually more than the main ones.Little kernal of hope sprung that eventually she'll get a book, and well that she'd end up with the youngest of the Kelly family due to their interactions in the book. Yush that is a major hint hint to the author. LOL..So yeah, this druid definitely gives The Darkest Hour two thumbs up and her Dev Bear's two claws up in approval.
    • 5/5
      Rachel has been "dead" for the past year, when her husband Ethan gets information that states otherwise. Ethan and his brothers, along with some of KGI's operatives, go on a rescue mission to save her. Rachel has been held prisoner for the last year due to some sensitive information she overheard.Another stellar series by Maya Banks! At first glance you would think Rachel and Ethan's brother, Garrett were the ones actually married. The relationship and dynamic between Rachel and Garrett was so sweet and tender, that it only endeared me all the more to him. I'm so looking forward to his story.The writing and flow of the story was excellent. It kept me engaged throughout; I hated to see it end. I enjoyed the characters so much that I wanted to be a part of the Kelly family. Ethan's parents Marlene and Frank were fantastic. And he and his brothers always had each other's backs. As always, you get drawn in and establish your own connections with the characters.Definitely a great start to her new series. I believe I'll be collecting all the books in this series. The Darkest Hour is one for the keeper shelf.
    • 4/5
      3.7 stars

      Y'all, the first 50% of this book was insanely good (It looks like the vast majority of you have read this already since I'm Way Late Lana to the party but remember how good it was?!) and I didn't even want to pull myself away to notch an update on here. I loved how this was romantic suspense but flipped a bit with the woman, in this case our former military dude's wife, being the one taken captive and held for a year; she was the one dealing with the trauma of that situation.
      I also loved the big cast of characters and our hero's million brothers (ok, I'm exaggerating. I think there is six total?) and the other men of the KGI group. Usually, having this many names thrown at me feels overwhelming but it worked here as the author did an amazing job writing them as individuals but knitting them together in a cohesive group.

      The second half kind of stuttered a bit for me with the hero constantly focused and worried if the heroine would remember the last fight they had; there was a lot of back and forth that stagnated the story. I also thought he disappeared into a one trick pony of repeatedly saying "baby" and hovering over her. I also have to say that the chemistry between the hero and heroine was lacking, I just happened to like the surrounding cast of characters a lot, so it made up for it. Having the villain identity and reasoning not being revealed until the last 15% made it feel very rushed and meh, do I understand who, what, where, and why? Yes. Just not sure it flowed right out of the story.

