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A review by hlizmarie
The Bourbon Kings by J.R. Ward
3.0
I fell in love with Ward's Black Dagger Brotherhood years ago but this is her second non-BDB series that I'm just not getting into. This is more of an overly dramatic Southern soap opera than her typical paranormal style. Lane Baldwine, filthy rich and gorgeously handsome of course, is forced back to his family's Kentucky estate when someone close to him becomes ill. Going back is the last thing he wants to do and once I meet the family I can't really blame him! His mother is an invalid, his father a complete bastard and his siblings all utter disasters. To top it off, the woman he loves and lost still works on his family's estate and hates him. Coming home turns out to be both better and far worse than he expected and his family begins unraveling right before his eyes.
There's simply too much here. Every single person has secrets and is covering up or lying about something. The characters are such stereotypes that I wanted to roll my eyes at times. Much like more recent BDB books I feel like there's a lot of good in the book but it's too cluttered. Too many people, points of view, story lines, and threads. There are some great moments of honest emotion and connection between certain characters that end up carrying the book through the low points but all in all it's more soap opera than real drama. If I return to the series it will be to follow Edward, the broken eldest son, rather than Lane, the main character.
There's simply too much here. Every single person has secrets and is covering up or lying about something. The characters are such stereotypes that I wanted to roll my eyes at times. Much like more recent BDB books I feel like there's a lot of good in the book but it's too cluttered. Too many people, points of view, story lines, and threads. There are some great moments of honest emotion and connection between certain characters that end up carrying the book through the low points but all in all it's more soap opera than real drama. If I return to the series it will be to follow Edward, the broken eldest son, rather than Lane, the main character.