The Bourbon Kings
"The Bourbon Kings is a wild ride . . ."
“The rules of the brunch were short and sweet: Ladies had to wear hats, no photographs or photographers were allowed, and it didn’t matter if you were in a Phantom Drophead or a corporate limousine—all cars were parked in the meadow at the bottom of the hill and all people filed into vans that ran them up to the front door of the estate.”
Welcome to the world of the million-dollar Charlemont Derby brunch, and specifically to the world of the brunch hosts, the fabulously wealthy Baldwine family. Welcome to J. R. Ward’s The Bourbon Kings.
After centuries as one of the country’s premiere makers of fine bourbon, the Baldwine family is used to getting what they want, even if it ruins them. Oldest son, Edward, is in a multiyear recovery from kidnapping and horrendous torture. Middle son, Maxwell, has dropped out of sight. Daughter Gin spends money and sex with wild abandon while avoiding her illegitimate daughter.
Mother Virginia is perhaps the most ruined. She lies “still and well preserved as a saint, her long, thin body buried in a profusion of satin comforters,” coiffed and made up daily, though she never leaves her bed or her narcotic-induced coma.
Only youngest son, Lane, has escaped his family, having run from his accidental bride and the gardener who is the love of his life. Now he’s coming home on Derby weekend, when the family cook, the woman who Lane considers his real mother, develops cancer. In the course of a few days, he discovers financial shenanigans that could bring the family down, files for divorce, goes to jail, and discovers he’s been cuckolded.
And that’s just one member of the family.
The Bourbon Kings is a wild ride, full of twists and intrigues worthy of 80s staples, Dallas and Dynasty. As a voyeurs’ peek into the lives of America’s Southern superrich, a reader could certainly do worse than J.R. Ward’s accomplished story telling. In Lane, she’s created the black sheep every dynasty needs: brash, independent, and handsome (of course), he’s the perfect foil for his ruined siblings and mother.
Lizzy, his beloved gardener, is his equal. Ward does a lovely job of bringing to life a heroine who is believably strong; she is no stereotypical weeping, fainting, pining female romantic lead. Ward does equally well with the rest of her big cast, with the possible exception of Virginia (to be fair, her story might be more fully fleshed in the planned sequels).
Fans of Ward’s Black Dagger Brotherhood paranormal series might be surprised (and perhaps disappointed) that she’s made a clean break from the overt erotica of those books. Though there are a couple of moderately graphic sex scenes, the author is clearly aiming The Bourbon Kings at a wider market. It’s refreshing to see Ward’s always sterling narrative and dialogue abilities come to the forefront; The Bourbon Kings also has a healthy dose of her humor.
The Bourbon Kings is a cool sip of julep on a hot summer day. The plot, which Ward plans to continue in a series of books and a television show, isn’t new—the superrich fight to stay that way and fall in love with the “wrong” people—but her characters are always feisty and intriguing.
Absorbed by Ward’s stories of adultery, theft, alcoholism, illegitimate children, fistfights, secret trysts, and back room deals, the likelihood that this book will be put down with a headshake and a snort isn’t high. Far more likely is that the reader will lose a weekend living the virtual high life and not regret a single second.