Tiffany Reisz

"A family with bourbon in the blood, and blood on their hands."--Front cover.

The Bourbon Thief

Anna Ureta

My first Historical Romance in a very long time, how exciting.
 I was pretty excited and nervous about reading this novel (I’m always nervous reading books I’m excited about; I’m afraid of being let down).
 However, since this novel was written by one of my favourite authors of all time I was sure it was going to be fantastic. And sure enough it was!
The Bourbon Thief has mystery, suspense, and romance all rolled up into one historical story that was nothing short of captivating. I never wanted to put it down and was sure I’d have read it in one sitting if I could.

The Red Thread Bourbon Company has been shut down for years and only one bottle still exists and that bottle belongs to Cooper McQueen. One day, a woman in a red dress named Paris starts inquiring about it and it peaks his interest.
 He catches her trying to steal the bottle and instead of calling the police she decides to tell him a story – a story that will change the way he looks at that company and the sacredness of that bottle.
 Red Thread Bourbon has quite the history, and young Tamara Maddox, the next in line to inherit the company only knows part of the story.
 Fate has unknowing brought her and stable hand, Levi Shelby together, and together they will bring down the company that cause them so much grief, heartbreak, and pain.

I was blown away. I am always blown away by the simplicity and the incredible ability that author, Tiffany Reisz has at storytelling.
SHE IS JUST ABSOLUTELY INCREDIBLE. I cannot give this woman enough praise.
 She is listed up there with some of my top favourite writers of all time. (Like I will read almost anything she writes – keyword being almost).
 Her stories are absolutely captivating and told in such a simple manner that you just don’t want to put it down or stop reading. There’s just something magical about her books.
 What I noticed a lot was that she uses a lot of dialogue in her books – that a lot of the book takes place within the dialogue and the rest is left to the imagination of the reader. The dialogue is simple, the book is very well paced and it just makes you want to keep reading.

“We tell ourselves lies to survive when we know the truth will kill us.”

The story takes place in the present, but Tamara and Levi’s story takes place in the 70s I believe (don’t quote me on this, I’m bad with history). And for the life of me I couldn’t picture the story taking place in that time. Maybe because I was born in the 90s and don’t know much about the world twenty years before I was born…but I couldn’t help but picture a much…simpler time…not the pioneer age but not the 70s. You just get this feeling that this story was being told so long ago and not forty years in the past.

The characters are great, simple, and easy to relate to. It is very easy to like/dislike certain people and there is no shortage of surprises throughout the story.
 I absolutely recommend this read if you want something short, quick, and are into mystery a bit of suspense and a bit of romance.
 Tiffany Reisz has done it again, and it almost makes me wonder if I should pick up her Harlequin books…

5/5 Hearts of Love

Jo H

4.5 ⭐️ 

March 2021 group/buddy read with the Gotta Have Romance with a Kick group.

WOW, what a story. There is an awful lot to unpack in this book, which although is revolved heavily around an epic love between two people, is not actually what I would call a romance. This is my second Tiffany Reisz book and it won't be my last - she is an excellent storyteller as proven here, but I must admit to being limited in the books of hers that I want to read because the majority of her catalogue, the BDSM heavy erotica, is just not to my taste. 

It is an epic family saga, very reminiscent of The Witching Hour by Anne Rice, which has for many years retained the top spot in my list of favourite books of all time, despite some of it's questionable content. It's not a comparison, however, as The Bourbon Thief is a much shorter, far less meandering and descriptive type of story that does not of course have any supernatural elements, but it gave me so many of the same thoughts and feelings that I got whilst reading that it was pertinent to mention. The other main difference is that the former book is not a story of romance in any which way or form so even though there are parallels in the content, the overall subtext is not the same. And I mention this because of one aspect that both books have in common which is incest.

The Bourbon Thief is a dual timeline narrative that opens in the present with a one night stand between Paris and McQueen (or Cooper as I prefer to call him) and often ends up back with them as Paris, whilst explaining why she attempted to steal his $1m bottle of booze, tells Cooper the tale of Levi and Tamara which begins in 1980 on her 16th birthday. It is the story of abuse, history, family, revenge, lies, cheating, power, sex, racism, homophobia, 'passing', love and secrets - so many secrets. It is compelling, mysterious, atmospheric, gothic and shocking and I was not expecting to love it as much as I did. With one major caveat; Levi and Tamara as a couple.

