Book Review: Devil's Cut (The Bourbon Kings, #3)

About The Book:

  Title:  Devil's Cut (The Bourbon Kings, #3) 

  Author: J.R. Ward 
  Pub. Date: August 1st, 2017  
  Publisher: Ballantine 
  Pages: 418

  Genre: Adult, Fiction, Contemporary, Romance 

  Rate: 5/5 stars 

Synopsis :

At first, the death of William Baldwine, the head of the Bradford family, was ruled a suicide. But then his eldest son and sworn enemy, Edward, came forward and confessed to what was, in fact, a murder. Now in police custody, Edward mourns not the disintegration of his family or his loss of freedom . . . but the woman he left behind. His love, Sutton Smythe, is the only person he has ever truly cared about, but as she is the CEO of the Bradford Bourbon Company’s biggest competitor, any relationship between them is impossible. And then there’s the reality of the jail time that Edward is facing.

Lane Baldwine was supposed to remain in his role of playboy, forever in his big brother Edward’s shadow. Instead he has become the new head of the family and the company. Convinced that Edward is covering for someone else, Lane and his true love, Lizzie King, go on the trail of a killer—only to discover a secret that is as devastating as it is game-changing.

As Lane rushes to discover the truth, and Sutton finds herself irresistibly drawn to Edward in spite of his circumstances, the lives of everyone at Easterly will never be the same again. For some, this is good; for others, it could be a tragedy beyond imagining. Only one thing is for certain: Love survives all things. Even murder.

Review:

The Devil's Cut is the conclusion of J.R. Ward's beautiful southern mystery series involving the Baldwine's - a billionaire family of bourbon distillers who are on the brink of bankruptcy due to some shoddy business decisions from the patriarch of the family. If you haven't read this series yet, check out my spoiler free review of The Bourbon Kings, otherwise you are going to spoil yourself for the wonder than is this series!  The Devil's Cut picks up right where The Angel's Share left off - Aurora in the hospital, Gin stuck in a loveless marriage with Richard while pining for Samuel T., and William murdered. 

"Love survives all things, time marriages, deaths. 

It is more what makes us immortal than even the children we leave in our wake to our graves." 

Beautiful writing and creative story plots don't slow down with this final installment. Ms. Ward is able to masterfully conclude this series, while still involving the Bradfords in new twists and turns.

While the plot is electric, the characters are easily my favorite thing about this series. They are so real I just want to reach right through the pages and steal them away for myself! Each one of them is wonderful. My favorites, Gin and Samuel T. get a TON of page time in this book and I couldn't be more thankful. Each character matured throughout the series, but none more than Gin. I am so happy Ms. Ward gave Gin the ending she deserves. 

I know J.R. Ward is most known for her Black Dagger Brotherhood series, but this is honestly such an underrated series. I haven't heard much buzz about it in the book world, and it's a shame because it's a hidden gem! And every expectation for this last book was blown away. I loved everything about the series - from the secrets, relationships, and mysteries. I'm sad it's over but it will definitely be going down as one of my favorite book series. If you love dramatic stories laced with romance, this series is for you! Since all of the books are out, this series would be amazing to binge while sipping on lemonade this summer.  You 100% need this in your life. 

- Jocelyn