Monday, April 01, 2019

Why you should read Reese Ryan's Bourbon Brothers

Over the last year, it has been my pleasure to discover Reese Ryan and her Bourbon Brothers series. It started in a moment of solidarity -- both our books were featured on an ad Harlequin did and so I went looking -- first for her (as Harlequin has a habit of not telling its authors about such things) and then for the book as I spotted something about bourbon and distilleries on her website.
 As luck would have it, the wrong blurb was on Amazon.co.uk  and my heart sunk as I wanted to read about bourbon distilleries and not cowboys. At this point I believe I cemented my crazy lady status to Reese who had no idea about the mix up in blurbs and could not understand about why I was banging on about how writing about a bourbon distillery would be such a great concept but of course cowboys were fine as well. She assured me her books were about bourbon.
The ad which led to my discovery
of Reese Ryan
I read Savannah's Secrets and was blown away. It was just the right tonic for that particularly day. Then in October, I read the next in the series The Billionaire's Legacy and it was equally as good.
All I can say is read them and enjoy. Bourbon or your fave tipple makes a great accompaniment.
By this point, I considered Reese a friend and therefore had no compunction in strong arming her to get my hands on an arc of Engaging the Enemy, the third book and Parker's story. Happily she obliged, even though  I am convinced she still thinks me crazy (but in a nice sort of way). It went straight to the top of my reading pile and I was not disappointed.
 It is the best of the series so far.
 If you want to see a master author at work, read Engaging the Enemy, her handling of two potentially very difficult characters is amazing.  Her ability to communicate the emotional truth of her characters is incredible.
There are a number of scenes that I loved in the story but my favourite was when the two main characters had to hold hands and recite what they liked about each other. There was a brief visit from Savannah (Book 1) whom I had happened to like.
I cannot change my skin tone,  my DNA or my ancestry but reading allows me the privilege of walking in another's shoes and viewing the world through another's lenses.
 I am so pleased that Reese Ryan decided to share her world with readers. For me, she is one of the best series authors writing at the moment.
My one regret at the moment is that her other writing commitments means I will have to wait a little while for the next installment of the Bourbon Brothers. I can't wait to see what she does next. Reese kindly allowed me to fangirl and even send the recipe I had used last Christmas to make fruit cake laced with bourbon. I think a Christmas set Bourbon brothers would be excellent but it is up to Reese. I personally live in hope.

This is my review:
In her third installment of her highly-readable Bourbon Brothers series, Ryan has excelled herself. Her book more than delivers on the Desire promise of sensual glamour, heroes to fall in love with and strong capable heroines. The story and the characters will linger in your mind long after you finish the book. The story is stand-alone but for readers who started with earlier books, there is a welcome return to the Bourbon Brothers' world and a chance to catch up with characters. Savannah, the heroine of Savannah's Secrets, is in several key scenes in the early part of the book, for example.
In Parker Abbott, Ryan has taken a potentially difficult hero (he prefers data to interacting with people any day and his people skills are not the best to say the least) and created an alpha hero to really root for as he falls for his former childhood friend, Kayleigh  who now despises him and his family for the wrongs she thinks they did to her family. However, Kayleigh, a woman who has made sure she can find a way to exit every relationship, needs a handsome fake fiance who knows that the relationship has an end date and Parker fits the bill.
The growth of their emotional relationship had me turning the pages long after I should have been asleep and the ending brought a huge lump to my throat.
Ryan's writing is as ever as smooth and rich as a fine glass of bourbon.
My only regret at reading this so fast is that I now have to wait a long time for the next installment.
So what you are waiting for? Grab a glass of bourbon (or your favourite tipple) and treat yourself to a wonderful feel-good read.

You can buy the book here:
Reese is currently doing a giveaway:
Giveaway ($25 reader’s choice gift card): http://bit.ly/EngagingGiveaway
Her website is here:
Author Website: http://ReeseRyan.com
Personally I'd sign up for her newsletter as she does have exclusive excerpts etc. It is a great way to discover what is coming up next.
And I really enjoy her VIP readers group on Facebook -- it is a great place to discover new to me authors -- particularly Authors of Colour.