Bastards and Whiskey by Alta Hensley

I absolutely love being part of a book club. It's a great way to find new books and then have the opportunity to discuss them. Seeing as I read a lot as it is, I sometimes need a little help choosing a book. Especially when my TBR won't get smaller.

Last month it was The Tutor, which I reviewed. This month it was Bastards and Whiskey. I'd actually had another friend read it, but I was in the midst of other books and I threw it on a list. Lists are the best things ever. They can be very helpful. Such as collections on the Kindle app. I swear by it, once I started using it. Narrows things down. I'm even attempting to use Goodreads. Mainly to keep up with books I've read.

I digress. Something I do often and have no intention of changing. But I got this book and broke it open. Only thing was, I wasn't ready to read it as is. I needed something more so I went to my record player. (I'm not that old, or maybe I am seeing as I recall listening to records with friends back in the day.) This is a newfangled contraption with a CD player too. I found an older record and put it on. Something still wasn't right. I mean I had a record playing Kenny Rogers. Maybe I didn't need to go that old school. I traded out the music to Urban Chipmunk. (Note: This is not the best music to read something like this book too, but reasons.)

Everything was almost perfect. Almost. Perfect. Whiskey! Yes, I needed a whiskey drink before I could dive all the way into this book. So some ginger ale and whiskey later along with some very catchy music, I was on my way to reading this book.

This was a book that was very well paced. The characters were both likable and yet they were flawed by their pride and unwillingness to communicate. Kenneth and Anita made a wonderful couple in that they pushed each other outside of their comfort zones. There are so many ways to inadvertently create spoilers in a review of this book.

The story is told from both of the characters POV. This makes the story that much better. Anita is from a place so small and insignificant that she sees it as a mile marker and not a place. She is poor and only has an older woman she cares for in her life. (Also a twice mentioned old biker that was also a tattoo artist.) Meanwhile, in New Orleans Kenneth is an extremely rich lawyer who own a gentlemen's club called Spiked Roses. Anita ends up in New Orleans and working at Spiked Roses.

This is where the story gets dark and dirty. It's also when we see a struggle where Kenneth wants Anita. We also see how naive Anita really is. I wanted to scream at her, the same as Kenneth, when she ends up going home with a man for a shit ton of money but she will also have to deal with being degraded. Which she is unable to handle so she cuts and runs with the money. Kenneth goes after her and their story begins.

The character development was great. The sex was dirty and hot. Holy cow. Be prepared to need a drink after this book. There are other books in the series and I'm looking forward to seeing how the series progresses.