Romance Audiobooks discussion

At first, the death of William Baldwine, the head of the Bradford family, was ruled a suicide. But then his eldest son and sworn enemy, Edward, came forward and confessed to what was, in fact, a murder. Now in police custody, Edward mourns not the disintegration of his family or his loss of freedom . . . but the woman he left behind. His love, Sutton Smythe, is the only person he has ever truly cared about, but as she is the CEO of the Bradford Bourbon Company's biggest competitor, any relationship between them is impossible. And then there's the reality of the jail time that Edward is facing.

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.

Settings
Charlemont, Kentucky

44 Chapters

(view spoiler)[
Jonathan Tulane (Lane) Baldwine: Middle son of William and Virginia Baldwine. He and Lizzie are engaged.
Lizzie King: Head gardener at the Bradford Family Estate. She’s engaged to Lane.
Chantal Baldwine: Lane’s soon-to-be ex-wife. She’s pregnant by his father.
Maxwell (Max) Baldwine: Lane’s older brother.
Edward Baldwine: Lane’s oldest brother. He confessed to killing William.
Virginia (Gin) Baldwine Pford: Lane’s younger sister who recently married Richard Pford to bail the family out for money.
Amelia Baldwine: Gin’s 16-year old daughter.
Samuel T. Lodge: Family friend and lawyer. He’s Gin’s true love and the father of her daughter, which he’s unaware of.
Richard Pford, IV: Sole heir to Pford Liquor and Spirits Distributors. He's married to Gin.
William Baldwine: Patriarch of the Baldwine siblings. He was the CEO of Bradford Bourbon Company until his murder. He was a man of few scruples.
Virginia Elizabeth Bradford Baldwine: Matriarch of the Baldwine siblings and the owner of the Bradford Family Estate, including Easterly, the family home. She’s confined to her room and medicated beyond reason.
Aurora Toms: Easterly cook and the woman who raised Lane. She’s dying of cancer.
Jeff Stern: Lane’s friend and roommate in New York who has joined the company to help unwrangle the financial mess caused by William.
Sutton Smythe: Heir to the Sutton Distillery Corporation. She’s in love with Edward and he with her.
Reynolds Smythe: Owner of Sutton Distillery Corporation. Sutton’s father.
Tanesha Nyce: Doctor just completing her residency. She and Max have a history.
Greta von Schlieber: Lizzie’s work partner.
Rosalinda Freeland: Controller for Bradford Bourbon Company. She was found dead in her office, she’d poisoned herself. She had a son by William.
Randolph Damion Freeland: Rosalinda’s son by William.
Newark Harris: Easterly’s English butler. He recently quit.
Reginald Tressel: Bartender at Easterly.
Gary McAdams: Head groundsman at Easterly.
Edwin (Mac) MacAllan, Jr.: Master Distiller for the Bradford Bourbon Company.
Jeb Landis: Former trainer at the Red & Black Stables.
Moe Brown: Stable manager.
Shelby Landis: Jeb’s 22-year old daughter.She’s seeing Moe.
Mitchell Ramsey: Deputy sheriff.
Merrimac: Homicide detective with the Charlemont Metro Police Department.
Ms. Petersberg: William’s assistant.
Beth Lewis: Mac's new assistant.
Steadman: Board chairman.
(hide spoiler)]

Spoiler Info
(view spoiler)[
Gary McAdams is Edward’s biological father.

Aurora confessed to killing William not long before she died of cancer. (hide spoiler)]

Samantha and I are listening to this in May. All are welcome to join.

Hope you all enjoy it. I liked the series but was happy it was only 3 books, too much angst!

It definitely is a lot of drama!

I love the angst.

Samantha wrote: "I love the angst."

Me too, I loved the characters and the narration for the men. Swoon.... Samuel T!

He is a good character.

I’m starting this now.

Oh cool. Just in time. I was looking to see what would be my next audiobook. Thanks for helping me decide. I am jumping in with you.

Perfect! I was going to start something else but realized we are close to mid-month.

I’ve finished. Let me know when you’re ready to discuss.

I finished this morning. Yes, let's discuss.

This was a crazy ending to the trilogy! Did you ever suspect Aurora of killing William?

I didn't. Once you put your theory out there about their momma, I was looking for clues with that.

Interesting how the momma had her own secret deal going on.

Such a wild ride to the end.

It was! William was pretty awful.

I think Pford got off pretty easily. That scene where he chased Gin and tried to kill her was harrowing. I thought somebody was going to get dead.

