Quite entertaining.
Of course it has its share of misunderstandings between the main characters, but in general, there is also respect. ( )

A story that blends historical fiction with supernatural fantasy and romance, this book introduces readers to Aida and Winter Magnusson, people brought together by some trouble with ghosts. Aida is a medium, and is employed in 1920's San Francisco in a speakeasy, doing nightly shows where she channels spirits for members of the audience. Winter is brought to her employer, Velma, who is something of a magic wielder. Winter Magnusson is an extremely wealthy man, making some of his money as a bootlegger in this prohibition era, and he knows Velma. When he starts to see a ghost, and then succumbs to a sickness that weakens him, he goes to Velma for help. Velma realizes that he has been poisoned, presumably with a substance that allowed him to see ghosts, and enlists Aida's help as she works to cure him.

Aida and Winter have an instant magnetic attraction to each other, despite the circumstances. When Winter is healed from the poison, he asks Aida to help him track down the person responsible for his attack, using her status as a medium as an excuse. Clearly, his interest in her is far more than professional. It turns out to be a good plan, though, as Winter is attacked by another ghost, this one drawn to him by a new method of enchanted coins deposited on his person. Aida and Winter deal with one supernatural threat after the next, drawing closer to each other the whole time, which only puts Aida in as much jeopardy as Winter.

I liked the premise of the novel, and overall I thought it was pretty well executed. If anything, I wanted to see more the supernatural action. We have a spirit medium and a necromancer at play, and the ghost encounters were pretty tame, all things considered. The reason for this is because the romance in the book takes up a lot of plot space. Don't get me wrong, I love reading steamy romance scenes when the chemistry between the two characters is right. In this case, I wasn't that keen on the love story between Aida and Winter. It was certainly steamy, but I wanted more romantic development, more understandable angst (not the kind where characters make unreasonable choices just to extend the will they-won't they dilemma), more emotion. While Aida and Winter do fall in love, at first it's all about the sex, and then after they've had great sex, they realize they actually love each other. It's not one of my preferred romantic scenarios. This is a personal preference, but given that their love story didn't capture my imagination, I do wish the novel spent less time on all the sex scenes, and more time on the ghosts and supernatural elements. It's still a solid supernatural-romance-fantasy, and I'm thinking about giving the next one in the series a try, but this one isn't going to be a favorite. ( )

Not going to work for me.

"Everyone wants to be reassured that there's life after death, but I always beg them not to forget that there's life before death--and that's the only thing we really have any sort of control over."

I thought this would be an excellent book to read during October--and I was right! It was wonderful! It's like the green eggs and ham of books. I would read it in a house, with a mouse, in a box, with a fox-- I would read it anywhere! I honestly could not get enough of this book.

I really enjoyed Aida's character. She's confident, determined, and unafraid of sex and the more risqué things in life. She is okay with who she is as a person, and she isn't looking to change something about herself. It was really refreshing. She may have gotten a little flustered at times, but she still maintained her flirty, daring attitude. I also liked that she knew what she wanted (for the most part) and went for it, even if that meant attacking making a move on a more than willing bootlegger in the back of a taxi.

When it comes to steamy sex scenes, Bitter Spirits doesn't disappoint. I read this at work when I wasn't busy, and there were a few times I couldn't keep the goofy grin off of my face. This book is infectious! It wasn't just about the romance either, the story is solid and intriguing. It's also unpredictable, which always makes things more enjoyable.

“I love you, damn it.”

Originally posted on Do You Dog-ear? on Monday, October 16, 2017.
http://www.doyoudog-ear.com/2017/10/bitter-spirits-roaring-twenties-1-by.html ( )

3.5 stars

This was a really cool, fresh, and different romance story. Set in 1920s during Prohibition our hero is a bootlegger and our heroine is a medium who can call forth ghosts, talk to them, and send them back to the veil. The details with world building and making me feel the time period and atmosphere were so good, it was the star of the show for me. (I may have a slight crush on Winter's wardrobe; suspenders, undershirts, and vests) It's set in San Francisco with Chinatown getting a lot of mentions because of the warring Tongs (different groups of Chinese criminals running the alcohol or other criminal activities) and how that connects to Winter's storyline of someone siccing ghosts on him to disrupt his bootlegging. The spiritualism/mysticism with spells and descriptions of ghosts was so cool and entertaining.

The first half felt more like insta-lust between Winter and Aida for me; a lot of lusting about freckles and height. They had a fun a back and forth, I give a lot of credit here to the author for the way she wrote Aida. Aida was a strong independent woman but her past involving her family had clearly made her emotional vulnerable and the author did a great job showcasing both sides. The first half was more three stars for me while the second half was fours stars with an immensely improved Winter and Aida's emotional connection; was able to see and believe in their connection.
The part where Winter tracks down Aida's brother's belongings and takes down her evil uncle-in-law almost had me in tears. How Winter acted on knowing how important this was to Aida is what makes heroes.

I'm so on board with this series and will definitely be reading the next. If you're looking for a fun, cool, slightly spooky, and hot couple historical set in the 1920s you definitely want to pick this one up! ( )