I absolutely could not put this book down. It reminded me a little of Helen Hardt's Steel brother saga and I couldn't be happier about it. This was a fast paced always keep you guessing story that had me gripped from the beginning. I think Tara Thomas did a great job building this series and I can't wait to see what happens next.

I received a free ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

From the publisher: "In this first novel in the explosive, brand-new romantic suspense Sons of Broad series from Tara Thomas comes a novel of deadly secrets and hidden danger. In the sultry streets of Charleston, one family, ruled by its powerful, take-no-prisoners sons, has risen to the top. But a merciless killer is out to destroy them…and everyone they hold close…"

I'd give this 2 1/2 stars, rounding up because of the authors track record. I really, REALLY wanted to like this book. I really enjoyed the author's work as Tara Sue Me, so I know she's got what it takes to write romance, and there have been suspense elements in her last few works as Tara Sue Me so I was hopeful. But something about this particular work just didn't click for me.

Good stuff first: The main characters were involved in a grown-up relationship. They didn't keep secrets and they talked openly and honestly with each other. There's plenty of drama in the book without adding to it by including slamming doors and miscommunications. I appreciated that. I thought the concept was intriguing and for the most part the book is well written and flowed decently.

Not so good stuff: From a technical perspective the word choices were sometimes out of place and jarring, and the book switched POV often enough that it was easy to get lost. It's not the easiest thing in the world to write romantic suspense - in my experience authors usually have to pick which of those two elements they want to be dominant (no pun intended) and this book tried to split the difference, which watered down the whole book. It's a shame; I kept waiting for it to get better, for the choices to be less predictable and the dialogue less melodramatic, but it never happened. I did push through to the end, but I was glad it was over, not sad to see it go.

Absolutely amazing. Phenomenal. Only part that slightly confused me were the references to “Brent” since I was unfamiliar with the other series characters. Other than that I adored every single character in this book, the good ones AND the bad ones!

Amazon will not let me publish review until released

Ugh! You know you've found a good book, and a fabulous new author when you finish the story, only to reopen your kindle app to keep reading. 🤦🏻‍♀️
Super amazing, and I will definitely be getting the next books!

This book was the perfect combination of sexy and suspenseful! I mean, helloooooo Keaton am I right? (I am, you'll just have to trust me).
While this book contains sex, it's not the in-your-face super graphic sex. It's wonderfully written. And yes! I just loved it.

I cannot wait for y'all to get your hands on this beauty!

It took me about 3 attempts over several weeks to get past the first 10 pages of this book... and I don't know why!

There is a good element of whodunnit-ness (yes I do know that this is not a real word) to the book but I was slightly annoyed that there was so much left hanging... I know trilogies (given there are 3 bros I assume 3 books) have to have some connecting themes but not enough was resolved/revealed about the Gentleman to make me interested enough to read the next book...

Overall an ok read (after I got past page 11!) but not one of my favourites

The story of Tilly & Keaton is suspenseful & intense. I enjoyed the twists & turns & really want to know the rest of the story. I can't wait for the sequel to come out. I'm hoping this won't go on for too many books because I'd really like to know who the Gentleman is & Jade's story. Then there is Bea & Knox, Kipling, & of course Tilly & Keaton's romance. Can't wait!

Suspenseful and leaves you guessing who the bad guy is throughout the book. It's a cliffhanger so can't wait for the next book. Very exciting

I received a review copy from the publisher via Netgalley. What started as a promising book fell short for me. The description of this book implies the Benedict brothers are ruthless and powerful and bad to the core, but all evidence to the contrary. Keaton and Tilly were best friends and shared one kiss before a scandal separated them. Running into each other again right as people around Tilly begin dying reunites them as Keaton helps her.

Their reunion romance was a little too easy and quick for me. There is a lack of development that could have made this book better. A lot of characters are introduced and very little is done to build up their importance and how they all fit together and it leads to the story being somewhat disjointed and hard to get invested into.

Only part of the mystery is solved with the overall mystery being carried forward to the rest of the series I assume. I hope the future books provide the character development lacking here.

The series has a lot of potential - I will continue to read to see how it all ends.

I wanted to like this story so badly, but I struggled with this one as a suspense. As a romance, I would give it a solid 4 stars. As a suspense, it was more like 3.5 stars. And I know the majority of my reviews don't specifically state how I rated it exactly, but since I'm on the fence on this one, I wanted to express where I was coming from.
Keaton and Tilly have a past. They were friends growing up until circumstances sent them in different directions. Life unexpectedly bring them together again and they want to reconnect and find out about the other. They lead very different lives growing up, but at the core, they are more alike. I enjoyed watching the relationship develop between the two of them. They still had to learn about each other, but they felt like they had never been apart. But the chemistry between them was hard to deny. But soon, bad things started happening and they needed to find out what was going on before it was too late. While this book was a suspense, it wasn't edge of my seat suspenseful or hard to figure out. It was easy to go with, but I wasn't drawn in. To me, this felt like romance trying to also be suspense. Would I read the other books in the series? Yes, I'd like to see what happens next. I didn't dislike this book, it just wasn't captivating to me like other suspense books I've read.

