



The Bourbon Kings
-
-
4.5 • 374 Ratings
-
-
- $5.99
Publisher Description
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 ironfisted 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.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Paranormal romance author Ward (the Black Dagger Brotherhood series) turns to contemporary romance with this melodramatic series opener. Lizzie King is a head gardener at Easterly, a massive Kentucky estate. The Bradfords, the Bourbon Kings of the title, own both Easterly and the most prestigious bourbon distillery in the state. Romance between Lizzie and Lane Bradford is socially unthinkable, no matter how much they desire it, especially since Lane is unhappily married already. Also, Lane's abusive father seems to be attempting chicanery with the family finances. Ward's novel doesn't lack excitement concealed scandals, unconcealed scandals, murder, kidnapping, incest, racism, the theft of millions of dollars, domestic violence, mistaken identity, and a thinly disguised Kentucky Derby all come in and out of the plot as necessary and the book flows smoothly from crisis to crisis, but all the ruckus fails to conceal the gaping hole where likable or interesting characters should be. In the end, this soap opera fails to be more than the sum of its parts.
Customer Reviews
Bradford group is worth the read
I always like this author. She didn’t disappoint with The Bourbon Kings. I already read the second in the series and am starting the third
Dissapointed
I only finished this book because it was JR Ward, A lot of 1 - 2 star reviews I read compared it to BDB books - and that is NOT the reason I gave it what I gave it. I pre-ordered this the minute it was advertised. Anxiously waited, because I thoroughly have enjoyed every other JR Ward book.
This book gave you a just enough on 25 (yes, twenty five) different characters, but never told the entire story on any of them. It had no conclusion, just enough to give you that each of those 25 got something going on. I was about 3/4 of the way done, and honestly had no clue who was the main protagonist in this book. By the time I finished it, yes, ok, it was about Lane & Lizzie, but I felt though that there wasn't enough given on any of the 25 characters that made me want to know more about how they end up (in future books). I wouldn't even say there was a cliffhanger - because you need more story to leave it as a cliff hanger. I felt this book (at over 400 pages) was a huge epilog to another series.
It was a cross of Gone with the Wind meets Dynasty. And being of age to remember (and was a huge fan) of Dynasty, I swear, some of the story line in the book resonated with Dynasty
I was also very surprised at the grammatical errors. There were a few, but more than expected for a $14 book that was not self published. Yes, this is extremely picky, but just my opinion.
Good read.
Good read, fun mystery.