Today I’m excited to spotlight Jenn Bennett’s latest
release Bitter Spirits because it was amazing! I have my review as well as an
extra special treat: Jenn has agreed to come on the blog and answer some questions.
Yay! Don’t forget to scroll down to the bottom of the post to enter our
giveaway for a chance to win your very own Paperback copy!
Publication Date: January 7th 2014 by Berkley
About the book:
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…
My Thoughts:
Oh my goodness, I found a favorite new author in Jenn
Bennett! If you want a cleverly written, sexy, addictive paranormal romance,
look no further: Bitter Spirits is the story for you!
Aida Palmer works as a spirit medium for Gris Gris, a San
Francisco speakeasy set in the 1920’s. Forced to fend for herself after the
death of her parents, Aida is fortunate to have such a useful gift of
channeling the dead. When she’s asked to send away a ghost following a rich
bootlegger, Winter Magnusson, she captivated by the man. He’s big, gorgeous, and his presence sucks
her in like a magnet!
This was a body built
for conquering. For smiting enemies. Ransacking villages. Ravaging innocent
women. Maybe even some not-so-innocent women. He wasn’t pretty or conventionally
good-looking. More savagely handsome, she decided.*
Ravaging? Yes, please Winter!
Winter has been targeted and hexed, but he needs to know
who’s responsible. After Aida gets rid of his ghost, he can’t stop his mind
wandering back to her. She’s wasn’t
intimidated or afraid of his appearance, which was unusual after his accident.
With all those lovely freckles, he wouldn’t mind spending an evening or two
playing connect the dots! He decides to hire Aida to banish any other ghosts
that cross his path, and she becomes embroiled in his dangerous mystery.
This story was highly addictive! I was immediately drawn
into Aida and Winter’s mind with the dual alternating POVs. They each have a history making them hesitant
about any relationship, but neither can fight the pull they have on each other.
Oh, boy can Jenn Bennett write some sexual tension, chemistry, and spice! Ooh
la la! Aida and Winter raised the
temperature to fiery hot every time they were in a room together! Their inner thoughts on each other are
deliciously lustful and wicked. I loved the fact that neither was conventionally
handsome or pretty, but they were irresistible to each other. Loved when Winter would call Aida “cheetah”,
because he found her freckles highly erotic!
As if the romance wasn’t enough the mystery, suspense, and
danger add another level of excitement, that made me want to lock myself in my
bedroom so I could read and finish it straight through. The roaring twenties
was a vividly depicted, and I could picture girls walking around in their
flapper dresses, and long pearls easily.
Jenn Bennett’s writing is fast paced, witty, and
captivating. I can’t wait for the next
in the series:
Grim Shadows
which will center on Winter’s brother Lowe!
5 Suns
Author Interview:
I loved Bitter
Spirits, as you can gather from my review!
So I’m so excited to have Jenn Bennett here on the blog today to answer
some of my pressing questions about the series!
Wheee! Thank you so much for having me on your blog!
Q: What inspired you to write a paranormal romance set in
the roaring twenties? Brilliant setting, by the way!
I’ve been attracted to the 1920s since I was a teenager and
have amassed a small library of books, photos, and magazines from that decade.
I’m also (not so) secretly in love with the Bay Area, so putting the two
together was a labor of love and an absolute joy for me.
Q: Bitter Spirits has a historically authentic feel to
it. What kind of research did you do?
The fun kind! I already had an armchair enthusiast’s feel
for the period, but before I began writing the book, I got my hands on
magazines and newspapers from 1927—the year in which BITTER SPIRITS takes
place. I browsed antique shops, looking for period knickknacks and furniture,
because I wanted to see and touch things like candlestick telephones and cloche
hats. I watched documentaries about Prohibition and dozens of silent films from
the 1920s. (One of my favorites is A LADY OF CHANCE with Norma Shearer, but watching
THE SHEIK with Rudolph Valentino was no hardship, lemme just say!)
Q: Can you tell our readers a little about the paranormal
aspects, including character talents in this series?
My heroine, Aida, is a trance medium—meaning, she goes into
a trance and channels spirits of the dead inside her body so that they can
speak to loved ones. When the book begins, Aida has been channeling spirits for
several years on speakeasy stages, moving from city to city to make money.
