Ratings7
Average rating3.4
The #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Black Dagger Brotherhood delivers the first novel in an enthralling new series set amid the shifting dynamics of a Southern family defined by wealth and privilege - and compromised by secrets, deceit, and scandal... For generations, the Bradford family has worn the mantle of kings of the bourbon capital of the world. Their sustained wealth has afforded them prestige and privilege - as well as a hard-won division of class on their sprawling estate, Easterly. Upstairs, a dynasty that by all appearances plays by the rules of good fortune and good taste. Downstairs, the staff who work tirelessly to maintain the impeccable Bradford facade. And never the twain shall meet. For Lizzie King, Easterly's head gardener, crossing that divide nearly ruined her life. Falling in love with Tulane, the prodigal son of the bourbon dynasty, was nothing that she intended or wanted - and their bitter breakup only served to prove her instincts were right. Now, after two years of staying away, Tulane is finally coming home again, and he is bringing the past with him. No one will be left unmarked: not Tulane's beautiful and ruthless wife; not his older brother, whose bitterness and bad blood know no bounds; and especially not the iron-fisted Bradford patriarch, a man with few morals, fewer scruples, and many, many terrible secrets. As family tensions - professional and intimately private - ignite, Easterly and all its inhabitants are thrown into the grips of an irrevocable transformation, and only the cunning will survive.
Featured Series
3 primary booksThe Bourbon Kings is a 3-book series with 3 released primary works first released in 2015 with contributions by J.R. Ward.
Reviews with the most likes.
Romance is the literary version of country music. It's the outlier that prompts folks to say things like “I love all kinds of music ...except country.” I've been meaning to try something from the genre and when I received a signed copy I thought I'd give it a shot.
I thought romance would have been heavier on the salacious but this was pure soap opera complete with the unresolved ending and a “next time on...” preview of the upcoming book. It's Dallas swapping bourbon for oil. A bit of upstairs downstairs, destined lovers who naturally hate each, the debauchery that wealth brings with the honest, hard-working inner beauty of those that work for them. And because it's set in the South, there's even a magical negro. Yeah, all the tropes. And much like a soap opera Ward juggles a ton of different storylines. Maybe this isn't the best representation of the genre.
I liked the story, but the romance part of this was just not appealing to me. I think this would have been a much better book if it had focused on everything BUT the romance. It just seemed so forced. I wouldn't have given Lane another glance, but hey, that's me.
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