Book Review: Grave Phantoms (Roaring Twenties #3) by Jenn Bennett

Grave Phantoms (A Roaring Twenties Novel #3)

by Jenn Bennett

May 5, 2015

Publisher: Berkeley

Feisty flapper Astrid Magnusson is home from college and yearning for the one thing that’s always been off limits: Bo Yeung, her notorious bootlegging brother’s second-in-command. Unfortunately her dream of an easy reunion proves difficult after a violent storm sends a mysterious yacht crashing into the Magnussons’ docks. What’s worse, the boat disappeared a year ago, and the survivors are acting strangely…

Bo has worked with the Magnusson family for years, doing whatever is needed, including keeping his boss’ younger sister out of trouble—and his hands to himself. Of course, that isn’t so easy after Astrid has a haunting vision about the yacht’s disappearance, plunging them into an underground world of old money and dark magic. Danger will drive them closer together, but surviving their own forbidden feelings could be the bigger risk.

Third book in this trilogy is about the younger sister of Winter and Lowe Magnusson, Astrid. And  the love story between Astrid and Winter’s bootlegging, Chinese second-in-command, Bo. Back from college for the Christmas holidays and knowing how much he means to her, Astrid’s dream of hers and Bo’s reunion is not as easy as she hoped it would be. First, there is Bo himself, trying hard to keep his hands off her body and his lips off hers. Then there is the strange yacht that crashes into the Magnusson’s docks, with confused passengers dressed in white robes an blue paint on their faces. From there things get worse when Astrid joins Bo and a policeman to go onboard so Bo can move it off their land. When Astrid picks up a blue turquoise idol lying on the floor and she is zapped. Now, one man is after her and that idol, and Astrid has visions of what happened on that boat and more. As supernatural terror ramps up, so does Astrid’s and Bo’s passion for each other, unable to deny what they have always felt for one another and still do.

Like comfort food of the finest quality, Ms. Bennett once again delivers a great book in a series that has me addicted. You feel the romantic tension, a thin line between Astrid and Bo, and want them to be with each other, even though in the Roaring 20s, love between an Asian and a Caucasian woman is frowned upon. This is one couple I cheered for and could not put down the book for the supernatural suspense and also for the romantic happily-ever-after you knew they had to get. Signed, sealed and delivered, Grave Phantoms gives the cherry to an icing of delectable reading and a fine ending to a super trilogy.

Review: Bitter Spirits (Roaring Twenties #1)
Review: Grim Shadows (Roaring Twenties #2)

I give Grave Phantoms 5 sheep

Pamela Kinney

About the Author:

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Jenn Bennett is the author of the Arcadia Bell urban fantasy series from Pocket Books and the Roaring Twenties historical paranormal romance series from Berkley. Born in Germany, she’s lived and traveled extensively throughout Europe, the U.S., and the Far East. She currently lives near Atlanta with one husband and two very bad pugs.

Book Review: Grim Shadows (Roaring Twenties #2) by Jenn Bennett

Grim Shadows (Roaring Twenties #2)
by Jenn Bennett

Mass Market Paperback, 325 pages
Published June 3rd 2014

by Berkley Sensation

It’s the Roaring Twenties in foggy San Francisco. Prohibition is on, inhibitions are low, and dark magic is rolling into town…

Archaeologist Lowe Magnusson is packing something everyone wants. The djed amulet, a priceless Egyptian artifact, will fetch Lowe a hefty paycheck from one of San Francisco’s wealthiest. But when the handsome Swede runs into his patron’s uptight daughter, what he once considered easy money becomes maddeningly complicated…

Cursed with deadly spirits as her constant companions, curator Hadley Bacall must keep calm to hold her dangerous specters at bay and prevent them from lashing out at anything—or anyone. Trouble is, Lowe is driving her crazy, but her father needs the artifact he’s transporting. While Hadley can feel the amulet’s power, she can’t fathom the destruction—or the desire—it’s about to stir up.

I just love books like these. Movies too. Full of adventure, treasure, archeology, romance, jazz clubs, curses, scary demons, a bad boy hero one can imagine kicking ass, snatching the archeological prize and saving the girl, while the woman is sassy, smart, and can keep up with the men. Once again, Jenn Bennett brings a great romantic paranormal alive that is as exhilarating as bootlegging. Hot—hot—hot chemistry between two lovers and suspense on a demonic level. Keep on bringing it on, Ms. Bennett!