The love between Levi and Tamara was palpable and dare I say, even star crossed and therein my biggest problem lies; their story begins when 16-year-old Tamara seduces Levi who is 28. The 12 year age gap is not really what I struggled with, and I did struggle with it for a good portion of the novel. It's the fact that she is so young and he knows it. He knows it is wrong to want a girl that he recognises is still on the cusp of childhood and at the start very much acts like the materially spoiled and entitled teenager she is, but he gives in to her whims anyway because of course he can't help himself and he can't find the strength to reject her wanna-be femme fatale act. After being an ass to her of course. The issue I have with this is not just the inclusion of this unhealthy age difference (because they happen often in life), but what I felt to be the romanticisation of it. However, they are, thankfully, interrupted before it goes much beyond kissing and end up separated for almost two years. 

When they meet again, Levi is 30 Tamara is still just 17 and they end up in a marriage of convenience (which turns into a sweeping 'once in a lifetime' type of love) that is a part of a plan of vengeance Tamara as cooked up to get back at those who have wronged her. And much later on the tale, we find out (view spoiler)[the taboo fact that they are are half-siblings with the same biological father. (hide spoiler)] But the issue I have with this aspect is also not the inclusion of that aspect, but again what I felt to be the romanticisation of it; so much so that I actually bought into wanting them to ignore the fact and end up with their HEA which just goes against my beliefs - fiction of not. Hence my conflicted feelings about it and the not quite 5-star rating.

But the icing on the cake in this book for me, is that despite her role as narrator of the 'main' story, Paris is the one who I was really rooting for in the end. The way that she fit into this family saga was fantastic as was her take charge of her destiny approach to her encounter with Cooper. At the beginning of the book, I was upset that she got caught with the Red Thread before she could get away, but by the end I was SO glad because her being there to tell us this extraordinary story allowed me to get to know her and it gave her her own 'story within the story.' 

It ended kind of ambiguously, but for a change, I didn't mind that as it left plenty of room for my imagination to come up with various alternatives.

Lacey

Originally posted at Booklovers For Life

4.5 STARS


  Love what they destroyed.
Destroy what they loved.


Oh. My. God!!! Tiffany Reisz never ceases to amaze me with her way with words – The Bourbon Thief is a wild ride of a story from start to finish. It took me a little while to get into it, but once Reisz sucked me in, there was no going back for me. I practically devoured this book from 10% on. The suspense surrounding the mysterious Paris and her tale had me riveted and on the edge of my seat. Reisz has written an intricately woven story of love, lies, secrets, wealth, power, and bourbon – and it. was. amazing. It’s been a few days since I’ve finished The Bourbon Thief and I’m still stunned by this book. If you’re a fan of the author, this is a read you don’t want to miss.

“Of all the bars in all the world… you walked into mine to steal my bourbon. You know, stealing something worth a million dollars is a felony.”

Cooper McQueen finds himself robbed by the gorgeous woman he took home for the night – his million-dollar bottle of Red Thread bourbon, the last of its name, was stolen right from under his nose. Before he has her arrested though, the mysterious and seductive woman, Paris, tells him the origins of Red Thread, why it belongs to her – and why it needs to be destroyed. So begins the fascinating history of the Maddoxes, the creators of Red Thread, and one girl’s quest for revenge against her family.

This book is unlike anything I’ve ever read, even Reisz’s Original Sinners series. It’s got a historical feel to it, since much of the book is set in the past; it’s got mystery and suspense; it’s got a plot for revenge; it’s got a sweet romance, one that I absolutely adored; and of course, it’s not Tiffany Reisz without some erotic taboo. There is just so much going on in this book, from Paris’s mysterious relation to Red Thread, to Tamara and Levi’s story set in the past. But the thing about Reisz’s writing and storytelling is that nothing feels gratuitous – every word matters to the story, and I totally got that feeling in The Bourbon Thief.

I really have no words to describe how I feel about this book, other than it blew my mind. The way Reisz connected all the puzzle pieces of the story was incredible. If you love the author, you’ll want to read this. It was truly an experience reading The Bourbon Thief, and I won’t be forgetting this story anytime soon, that’s for sure.

Thanks to the publisher for generously providing me an ARC to review.

Quotes are taken from the ARC and are subject to change in the final version.

Amazon Ebook: http://amzn.to/1WhQMtm
Amazon Paperback: http://amzn.to/1WhQL8y
Audible: http://amzn.to/29fWTi6

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The Bourbon Thief

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