The story begins with Tilly Brock, a young woman working at a gentleman's club. This is not her job of choice, but rather to help pay the bills. One night she crosses paths yet again with Keaton Benedict. Coming face to face with her childhood crush, it feels as if time has stopped.

Keaton has never forgotten the girl that got under his skin. Nothing and I repeat nothing will stand in his way of being with the girl of his dreams.

Until one night changes everything!

Danger is lurking in every corner, secrets that have been buried come into play, and Keaton will do whatever it takes to protect the woman he loves.

The Darkest Night is a fast-paced romantic suspense. Working her way towards a teaching degree by waiting tables at a gentlemen's club, Tilly comes face to face with a blast from her past. Keaton, her best friend, the son of the man who accused her father of stealing from the company and drove her family to poverty. The story lost me a little here because she fell back in to the relationship with Keaton after eight years without any hard feelings or reservations or really any kind of lets get reacquainted period. The vamping up of suspense here really saved the story for me. Someone is murdering the people Tilly works with and a threat seems to hang over her head. Keaton jumps in to save the day, offering Tilly a save place to stay. But forces are at work in Keaton's life that puts Tilly in even more danger as Tilly and Keaton's relationship go from 0 to 100 mph in two seconds. Beatings, blackmail, and murder pepper the story with a dash of something extra to keep the reader hanging on. An unlikely ally emerges from the shadows and helps save the day. The suspense is unpredictable and still unresolved over who is trying to destroy the Benedicts even as Tilly and Keaton seem to have their HEA on the way. The story appears to continue into the next book in the series. My voluntary, unbiased review is based upon a review copy from Netgalley.

Darkest Night is packed with action and dead bodies. A lot of dead bodies.

Scandal haunts Tilly as she works as a cocktail server at a gentleman's club, working to attain her college degree in teaching. Her life begins to turn around when she is reunited with a friend from her younger days, Keaton. Romance develops at the same time Tilly and Keaton deal with the danger to Tilly's safety and to the reputation and corporation owned by Keaton and his brothers.

A shadowy nemesis, the Gentleman, works to bring ruin to the Kipling brothers and has no compunction in using Tilly as his method to bring pain and ruination.

DNF-- didn't buy the story or the characters (both unengaging), and the pacing (from the ~30% I managed to get through) was completely uneven.

I read about 20 pages and could tell this was not for me. The romantic plot line accelerated way to quickly for me. I like a little tension and there was obviously going to be none if the two main characters reunite after 10 years and in one night cuddle and kiss in a hotel room. thank you for the ARC in any case.

This is one of my favourite type of romance reads and Tara Thomas did a wonderful job writing this story. There was a lot of questions and suspense throughout the story with characters that I absolutely connected with in the story. This story was an amazing read and I cant wait to read more form this author.

dnf. wasn't a bad book, just not something I would normally pay for to read.

Good start to a series and some interesting characters. I found quite a few things about this story enjoyable and I think it has the potential to be a great story, but either the way it is formatted or the way the author pieced parts together were rather confusing to me. I found the storyline intriguing, but I finished the book confused because of how many unfinished villain or side stories there were. For instance Jade...what all are her secrets, especially if she is a teenager and why was she told she could never set foot in the front door? I have my thoughts on that, but it doesn’t add up to bad secrets so🤷🏻‍♀️Did Tilly’s dad actually take the money or not? If not, why all the blame? What is with the secrets from Knox and Bea? Who is The Gentleman (side note:awesome name) and why does he hate the Benedict’s so much? So the story kept me guessing and intrigued, but I also am left feeling like I missed a lot of things in the story. I will read book two to learn more, but in the mean time if you enjoy suspense and intrigue check this out just be prepared to have questions and possibly need to re-read sections.

Thanks you NetGalley for the ARC!

Decently written book. Graphic sex scenes (too many in my opinion to be termed a mystery of sorts). I loved the locale but wish the author had spent more time developing her characters. This was more like erotica/chick lit.

Still I finished it. *Thank you the author/publisher/Netgalley For the opportunity to read the book in exchange for an honest review.*

This must be the first in a series. It is my initial reading experience with this author. This story is interesting and fast paced. I enjoyed the character interaction. There is romance and steam along with an intriguing story line. Good read. Am looking forward to the next as this ends on a bit of a cliffhanger.