J.R. Ward's The Bourbon Kings Trilogy

J.R. Ward, known for her ass kicking vampires, takes a turn into contemporary fiction with this romantic suspense trilogy. The Bourbon Kings follows the Bradford family, in Tennessee, as their legacy of bourbon, horses, fast women, tradition and dripping with money world is pulled apart. Ward gives us juicy and addictive drama. It’s on par with Dynasty with all the layers and levels of deceit and betrayal. It’s also steeped in tradition, hosed down with expectations, all while the reader gets to gleefully follow the machinations of family and their reactions that are riddled with love, sex, and death. This trilogy has it all (well, no paranormal friends come to visit) and will leave you thrilled you aren’t actually there but get to know all the things. LOL! I was a huge fan of this family saga. A few people have asked about the spice level and I would say it’s spicy enough. There are sexual exploitations, sex as a weapon and sex with love to enhance the story. Ward puts us in the location and the actions of what you might see if you came upon the characters, without pushing in and out with explicit descriptions and details.

Also, I loved the bourbon fun facts shared with us and the naming of each book. The angel’s share and the devil’s cut are actual things!

Leigh Bardugo's Ninth House

I started this book over a year ago, in the paperback format. I just couldn't get into the story but really wanted to read a Leigh Bardugo novel. Recently, I was able to get the audiobook version and was able to dive in and finally finish! Thanks for haunting me Goodreads "Currently Reading" shelf!

 I love the idea of magic, history, and secret societies within the university setting. There has always been so much speculation and myth attached to universities like Yale and the Bones societies. I did struggle and not love the characters. Galaxy (Alex) was hard to like purposely, I think. I also felt like the book was written in blocks, so while the reader is getting to know what Galaxy's job as Dante and responsibilities are, the implied mysteries seemed forced on me for much of the book. However, when the story started moving, it cozied in and away we went. Solving the mysteries was finally part of the story, propelling everything forward, and not a separate thing from Alex, Darlington and the societies.

 I wanted more Darlington info. They slept together?! When?! How?! 

 As I wished for, the writing was fantastic. It's detailed, descriptive and successfully puts you in the scene with smells, substances, temperatures, etc. For me, this is key to a talented author- the 5 senses need to be evoked to draw the reader in on their adventure. Bardugo is a gifted writer. I'm glad I finished Ninth House, but will probably read other people's reviews for book 2 information to see if Alex can rescue Darlington.