REVIEW: The Bourbon Kings by J. R. Ward
Dear Ms. Ward:
*There is a spoiler at the end of this review. It is hidden, so unhide at your own risk*
After reading the first two chapters of The Bourbon Kings, I was going to go with relating the book to the grandmamma of all catfights, but about 60% into the book I realized this was more like John Wick than Dynasty.
John Wick was one never-ending action sequence. It was somewhat entertaining on a slow Saturday night, with a never-ageing Keanu Reeves who has very few breathers between 20 minute + action sequences. The pauses from the gunjitsu were pretty minimal in terms of character development.
The Bourbon Kings reads like the nighttime soap version of John Wick. Constant crisis from every single direction: sickness!, scheming women!, lies!, fraud!, sex!, backstabbing!, sex!, with few breathers. The character development is deeper than John Wick, but not by a wide margin. The book has a number of parallel story lines, all of which are loaded up with the same level of trainwreck. I don’t mean dramatic tension here, I mean circumstances, actions and reactions that are constantly and consistently going sideways. There is such a nonstop overload of it that I paused for a night and read another entire book because I needed a break.
The action begins in Charlemont, KY at Easterly, the city-sized Bradford Family Estate. The Bradford family made, lost, made, lost and made its fortune in bourbon, and there’s plenty of both liquor and money flowing throughout the book. The entire place is in high gear as preparations are underway for the massive brunch prior to the 139th running of the Charlemont Derby (clearly repurposed KY Derby). The Derby is the event of the year, and everyone who’s anyone (the President? Heads of State? The KY Football Coach? Yeah, all there.) comes to Easterly to brunch before the Derby.
The current Bradfords are controlled by William Baldwine, who married into the Bradford family and is completely despicable. When they were young, William beat his children. Now he ignores them, treats his wife like she doesn’t exist – and essentially, she doesn’t – is a womanizer, a pig and misogynist bar none. He is evil with a capital E. William’s wife, Mrs. Bradford, is stoned on prescription drugs and never leaves her room, and it seemed like she never did way back when either.
The Bradford Baldwine children are Edward, the oldest who is both mentally and physically questionable after being taken hostage for ransom; Max, who only appears in flashbacks and is hiding out on the left coast; Lane, a directionless spoiled bad boy who destroyed Lizzy King (the head horticulturalist at Easterly) and doesn’t have a set of balls to be found; and Gin, possibly the most spoiled, self-absorbed, gross person ever, but frankly no worse than any of the other characters. You try to vilify Chantal (Lane’s wife – that is not a typo) as much as possible, but all of them are horrid. Lizzy isn’t much better, and she can’t say no to Lane for any reason, but automatically assumes the worst every damn time something happens. Yeah, I didn’t much like anyone in this book. Except maybe Sutton Smythe, the heir to the Bradford Bourbon’s rival distiller…but I’m not even sure about her.
The Bourbon Kings is less of a romance between Lizzie King and Lane Baldwine, and more of a full-on family saga focusing on all of the Bradford Baldwines and an entire cast of non-family members who play roles that vary in significance in the plotline(s) throughout the book.
While it all sounds fascinating, I had a number of issues with the book. One of the things I enjoyed from your Black Dagger Brotherhood series were the way certain colloquial references were thrown in, and the style in which you wrote them. I admit, I’ve never read any of your other work and this may be a mark of your prose, but I found it to be particularly jarring in this book. The first example that really jumped out at me was when Lizzy walks into the buzzing kitchen during Derby brunch preparations:
On the far side of all of the Gordon Ramsay, there was a heavy, swinging door that opened into a plain corridor full of cleaning closets, […]
So…there are lots of chefs screaming and calling each other Donkey? There are other examples of name dropping and shortened prose, but I won’t rehash all of them. I mentioned Dynasty earlier, and thought that it would be a great comparison, until I read this about halfway through:
As Gin threw out a toodle-oo wave, Lane stepped up and moved his body between the two of them so they could avoid an Alexis/Krystle lily pond moment.
Talk about pulling me out of the moment. There were other references to current day fictional dramas, including Downton Abbey, Sabrina, and probably others that I don’t remember. All of which I expect were meant to emphasize how much more TBK is in comparison, but I felt that none of them were needed.
As I mentioned before, I had a hard time finding anyone to like. Lizzy seemed pretty spineless, and Lane was right there with her in the spine department. Thinking back on it, I may be too hard on Lane, but I felt that until he was faced with a true crisis I kept referring to him as “Lame” in my head. And his treatment of Lizzy seems cavalier, hitting the no-no on my romance button. Along with my inability to connect with the folks at Easterly, there was a whole timing thing. Timing is everything, and everyone in the book suffers from major timing fail. I could easily reel off four examples of mis-timing with different characters that resulted in even more horrible outcomes, and after a while it became frustrating.