5 sheep

Pamela K. Kinney
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aka Sapphire Phelan
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Review: Bitter Spirits (Roaring Twenties #1)

About the Author:

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Jenn Bennett is the author of the Arcadia Bell urban fantasy series from Pocket Books and the Roaring Twenties historical paranormal romance series from Berkley. Born in Germany, she’s lived and traveled extensively throughout Europe, the U.S., and the Far East. She currently lives near Atlanta with one husband and two very bad pugs.

Arts and Crafts with Authors: Jenn Bennett (Bitter Spirits-book 1 Roaring Twenties series) + giveaway

HONEY, I SHRUNK THE NECKLACE

by Jenn Bennett

Many of you might know that I write the Roaring Twenties series (1920s paranormal romance) and the Arcadia Bell series (urban fantasy). And some of you might even know I'm an artist. But you probably don't know that before I started writing, I worked in product development for a national arts and crafts company, dreaming up new ways to use decoupage glue, wood, and paint. So I guess that makes me not only artsy but also craftsy, which is why melting plastic in my oven to make a necklace seems like an amusing way to spend an afternoon.

If you were a kid in the 1980s, chances are you knew what Shrinky Dinks were: flexible sheets of polystyrene plastic that could be decorated with colored pencils or felt-tip pens and, when baked in the over, shrank to 1/3 their size and hardened into thick plastic shapes. I don't have exact figures, but I think 99% of all early Shrinky Dinks were warped Christmas ornaments, hideous key chain charms, or off-brand cartoon character suncatchers made by kids (raises hand) who were tired of baking brownies in their Easy-Bake ovens.

But, hey! We were doing it all wrong. You can actually make some rather charming jewelry pieces out of shrink plastic. And to prove it, I decided to make a necklace inspired by my new book, BITTER SPIRITS. The hero of my book, Winter, is a bootlegger who falls in love with a spirit medium named Aida in 1920s San Francisco. In one scene, Winter takes her to a garment maker in Chinatown who sews Aida a stunning dress embellished with peacock feathers. The following is my riff on that motif and how I did it:

1) I sketched a peacock feather and increased the size in Photoshop (like I said, these things shrink to about 1/3 of their original size) then printed it out and taped it to the back of a sheet polystyrene plastic—which is rough on one side and about the size of a thick sheet of paper. [You can find these sheets online or in craft stores under the Polyshrink or Shrinky Dink brands.] Then I used colored pencils to draw the feather onto the plastic. 

2) I cut out the feather and used a hole punch on the top.

3) I baked the drawing in my oven following the package directions—at a super low temperature for a couple of minutes. When it bakes, the plastic curls up on itself as it shrinks and then magically straightens out.

4) and 5) When the time is up, you've got yourself a miniature drawing on a thick piece of hard plastic. Amazing! 6) Last think you need to do is spray a clear varnish on the piece to keep the colored pencil from rubbing off. I sprayed mine after midnight on my deck, which probably made my nosey neighbors wonder if I was starting up some sort of Breaking Bad meth lab.

7) I sketched a second batch of shrinks—this time, two smaller peacock feather "eyes." 

8) Baked them. 

9) And here they are out of the oven.

10) After all that shrinking, it was time to string up my new pieces with some beads. 

11) I even burned myself with a soldering iron while securing the jump rings and connectors. 

12) And voilà! Here is the finished piece. I think it turned out rather well, and I do believe my character Aida would happily wear this during one of her séances!

About the Author:

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Jenn Bennett is the author of the Arcadia Bell urban fantasy series from Pocket Books and the Roaring Twenties historical paranormal romance series from Berkley. Born in Germany, she’s lived and traveled extensively throughout Europe, the U.S., and the Far East. She currently lives near Atlanta with one husband and two very bad pugs.

GIVEAWAY

(US/CAN) ONLY

one winner will get the necklace and a print book!
Leave a comment with a way to contact you. 
Contest ends: Jan 20, 2014

Double Book Review (ARC): Bitter Spirits by Jenn Bennett

Bitter Spirits
by Jenn Bennett
Publisher: Berkley Sensation, published by the Penguin Random House Company, New York, N.Y.
ISBN: 9780425269579
January 7, 2014.
First in a new romance series: It’s the roaring twenties, and San Francisco is a hotbed of illegal boozing, raw lust, and black magic. The fog-covered Bay Area can be an intoxicating scene, particularly when you specialize in spirits…

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.

