Title: The Darkest Corner Author: Liliana Hart Series: Gravediggers #1 Published: May 23, 2017 Publisher: Pocket Books Format: eArc Pages: 368 Genres: Romantic Suspense Source: NetGalley Reading Challenge: 2017 New Release, Netgalley and Edelweiss
New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author Liliana Hart’s first book in her suspenseful Gravediggers series, featuring an elite group of mysterious men who might be dead to the world, but are also tasked with saving it—and no one can ever know.
The Gravediggers aren’t exactly what they seem. They’re the most elite of the world’s fighting forces—and all they have in common is that they’ve been betrayed by the countries they’ve died for. Because they are dead. To their country, their military, and their families.
Sometimes the dead do rise… Deacon Tucker is a dead man walking. A former black ops agent, he was disavowed and stripped of all honor before being recruited as a Gravedigger. But his honor and good name no longer matter, because no one knows he’s alive, and he’ll never get the recognition he deserves. His mission is simple: save the world or die trying. And for God’s sake, don’t ever fall in love. That’s a rule punishable by death. The kind of death a man can’t be brought back from. Tess Sherman is the only mortician in Last Stop, Texas. She has no idea how Deacon Tucker ended up in her funeral home, but she’ll eat her hat if he’s only a funeral home assistant. Deacon is dangerous, deadly, and gorgeous. And she knows her attraction to him can only end in heartache.
Deacon is on a mission to stop the most fatal terror attack the world has ever known—what’s known as The Day of Destiny—a terrorist’s dream. But when he discovers Tess has skills he can use to stop them, he has to decide if he can trust her with secrets worth dying for. And, most important, he has to decide if he can trust her with his heart.
I found the idea of a secret group made of the most elite of the world’s fighting forces fascinating. What increased my interest was the fact this group of men were considereddead to everyone and as a result was unable to return to their original lives without risking those they love.
The leader of this eliteunit, Deacon Tucker, is a former CIA operative. He is the first recruit of this shadowy organisation. His mission is to save the world or die trying, and as long as he does not fall in love all will be well. Falling in love would lead to one thing, certain death. However, Tess Sherman will have him breaking this rule.
Tess is a mortician, who is responsible for the operation of the funeral home in Last Stop, Texas. The funeral home also happens to be the headquarters for the Gravediggers. She has no idea that such an organisation existed. The only thing she was aware of was that she had five hot and sexy men working for her, one of whom she wasattracted to.
What I enjoyed.
The Prologue: The story started out on an adrenaline high. It was intense, and I was eager to discover how it would tie into the rest of the story.
The Characters: I found the characters interesting. Some were on the quirky side and some unlikeable. The main characters Tess and Deacon brought out the best in each other. I enjoyed their banter which was at times hilarious, sexy and sweet. I liked how the author went into detail about the characters allowing to me to understand what made them tick.
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The Romance: I thought the romance was well done. I liked that the connection between Tessa and Deacon was not one of insta-lust. Deacon feelings for Tess grew over a span of two years. He never made a move as he was not sure that his feelings were reciprocated. However, the moment he realised that there was a possibility that Tess felt the same way he was determined to be with her regardless of the dangers involved.
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The author provided detailed information into the operations of The Gravediggers and their purpose which I appreciated, seeing that this was the first book in the series. I got insight into Tess’s role in the set-up and how she would eventually become a part of the operations.
The issues I had.
Pacing: The pacing was painfully slow to the point where I found myself losing interest in the story. I pushed myself to complete it, hoping that it would eventually pick up. It was not until around 50% into the story that it was revealed how the prologue tied into the story it was at this point that things began to take shape. However, it was not until about 70% into the story that pace picked up. By then I had lost interest in the operations. In regards to the prologue, it would have been good to know what happened to the characters that had been mentioned.
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Suspense:The story was classified as a romantic suspense, but it never delivered in that area. At no time in the story did I feel like I was on the edge of my seat.
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Based on the rule which prohibits members of the unit from falling in love which I expected there to beconflict regarding the romance between Tess and Deacon. However, things were tied up too neatly for my liking.
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Verdict
I went into this story with high expectations and ended up being disappointed. It was not a bad read, but personally, I thought it could have been better.
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About Liliana Hart
Liliana Hart is a New York Times, USA Today, and Publisher’s Weekly Bestselling Author of more than 40 titles. After starting her first novel her freshman year of college, she immediately became addicted to writing and knew she’d found what she was meant to do with her life. She has no idea why she majored in music.
Since self-publishing in June of 2011, Liliana has sold more than 3 million ebooks and been translated into eight languages. She’s appeared at #1 on lists all over the world and all three of her series have appeared on the New York Times list. Liliana is a sought after speaker and she’s given keynote speeches and self-publishing workshops to standing-room-only crowds from California to New York to London.
Liliana can almost always be found at her computer writing or on the road giving workshops for Silver Hart International, a company she founded with her partner, Scott Silverii, where they provide law enforcement, military, and fire resources for writers so they can write it right. Liliana is a recent transplant to Southern Louisiana, where she’s getting used to the humidity and hurricane season, and plotting murders (for her books, of course).
