ARC Review: The Bourbon Kings

Folks, we aren't in Caldwell, NY anymore, and as much as I have loved that world, the deep, rich, melting pot of the south is an awesome place to be. Anyone who has southern relatives or has spent some time in the south will easily recognize and appreciate the old wealth, the nouveau riche, the mistrust of anyone born above the Mason-Dixon line, and the particular opulence that the south still manages to capture in the wealthy and affluent families of, in this case, Kentucky. The Bourbon Kings is a love letter to the land where northerner JR Ward transplanted. Fans of the BDB series will recognize her style and love it, while those fatigued with the BDB story lines will find a refreshing newness (think Downton Abbey in modern American south) in this non-paranormal offering.

Lizzie King is the head gardener for the wealthy Bradford family's Easterly estate. The extensive gardens are akin to a national park; her credentials include a post graduate degree from an Ivy League school. Even still, she is the "help" and two years ago she went against everything she believed in and got involved with the brash and distractingly attractive Tulane Bradford, middle son. After he promptly broke her heart, he ran away to New York and hasn't been back to the estate since, however, he runs back when he hears that a beloved one is ill. He extends his visit to take care of some personal business, most notably getting Lizzie back. Then the deaths start. And lots of other crazy things. And through it all, Lane and Lizzie get a second chance to make their relationship work despite it all.

I enjoyed this so much! I'm very excited to read what comes next in this series, and it made me miss the south (or at least southern men) something awful.

If you don't know about JR Ward, she is a master world builder and uses multiple story lines to build and move the story along. She does the same here, but the world is tight enough that the additional story lines are relevant and interesting. They plant the seeds early for future books to the reader's delight, and as for the main couple? The WARDen keeps us hanging on until the very end.