Adria's 4 Sheep Review

Whoa a change in time period does make a difference in a story! I’ve never read a paranormal romance that takes place in the 1920’s and Bitter Spirits was a great introduction to the world of bootleggers, black magic and the spirit world.

Winter Magnusson needs help fast, he’s had a curse placed on him that basically makes him a shining beacon to ghosts everywhere. Not exactly productive or safe for a bootlegger. In order to be free of haunting ghosts, Winter goes in search of a medium to remove the curse and gets more than he bargained for when he meets Aida.

Aida Palmer makes her living as a medium, “performing” as often as possible, but unlike many others who claim to be mediums, Aida truly can summon and expel the dead. She’s a tough character with a special gift and I liked her a lot. She wasn’t a whiner or complainer and she never expects any one to rescue her, nor does she hope for a prince charming and a happily ever after. Which is great but it also complicates her relationship with Winter.

Winter and Aida’s relationship is a complicated one. Each of them has had a difficult life and circumstances have forced them to be solitary people, which they’ve become accustomed to. So when they suddenly find themselves having to work with and in some ways depend on another person, they get unusually stubborn and pigheaded. Throw in the fact that they’re attracted to one another and that just throws them both in the middle of “unknown” territory. Through their ups and downs Winter and Aida manage to find a method that works for them while trying to find out who cursed Winter in the first place, however, their romance isn’t such an easy fix.

The twists and turns in Bitter Spirits made for some interesting moments, some were wholly expected and others had me saying “Wow, I didn’t see that one coming!” Either way, I couldn’t put the book down until Winter and Aida found all the answers they were looking for.

I loved the easy to understand flow of Bitter Spirits. I’ve never read a 1920s romance and I was never really good in history so it was great that author Jenn Bennett was able to bring 1920s San Francisco to life in as much authentic detail and slang as possible without alienating readers like myself who aren’t familiar with the time period. The author also kept a brisk pace throughout the Bitter Spirits that kept the story from getting stale or dull. Secondary characters brought some variety to the story and hopefully will become main characters in their own books soon.

Bitter Spirits is an enjoyable read whether you’re a fan of the 1920s or if, like me, you have very little knowledge of the popular time period.

Sheep Rating: 4 

Adria
Adria's Romance Reviews Among Wildlings

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Pamela Kinney's 5 Sheep Review

Aida Palmer is a spirit medium in the 1920s who performs onstage in shows, calling up ghosts for the living. Winter Magnusson is a notorious bootlegger more comfortable with guns and bootlegged whiskey than phantoms. But when Winter is hexed to attract the dead to him like glue, two people of two different worlds will meet to help him rid himself of his curse.

Set in the Roaring 20s—one of my favorite eras—the author obviously did her homework on the clothing, speakeasies and other parts of the time when writing this historical paranormal romance, beginning of a series. I even loved her descriptions of things from the era and even of places in San Francisco,, specifically Chinatown. I can see the characters walking or driving in the rain or nighttime, when the fog rolled in. The flavors of Chinatown come alive. I can see figures dressed in long coats and fedora hats. Other more feminine figures dressed in flapper dresses and with bobbed hair cross my imagination. Women in long, shimmering gowns stroll into rooms where jazz bands play. I could imagine real-life historical figures like Charlie Chaplin and Rudolf Valentino wandering into this book. Add the suspense that sets the mood, splash in the spookiness of magic and paranormal, add a dash of the red-hot passion of two lovers, and you got a jim dandy novel (to coin a phrase used back then.).

Ms. Bennett has a winner in this novel. She already has wetted my appetite for the second one in the series, which I got a peek of at the end of the book. Pick up this novel and be prepared to take a Bonnie and Clyde wild ride. Just don’t forget your beads, Tommy guns, and flapper dress, and become addicted to another paranormal romance!

5 sheep

Guest Reviewer: Pamela K. Kinney Website Blog Facebook
aka Sapphire Phelan
Website Newsletter Facebook

About the Author:

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Jenn Bennett is the author of the Arcadia Bell urban fantasy series from Pocket Books and the Roaring Twenties historical paranormal romance series from Berkley. Born in Germany, she’s lived and traveled extensively throughout Europe, the U.S., and the Far East. She currently lives near Atlanta with one husband and two very bad pugs.