So you may be wondering why I kept reading. Well, about 70% of the way through the book, what appeared to be manufactured drama à la Real Housewives morphed into actual drama, and I became interested. If you want to really know why, be warned, I’m spoiling stuff:
Spoiler (spoiler): Show
If you read the spoiler without reading the book, shame on you. Ok, 432 pages is a commitment, and I’ve just told you my eyes were rolling around in my head like pinballs for most of the book, so I won’t shame you too badly. Yeah, I’ll be picking up the next one in the series to see if my educated guesses are right, but this one gets a C-.
Best regards,
shuzluva
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Thanks, your review confirms that I am indeed done with JR Ward.
I’m not a fan of the BDB books, but one complaint has always been that JR Ward writes better male characters than female. After reading this book, this is now a pattern. There is no mention of Lizzie’s family or if she has any close friends. Greta was someone she worked with, but Lizzie didn’t necessarily hang around with. Lizzie has no backstory at all, except that she dated Lane and went to Cornell.
She also continues to blame Lane for things he didn’t do. Your review makes it sound as if he wronged Lizzie when he never did. She thought he cheated on her, but he didn’t. Lizzie always jumps to conclusions where Lane is concerned even though he’s always been truthful with her. Perhaps this has more to do with the income disparity between the two, but more emphasis is paid to Lizzie always assuming he’s going to be unfaithful, when he’s given her no reason to think that.
The other problem with this story is that there are no shades of gray with any of the villains. A little nuance goes a long way, but William & Richard are completely evil. They have no redeeming qualities. William abuses his children even into adulthood and his future son-in-law, Richard, commits rape. The assault is not even addressed. Richard is rich, so the rape is overlooked for another character’s financial security. I’m hoping this is addressed in Gin’s story.
Finally, for readers that like a conclusion to a story, this one ends in a cliffhanger. I actually didn’t mind that, but others might. Even though I’ve offered a few criticisms, the book was still worth reading. Just think of it more like the books, Glitter Baby or Scruples, then a romance novel.
When I saw this article in Deadline, I thought someone was finally going to make one of her books into into a series:
Link: http://deadline.com/2015/08/fox-kentucky-bourbon-drama-project-bruce-romans-1201501306/
THANK YOU for the review. I have been slogging my way through this book, but am ready to give up. My biggest problems is that I don’t like ANY of the characters, and from the sound of your review, that isn’t going to change. I hate that I paid $14 for an e-copy of a book I only read to the 50% mark, but I’m done, lesson learned.
Which is a shame. I loved the early BDB books as well as the early books Ward wrote for harlequin. I was SOOOO looking forward to this book, as I love big sprawling family dramas. There simply wasn’t ANYONE in this novel I was rooting for or admired at all. I admit to being curious about the older brother, but I will check his book out from the library. Ward is a terrific writer and can do great world building (I loved the upper-crust Kentucky setting), but she simply did not give me anyone to root or or admire here.
@Kim I’m having trouble logging in, but wanted to respond to this:
You are absolutely right on this point. Lizzie did blame Lane for things he didn’t do (and there’s that whole timing thing…). But I also think that Lane didn’t do a whole lot through more than 75% of the book to change Lizzie’s point of view. What is also frustrating is that Lizzie thinks the absolute worst of Lane, but continues to fall into bed with him because he’s so hot. I hated that.
Shuzluva! You’re back! *does happy dance*
Can you give an example of mis-timing?
Guilty as charged, and not even a little ashamed. I gave up on Ward after the hot mess that was John Matthew / Xhex’s book (Lover something or other).
Did you want this filed under A reviews? If not I can go in and change it.
“As Gin threw out a toodle-oo wave, Lane stepped up and moved his body between the two of them so they could avoid an Alexis/Krystle lily pond moment”
I have no idea what any part of this sentence means. Except than Lane moved between two people. Help, someone?
I picked up this book from the library, read the first few pages and promptly took it back. Her writing style irks me. I just couldn’t buy someone with a bazillion dollars drove a Toyota Yaris. Really?
No more J.R. Ward for me, ever.
