Scan barcode
cala_p's review against another edition
4.0
Darkness Embraced is the newest book in the Hades Hangmen series, and boy was I ever excited for another one. I was also very curious what Tillie Cole would do with Tanner.
Of all the Hangmen books, this has to be my least favorite one. Believe me--no one is more upset by this than I am. It’s a Hangmen book! These things are my reason for living, but Darkness Embraced didn’t fully live up to my hopes and dreams.
Don’t get me wrong, the characters and the storyline are wonderful. So I’ll start with those. The story follows Adelita, a cartel princess and Tanner, ex-Klan heir and now Hangman. They had a past already (which I will discuss shortly), so there was none of the falling in love here. In the midst of the new war that we have seen introduced in previous books, the Hangmen decide to kidnap the cartel’s bride for leverage, who is believed to be Adelita’s cousin. Instead, they got wires crossed and the unwilling bride-to-be that they kidnap is none other than Tanner’s Adilita. Two years passed since they have seen each other last, so she gave up hope that he was coming for her. While he’s been fighting to ensure he is tightly in with the Hangmen and have their protection before getting her. It worked out well for him here, since she was delivered right to him with no issues. So of course the cartel is upset, and with the Klan on their side, they target the Hangmen to get her back and take them down. This is the bulk concept of the story. Not bad. There’s not a huge ton that occurs here, but it seems to be very much a novel that allows the overarching plot to focus on the war. With two key players, a couple of battles that knock down enemies, we’re given a story that progresses the overall plot of the series through.
The characters were great. I have nothing bad to say about them at all. Adelita is a firecracker; when needed she’s as riled up as anyone else, but she’s also super kind and sweet. She manages to fit right in with the women, and when it matters most, she’s the first on the frontlines to save the club. First during a trade, and second when she went away willing to try to keep the cartel away from the Hangmen. After her not-so-great life, the loyalty in the Hangmen wakes her up to what she can easily have. Tanner too is a great character. He shows a lot of strength when it comes to Adilita, and most importantly, a fierce need to protect her. You really feel for him in this one because you can see how he isn’t 100% trusted amongst everyone yet, and how often they brush aside what he is saying, despite his prior loyalties. It’s sad in the moment, but all works out in the end.
So while all this is great, what I wasn’t completely in love with is the execution of this. Tillie takes great lengths to ensure her books are always 200% perfect before release, even if it means postponing a release. I’ve always appreciated this because it always pays off when I was reading it. This one seems more rushed than the others. I just didn’t get the same sparks as the other one.
For much of the beginning, we see a lot of flashbacks of when they first met. I have nothing bad to say about the content of these parts; in fact I loved them! They have such a romantic, Romeo and Juliet backstory that you can’t help but squeal for them. But we got a bit of the present, a bit of the past, a bit more present, and then a whole lot of past for a while. I think I would have liked the past a bit more broken up. As much as I was enjoying the scenes, considering where we left off with the present scenes, I was dying for more. The flashbacks are also written in italics to symbolize the past, but since there’s like 50 straight (ebook) pages of flashback, I was getting annoyed and a headache. Loved the content; just not how this was executed.
Secondly, going back to what I mentioned earlier, it felt too rushed. There were scenes in the book that seemed rushed over. In the first few books, there is a lot of grim events that happen to the women. We get these chapters in their POVs, so we get all the gory details straight on. I like that. It makes the pain Mae and her sisters went through that much real. That whole “show, don’t tell” thing for writers; well, Tillie does it. But with this one, we’re told. For example, toward the end when Adelita is back with the cartel, her ex-temporary fiance (that makes sense once you read it) has her, and we can imagine how that will go for her. But when Tanner and everyone shows up, they are told that she was beaten. There is not a chapter in her POV in which she details the abuse and pain that he inflicts on her. I understand, in general that this book is not as dark as the others, but this seems like a basic crucial necessity in a series like this. Just showing us these scene where she’s beat would have tied the ending together nicely.
We’re hinted to who will be Viking’s girl, and I’m interested in how this will work out and what kind of character she will be, and more so, how she’ll fit into the story. The ending also lists the next book being a Flame and Maddie novella which makes me soooo happy. One of my comments was going to be that I hope Maddie gets pregnant. Maddie has hinted in her book wanting to be, and I think Flame being protective over her belly will be beautiful. My one hope is that in future books when she gives birth, we get his POV for that part. Like Skyx. I also suspect Lilah will give birth in that one. Maybe.
One thing this book did which I am so happy about is allow Lil Ash to grow up more. I won’t like--I’m so beyond excited for his book. More excited than I am for Viking’s book. He needs to age a bit more, and I see how this book is building his “Hangmen character” for his book eventually.
Overall this is a great read. Really sad parts at times. I cried. I enjoyed it and cannot wait to get the paperback to add to its siblings. But it’s the only full novel in this series that I feel doesn’t get 5 stars. It saddens me because this hurts me to give it less than 5, but I just wasn’t feeling it here as much as the others. It’s a good book, just not the greatest.
Onto the impatient wait for the next one!
Of all the Hangmen books, this has to be my least favorite one. Believe me--no one is more upset by this than I am. It’s a Hangmen book! These things are my reason for living, but Darkness Embraced didn’t fully live up to my hopes and dreams.
Don’t get me wrong, the characters and the storyline are wonderful. So I’ll start with those. The story follows Adelita, a cartel princess and Tanner, ex-Klan heir and now Hangman. They had a past already (which I will discuss shortly), so there was none of the falling in love here. In the midst of the new war that we have seen introduced in previous books, the Hangmen decide to kidnap the cartel’s bride for leverage, who is believed to be Adelita’s cousin. Instead, they got wires crossed and the unwilling bride-to-be that they kidnap is none other than Tanner’s Adilita. Two years passed since they have seen each other last, so she gave up hope that he was coming for her. While he’s been fighting to ensure he is tightly in with the Hangmen and have their protection before getting her. It worked out well for him here, since she was delivered right to him with no issues. So of course the cartel is upset, and with the Klan on their side, they target the Hangmen to get her back and take them down. This is the bulk concept of the story. Not bad. There’s not a huge ton that occurs here, but it seems to be very much a novel that allows the overarching plot to focus on the war. With two key players, a couple of battles that knock down enemies, we’re given a story that progresses the overall plot of the series through.
The characters were great. I have nothing bad to say about them at all. Adelita is a firecracker; when needed she’s as riled up as anyone else, but she’s also super kind and sweet. She manages to fit right in with the women, and when it matters most, she’s the first on the frontlines to save the club. First during a trade, and second when she went away willing to try to keep the cartel away from the Hangmen. After her not-so-great life, the loyalty in the Hangmen wakes her up to what she can easily have. Tanner too is a great character. He shows a lot of strength when it comes to Adilita, and most importantly, a fierce need to protect her. You really feel for him in this one because you can see how he isn’t 100% trusted amongst everyone yet, and how often they brush aside what he is saying, despite his prior loyalties. It’s sad in the moment, but all works out in the end.
So while all this is great, what I wasn’t completely in love with is the execution of this. Tillie takes great lengths to ensure her books are always 200% perfect before release, even if it means postponing a release. I’ve always appreciated this because it always pays off when I was reading it. This one seems more rushed than the others. I just didn’t get the same sparks as the other one.
For much of the beginning, we see a lot of flashbacks of when they first met. I have nothing bad to say about the content of these parts; in fact I loved them! They have such a romantic, Romeo and Juliet backstory that you can’t help but squeal for them. But we got a bit of the present, a bit of the past, a bit more present, and then a whole lot of past for a while. I think I would have liked the past a bit more broken up. As much as I was enjoying the scenes, considering where we left off with the present scenes, I was dying for more. The flashbacks are also written in italics to symbolize the past, but since there’s like 50 straight (ebook) pages of flashback, I was getting annoyed and a headache. Loved the content; just not how this was executed.
Secondly, going back to what I mentioned earlier, it felt too rushed. There were scenes in the book that seemed rushed over. In the first few books, there is a lot of grim events that happen to the women. We get these chapters in their POVs, so we get all the gory details straight on. I like that. It makes the pain Mae and her sisters went through that much real. That whole “show, don’t tell” thing for writers; well, Tillie does it. But with this one, we’re told. For example, toward the end when Adelita is back with the cartel, her ex-temporary fiance (that makes sense once you read it) has her, and we can imagine how that will go for her. But when Tanner and everyone shows up, they are told that she was beaten. There is not a chapter in her POV in which she details the abuse and pain that he inflicts on her. I understand, in general that this book is not as dark as the others, but this seems like a basic crucial necessity in a series like this. Just showing us these scene where she’s beat would have tied the ending together nicely.
