Review of A Shot of Bourbon by A.C. Land


"This is going to be really good," was what I thought when I read the blurb of A Shot of Bourbon. It piqued my interest, got me curious, and convinced me to give it a shot ... And that I did. Was it a good choice? Was the whole story as captivating and gripping as I hope it would be?


Title: A Shot of Bourbon (The Bourbon Series #1)
Author: A.C. Land
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Age Category: Young Adult
Release Date: March 29, 2016
Publisher: BookFish Books
Source: ARC Given by Tour Organizer


SYNOPSIS:

In the little highway town of Bourbon, Missouri, deadly secrets lurk behind Southern charm.

Seventeen year old Charli Valentine didn’t expect to spend the last few weeks of summer break nursing a broken heart, icing a black eye, and watching her ex kiss another girl. Since being a good girl has gotten her nothing but heartache, Charli decides to give rebellion a try. She pigs out, drinks, and hangs with Luke Parker, the son of the infamous Bourbon Butcher.

But there’s more to Luke than meets the eye. His tough exterior and terrible dialect hide a good person despite his bad boy reputation. No matter how hard he tries to fight it, Luke is drawn to Charli’s innocence and finds her clumsiness too charming to resist. Though they’re from opposite sides of the tracks, neither can resist the magnetism drawing them together.

When Charli discovers a box in her mother’s closet, she pieces together the truth about Bourbon’s past and uncovers a deadly secret about her family. And once Luke learns of it, he vows to protect Charli no matter the cost.

REVIEW:

Here's the thing, I had such high hopes for this book because the blurb really set me up for something so high, that I found myself left hanging a little bit when I finished reading the last page. I'm not saying it was bad, I'm just clarifying that it wasn't as amazing or exciting as I expected it to be.

But that doesn't mean I didn't enjoy reading A Shot of Bourbon. Most of the characters were interesting in their own merit, but I find myself more attracted to Luke's brother, Collin. If I had one character who I didn't really feel connected with, and honestly felt annoyed with it will be Charli's best friend, Lonna. I feel like she uses her beauty and appeal to mess with people's feelings but when push comes to shove, she doesn't really have much of a backbone. Maybe there's a story behind that, but for now, I don't like her all that much.

The story was really interesting; there were a lot of layers and twists that start to unravel once secrets start pouring out. I just feel like the potential of the story was a bit overshadowed by the way the author wrote the scenes. I had a hard time imagining the scenario by how the author wrote them. There are moments when I felt like a scene should be filled with tension and action but ends up being chaotic in terms of the execution. There were also some parts in the book that made me question the sanity or relatability of the characters based on their actions and dialogues.

I can't deny the chemistry between Charli and Luke though, and the ending managed to make me anticipate the following installment in the series. So all-in-all, an okay read.

SUMMARY:

A Shot of Bourbon is a book with loads of potential, with its gripping story and complex characters, which could have been utilized with better writing and pacing from the author. Again, it was a good read and I'll probably read the next installment because I want more of Collin.

RATING:


PURCHASE LINKS:


ABOUT THE AUTHOR:


Author of the Bourbon Series, A.C. Land has been a lover of stories since she first read about Peter Pan giving Wendy an acorn and teaching her to fly.  A.C. always dreamed of telling big stories about small towns.

Residing on a cattle farm in Missouri, A.C. loves playing with her rambunctious Jack Russell, Riley, making decorative cakes, taking pictures, drinking pumpkin spice coffee, and hanging out with her nephews.

AUTHOR LINKS:


TOUR ORGANIZED BY:


Book images provided by Lola's Blog Tours

Post a Comment

2 comments:

  1. LolaApril 2, 2016 at 10:19 AM

    Thanks for being part of this blog tour and for reviewing the book!

    ReplyDelete

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