Read this review on my blog! --> The Darkest Hour by Maya Banks

It seems impossible that a book would have me all teary eyed by chapter two, but Maya Banks knows how to shoot straight for the heart. The story of Ethan and Rachel is not a fairytale. Before she was presumed dead, they had problems in their marriage. Ethan, having realized just how wrong he’d been to push his wife away, doesn’t get the chance to make things right when the news of her death reach him.

A year after her death, after all his suffering and grieving and guilt, he is handed that second chance by form of evidence that his wife is still alive…alive, but being held captive by a drug cartel. This is where she’s been the whole time she’s been thought dead.

Can you imagine?! Finding out that, while you’ve been at home, for a whole year, your significant other has actually been going through who knows what at the hands of a drug cartel! It would probably kill me. Thankfully Ethan quickly springs to action and, with the help of his brothers, he executes Rachel’s rescue.

But being rescued is half the battle. Dealing with the ramifications of what she went through, of the things Ethan said before her disappearance, is not going to be a cake walk. I may have cried a few more times. I’m a cry baby sometimes, lol. I loved how real their struggles were, and how much of a strong spirit Rachel had.

In this book we also meet the whole Kelly family…and there’s a lot of them! It was fun and interesting meeting each one and seeing their own personalities come through. I don’t know how Maya Banks deals with all of the running around in her head at once. I bet it’s loud in there! Lol They’re always together and they’re mostly all boys, except for Mom, Rachel, and Rusty! I would probably need a break and often if I lived with them, being the loner that I am. Who knows though…I did end up falling in love with all of them, so I might not want to leave them.

If you’ve never read a romantic suspense book, let me recommend this one. It wasn’t overwhelmingly military-ish, but had just enough action to keep it suspenseful. I should also mention that the sexytimes were steeeeamy but romantic…nice balance! And now I play the waiting game and hope my public library has the next book available soon because I cannot wait to read the next in this series.