Book Review: ‘Bourbon and Secrets’ by Victoria Wilder

After flying through Bourbon and Lies, I didn’t even hesitate before diving headfirst into book two. And while Bourbon and Secrets didn’t quite overtake the emotional pull I felt with Grant and Laney, I still really enjoyed this installment; particularly the dynamic between Faye and Lincoln. I mean, you’d hope so. Since this is a romance.

Here’s the summary:

“In Fiasco, Kentucky, there is one rule: never fall for a Foxx brother.

Any woman who did, ended up dead. It wasn’t just a rumor. It was my reality. I buried my wife along with too many secrets surrounding the night she died.

Now, I’m a single dad with two priorities above everything else: raising my two girls and making great bourbon.

But when Faye Calloway returns after I ran her out of my small town—looking like a fantasy on stage and nothing like the cop she was trained to be—I know for a fact that she’s hiding more secrets than the one she blackmailed me to keep.

While everyone is focused on the teasingly beautiful burlesque dancer, I’m distracted by the woman with a hidden agenda. The smart-mouth, who says what she wants. And the instigator, who prefers a very specific way to drink her bourbon.

But as secrets begin to unravel, I realize she’s fiercely protective of the ones she loves. When she puts herself in danger to right the past, the rules stop mattering.

Only two things have the power to keep my family from falling apart and losing the woman I love—bourbon and secrets.”

There’s something about Faye that’s irresistible on the page. She’s sharp-tongued, bold, and unapologetically herself, even when she’s clearly hiding something. The fact that she’s a private-detective-come-burlesque-dancer at Hadley’s speakeasy is such a perfect blend of mystery, sensuality, and rebellion. I loved that twist. It even reawakened an old interest I had in burlesque; the history, the staging, the practice, which made me connect with her all the more. (Hello, Dita Von Teese!)

Lincoln, meanwhile, is one of those stoic, wounded single dads you can’t help but root for. His tragic past with his wife’s death lingers over every interaction, and the lore around the “cursed” Foxx brothers gives the whole romance a delicious undercurrent of danger. You know the rule: never fall for a Foxx brother. But watching that rule unravel with Faye’s return is exactly the kind of tension that keeps me hooked.

What I love most about this series is that it feels safe, emotionally. I don’t worry that it’s going to shatter me. But that doesn’t mean it lacks stakes! Bourbon and Secrets has enough grit, edge, and heartbreak to keep you flipping pages late into the night. The small town of Fiasco is now fully established in my mind, and it’s the kind of setting I never want to leave.

There’s just one problem: there are only three books in the series, and I’m already mourning the end. I’m in it now. All the way.