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juz's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
ktracey's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
chocolatemeerkat's review against another edition
2.0
SPOILERS AND TRIGGER WARNING FOR RAPE DISCUSSION AND VICTIM BLAMING
So I was really disappointed in this book for a number of reasons one being lack of actual plot and two the use of attempted rape as a plot device when it really didn't need to be there. Add that with the victim blaming afterwards this was just a recipe for disaster. It is never okay to blame the victim and whether the it was intended to or not its how it came across in this book. It was handled poorly
Hudson because of a scene earlier with the dead boys mother decides no his relationship with Seb is to broken so lets try one more date. If it goes no where then he will deal with it. So he goes out with skeeve ball already tried to assault Dex, Trent. Mind you no one in this book told him by the way Trent said some unsavory things about marked people and tried to jump Dex. RAFE even has the chance to tell Hudson this earlier in the book. Has the perfect chance to but no one warns him like hey stay away from him. So the date goes south. Trent invites a couple or creeps earlier they all make a pass Hudson leaves and then they jump in alley and beat the shit out if him while trying to rape him. He gets away because literal grenade. This then instead of the 10 other times Hudson and Seb could have figured out their shit like adults to get back together. This scene really was not needed and neither was Trent and his skeeve.
But wait there is more! Everyone then blames Hudson for Sebs stupid decision to go after Trent and no lets Hudson to have time to process his attack and take the proper steps foward. There is a lot of unfair blaming of Hudson in this book which is really unlike the author. She has handled this material before with betrer grace than this. There were better ways to get them back together than attempted rape. Its a poorly used trope and you can really pick better ways to advance a plot.
There was no plot to this book either. It meandered for 200 pages and really did not do justice to Hudson or Sebasitan.
The only positive thing I have to say about this book is Taylor and how he is portrayed.
So I was really disappointed in this book for a number of reasons one being lack of actual plot and two the use of attempted rape as a plot device when it really didn't need to be there. Add that with the victim blaming afterwards this was just a recipe for disaster. It is never okay to blame the victim and whether the it was intended to or not its how it came across in this book. It was handled poorly
Hudson because of a scene earlier with the dead boys mother decides no his relationship with Seb is to broken so lets try one more date. If it goes no where then he will deal with it. So he goes out with skeeve ball already tried to assault Dex, Trent. Mind you no one in this book told him by the way Trent said some unsavory things about marked people and tried to jump Dex. RAFE even has the chance to tell Hudson this earlier in the book. Has the perfect chance to but no one warns him like hey stay away from him. So the date goes south. Trent invites a couple or creeps earlier they all make a pass Hudson leaves and then they jump in alley and beat the shit out if him while trying to rape him. He gets away because literal grenade. This then instead of the 10 other times Hudson and Seb could have figured out their shit like adults to get back together. This scene really was not needed and neither was Trent and his skeeve.
But wait there is more! Everyone then blames Hudson for Sebs stupid decision to go after Trent and no lets Hudson to have time to process his attack and take the proper steps foward. There is a lot of unfair blaming of Hudson in this book which is really unlike the author. She has handled this material before with betrer grace than this. There were better ways to get them back together than attempted rape. Its a poorly used trope and you can really pick better ways to advance a plot.
There was no plot to this book either. It meandered for 200 pages and really did not do justice to Hudson or Sebasitan.
The only positive thing I have to say about this book is Taylor and how he is portrayed.
tiggers_hate_acorns's review against another edition
4.0
Not sure about this TIN group - don't like their manipulations. . This book raised more questions than answers so drat - I will have to carry on with the series.
4 stars
Spoiler
If Alfie is Wolf who orchestrated that from way back then? Was Hudson's father somehow tied up with things?4 stars
picky_book_b1tch's review against another edition
5.0
Yes, yes, yes! Story wise this instalment gave me answers I wanted so badly and raised a few more questions that will keep me wanting more. There was a bit of relationship angst here but it was short lived and very much expected. And while I wanted to slap the good doc a time or two, he endeared himself to my heart,but it is our new character, Wolf, that now owns it. I need more yesterday!
chloeinbooksland's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I listened to the audiobook and I liked it well enough.
- The Good: I liked it mostly because Seb and Hudson are adorable and their romance is cute - even though there was a bit too much push and pull for my taste.
- The Rest: it felt like there was no real plot and you could see the revelation at the end coming from miles away.
- The Good: I liked it mostly because Seb and Hudson are adorable and their romance is cute - even though there was a bit too much push and pull for my taste.
- The Rest: it felt like there was no real plot and you could see the revelation at the end coming from miles away.
arickman's review against another edition
4.0
While this book isn't one of my favorites of the series it was still good. I've been waiting for this story forever and was so glad to see it play out.
junojuniper's review against another edition
4.0
I loved these two so much. I'm curious to see where things go with Wolf.
the_novel_approach's review against another edition
4.0
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.
Reviewed by Jules for The Novel Approach
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.
Reviewed by Jules for The Novel Approach