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Tequila: A Story of Success, Love & Violence
An empire built on tequila. A family torn apart by greed and betrayal. A lawyer caught in a deadly web of cartels, corruption, and forbidden love.
From the agave fields of Mexico to the skyscrapers of Manhattan, from bayside mansions in Miami to Los Angeles courthouses, Tequila follows three generations of the Ramirez family as they battle for control of RAM, a multibillion-dollar luxury spirits powerhouse. When Maria Ramirez becomes CEO, her greatest foes aren’t her competitors. They’re her brothers—the corrupt, sociopathic Miguel and the self-destructive, spiraling Tomaso—whose actions threaten to drag the Ramirez name to ruin.
LA attorney Brian Youngman enters their world, hired for Tomaso’s divorce case. What he uncovers are cartel ties, financial crimes, and unimaginable violence. As his growing love for Maria collides with his fight for justice, Brian becomes a reluctant hero in a battle where survival means pain and sacrifice.
With searing legal drama and pulse-pounding twists, Tequila is a genre-bending, plot-driven epic—a gripping blend of suspense, emotional reckoning, and explosive thriller.
From the agave fields of Mexico to the skyscrapers of Manhattan, from bayside mansions in Miami to Los Angeles courthouses, Tequila follows three generations of the Ramirez family as they battle for control of RAM, a multibillion-dollar luxury spirits powerhouse. When Maria Ramirez becomes CEO, her greatest foes aren’t her competitors. They’re her brothers—the corrupt, sociopathic Miguel and the self-destructive, spiraling Tomaso—whose actions threaten to drag the Ramirez name to ruin.
LA attorney Brian Youngman enters their world, hired for Tomaso’s divorce case. What he uncovers are cartel ties, financial crimes, and unimaginable violence. As his growing love for Maria collides with his fight for justice, Brian becomes a reluctant hero in a battle where survival means pain and sacrifice.
With searing legal drama and pulse-pounding twists, Tequila is a genre-bending, plot-driven epic—a gripping blend of suspense, emotional reckoning, and explosive thriller.
407 pages, Kindle Edition
Published October 14, 2025
2 people are currently reading
2239 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
October 15, 2025
Real Rating: 3.75* of five
The Publisher Says: Tequila is the gripping saga of three generations of the Ramirez family. From Sotero Ramirez's humble beginnings to his struggle for success, he and his family must overcome a harsh environment plus the frequent deadly encounters with Mexican drug cartels.
Still, the family's tequila business blossoms into a multi-billion-dollar international conglomerate, and his granddaughter Maria is chosen to manage the company, which relocates from Mexico to downtown Manhattan. But she is plagued by the peccadillos of her L.A.-based brother Tomaso, and the evil scheming of her other brother, Miami-based Miguel, who bring their family business to the brink of ruin and even threaten the lives of Maria and the adversary she falls in love with, Los Angeles lawyer Brian Youngman.
This fascinating intrigue spans the globe, from the farms of Tequila, Mexico, to the skyscrapers of New York, from bayside mansions in Miami to law courts in Los Angeles, jet-setting to the Cayman Islands, the moors of Scotland, Jamaica's beaches, and financial centers in Paris. The story unfolds in unpredictable and at times tragic ways.
I RECEIVED A DRC FROM THE PUBLISHER VIA NETGALLEY. THANK YOU.
My Review: I did not want to like this story as much as I did. The prose is not excellent, nor is it incompetent; instead, it leaves little to no impression of itself after consuming it.
So why rate it this high? I got wrapped up in the many characters' intertwining lives, their very shady-but-legal wranglings as they determinedly, doggedly built a business of consequence out of an agricultural product. It's quite a fascinating feat to create a "brand" out of a commodity. We live in the time of brands, and mostly we're not examining the ide behind them.
Tim Reuben examines that feat, using as his lens the drive of a family's natural desire to make more for themselves, their people, than simply surviving on doing basic-to-existence work. I had a task to keep the dramatis personae straight. I honestly put a lot of that on Tim, because it's not always clear who's speaking...no one really has A Voice in the literary sense. Some catchphrases, but that's the sitcom version of A Voice.
Resolving María, our root-for character's, dilemma, and seeing her wrestling with the eternal "is family more important than morality?" dilemma, makes this a very worthwhile read. Do not expect to be thrilled by the writing and it becomes a much more exciting story. I just wish it was a better novel. Maybe his next one will be.
The Publisher Says: Tequila is the gripping saga of three generations of the Ramirez family. From Sotero Ramirez's humble beginnings to his struggle for success, he and his family must overcome a harsh environment plus the frequent deadly encounters with Mexican drug cartels.
Still, the family's tequila business blossoms into a multi-billion-dollar international conglomerate, and his granddaughter Maria is chosen to manage the company, which relocates from Mexico to downtown Manhattan. But she is plagued by the peccadillos of her L.A.-based brother Tomaso, and the evil scheming of her other brother, Miami-based Miguel, who bring their family business to the brink of ruin and even threaten the lives of Maria and the adversary she falls in love with, Los Angeles lawyer Brian Youngman.
