After first discovering the TBR Unhaul Challenge, I was immediately excited to be working my through some of my older books and getting to cut down on my TBR list. You can find my initial post here, but I’m basically going to be picking two of my older books every time I make a TBR and then giving short reviews in posts like this!

I’ve since finished my first two unhual books and I’m loving this challenge so far! For this update, I’m talking about The Bourbon Kings and Dirty English, two books that have been on my TBR for over a year, maybe two. I don’t know why I put them off for so long, but it’s safe to say I discovered a new favorite!

These will be two ‘mini’ reviews (probably more like mini fangirl rants/ramblings), so not my usual in depth reviews about characters and what not. I’ll basically be talking about things I loved about it or didn’t love, I won’t be covering the book in it’s entirety, meaning that I won’t be discussing the fine points of plot, writing style, etc.

 

The Bourbon Kings

Published: July 28 2015

Date Added: July 19 2016

Date Read: June 23 2018

Publisher: Penguin Publishing Group

Pages: 418 (hardcover)

Series: The Bourbon Kings #1

Life isn’t always proactively wise, however. Sometimes you didn’t heed the warning signs, and you put pedal to the metal, and you went screaming around the blind turn.

 

Say hello to one of my new favorite series! Thank goodness I picked the second one up at a sale at Half Price Books, because I’m already itching to read it. This was my first pick for my Unhaul Challenge and it solidified how much I need this challenge.

This book was a combo of all my favorite books; high drama, over the top antics, the upstairs/downstairs politics between the rich and poor, steamy romance, and witty dialogue. I loved this. At one point I thought to myself “wow, bet this can’t get any crazier,” AND THEN IT DID. I just never wanted it to end and I’m so glad there are two other books out there.

Another thing I realized with this book is that I really like J. R. Ward’s writing style. It was witty, detailed, and just beautifully worded and plotted. I’m now more interested in reading some of her other works, and I was fortunate enough to recently receive an ARC of her newest book Consumed so I’m excited to dig into that one, too.

Basically, I was obsessed with this book. There were a lot of characters and a lot of little plot lines running through the central plot, but it wasn’t busy in a way that made it hard to follow or annoying. I enjoyed the fact that there was a lot going on; I was never bored, was always learning new things about the characters, and was constantly looking for any spare moment to dive back into this amazing world the author created. It combined all my favorite drama shows/books and it was really my dream mash-up. It had everything I wanted and needed and I seriously cannot recommend this book enough.

Find The Bourbon Kings here:

Goodreads     –     Amazon     –     Barnes & Noble

The Bourbon Kings Trilogy:

 

 

Dirty English

Published: October 10 2015

Date Added: June 29 2015

Date Read: June 27 2018

Publisher: Little Dove

Pages: 251 (Kindle edition)

Series: English #1

Big moments happen with the smallest of actions, and sometimes it’s not until later we connect the dots…

 

So this was hands down one of the oldest books on my TBR, I mean I added it in 2015, when I was still in high school. A lot of my older TBR consists of New Adult books because after reading Abbi Glines for the first time I discovered the magic that is NA Romance and I’ve been passionately pursuing this genre ever since. My reading tastes have changed a lot since high school, and since I skip around genres so often a lot of my NA TBR fell to the back burner, but as this was the oldest book listed on my Goodreads TBR I’m glad I finally read this and can start hammering through my 2016 backlist.

This book was thoroughly enjoyable, and that’s about it. So it was good; the sex scenes were just as juicy as my other NA faves, the banter was enjoyable and I laughed and squealed and gasped a couple times, and the underlying drama got crazy at the end. It had all of the key points I look for in a NA Romance, there just wasn’t anything that made it stand out for me. It was the standard case of like but not love, good but not spectacular.

I’ll probably be reading the other book in the series, although you don’t have to read one to read the other, but I’m gonna save it for when I need a light and steamy read. I tried to find this book on Barnes and Noble but apparently they don’t have it, so it seems Amazon is the way to go for this one if you’re interested in something light but still sexy.

Find Dirty English here:

Goodreads     –     Amazon

The English Duology:

 

After reading these two and writing this update I realized just how much I need this challenge and how well it’s working for me! I mean, I discovered a new favorite and knocked off a book that I’ve been planning on reading for three years! Planning out a TBR that includes backlisted books, ARCs, new releases, and just books you’ve been meaning to read for a while can be hard, but it’s really helpful and has basically revolutionized how I read. I zip through books and no longer have to spend a couple hours debating what to read next, I just know. If your backlist is crushing your mind, body, and soul like it was me then I highly suggest taking part in a challenge like this!