The basis of this series is a group of ex military guys, all brothers, getting together to form a covert secret ops type of group. One of the brothers had lost his wife year ago, but gets word that she’s actually still alive. So the team gets together to go get her back. But once she’s home, she still has a lot of hurdles overcome. Including the fact that her marriage may not have been on the greatest of terms.

This was a good story. Lots of action and adventure, but also a lot of rebuilding of the romance between Ethan and Rachel. The brothers are all tough guys, super masculine. It will be interesting to see them all get their story. ( )

I loved this book. The writing was solid. The plot was solid. Ex SEAL Ethan's wife, Rachel, died in a plane crash a year ago but he gets some info that she is not dead but being held by a drug cartel in South America. He and his brothers, who have a spec ops type agency, go to get her back. She doesn't remember that their marriage had been troubled and Ethan doesn't want her to remember because the trouble was all his fault and he wants a second chance to do better.

There wasn't a lot of suspense and spec ops stuff here but what there was was well done. I'm assuming that future installments might have more spec ops/suspense stuff depending on the story to be told. For those of you who have read other books by this author this in not erotica but a totally mainstream book. There are just a couple of well written hot love scenes of the type which are normal for these types of books.


Most of the book concerned their love story and it was very well developed. You get a very clear and emotional but not maudlin picture of Ethan's love for Rachel and his agony over his previous failures. Rachel is drawn as a woman who is currently fragile but who is ultimately strong as her memories begin to come back.

This is the start of a series and I can't wait for the next one. There are already 5 more brothers mentioned and a couple of other guys who work for the agency who are potential stars for their own books. However all the characters had a part to play in the story and weren't just shoved in in an obvious set up for the 'next' book. There were lots of scenes with the family although the book stayed mainly in the POVs of the 2 main characters. The family scenes were very well done and I personally like stories where the characters do not exist in a vacuum but you see them interacting with their family and friends as long as the focus stays on the main characters as it does here. The family was a bit idealized but this is fiction and I like to read about a big family of guys who all love each other.

On a final note, I liked the name of the agency. So normal and not some hokey acronym that stands for World's Best Super Duper Good Guys. Rather it was the name of the family, Kelly Group International. Such a normal and believable name. Thank you Maya Banks. ( )

This book is amazing.
Amnesia and a reconciliation marriage.
No intimate scenes other than the Hero and heroine.
No cheating.
No other woman or man drama.
Secondary characters introduced.


HEA though there is a second book later in the series that deals with their HEA also each couple appear in other couples future books. ( )

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. ( )

If you're thinking of reading this book because the man with a gun on the cover has you looking forward to a strong hero within a romantic suspense plot, think again. The Darkest Hour is a contemporary romance with two action scenes. The suspense element of the plot is completely ignored until the end, which is such a shame because the ingredients were there: brothers with lethal skills and access to resources, making up KGI; a woman thought dead for a year, but isn't, and who has trauma-induced amnesia; bad guys in a third-world country.

But no. Although the book has a great start with Rachel's rescue, the next 60 % of the book is dedicated to Ethan's tortured soul with regards to his feelings for Rachel, and Rachel's anxiety. Where's the tension, the slow reveals, the prepare-for-something-bad-to-happen, the making-things-happen? AKA suspense.

Ethan insists on inserting the word 'baby' into every sentence directed at his wife--this alone seriously ruined the book for me--and is filled with hope/fear/desperation that all will again be well with his once-crumbling marriage. I love a man who's in touch with his feelings, but honestly, Ethan crossed the line into love-sick and became annoying. I didn't feel I got to know HIM, as everything about his thoughts and actions were to do with Rachel. He didn't even have a job to serve as a distraction or distinction. And other than male posturing, he didn't seem to be a very capable alpha male in that, aside from the rescue at the beginning, he doesn't do much protecting or defending.

And Rachel. Good grief. A scared, traumatised, perfect woman, she's not a fully fleshed-out character. She had no personality.

And then there was Garett, the brother Rachel was so close to that Ethan at one point thought they were having an affair. From other reviews I see I'm not the only one that liked him as a love interest! No wonder Ethan was jealous. Garett and Rachel have a stronger connection than any sister/brother-in-law or sister/brother I've ever seen.

Around the 75% mark, FINALLY the plot comes back into play -- ya know, the WHY THE HECK WAS THIS WOMAN KIDNAPPED, HER DEATH FAKED, THEN HELD CAPTIVE FOR A YEAR? AND WHAT ARE THESE BAD ASSES GONNA DO ABOUT IT? Which really amounts to nothing. Yes, the brothers arrange for a little recon into the matter, but it's very brief and in the background. Then suddenly someone is trying to kill her, things get good for a while, but then everything with the bad guys is resolved off screen as we're informed via summary that they've been captured by police and spilled the beans about everything.

AND YET! I loved every character except for Ethan and Rachel. The other Kelly brothers have great potential, loved the parents, and I'm interested to know where Rusty's story will lead (a wayward teenage girl taken in by the Kelly parents at beginning of the book), although I do think her inclusion in this book was unnecessary, and it was a mistake to include anything from her POV. The teaser at the end for book 2 was intriguing. But do I really want to risk that this author has not improved her pacing and plot focus for another round of disappointment? I doubt it. Or at least, I wouldn't pay for that risk. ( )