I truly hope that he won't be a carbon copy of the other two male leads though. I liked him in the last book and I liked him in this one. I just disliked the characters and couldn't get into the book.One thing I do have to admit though. One moment they're lusting and hating each other and then the author tells us they're in love. Why exactly is he acting that way? His controlling, egotistical behavior was so irritating.Now, why exactly did these people fall in love? I really have no idea. That does not mean it was ok for Sebastian though. I didn't mind him overwhelming Annique and controlling her actions because she was the enemy and to act otherwise would be stupid. It worked for him because of his position as spymaster. He was very much so an 'I know best' kind of guy. He was basically a carbon copy of Grey from The Spymaster's Lady. It was irritating to read about.I really didn't like Sebastian's character. She was a very weak character (even though we're told again and again that she's strong) and caved to whatever pressure was placed on her. Her actions made no sense to me and even though she was supposed to be some genius mind I honestly couldn't see it. Joanna Bourne is the award-winning author of Rogue Spy, The Black Hawk, The Forbidden Rose, My Lord and Spymaster, and The Spymaster’s Lady.She has always loved reading and writing romance.

Unfortunately she wasn't anything special. I mean, with her past she had to have some interesting character motivations. What was wonderful and had a great feel for Annique was horribly tedious for Jess.I thought Jess was going to be really interesting. That same style was duplicated in this book. The wordiness didn't bother me because it was all part of the experience of Annique (most of the book was from her pov). The heroine was French and her thoughts and dialogue really felt authentic to me. Everything that I loved about the author's style in the last book was repeated here, but it really didn't work for me.What I really liked about the last book was the flow of the language. I finally decided to get it off my wish list and order it. I don't know why I never bothered to pick up the next book in the series when it came out. I read the first book of this series, The Spymaster's Lady, and really enjoyed it.

The Black Hawk by Joanna Bourne