Bitter Spirits

Roaring Twenties, Book 1

By: Jenn Bennett

Narrated by: Amy Landon

Aida Palmer performs a spirit medium show onstage at Chinatown's illustrious Gris-Gris speakeasy. However, her ability to summon (and expel) the dead is more than just an act.

Winter Magnusson is a notorious bootlegger who's more comfortable with guns than ghosts. Unfortunately for him, he's the recent target of a malevolent hex that renders him a magnet for hauntings. After Aida's supernatural assistance is enlisted to banish the ghosts, her spirit-chilled aura heats up as the charming bootlegger casts a different sort of spell on her.

On the hunt for the curseworker responsible for the hex, Aida and Winter become drunk on passion. And the closer they become, the more they realize they have ghosts of their own to exorcise...

©2013 Jenn Bennett (P)2014 Tantor

Critic reviews

"Complex and smart romantic leads. . . . Expect historical romance authors and fans to eagerly hop on the Roaring 20s bandwagon, following Bennett's very able lead." ( Publishers Weekly, Starred Review)

A bit disappointing

I like Jenn Bennett's Arcadia Bell series very much. So I'm sad to report I didn't like this book very much. The writing is fine, I just felt the plot was a bit thin, a good portion of the book is really just about getting the leads together in bed. I think some people like the romance to be the *A* story line, for me, I prefer the romance to be in the background. I like the idea of the world, I just wish there had been more focus on that.

Amy Landon did a fine job reading.

Steamy Romance

I love Bitter Spirits! This is a great romance story. I enjoyed Aida and Winter's relationship. The sex scenes were steamy and hot. The narrator was great at doing the female and male main character voices.

Cute paranormal romance set in the 1920s

I have had this book on my TBR pile for awhile now. This is first book in The Roaring Twenties trilogy; and is a cute paranormal romance set in the 1920's. It was a bit too romancy for me at times but I still enjoyed it; it was a nice, light, fun read.

The plot is fairly simple and isn't a huge part of the story; many times the plot is overshadowed by the romance. However, there are some paranormal elements in here too such as Aida’s ability to see ghosts and the Chinese curse put on Winter.

I did enjoy the two main characters and the chemistry they have, they end up in a sweet yet tumultuous romance. The story ties up at a good spot too.

Overall this was a cute paranormal romance read set in the 1920’s in San Fran. I enjoyed the setting and the chemistry between the two main characters. The plot was fairly simple though and the romance definitely overshadowed everything else. I prefer my stories to be a bit more balanced and because of that I don’t plan on reading any more books in this series. Those who enjoy romance heavy paranormal reads should check this book out.

Formula Romance with an interesting story

OK, Beautiful girl who doesn't think she's beautiful, though almost every man she meets hits on her, meets gorgeous man with scar who thinks he's ugly. Of course it's lust at first site. She's a medium and he's a bootegger cursed into seeing ghosts fom his past. That is the interesting part of the story. If you've read romances before, you know the romance part of the story. No suprises there. The writing is good, and the story is entertaining.
The sex parts weren't as bad as many I've read. Though I enjoy romance, I don't really like much sex in books, and please skip the thrust by thrust details! Leave it to the imagination. Not too bad, but not one I will read again.

Interesting plot but...

It’s an interesting plot but predictable villain. I also think a lot of the sex scenes took away from the story instead of adding.

amazing

I am obsessed with the 1920's and the paranormal so when I found this book I knew I was going to enjoy it but I had no idea how much! The writing is beautiful. The characters pull you in and keep you invested them. The love story is so beautiful. Aida and Winter belong together and you know it the moment they meet. They have a fun. and very sexy relationship. Aida is a spirit medium and I loved that! Winter, oh Winter. He is the bees knees, beautiful, broken, tall, and so protective of the ones he loves. he is everything. this book is everything!

my only critique is that this book and its counter part Grim Shadows(which is about Winters brother and his love interest Hadley) desperately needed two narrators. Amy does great with the voices but the parts that are Winter's point of view and in the second book Lowe's point of view really needed a male narrator. other than that these books are absolutely worth the credits!

...bland....😶

A bit...bland...I didn't connect with any of the characters. I didn't root for them nor did I fall in love with any of them. It wasn't a total tragedy of a story. It was a breezy book.