      I'll definitely be continuing with the series, as I loved all the characters introduced and the first half had a gritty, thrilling, and emotional beat that sucked me right in.
    • 4/5
      The Darkest Hour (A KGI Novel) by Maya BanksContemporary Suspense- Sept. 7th, 2010 4 1/2 stars The Darkest Hour is a blazing start to a series that is guaranteed to only get better! Maya Banks captures the readers’ imagination with several hunky and exciting men that seem larger than life but still retain their humanity. I was quickly absorbed in the main character, Ethan, his brothers and the entire crew of the KGI. (I especially liked the introduction of the single KGI female on the team P.J.. I hope she gets her own story!) Ethan is drunk and hung over. It is the anniversary of his beloved wife's death. He blames himself and feels an utter failure. He regrets the mistakes he made that resulted in a rocky marriage before his wife died. But his life is suddenly altered when he receives a mysterious package that claims that his wife is still alive and a captive. Shocked and disbelieving he knows this must be some sick joke but the more he looks at the data sent to him, the more he is convinced that this is his second chance. Filled with hope and determined to save her Ethan tries to enlist the aid of his brother's special ops group KGI. Although his brothers are not convinced the woman imprisoned is Rachel they agree to help extract her. But Ethan’s heart knows the truth. Her mind shattered, Rachel barely remembers her name and dreams of a strong protector who never comes. Drugs and torture have taken their toll and when a strangely familiar man comes to rescue her she must decide if she can trust him. But how can she when she can't even rely on her own memories? This story is a great introduction to the exciting and fascinating KGI team. Ethan's scarred emotions make him a very vunerable and sympathetic character. And Maya Banks has some interesting plots twists that keep this novel at a quick and thrilling pace. I could feel the confusion that Rachel felt as she tried to sort out her memories. She is a strong character who is able to overcome adversity and forgive. Their relationship felt very realistic and heartfelt. I was amazed at how many intriguing characters the author was able to juggle in this story and still keep it a clear read. But that only means more books!! Maya Banks is known for her scorching romances and believable characters. While this not as racy as some of her books it still packs a lot of heat. This first in the KGI secret ops series does not disappoint! It is sure to be a hit with readers who love powerful emotions, sizzling romance and HOT alpha heroes. Reviewed by Steph from the Bookaholics Romance Book Club
    • 4/5
      The Darkest Hour, released on September 7, 2010.Ethan's wife Rachel had died, been over a year and he receives a packet showing what could be her with some militants. He shows the others in KGI and they also agree to help him go get her-if it is her. The story follows them in the jungle as they go to find Rachel.Rachel is so out of it she just remembers her guardian angel will come get her and she's in so much pain...she doesn't remember them when they come to get her out of there.Back at home their parents, Marlene and Frank come across an intruder, Rusty who appears to be a teen and starving....Hallucinations when she is returned and others are there for support. Story also follows Rusty and her past life. Ethan still wants to learn why they kept her for over a year . Hot steamy sex scenes.In the middle of the town learning of her return the group has a recon mission=to get a child out of harms way. Glimpses of their past married life come to light and there are threats to end her life, again...I received this book from National Library Service for my BARD (Braille Audio Reading Device).
    • 4/5
      I liked this book, became annoyed in some places, and then really liked it by the end. It may not be a five star read, but it’s a VERY good read, and by the end I was having trouble remembering what I didn’t like about it! The best thing? The great balance between emotion and suspense. It’s so hard to find romantic suspense that gets the balance right; Maya Banks knew what she was doing. The Darkest Hour does, however bear striking resemblance to two other romantic suspense novels – Cindy Gerard’s To the Brink and Lora Leigh’s Wild Card. That was one of the annoying things. There were times when it seemed more that Maya Banks was borrowing heavily from those books rather than writing something in a similar spirit. That’s not to say I didn’t enjoy many aspects of this book. I did. The author's men often err on the side of ‘far too perfect, caring and worshipping to ever actually exist’, but sometimes that’s not a bad thing when you’re in the right mood. On top of that I do love the author’s writing. Some people have the natural ability to create very readable prose. Maya Banks is one of those people. She writes astoundingly well – her books are always page-turners. I don’t even like most of her regular plotlines (ménage and BDSM aren’t for me, but don’t worry, they’re not in this one!), and yet she makes me want to keep reading. Even when this book went way off course I wanted to keep reading. My main grumble is this. Take a look at To the Brink, and compare it to The Darkest Hour. To the Brink is one of my favourite books. Here is what happens in it: Ethan Garrett – black hair, blue eyes, former Special Forces – works for a security agency named after the family, which he runs with his former Special Forces brothers. He left the military after his marriage started to crumble. He’d given up on his wife emotionally due to career-related issues. Now he’s received a message that his ex-wife is being held hostage in the jungle. Ethan gathers his family together and – using their military experience – they head off to rescue her and smuggle her back to the United States. Ethan gets shot while yelling at his ex-wife to run. Compare this to The Darkest Hour and see if you can spot why I had a problem with it: Ethan – black hair, blue eyes, former Special Forces, just like his brother Garrett – works for a security agency named after the family, which he runs with his former Special Forces brothers. He left the military after his marriage started to crumble. He’d given up on his wife emotionally due to career-related issues. Now he’s received a message that his estranged wife is being held hostage in the jungle. Ethan gathers his family together and – using their military experience – they head off to rescue her and smuggle her back to the United States. Ethan gets shot while yelling at his wife to run. Throw in a blue cover with a too-pretty waxed chest Navy SEAL guy standing to the right – a la Wild Card, and a ‘kept in captivity in South America by drug lords, forced to become addicted to drugs and now have a screwed-up mind' storyline – also a la Wild Card – and you get The Darkest Hour. That said, there was a lot to like in this story. The heroine – Rachel – really comes into her own despite how badly beaten-up and messed-up she is. She does a lot of smart things. No Too Stupid To Live moments here. I really thought she was going to be a weak little idiot (as many of Maya Banks’ heroines are), but nope; by the end I had so much respect for her. I liked most of the characters (but not Rusty – I really don’t want to read a book she stars in!). I enjoyed reading about everyone – all ten thousand of them – which I suppose is a very good thing as this is the first book in a series. It was good that the brothers (SIX brothers!!) and all of the other men hanging around (boy is this series ever going to go on for a long time!!) had their own personalities. I liked that they could be distinguished from each other physically. I’m not sure I was expecting such well-rounded people to appear in this book. The action and suspense was dealt out well during the story. The pacing was excellent (apart from one issue I mention below). We had the big rescue at the beginning, some time for everyone to deal with their issues, and then some pretty exciting stuff towards the end. It worked for me. There were a few points where the story could have done with a bit of tightening. We don’t even meet the heroine until a number of chapters in because the author is so busy setting up her gigantic cast of characters. It would have been better to drop us into the action earlier on. Ethan and Rachel don’t really even have a conversation until chapter ten – another result of far too much time spent on other characters. In fact, throughout Rachel’s rescue we spend as much time visiting Ethan’s parents back in the USA, watching them take in a homeless girl, as we do finding out what happens in the rescue. At a time like that I don’t give a damn what the hero’s mother is cooking for breakfast! Every time the action in South America just started to get going we were yanked back to the States to catch up with some boring suburban stuff. I’m willing to bet this homeless girl is a future heroine in the series, but perhaps we should have the page time devoted to her in her own book! This meant there were times when Ethan and Rachel felt like nothing more than one of many side stories. I needed some time with them simply showing us why they love each other. This was improved as the book went on though, as things pulled together. I almost forgot that gripe by the time I reached the end. There wasn’t much information given about anybody either. We hear twice about Rachel’s brown eyes, but that’s all we get about her. What colour is her hair? How old is she? How much older is Ethan? We know Ethan’s somewhere in his thirties, but one of his twenty-something brothers once asked Rachel out, so presumably she's a number of years younger? I really want to be able to picture the heroine when I read. I hate too much description, but please, at least give us the basics! It was the same with Rusty, the homeless girl. There’s a big deal made about her changing her appearance, but we’re not told how it was changed. Maya Banks is famous for writing erotica. So she seemed to struggle a little with toning down the sex. In the second such scene she gave up completely and we were treated to endless pages of oral sex where she raided the thesaurus for dirty words. It jarred with the rest of the book. It was especially annoying as apart from that I was really invested in the relationship. I thought the slow-burning, tender moments were so appropriate for the story. Yes, I had issues with this book. Quite a few according to my review. But I really enjoyed reading this. I was entertained and I liked the characters. Maybe as the series progresses some of the issues will be smoothed out –though I’m a little worried about how HUGE the cast is! This was a good, solid, well-balanced romantic suspense story, and I’m always willing to read more of those! Maya Banks did a good job with this one. ****************************** On a side note, I had a few minor issues with the writing a la Lora Leigh: “What the hell happened?” Sam demanded in a whisper. It took Ethan a few minutes to process that Sam was looking at Rachel’s blood-spattered clothes. A few sentences later we have: Ethan nodded, though he doubted Sam could see him in the darkness. A few sentences after that, we have: Again Sam’s gaze drifted over Ethan’s clothing. “What the hell happened?” So is it too dark to see or not? Then there’s: “How long did we live here?” she whispered. “Three years,” Ethan replied. “We moved in right after our honeymoon.” But earlier we were told they’d been there for two years and then Rachel was abducted. Then there’s something I have a personal issue with: Ethan’s mother saying: I want to see her so bad I hurt. Ethan’s mother was a schoolteacher. I have issues with schoolteachers not being able to use adverbs. It drives me insane.
    • 3/5
      I picked this up because I'd heard good things about the writer and the plot sounded interesting. The execution could have been tighter, but it's a perfectly adequate romance novel, and there is plenty of action. I don't read a whole lot in this genre, generally for the same reasons I have issues with the writing here (clunky dialogue, uneven plotting) but this held my interest enough that I may read other books in the series as they're released.
    • 1/5
      Made it through. Cheesy one liners, a bit of suspense, decent character development but the sappy love story was painful imho
    • 3/5
      The Darkest Hour
      3 Stars