I liked the crazy ride, though:)

I was slightly disappointed in that scene with Richard. He basically walked away promising to let things go. I couldn't trust that. To me that made him a weak villian. The scene as a whole was very intense to end like that.

I liked that Gin finally owned her stuff and came clean.

I didn’t like the way that scene ended either. It made sense but I didn’t trust Richard. However, abusers tend to be weak people.

Gin’s turnaround was believable given her having to sit on the sidelines while Amelia and Samuel T. created a relationship. It made her more self aware and reflect on her life. I loved how Amelia and Samuel T. bonded, too.

That scene with Chantal at the cemetery was cray cray, too.

It was just wild. LOL.

Chantal was crazy. She popped up and it scared me. I actually was waiting for her to pull out a gun and go off. I had forgot about her in all reality. Then her attacking Lane. It was just weird. Gin wished her harm and it actually happened. So sick.

The only character I didn't connect with was Max. He finally made his way into the storyline. He came last book but he had more scenes in this one. I just didn't even care about him.

Lane and Lizzie did start off as my favorite couple. I like the forbidden kind of romance. He got side tracked with Chantal.

As the series went on, I found myself liking Edward and Sutton but it was really Gin and Samuel T. that I was rooting for by the end. I think they showed the most character development. It was as he said, they are finally becoming grown ups.

Samantha wrote: "It was just wild. LOL.

Chantal was crazy. She popped up and it scared me. I actually was waiting for her to pull out a gun and go off. I had forgot about her in all reality. Then her attacking Lan..."

I feel the same way about Max. He should have been brought in earlier, at least his backstory.

That scene with Chantal seemed to come out of nowhere.

Yes, exactly. He had history with Tanesha and he was running from the ghost of William. That could have been so interesting. I was underwhelmed by him.

Samantha wrote: "Lane and Lizzie did start off as my favorite couple. I like the forbidden kind of romance. He got side tracked with Chantal.

As the series went on, I found myself liking Edward and Sutton but it w..."

Gin and Samuel T. were the most interesting as they were the wildest couple. We got an opportunity to see Lane and Lizzie’s relationship develop from start to finish (almost) and that helped me to immerse myself in them. They stayed as the normal ones throughout.

I wish, though, that there’d been an epilogue with more about the business resolved. I liked how Edward and Sutton came to their decision about the businesses but I wanted more.

Even so, I found it really hard to put this book down.

Samantha wrote: "Yes, exactly. He had history with Tanesha and he was running from the ghost of William. That could have been so interesting. I was underwhelmed by him."

Yep, me too. I found him particularly insensitive, especially during that scene where Gin was being treated for her injuries and he was leaving.

Lane and Lizzie's relationship woos kind of resolved itself in book 1 for me so I kind of left them alone. I knew they would be alright and nothing could really shake them.

I think Gin and Samuel T. was the wild card so I got drawn to that which is why I was really into them.

Edward and Sutton was cute but since he spent the majority of the book in jail, the relationship was in the back of my mind. I agree about wanting more in regards to them but more so the business. How did his new reveal about his mother and Gary went with all of the family? I know Lane and Lizzie saw them. Max knows there is a father but this guy was working on the grounds for years. That is crazy!

This was really good. I enjoyed the whole crazy ride. I wish I could find another family saga that can give me a good wild ride as this series did.

Samantha wrote: "Edward and Sutton was cute but since he spent the majority of the book in jail, the relationship was in the back of my mind. ..."

😂😂😂😂😂

Samantha wrote: "This was really good. I enjoyed the whole crazy ride. I wish I could find another family saga that can give me a good wild ride as this series did. ..."

Me, too!!!

Jonetta wrote: "Samantha wrote: "Yes, exactly. He had history with Tanesha and he was running from the ghost of William. That could have been so interesting. I was underwhelmed by him."

Yep, me too. I found him p..."

He was insensitive! See I thought he suffered a lot from William outside of Edward but that proves the point that we didn't know squat about him except the little bits presented in this book.

I'm glad you both liked this one, I thought the series overall was very entertaining.

This last book felt a little unfinished and rushed to me. It seemed like JR Ward was expecting to write more than 3 books at the beginning. I wonder if it was wrapped up more quickly because it wasn't as successful as her other series?

I'm speculating, but with such a large cast of characters and crazy drama it could have definitely been drawn out. When I first started the series I thought there would be at least four books, one for each sibling.

You may be right, Kathy. In my review, I stated I could have use an epilogue or a couple more chapters. And, it may have been why Max’s story was rushed. But, overall I had a lot of fun listening to this series.

That's a good point, KathyB. I didn't think of that but it could have been a bit longer to flesh out Max amd some of the storylines a bit more.