Darkest Hour Before Dawn by Charlie Cochet

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.

Book 9
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Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team

Avid Reader – ☆☆☆☆
M/M Romance, Shapeshifter
Triggers: Click HERE to see Avid Reader’s review on Goodreads for trigger warnings.

Hudson and Sebastian have been dancing around each other for years. Despite them being a mated pair, when a past tragedy hits the team, Hudson knows that Sebastian and he cannot be together any longer.

Then there is a new agent who is supposedly joining their crew, but things are not going as planned. Despite his newness, Trent is trying to make a good impression. He rubs Sebastian the wrong way, but Trent's interest is more in Hudson. Because Sebastian and Hudson are mated, they can feel each other's emotions and when Hudson is targeted, brutalized, he runs right back to Sebastian.

Sebastian takes care of Hudson and Trent all in one take. There is also a mystery agent who keeps sweeping in to help when the agents need it. I really hope that we get to see more of this new agent in the upcoming stories.

In the end, Sebastian and Hudson have to figure out if their bond is enough to pull them back together.

I really like this group of characters and feel that the development of the stories is fantastic!

Angie – ☆☆☆☆☆
Oh, I was so excited to see this story was about Hudson and Sebastian! These two have been in previous books and we know they still love each other, but a tragic event pulled them apart. We see characters from previous books and some of their storylines continue in this book, this book is by no means a standalone book. I just loved this book, I didn’t want to put it down because I wanted to read it as fast as I could, but then I found myself putting the book down because I didn’t want it to end and I was trying to make it last as long as I could. I don’t want to give away any of the book, but we have laughs (you know Dex always makes everyone laugh), we have tears, tender heart moments, and then angst and tension. I know this story is about Hudson and Seb, but man, I love Dex more and more with each book too! You feel so much love and chemistry in this book you just want everything to be okay. There are twists and turns in the road ahead it seems, but I can’t wait to see what happens next.

Characters: Well written
Sex: Oh yeah!
Religious: No
Would I recommend to others: Yes
More than one book in the series: Yes
Genre: M/M Paranormal Romance
Would I read more by this author: Yes


Sarah – ☆☆☆☆
I feel like I’ve waited forever for this story! This is finally Seb and Hudson’s story and we finally learn about the long history between these two marked mates. Oh – and we finally learn the identity of the elusive Wolfe.

Seb’s background has been teased out through the series – especially in his brother Ethan’s story. Here, Hudson’s past is finally revealed. Honestly, I was more than a little disappointed. To a British reader, Hudson’s English past doesn’t make a whole lot of sense and his speech is a garbled mash up of vocabulary from all corners and classes of the United Kingdom.

I enjoyed Seb and Hudson together. I love second chance romances and the angst, longing, and tension between these two is fabulous. I was hoping for a slightly more dramatic reason for their separation, but the drama, guilt, and chemistry between these two makes for a very satisfying and very sexy romance.

There isn’t quite as much action in this story as I’ve come to expect from this series. Like book eight, this feels like a stopgap between the first story arc and the TINS story arc that keeps being hinted at and prepared for. There are some exciting scenes here and I loved the explosive ending and the shocking revelation that ends the story.

I loved the action and the romance in this story. I loved catching up with my favourite THIRDS characters and I loved the revelations at the end. I just wish more time had been spent making Hudson a believable Englishman.

Bringing you stories with heroes, humor, and heart.

Charlie Cochet is an author by day and artist by night. Always quick to succumb to the whispers of her wayward muse, no star is out of reach when following her passion. From adventurous agents and sexy shifters, to society gentlemen and hardboiled detectives, there’s bound to be plenty of mischief for her heroes to find themselves in, and plenty of romance, too!

Currently residing in Central Florida, Charlie is at the beck and call of a rascally Doxiepoo bent on world domination. When she isn’t writing, she can usually be found reading, drawing, or watching movies. She runs on coffee, thrives on music, and loves to hear from readers.

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Reviewers on the Wicked Reads Review Team were provided a free copy of Darkest Hour Before Dawn (THIRDS #9) by Charlie Cochet to read and review.