If Sons Then Heirs

I really wanted to like this book because I heard good things about it.  In the end though, I had to force myself to finish it.  It was "just ok".  I couldn't bring myself to truly care about any of the characters.  There were some side stories that were unnecessary.  Then there were great side stories that weren't developed well enough.  It's also a book that vacillates between present day and the past.  I think the author did that to show that the two are always connected, but it didn't really work for me here.