This fascinating intrigue spans the globe, from the farms of Tequila, Mexico, to the skyscrapers of New York, from bayside mansions in Miami to law courts in Los Angeles, jet-setting to the Cayman Islands, the moors of Scotland, Jamaica's beaches, and financial centers in Paris. The story unfolds in unpredictable and at times tragic ways.
I RECEIVED A DRC FROM THE PUBLISHER VIA NETGALLEY. THANK YOU.
My Review: I did not want to like this story as much as I did. The prose is not excellent, nor is it incompetent; instead, it leaves little to no impression of itself after consuming it.
So why rate it this high? I got wrapped up in the many characters' intertwining lives, their very shady-but-legal wranglings as they determinedly, doggedly built a business of consequence out of an agricultural product. It's quite a fascinating feat to create a "brand" out of a commodity. We live in the time of brands, and mostly we're not examining the ide behind them.
Tim Reuben examines that feat, using as his lens the drive of a family's natural desire to make more for themselves, their people, than simply surviving on doing basic-to-existence work. I had a task to keep the dramatis personae straight. I honestly put a lot of that on Tim, because it's not always clear who's speaking...no one really has A Voice in the literary sense. Some catchphrases, but that's the sitcom version of A Voice.
Resolving María, our root-for character's, dilemma, and seeing her wrestling with the eternal "is family more important than morality?" dilemma, makes this a very worthwhile read. Do not expect to be thrilled by the writing and it becomes a much more exciting story. I just wish it was a better novel. Maybe his next one will be.
October 23, 2025
I received an ARC through "NetGalley" and I am voluntarily leaving an honest review.
This story tells about the Ramirez family and their growth of their business. Nora, the wife of Tomasa, a Ramirez, hires Brian to handle her divorce. Nora while in Houston is kidnapped and misses a meeting that she scheduled with Brian. Brian appeared in court and advised the judge that his client was missing. The judge then put the case on hold. RAM, the Ramirez business name, had their own lawyer involved in the divorce. Brian feeling something was wrong started looking into her disappearance and eventually wound up on the Grand Cayman Island where he met Maria. Maria was the CEO of RAM and was also looking into Nora's disappearance.
Read along and discover what adventure Brian and Maria got involved in, how Maria's brothers played a role and how it all worked out in the end. The story sums it up nicely.
This story tells about the Ramirez family and their growth of their business. Nora, the wife of Tomasa, a Ramirez, hires Brian to handle her divorce. Nora while in Houston is kidnapped and misses a meeting that she scheduled with Brian. Brian appeared in court and advised the judge that his client was missing. The judge then put the case on hold. RAM, the Ramirez business name, had their own lawyer involved in the divorce. Brian feeling something was wrong started looking into her disappearance and eventually wound up on the Grand Cayman Island where he met Maria. Maria was the CEO of RAM and was also looking into Nora's disappearance.
Read along and discover what adventure Brian and Maria got involved in, how Maria's brothers played a role and how it all worked out in the end. The story sums it up nicely.
October 18, 2025
What started as the Ramirez family business of tequila turns into a war involving gangs and drugs, spans multiple countries, pits disloyal and greedy family members against each other, and threatens the very business that started it all.
4.5 stars! Told in dual timelines and with many locations, this book was utterly addictive and I flew through it.
Holy hell this should be made into a movie! It would be very Die Hard or James Bond-ish. The family drama and struggles, the character development, the action, the bad ass women, the betrayal…just all of it. So so good.
I cannot believe this is a debut! Great job @timreubenauthor. This book is available now so if you love high stakes legal drama/thrillers add this to your tbr today.
Thank you to @meryl_moss and @booktrib for the copy.
4.5 stars! Told in dual timelines and with many locations, this book was utterly addictive and I flew through it.
Holy hell this should be made into a movie! It would be very Die Hard or James Bond-ish. The family drama and struggles, the character development, the action, the bad ass women, the betrayal…just all of it. So so good.
I cannot believe this is a debut! Great job @timreubenauthor. This book is available now so if you love high stakes legal drama/thrillers add this to your tbr today.
Thank you to @meryl_moss and @booktrib for the copy.
October 16, 2025
A brilliant blend of family and Tequila
The good, the bad, and the family blend here in a well written story that has a lot going on~once you start, you will be staying to finish. The blending of business and family, of greed and success, it’s really well done. Hold your breath, this is a
great story!
The good, the bad, and the family blend here in a well written story that has a lot going on~once you start, you will be staying to finish. The blending of business and family, of greed and success, it’s really well done. Hold your breath, this is a
great story!
December 28, 2025
DNF at 20%
Received a free copy through NRC . Really thought the blurb would do justice to the book.
Received a free copy through NRC . Really thought the blurb would do justice to the book.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews