If you will recall, back in February, I was introduced to the Family Portrait series when I got the chance to review Gillian Felix’s book The Banovic Siblings. If you missed that review and the interview I did with her, click here! Well, she just recently released book three, Bastard’s Brew, and I am delighted that she sent me a copy to read and share my review with you all. In book two, Kevin , the oldest Banovic sibling, ends up catching feelings for L’Wren. The only problems with that are he’s having an affair with her stepmother/his mother’s best friend, Savi, and L’Wren has an abusive boyfriend Jeff. So allow me to catch you up on what the siblings are up to now.
Well, Bastard’s Brew opens up with L’Wren’s boyfriend Jeff in the hospital talking to his mother. When we ended The Banovic Siblings, Jeff was getting a pretty good beat down from Kevin. So, I excepted book three to pick right back up at the point or close to it. The shocker is that not only has Jeff been deported back to his home in Nova Scotia. Talk about a good way opening to set the readers up to expect some action and a little bit of mystery.
Kevin still has strong feelings for L’Wren, but meanwhile she’s still hung up on Jeff and asks him to join her on a wild goose chance to find him. Little does she know Jeff is about to involuntarily breakup with her and is recovering back home. He’s still having an affair with Savi who is tired of being in the poor house and devised a plan to milk her ex-husband for some cash. While she goes to put her plan into action things heat up between him and her stepdaughter, but will she stop blackmailing him once she finds out and let him have happiness? More importantly will Kevin get too sidetracked with his Savi and L’Wren dilemma to keep any eye on his baby sister and younger brother like he is supposed to?
Adriana Banovic is still hiding her relationship with college boy/model and aspiring artist, Haze Lyndon. However with Haze insisting that they tell her parents them and almost getting caught making out, their relationship could go up in smokes (or blue lights and handcuffs) because she still hasn’t revealed the truth him about her age.
That’s not the only thing jeopardizing their relationship though. Carys, who also has a crush on Haze, suspects Adriana of having something to do planting drugs in younger sister’s Astrid’s locker after she recognizes Adriana’s hoodie from the school surveillance video and threatens to blackmail her if she doesn’t confess.
Meanwhile, Zax has been keeping a low profile and focusing on his still new relationship with Kristin in this book. His other two siblings could definitely benefit from following his lead.
Once again, I have to take my hat off to Gillian Felix for a book well written! I stayed on the edge of my seat waiting for the next twists, turns and surprises. She is undoubtedly a master at reeling readers in. Put this book on your to-be-read lists because it is a must read for me! Can’t wait for book 4.
Check out an excerpt below from Bastard’s Brew and enter the Rafflecopter giveaway to win a copy while you’re at it!
Excerpt
Kevin stared at the computer screen, pondering his fate with L’Wren. Did Savi tell her about their affair? Would he ever hear from her again? Did she hate him? It killed him thinking that she’d hate him for his indiscretions with her stepmother. Maybe it’d be best if she found out now, before she got too involved, he told himself. Maybe he should be the one to tell her. There was a knock on his office door, and Dwayne the bartender stuck his neck in.
“You have a visitor,” he announced.
Kevin took a deep breath and wondered if L’Wren had come to cuss him out. He nodded at Dwayne. Might as well get it over with, he told himself and stood up behind his desk.
Savi strutted proudly into Kevin’s office. “Hello, lover,” she purred, then pulled him in for a kiss and a nice, firm grope of his ass. “Miss me?”
He backed away from her.
Savi knew things had changed; she saw the way he looked at L’Wren, and knew she’d have to work twice as hard to get him back to where they left off.
“What’s going on with you and L’Wren?” She took a seat on the couch where they’d ravaged each other so many times in the last few months.
“Nothing.” Kevin sat behind his desk, relieved that Savi was a safe distance away. “I’m kind of busy right now.”
“Nothing? Is that why she was grinning like a hyena after you left?”
“What did she tell you?”
“What is there to tell?” Savi studied him.
“I don’t have time for games, Savi. I have work to do. The pub is closed. If you want a drink, come back later.” He dismissed her and pretended to look busy.
“Whatever you have with L’Wren, cut it out now. L’Wren is not like me. She’s delicate and trusting, and I don’t want you playing around on her,” Savi stated crisply.
Kevin wondered if Savi was really protective or was this her way of marking her territory.
“Did you tell her about us?”
“Why would I do that?”
“Look, Savi, I like L’Wren. I’m not gonna play around on her,” Kevin stated boldly.
Savi closed her eyes and absorbed his words, then took a deep breath.
Her silence made him uncomfortable. Was she falling for him? Did their fun and games turn serious for her? He joined her on the couch.
“Savi, I don’t want to hurt you, but this thing with us has to end,” he said tenderly.
“Don’t come around my house again.” Her voice was icy.
Kevin was ready to agree to anything to get out of their affair. “Fine.”
“That doesn’t mean I want you for my stepdaughter.” She looked at him seriously. “You’re a drug dealer, this pub is a front, and I don’t want you around my girls.”
“I’ll never do anything to hurt them,” Kevin said.
“You’re not a nice person, Kevin. You use people, and you hurt them. The friends you have are only around you because they are afraid of you. Nobody likes you, and nobody wants to be around you. It’s only a matter of time before L’Wren realizes that. You can’t hide who you really are. You’re a monster.”
Savi’s words sliced into Kevin’s core.
“You don’t deserve to be loved, and you don’t deserve to be happy. You and I are the same … we’re broken inside. Everything we touch, we destroy. We don’t get happily ever after … we don’t get to ride off into the sunset. You know who gets that? L’Wren … she gets it, she gets the guy, and she deserves a decent guy.” Savi saw the hurt in his eyes and knew that he liked L’Wren more than he was letting on. Kevin was all she had, and she had no intention of letting him go.
———-
Purchase Links
You can purchase your copy of Bastard’s Brew from the following retailers: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Smashwords (enter coupon code: RS54B for 50% off), and iTunes. Also, Gillian is offering a 10% Smashwords discount on The Banovic Siblings using coupon code: FX48M. Don’t get to use the link or widget below to enter the giveaway for a chance to win a copy of Bastard’s Brew!
If you’re interested in finding out more about Gillian Felix, you can follow her on Twitter, follow updates for the Family Portrait series on Facebook and check out her website Plain Talk Book Marketing. You can also find her on GoodReads.
As Told By K. Elizabeth 
Thank you for hosting and your wonderful review! You made my day girlie! Much love.
Gillian
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