      Synopsis
      On the first anniversary of his wife's death, Ethan Kelly receives proof of life and enlists his brothers' aid in mounting a rescue mission. Ethan and Rachel must deal with the trauma of her experiences and rediscover their relationship and marriage. However, just as their lives are getting back on track, an insidious threat emerges; one that will stop at nothing to remove Rachel from the equation.

      Review
      Great premise, poor execution.

      The plot involving former military men establishing their own private mercenary service has potential as does the specific story of drug cartels and hostage rescues. Unfortunately, the romance fails miserably. Ethan and Rachel have little to no chemistry, and at times it seems as if she is closer to his brother Garrett. This, together with the fact that she was basically raised in his parents' house as a sister, lends an almost incestuous quality to their relationship.

      Moreover, Rachel is not my preferred type of heroine i.e., intelligent, strong willed and self-sufficient. She comes across instead as a whiny and wimpy damsel in distress and it is only toward the end that she develops a backbone, even though this too is short lived. In addition, the men in the story use too many childish and condescending endearments for her, such as "baby" or "sweet pea". As such, it is virtually impossible to take her seriously or identify with her as a heroine.

      While I appreciate a hero who is in touch with his feelings, and doesn't fear shedding a tear or two, Ethan is excessively emotional and cries at the drop of a hat – come on man, you are a Navy SEAL, suck it up! He spends most of the book either coddling his wife or worrying that she will find out about their marital problems prior to her kidnapping – the fact that someone wants her dead is almost forgotten amongst the romantic concerns.

      The secondary characters are the real highlight of the book. The Kelly family dynamic is hilarious and engaging, and each brother has a distinct personality. Rusty's side story is also entertaining and I found myself identifying with the smart-mouthed teen more than the heroine.

      The writing is solid and well paced with excellent descriptions of Rachel's rescue and the after effects of her kidnapping, including her drug addiction and amnesia.

      Overall, the series has promise and I will give the next one a chance.
    • 4/5
      I really did like this one. I suppose I'm a bit of a sucker for books based around the fact that people are by no means perfect and that their own insecurities will lead them to say the wrong thing / act the wrong way and things build upon each other until they're at a place they don't want to be. Regret can be a killer to live with.

      Here Ethan is lucky enough to get a second chance. Things had deteriorated badly in his marriage before he lost his wife. He discovers that she's still alive but has lost most of her memory. There is a lot of drama involved while she gradually remembers the truth about how things were but they manage to work through it realistically. I love that it's not instantly 'hearts and roses'. They both acknowledge that work needs to be done and they'll do it.

      Yeah... I do like this series.
    • 5/5
      I retread this book.I Love Maya Banks!! KGI is the best series