She’s recently been booked at the Gris-Gris club in San Francisco, which is
where she meets Winter, the bootlegger who supplies the club’s liquor. Winter
has been poisoned and the ghost of a Chinese prostitute is following him
around.
Q: Have you ever had any ghostly or paranormal experience?
I’ve experienced some odd things, but nothing ghostly.
However, many people claim that my mother-in-law’s house is haunted. It makes
family gatherings interesting!
Q: I personally loved the freezing bath/cure scene when Aida
gets an eyeful of Winter and can’t tear her eyes away: O_O Lol and yum!
Without being too spoilery, what is your favorite scene in the book?
Several people have proclaimed their love for that scene,
ha! Personally, I really like a scene toward the beginning of the book that
takes place in Winter’s study. Aida is snooping around while he is on the
phone, and she finds some…interesting French postcards. That was fun to write!
Oh, Jenn, I LOVED that scene as well! *waggles
eyebrows*
Q: If you were to cast Aida and Winter in a movie, who would
you pick to play them?
Aida is described as Louise Brooks covered in freckles, so
it might be hard to cast her. Maybe a young Audrey Tautou? Winter is big and
brawny like Vin Diesel, but a Swedish immigrant. If your readers know any actors
that fit that bill, they should definitely let me know!
How about Tom Hardy, Jenn? Check out my Pins on Pinterest for Bitter Spirits.
Q: There are some deliciously hot scenes in Bitter Spirits!
Did you find them difficult to write?
No, those are a breeze, to be honest. I much prefer writing
sex scenes to violent action scenes—even though they are quite similar in some
ways. And the reader in me detests boring, cookie-cutter sex scenes in books,
so I do my best to write memorable sweatiness that is unique to a couple and
what they are going through at the time.
Q: Aida and Winter’s story wraps up nicely. *sigh* It looks like Lowe, Winter’s brother, is the
focus of the next installment, and judging from the teaser at the end of Bitter
Spirits it sounds like Lowe’s got himself into a bit of trouble! How many books do you plan in the series, and
when can we get our hands on the next one?! J
Winter’s brother, Lowe, an archaeologist returning to San
Francisco from Egypt, is a habitual (but charming) liar and a grand
storyteller. He’s also a one of my favorite characters. Readers will be able to
dive into Lowe and Hadley’s story on June 3rd. As for book #3, it
will be Bo and Astrid’s story, and I plan to write that this summer.
Q: What kind of books do you read for fun? Favorite author? Last book you read?
I read almost every day. Pretty much all romance genres,
some fantasy, young adult, and the occasional dip into the literary pond. Some
of my favorite authors: Diana Gabaldon, Judith Ivory, Loretta Chase, Neil
Gaiman, Philip Pullman, Edgar Allan Poe. Last book I read was HOWL’S MOVING
CASTLE by Diana Wynne Jones, which was delightful.
Q: When did you realize you wanted to be a writer?
I lost my big corporate gig during the economic recession
and, instead of looking for another job, said on a whim, “Hey, I think I’ll try
writing a book.” A year later, I’d
written three manuscripts, signed with a literary agent, and sold the first
Arcadia Bell book. It feels like something I was always meant to do—it just
took me until I was almost forty years old to figure it out.
Q: When you’re not working on your books, how do you like to
spend your time?
Doing a million and one things: I draw, collect things
(Fiestaware, miniature Viking ships, Tiki mugs, old books, toadstool statues,
vintage postcards of Giant Sequoias, to name a few), cook, travel, play games,
listen to music, watch movies with my husband, and play with my two pugs. But
mostly I spend an inordinate amount of time daydreaming about characters and
plots. So in a way, I guess I’m never not
writing!
Wow, I just loved Jenn's answers! Thank you so much for taking my questions and for writing Bitter Spirits! I urge all of our readers to pick it up, immediately if not sooner!
About the Author: 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.
Connect with
Jenn Bennett:
The
publisher generously provided a Paperback
copy of Bitter Spirits to one lucky reader! The giveaway is INTERNATIONAL.
Simply fill out the rafflecopter for a chance to win. Good luck and thanks for stopping by Waves of
Fiction!
