August 2017 Book of the Month Giveaway
September 16, 2017 06:36 PM Posted by juliannadouglas
I had two five-star reads during the month of August, but only one of them was a romance. Since I write romance, I always favor those over non-romance titles when there’s more than one five-star book to choose from for my Book of the Month. It’s the final volume of a relatively new trilogy from one of my favorite authors, who coincidentally was also featured last month (yup, she really is that good.:-)). This trilogy is a family saga that’s reminiscent of the old nighttime soaps from the 1980s, which the author admits inspired her writing of it. During my teen years, I was a big fan of those sudsers, so I’ve been entranced by the series since the first book was released two years ago. Now it’s complete, and while it almost seems too soon to let go, it was a great ending that warmed my heart.
The family at the center of this series is the Baldwines, a wealthy and highly dysfunctional clan who’ve weathered through the abuse dished out by family patriarch, William, for years. Then in the first book, he died, his death ruled a suicide, until evidence started to emerge in the second book that pointed toward murder, something that nearly everyone in the story had motive to commit but to which only one person confessed. William’s passing also served to underscore what a terrible businessman he was and that his greed knew no bounds. He’d decimated both the coffers of the family-owned Bradford Bourbon Company as well as private family trusts, leaving his heirs near bankruptcy. Now it’s up to one man, youngest son, Lane, to try to piece back together the family and their fortunes.
Lane never expected to be in this position and he’s definitely not the skilled businessman that his older brother, Edward, who was expected to inherit, is. However, with the help of his best friend, Jeff, an investment banker, and the love and support of his fiancé, Lizzie, he’s doing his best to keep things afloat. Meanwhile, Edward is the one who confessed to killing their father, and considering that William had him tortured and nearly killed in a South American jungle, he had every right to want the cruel man dead. Sutton, the love of his life and the daughter of the BBC’s chief competitor, doesn’t entirely buy his confession, though, and is pretty much standing by her man even though he tried to push her away before going to jail. Then there’s Gin, the youngest and only daughter of the family, who married an abusive man like her father out of fear that she wouldn’t have enough money to keep living the lifestyle to which she’d become accustomed. Despite all that, she’s still in love with brilliant attorney, Samuel T. who is also the father of the teenage daughter she barely knows, but he doesn’t know the girl is his. Lastly there's Max, the black sheep of the family, who’s been gone for years only to return right around the time William was murdered, leaving him a prime suspect.
While perhaps not quite a traditional romance with one main couple who get an HEA at the end, it is a recipe for some exciting family drama and romantic interactions. And for readers like me who read romance for the HEAs, there’s not one, not two, not even three, but a whole slew of them by the end of this book, not only for the main Baldwine siblings but also for a few secondary characters, the family unit as a whole, and the family business. Everything ended perfectly, so that I could definitely see these characters riding off into the sunset, so to speak, and living the lives they so richly deserved but never would have had under the tyrannical fist of their father. That’s why I’m naming J. R. Ward’s Devil’s Cut as my August Book of the Month. If you enjoy soap opera style family sagas with a beautiful ending that will warm your heart, then you should definitely give this book a try. Keep reading to learn how you can win a copy for your own library.
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Cover Blurb- In #1 New York Times bestselling author J. R. Ward's thrilling finale of the Bourbon Kings series, the Bradford family dynasty teeters on the edge of collapse after the murder of their patriarch and a shocking arrest. |
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's for certain: Love survives all things. Even murder.
Read my complete review of Devil’s Cut.
Giveaway
If you would like to win a copy of Devil’s Cut to see how wonderful it is for yourself, just enter the Rafflecopter giveaway below. One lucky winner will receive their choice of an eBook or print copy of the book. If the winner chooses an eBook, I will gift it to them via the eBook retailer of their choice (Amazon or B & N). If the winner chooses a print copy, I will have it mailed directly to them via Amazon. Good luck!
International Entrants: You are welcome to enter my contest, but please note that not all eBooks are available in all countries due to copyright restrictions. If this is the case, Amazon does offer an option to trade for a gift card (I'm not sure about B & N). If you choose print, I can mail it to you via the Amazon website that services your country, pending availability and cost. Otherwise I will mail it to you via U. S. Amazon's standard international shipping, but it may take up to 6-8 weeks to arrive, and I may not have the capability of tracking the package.
Categories: Book of the Month, Giveaways
Tags: J. R. Ward
