ARC Review: The Angels' Share (The Bourbon Kings, #2)

About The Book:

  Title: The Angels' Share (The Bourbon Kings, #2)

  Author: J.R. Ward 
  Pub. Date: July 26th, 2016
  Publisher: NAL 
  Pages: 432

  Genre: Adult, Romance, Contemporary, Romantic Suspense 

  Rate: 4/5 stars

Synopsis :

In Charlemont, Kentucky, the Bradford family is the crème de la crème of high society—just like their exclusive brand of bourbon. And their complicated lives and vast estate are run by a discrete staff who inevitably become embroiled in their affairs. This is especially true now, when the apparent suicide of the family patriarch is starting to look more and more like murder…

No one is above suspicion—especially the eldest Bradford son, Edward. The bad blood between him and his father is known far and wide, and he is aware that he could be named a suspect. As the investigation into the death intensifies, he keeps himself busy at the bottom of a bottle—as well as with his former horse trainer’s daughter. Meanwhile, the family’s financial future lies in the perfectly manicured hands of a business rival, a woman who wants Edward all to herself.Everything has consequences; everybody has secrets. And few can be trusted. Then, at the very brink of the family’s demise, someone thought lost to them forever returns to the fold. Maxwell Bradford has come home. But is he a savior...or the worst of all the sinners? 

Review:

If you remember, The Bourbon Kings was one of my top ten favorite books of last year. I'm really glad that I have been getting into more adult romance books because I've really been missing out! Plus, I have been recommending The Bourbon Kings left and right lately, especially now that it's summertime. The Angel's Share is the dramatic followup to The Bourbon Kings, in which the Bradford family deals with betrayal, financial trouble, and the suicide (or is it murder) of the awful William Baldwine.

In The Angel's Share, the Bradford family is back along with their messy lives and pretentious demeanor. We get to see a TON of characters in this book, not just the members of the Bradford family, but their friends, coworkers, and employees. J.R. Ward does a fantastic job of making you feel like you are truly connected to each and every one of the characters. It also makes finishing the book that much harder. But by far my most favored member of the Bradford family is Gin. Sure, she's spoiled and pretentious - but her romance with the family lawyer, Samuel T. is one of the steamiest romances I think I've ever read. I love how Ms. Ward can make a character such as Gin appear so unlikable in theory - she's spoiled, rude, demanding, among other things. However, you just can't help but love her and defend her actions!

The only thing that really disappointed me was that the description had me expecting that Edward was going to be the center focus of this novel. I suppose I had this assumption because I have experience with J.R. Ward's writing through her Black Dagger Brotherhood series and I know how each book in that series follows a character and their story in reference to the groups bigger story. So I just thought the same thing was going to happen with The Bourbon Kings. However, it wasn't really the case. Don't get me wrong - this wasn't a bad thing. It was just something I didn't quite expect. Lane and Lizzie seemed to still hold most of the attention. I was just expecting to hear more about Edward. It's true, we did get a lot more from him than we did in the first book. I just would have liked extra because 1) his personal story really drew me in since the first book and 2) the description of this book seemed to be centered on him.

The Angel's Share is a fantastic followup to the dramatic novel, The Bourbon Kings. There was more betrayal, lies, and scandal - but will it be enough to last me until the next Bourbon Kings novel? The wait for the next book will still undoubtably be torturous. The Angel's Share is the perfect blend of romance and suspense that will leave you utterly entranced. I can't wait to see what is in store for everyone, hopefully more romance between Gin and Samuel T. If you haven't read The Bourbon Kings yet - this is the perfect time! The middle of summer is the perfect time to become acquainted with the Bradfords, just make sure you have a cold drink nearby to cool off after all of those steamy scenes.

- Jocelyn