Much Ado About Rogues by Kasey Michaels

'Black Jack' Blackthorn.  He has been very mysterious in the previous two books in this series so I was happy to finally have his story.  What exactly Jack does is a mystery to his two brothers but when Jack's mentor, who taught him all his tricks from killing to stealing, goes missing, the government assigns him one last task--to find him.  There is just one little problem with that--his mentors daughter.  His one true love, the woman he was forced to betray, Lady Tess.

Tess knows that once her father goes missing that the only man who will come to find him is Jack.  Jack--the man she loves and the man who she betrayed and is hiding a secret from.  However, when Jack appears to confront her about her father, it is her fathers secrets that almost shatter her.  Circumstances force our couple to engage on a journey to find Tess' father and along the way, secrets are reveled, passion is reignited and barriers surrounding their battered hearts are slowly beaten down.

 I'm not quite sure how I feel about this book.  On one hand I was anxious to read about this mysterious, private man and learn all his deep, dark secrets but as all the twists and turns were revealed, I wasn't sure if I liked them all.  It was very interesting to see this different side of Jack--a man deeply passionate about the women he loved and lost and his hope to reclaim that love for the future.  He tries to soften the reality of what Tess' father has done and he is there to help Tess overcome her sadness and rage.  We get to see a bit more of his brothers, especially Puck, and I was happy with the resolution of his personal family drama involving his mother and father.  Tess is strong and plucky and seems to handle all the unexpected drama fairly well.  Overall, I liked this book but I just don't think I was in the mood for the darkness of this book when I read it.  Ms Michaels again delivers a nasty villain and plenty of twists and turns that will leave your head spinning.  So, while not my favorite of this series this was still a solid conclusion to an interesting series.  3 1/2 stars

I received this eARC from the publisher via netgalley.com

Blackthorn Brothers
Could be read as a standalone but best enjoyed in the series