Darkest Hour Before Dawn

By: Charlie Cochet

Narrated by: Mark Westfield

Length: 10 hrs and 8 mins

Publisher's Summary

THIRDS Team Leader Sebastian Hobbs and Chief Medical Examiner Hudson Colbourn are as much in love now as they were nearly seven years ago when a tragic event on the job destroyed their relationship. The two drift together only to be pulled apart time and time again. When Hudson draws the interest of dangerous enemies, both within and outside the organization, Seb wants nothing more than to protect the man who still means everything to him.

As life-and-death events, an uncertain future, and startling truths draw Hudson and Seb to each other yet again, they must make a choice: trust their love and take strength from what they share, or lose what matters most...for good this time.

©2017 Charlie Cochet (P)2017 Dreamspinner Press

Great for the series fans

Charlie is a great writer and – as always – really has a way with combining action, romance and humor.

I’m not a big fan of “reunion” romances – I like that initial spark too much – but I did love that after all this time our guys finally get their chance to be together.

Of course, there is other drama going on – and more danger - as well as some more Dex/Sloane interactions – and a furthering of the overall mystery/arc.

For fans of the series, this is a must, and while I bet you could read this as a standalone, I think you’d miss a lot.

I'm glad the series is wrapping up, however, because we are starting to ease into the land of soap opera (i.e. people coming back from the "dead) and I think we've just about done all there needs to be done with this.


Audio


Mark Westfield is the voice for this series, so I can’t really add much to this review that hasn’t already been said.

I thought his English accent was fine and I enjoy his little “extras” that he throws in to keep the narration fresh and engaging.

I still sometimes struggle to appreciate his intonation, as he does seem to end each sentence in the same way, regardless of the emotion being portrayed – but after awhile I don’t notice it.

Overall, I’d give this 4 of 5 stars.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Third’s Hurrah!

The one problem I had with this is the narrator’s performance of Hudson, the take on his speech accent was annoying. I still loved he story but winced every time Hudson was talking! The rest was fine.

Love Overcomes All

This was a little harder for me to get into compared to the other THIRDS books. Hudson was just a bundle of silly angst and put Sebastian Hobbs through hell. But the other characters and the humor of the series helped keep me entertained and I just exercised my suspension of disbelief. I ended up enjoying the book.

Was ok

Her four kings series is better... the twist is pretty predictable. Still enjoyed listening and will finish the series

Love the series

In order to fully understand this sequel then you will need to start from the beginning. All the stories are connected and each book tied into the other, now with this book I have patiently waiting to hear it but I will say I was thrown off by Sebs voice in this book reminds me of his mute brother Hobbs.However still a great story and loving the series

Don’t Buy this Thirds Book

Ms. Cochet wastes her fan’s time in this story of Dr. Hudson Colbourn and Sebastian Hobbs tragic love affair that sours from drama to tele-novella. Ms. Cochet tortures her star-crossed lovers with set back and reunion followed by another setback and reunion followed by another setback and reunion that you feel manipulated unnecessarily and lose trust in the author. The Thirds series has lost its way into putrid tragic claptrap with an infinitesimal amount of action. Don’t buy this book. It will put you off the entire series.

'A' rating...

My Review:
Overall: 4.5
Performance: 4.25
Story: 4.5

You know, after nine books in this series, there's really not a lot I can say for a review. You're either reading this series and loving it as much as me or not...LOL.

This is NOT a series that you can just jump in and read. You need to read the whole series together. Every book feeds into the story of the next one. And even though this book is about a different main couple...Seb and Hudson...you still need to have read the whole series to understand what's going on.

I loved that this story though is focused on Seb and Hudson. The bulk of their backstory happened before the series started. They're marked mates...something that's a rarity just because marked mates are looked down upon in this society. But even though they have this incredible bond to one another, they haven't been together the entire series because of a mission that went wrong. Guilt pulled them apart and the bittersweetness of the two of them has been present throughout the entire series.

As a result, I couldn't wait for this book. It didn't disappoint. And even more...it brought up some interesting plot twists that I can't wait to see how they play out. Wow...so much I didn't see coming, but I loved it!

still good

I was distracted by the change in Seb's voice. But the plot was awesome. and the ending worth it.

5 star narration

Time after time Charlie Cochet creates such amazing stories filled with non-stop action, intrigue and romance, while narrator Mark Westfield makes that world all the more richer; Darkest Hour Before Dawn, the ninth book in the THIRDS series is no exception. You definitely do not want to read this without having read all the other books in this awesome series.

Mark Westfield delivers us back into the world of the THIRDS agents, namely Sebastian Hobbs and Dr. Hudson Colburn.

While the story is filled with tons of action and suspense the author really gives readers a more intimate view of one of my favorite couples, Seb and Hudson.

These two men belong to each other. Hudson is marked and truly mated to Seb. A tragedy in their past breaks them apart and throughout the series we see them dance around each other. In this installment we get an inside view into the how’s and why’s of their relationship.

I really enjoy Seb and Hudson interacting. Seeing the push and pull between the two and how these guys truly ‘pine’ for each other. I love seeing how close Hudson still is with the Hobbs family, especially his relationship with Seb’s Mom and Dad. With Westfield’s narration I could feel how important and emotional being connected to them is for Hudson. Hudson also frustrates me with his back and forth because it’s so plain to see how much Seb really cares for him. But it’s nice to see them circle around each other and slowly realize the depth of their love for one another.

Darkest Hour Before Dawn is not all romance, there is definitely plenty of action and intrigue going on throughout the story. The timing is perfect and the action scenes fleshed out.

Mark Westfield is definitely at his best when narrating fight scenes and confrontations and with the many revelations in this installment his narration kept me listening and wanting more.

I can’t wait to see what’s next for our favorite fellow agents.

Fantastic Story, Mark Westfield is Amazing!

In this ninth book in the THIRDS series, Darkest Hour Before Dawn, Charlie Cochet finally gives us the whole story of Seb and Hudson...creating a must read for fans who have followed this series from the start!

There are some great details to clarify past events, and this edition also serves to explain why some of the characters in the series are moving between law enforcement agencies. Of course Cochet still serves up all the action, sex, and humor we expect in a THIRDS novel, and narrated by Mark Westfield no one will be disappointed.

Throughout previous books we get snippets of the story of Seb and Hudson, so it is nice to get the dirty details on why they broke up, why they won’t get back together, and why their bond is so strong to start with.

They have so much history together and Cochet does a wonderful job making it feel like they’ve been the main characters in this series all along.

Much of the story centers around explaining the relationships and backgrounds of the main characters, Seb and Hudson. Seb is such a sweet, strong guy and I love getting to know him better. Hearing stories about him growing up with his brother's, Rafe and Ethan, and all the mischief they created is wonderful. It’s also important for the future of this series to learn more about the strong friendship he has with his partner, Dom. Additionally there is a host of info on Hudson’s upbringing and an explanation about his closeness with Seb’s family. All of this is particularly insightful if these guys are going to take over as the main players of the THIRDS series.

There’s never any doubt about the chemistry between Seb and Hudson, every time they cross paths in earlier stories their attraction is intense.

These two work really well together as Seb manages to be both sweetly romantic and officially takes over as the best dirty talker of the series (sorry Cael, we have a new champion).

There are several really exciting and dramatic scenes in Darkest Hour Before Dawn which help to show the dynamic of the team members of Theta Destructive. We get a good idea about the current state of New York City and what THIRDS and other law enforcement agencies are up against.

Darkest Hour Before Dawn is full of so many chuckle worthy moments made more enjoyable thanks to Mark Westfield’s flawless narration.

My favorites are Ash pondering the planning of Dex’s bachelor party and Sloane having to explain to Dex what a ‘Code Fuschia’ means.

Expect some seriously freaky events too. Like the reveal of who Wolf is, which caused chills up my spine. Obviously we all expected it, but it’s still a shock and the way Cochet builds up to it is so skillfully done.

We do get a few teasers about what might be coming with TIN and more explanation about what the organization can do and what they’re up against. I can hardly wait to see how Charlie Cochet pulls it all together, especially with Dex and Sloane branching off into their own series. As much as I thoroughly enjoyed Darkest Hour Before Dawn I’m excited for the undoubtedly explosive episodes to come!

Amazing

5 stars for book 9 in the THIRDS audio series. This is Seb and Hudson's story. Mark Westfield is yet again an exceptional narrator and really gave this story another dimension. I just love the way he speaks and could listen to him all day.

7 years a go Seb and Hudson were in a happy relationship. Seb had marked Hudson as his mate and was planning to ask Hudson to marry him. On the day he planned to ask him a rogue shooter aimed fire at Hudson and Seb jumped in to save him which resulted in the tragic death of a young boy. This brought in to question their ability to work together within THIRDS as bonded mates and it cost Seb his position in Destructive Delta which led to his subsequent transfer to another team and also cost them their relationship.

7 years later and these two are still separated due to the grief from that day but also Hudson's insane stubborn-ness. Through the first 50% of this story I just wanted to shake them both particularly Hudson but they do eventually find their way back to each other and then things move quite quickly from there!

As with all the THIRDS books there is plenty of action and drama and plenty of love! Seb is so sweet and I loved how he unconditionally looks out for and loves Hudson even when they're not together. I loved catching up with all the characters from the other books in this story. You really shouldn't listen to these books on their own, they need to be read in order to make the most of this brilliant world and all the characters that have been created.

Cannot wait for the next audio book instalment in this fabulous series!

Certainly not the best in the series....

There were numerous errors in the story...not sure whether they were down to Charlie or Dreamspinner [but I suspect the latter], the most annoying of which was using the word 'ay' instead of 'eh'. And of course, we have the perennial American habit of assuming all of us 'Brits' come from London [clue...most of us don't], and have a cut glass upper class English accent instead of a regional one [which Hudson would probably have had coming from Kent]...you know cos all Americans come from New York don't they?? 😏 Unfortunately, some errors also crept into this recording and despite Mark Westfield's best efforts, I could only give his attempt at an English accent 6 or 7 out of 10 I'm sorry to say.

This series just gets better & better

Where does Darkest Hour Before Dawn rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Easily in the top 3, the series as a whole is probably number one for me.

Who was your favorite character and why?

I love all the characters, i think in this book it has to be Hobbs, especially when he is cussing & spitting out things like "you bloody wanker" i spent a lot of my commute chuckling & getting strange looks from fellow commuters.

I also really loved the scene with Hobbs and Maddox, that was a LOL moment for me even though i was walking down the road on my own!

Have you listened to any of Mark Westfield’s other performances? How does this one compare?

The other 8 books in this series, i can't imagine anyone else narrating this series now and i must look out for other books he has narrated, i really love his voice and they way he tells a story.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Unfortunately no, i listened to it when i was commuting.

Any additional comments?

Hurry up with book 10 please!