So much drama! Started off slow but things just hit rock bottom and got good.

Good, easy read, can put it down. Very typical plot, maybe the follow up will be better.

Good read, fun mystery.

Apparently I am like V and Butch (BDB) and only enjoy the Buzz from Top Shelf booze, and definitely not Bourbon! I just did not enjoy this book. Too many characters and a whiplash story line that's going way too many places at once. I gave it 3 stars because JR Ward writes beautifully. The story just never grabbed me and made me care about the characters. Sorry Warden, I really wanted to love it, but can't recommend it.

This was a good read. A lot different than other JR. Ward books. But really good. Can't wait to see the next book.

This book is awesome! So many twists and turns. Can't wait for the next one!

A lot of back and forth scenes. I feel as though she has character ADD. However, the character development is good.

Started slow, but so glad I stuck with it. Loved the twists and cannot wait for the series to continue.

Totally different than BDB books. Complex drama,intrigue,interesting,twists and romance. Really enjoyed reading kept my interest Cant wait to read next.

This isn't Ward's normal type of writing, nothing like the Black Dagger Brotherhood... But... IT IS FANTASTIC!!! A modern literary soap opera, no sci-fi (unlike BDB), and a page turner. I am so preordering the next book!!!

Does not compare to BDB. I was so looking forward to it because of how much I love the BDB series, but was slightly disappointed. I'll read the rest of the series (can't leave a series unfinished after all), but I found getting through this book was not nearly an enjoyable as my previous experience with J.R. Ward's writing.

I can't wait for the rest of the series! There are so many characters I want to learn more about!

As always, J. R. Ward leaves you thinking you will die having to wait for the next book in the series!! Loved the new genre! I will be counting the days until the next book! And just when will that be??! I gotta know!

It's been almost a week since I read this book and I'm still struggling to put words to all the feelings this book has given me. I've always heard J.R. Ward's writing was epic, but this is the first time I've had the chance to experience it for myself. Everything I heard about this book was true and then some. I wasn't able to put the book down and it gave me perhaps the worst book hangover ever. I lost sleep over it. Now it wasn't just the usual "I stayed up late reading" hangover but the, "I finished the book and I can't sleep because I'm still thinking about it" kind of hangover. The blurb on this book is really deceptive. I went in expecting the story to focus on Lizzie and Tulane Baldwine, also better known as Lane. Instead I got a saga focusing on almost all of the inhabitants of Easterly, in particular Lane's siblings and that's not a bad thing. What I found was I loved them as much as I loved Lane. Lane and his siblings have not had an easy time growing up. Edward, Lane, Max, and Gin may have had every material advantage growing up except for what they probably needed most. I'm not even sure how to describe the plot. The story starts off focusing on Lizzie and Lane and then to Gin and Edward and what's going on in their lives. Each of the Baldwine siblings is seemingly independent of the other and their lives don't really intersect until Lane comes home and the familial empire begins to unravel. And boy does it all start to come apart. Usually when there's a complicated story like this one with multiple arcs, one or more can be neglected while another muscles in and takes most of the spotlight. Not in this case. Whether it was Gin trying to figure things out, or Edward trying to muscle him self into the living again, or Lane trying to cut the dead weight and figure out what was going on with his family, each arc was integrated seamlessly with the other and each was equally important. I can not begin to tell you how emotionally involved I was with this story. I felt like I was there in Kentucky watching everything unfold and it was really difficult at times. There were few happy times, but there was a lot of rage, both coming from the characters towards the person responsible for ruining the Baldwines and Bradfords, but also from me. I tend to immerse myself in the story. The character's agonies become mine and their joys become mine too. There was so much pain, agony, and suffering in this story. I literally wanted to reach into my kindle and throttle the persons responsible for so much pain. There wasn't just anger, but there was pain and frustration too. I cried a number of times just because it's all I could do. Even though at times it was almost possible to read due to my emotions, I couldn't put the book down. I had to know if things worked out for Lizzie and Lane, Gin and her dreams, Edward and the love of his life. All I know is this, the book is amazing. It's one of those you have to read and experience to believe. There are so many twists and revelations you won't be prepared or ready for all of them. You'll like and fall in love with the Baldwine siblings, Lizzie, and others you'll meet and you'll loathe and despise others. J.R. Ward has done a phenomenal job with this book. If her paranormal romances are anything like this one, I will be in book worm heaven. As it is, I have no idea how I'm going to wait for the next book in this series. I have so many questions and I'm hoping for some sort of happily ever after. As it stands, I have a feeling there is much more upheaval in store for the Bradford Distillery, the Baldwines, Easterly, and all those who are tied to it and its inhabitants. This is just the calm before the storm.

I only finished this book because it was JR Ward, A lot of 1 - 2 star reviews I read compared it to BDB books - and that is NOT the reason I gave it what I gave it. I pre-ordered this the minute it was advertised. Anxiously waited, because I thoroughly have enjoyed every other JR Ward book. This book gave you a just enough on 25 (yes, twenty five) different characters, but never told the entire story on any of them. It had no conclusion, just enough to give you that each of those 25 got something going on. I was about 3/4 of the way done, and honestly had no clue who was the main protagonist in this book. By the time I finished it, yes, ok, it was about Lane & Lizzie, but I felt though that there wasn't enough given on any of the 25 characters that made me want to know more about how they end up (in future books). I wouldn't even say there was a cliffhanger - because you need more story to leave it as a cliff hanger. I felt this book (at over 400 pages) was a huge epilog to another series. It was a cross of Gone with the Wind meets Dynasty. And being of age to remember (and was a huge fan) of Dynasty, I swear, some of the story line in the book resonated with Dynasty I was also very surprised at the grammatical errors. There were a few, but more than expected for a $14 book that was not self published. Yes, this is extremely picky, but just my opinion.

J.R. Ward outdoes herself with this book. Characters are so great that u love and hate them. Twists and turns throughout the book. A must read!

Amazing read! So sad for the cliffhanger.