@Shuzluva: You’re right that Lane didn’t do a lot for most of the book. JR Ward had him sleeping on his friend’s couch and playing poker for two years. He didn’t lift a finger to oust Chantal from the family home. Don’t even get me started on no pre-nup. :)
@ Janine: An example of poor timing is Gin’s relationship with Samuel T – her brother’s good friend. They care for each other in a dysfunctional way and have known each other for years. They often sleep together, but sleep with other people, too. They have a dysfunctional relationship where they can’t admit their feelings and use sex to hurt the other person. When she finally admits her feelings, he doesn’t believe her. When he comes back one day later to reciprocate her feelings, it’s too late. I won’t say why in case it’s a spoiler. I think they’ll find a way back to each other in her story.
@Janine: hmm…example of mis-timing without giving away the kit and kaboodle…ok. Gin has been…in love, maybe? with Samuel T. (an ancillary character). Her douche canoe father decides to force her into marriage with someone, and she thinks it’s her only option right before Samuel T. decides to tell her he loves her. So the whole thing blows up in their faces and they then go and hurt each other through really horrid actions and words. This happens constantly throughout the book. Frustration city.
Go change that grade. I’ll cut you. :)
@Becky B: English translation: Gin makes an obnoxious gesture at Chantal. Lane moves between them so there isn’t a repeat of the lily pond scene pictured at the beginning of this review. This is the prose style throughout the book.
@Kim NAILED IT!
Umm, is this book set in the present (2015)?
Because while *I* (old lady that I am) get the Alexis/Krystal reference, that scene aired on television THIRTY-TWO YEARS AGO, making it pretty darn unlikely that any of the characters involved saw it, even while wearing diapers.
@Becky B:
It took me a while to figure out the toodle-oo wave, but I think it’s supposed to be a goodbye wave. The Alexis/Krystle lily pond moment is a reference to a scene from that cracktastic 1980s nighttime soap, Dynasty. Which I gather the book kind of resembles and kind of doesn’t.
@Kim & Shuzluva, thanks for explaining.
@hapax: LOL.
Shuzluva, it’s so good to see your review! I am just sorry that it took this trainwreck of a book to do it.
On the other hand, I’m not sorry because the review is awesome and the comment thread is just as good.
Alexis and Krystle? Really? Why on EARTH has JR Ward decided to start channeling 1980s OTT family saga authors, especially she can’t hold a candle to them? I thought the BDB books were almost unreadable (sorry BDB aficionados), but this just sounds DIRE.
“is hiding out on the left coast”
Is that a typo or do I just not know Kentucky geography well enough?
@Shuzluva – I think William’s wife is the perpetrator of that which you hid in the spoiler.
@Kim: I was really surprised by a) the rape and b) that nothing at all was said about it. It was just…ho hum. She’s raped but she’s not a decent character so I guess that’s what they deserve in books like this.
@Lostshadows: Left coast = California
@BethP: ooh, now you’ve got me re-thinking…
@Jane: that “she’s bad so she deserved it” makes me crazy mad.
@hapax:
“Because while *I* (old lady that I am) get the Alexis/Krystal reference, that scene aired on television THIRTY-TWO YEARS AGO, making it pretty darn unlikely that any of the characters involved saw it, even while wearing diapers.”
I’m glad you mentioned that. I’m thirty-three, but I thought I hadn’t heard of it because I was Australian!
It’s like another book I read recently, where the early-twenties heroine was attracted to Tom Hanks.
I think authors need to remember what age their characters are, instead of projecting themselves onto them…
@Jane: Gin’s reaction is so problematic. She’s just been raped, doesn’t have any reaction to it and thinks she can still control Richard if they marry.
@Shuzluva: This book never explained why William hates Edward. This a huge leap on my part, but I’m thinking William is probably not Edward’s father. That would explain why he resented Edward being his heir apparent in the business. So I’m wondering if this is a future secret that will play out and could it have anything to do with what happened to Willliam?
@wikkidsexycool: Oddly enough NBC just bought an actual “Bourbon Kings” pilot(as opposed to Fox’s.) This must have been the summer read for a good chunk of Hollywood.
@Rain:
Thanks Rain,
I found the link on Deadline:
“How is this for an unexpected hot drama arena this pitch season: the Kentucky bourbon family business. NBC has bought The Bourbon Kings, a drama project from Endemol Shine Studios. It is based on the best-selling novel The Bourbon Kings by J.R. Ward, which Endemol Shine had acquired in a bidding situation.”
Link: http://deadline.com/2015/08/the-bourbon-kings-nbc-drama-series-kentucky-1201503538/
Fox and NBC must be hoping to revive the family soaps, like Empire has done. Imho they should’ve acquired the BDB, Ward’s best selling work.