We’re hinted to who will be Viking’s girl, and I’m interested in how this will work out and what kind of character she will be, and more so, how she’ll fit into the story. The ending also lists the next book being a Flame and Maddie novella which makes me soooo happy. One of my comments was going to be that I hope Maddie gets pregnant. Maddie has hinted in her book wanting to be, and I think Flame being protective over her belly will be beautiful. My one hope is that in future books when she gives birth, we get his POV for that part. Like Skyx. I also suspect Lilah will give birth in that one. Maybe.
One thing this book did which I am so happy about is allow Lil Ash to grow up more. I won’t like--I’m so beyond excited for his book. More excited than I am for Viking’s book. He needs to age a bit more, and I see how this book is building his “Hangmen character” for his book eventually.
Overall this is a great read. Really sad parts at times. I cried. I enjoyed it and cannot wait to get the paperback to add to its siblings. But it’s the only full novel in this series that I feel doesn’t get 5 stars. It saddens me because this hurts me to give it less than 5, but I just wasn’t feeling it here as much as the others. It’s a good book, just not the greatest.
Onto the impatient wait for the next one!
barbaramcrn's review against another edition
5.0
Author Tillie Cole does not disappoint in this latest installment in the Hangmen Series! The book grabs you from the first pages & you are sucked back into the world of the MC club, KKK & Mexican drug cartels. Learning Tanner's backstory, then Adelita's was heartbreaking, a true Romeo & Juliet story. Both born as pawns for others, raised with hate & prejudice, but they somehow find each other. The ending is so awesome as it all tied up in a nice little package, but leaves that one lagging thought that you know will somehow lead to another story!
Forget talking about a "book boyfriend"...I'm in love with this entire "book family"!
Forget talking about a "book boyfriend"...I'm in love with this entire "book family"!
kimiichanga's review against another edition
2.75
oof on the lower end of the 3 spectrum
like idk tanner's background? wild, idk why tillie cole decided to do this book
but it had the audacity I'll give it that
didnt exactly click with adelita so she was meh to me
like idk tanner's background? wild, idk why tillie cole decided to do this book
but it had the audacity I'll give it that
didnt exactly click with adelita so she was meh to me
hilary89's review
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
Well shit. It was actually as problematic as it was made out to be. Did it amount to KKK propaganda like some have claimed - no. But it did romanticize the MMC’s involvement in the hate group and never made him truly grapple with the ramifications of his involvement with it.
It’s just so frustrating to me that, as a fan of this series overall, this one book dragged it all down and got the entire series cancelled. Considering how deeply researched the prior books were, I’m baffled that Tillie Cole didn’t seem to do any research on anti-racism and seemingly did not anticipate how poorly the premise of this book would be received.
I just finished this book and need to process my thoughts, so maybe I’ll come back and add more to this review in the future.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, Hate crime, and Sexual content
optimisticbooknerd's review
3.0
3 ⭐️
Wow, this series is so amazing. I don't really like either of the main characters in this one but I still enjoyed the story. one book left!!
Wow, this series is so amazing. I don't really like either of the main characters in this one but I still enjoyed the story. one book left!!
frenchpressbookworm's review
5.0
Like always Tillie paints this gritty world that you strangely want to either be apart of or watch from miles away. Tanner was beyond heart breaking. Just the war he not only has to fight alongside the hangmen but one in his life. And his story didn’t disappoint. I loved it. It was exactly what you would expect from the series. It had some dark moments and some awesome revelations. Some aspects I didn’t like but nothing that over shadowed the story. Can’t wait for the next one.
lyndalynx's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
funny
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
neighborhood_reads's review against another edition
1.0
I genuinely wonder if these reviewers were high when they read this bcs wtf.
There are billions of tropes she could have written into this but decided to use the damn Klu Klux Klan? The Triple K? The group that terrorized Black people and POC for years? The group that is still very much alive in this day and age? Be astronomically so for real right now.
“Oh but it’s dark romance!” Suck my nonexistent d1ck. There are lines that shouldn’t be crossed and this is one.
There are billions of tropes she could have written into this but decided to use the damn Klu Klux Klan? The Triple K? The group that terrorized Black people and POC for years? The group that is still very much alive in this day and age? Be astronomically so for real right now.
“Oh but it’s dark romance!” Suck my nonexistent d1ck. There are lines that shouldn’t be crossed and this is one.
theansen's review against another edition
4.5
Ok. Denne forfatteren har fått kritikk for at denne boken er en romance om et tidligere medlem av KKK. Og ser jo den… Men denne boken er heftig lesbar, som hele serien er. Så sykt spennende 😅