Grim Shadows: A Roaring Twenties Novel (Roaring Twenties, #2)

by Jenn Bennett

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.

• ISBN10: 0425269582
• ISBN13: 9780425269589
• Publish Date: 3 June 2014
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Publisher: Penguin Putnam Inc
• Imprint: Berkley Publishing Corporation,U.S.
• Format: Paperback (US Mass Market)
• Pages: 344
• Language: English
• URL: https://penguinrandomhouse.com/books/isbn/9780425269589

Reviews

[Sam@WLABB]

I am really, really, really enjoying this series. It's such a fantastic combination of action and romance with some paranormal touches and a bit of history. I have grown to expect a great hero and a fantastic heroine from Bennett, and Lowe and Hadley more than met those standards. They were a fabulous couple! I loved their banter and they had many hot interactions. One thing I loved, was the way Lowe seemed so alpha, but then he handled Hadley in a gentle way. I always love those bad boys with a heart of gold, and Lowe + a little girl had my heart melting. Throughly enjoying this series!

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[celinenyx]

The first book in the Roaring Twenties, Bitter Spirits had everything I look for in a paranormal romance. Grim Shadows was a worthy sequel, but my expectations for it might have been a bit too high.

Lowe Magnusson, brother of Winter, is in trouble. He digs up artifacts in Egypt, and sells them... sort of legally. The latest amulet he took with him to San Francisco has attracted a lot of attention, including the attention of Hadley's father. Lowe and Hadley get thrown together, and become attracted. Both have secrets though, secrets that can tear them apart.

I always get a bit weirded out at the scenarios in romance novels. For example, in Grim Shadows, Lowe pokes Hadley with his erection within the hour of meeting her (not an euphemism - literally just poking her). And Hadley, romance heroine she is, is totally fine with it and feels slightly aroused. Truly, I don't get romance characters. If some dude I don't know humps my leg with his hard-on, that does not turn me on. I would run, cause that is crazy behaviour.

Romance always takes a certain amount of willing suspension of disbelief, and sometimes a book just takes it too far. Grim Shadows strays very close to this line, and occasionally crosses it. The book never got so ridiculous that I didn't enjoy it; but it was a close call.

Hadley as a character I really liked. She is ambitious, highly-educated and smart. She also has a curse that allows her to control shadowy creatures that like killing people. Completely my kind of person. She is also very controlled, and seems frigid. Since it lately seems a trend that all heroines have to be "bubbly" and "spunky", her more introverted personality was a nice change of pace.

Lowe, however, I feel a bit meh about. On one hand he was an okay guy, and I understood why he did what he did (especially concerning his illegal activities). Parts of the narrative are written in his voice, and I didn't enjoy reading his thoughts. It somehow felt is if he more thought of Hadley like an object to have sex with, rather than her as a true person. Not attractive, in my opinion. Most of the sex scenes were also from his point of view, and I just wasn't invested.

Overall the story was sweet though. The incorporation of Egyptian myths was subtle, and a lot of the story is spent like a quest to find different pieces of an amulet. These parts were my favourite, and I loved seeing the story unfold. The main thing I really missed was seeing the characters of Bitter Spirits. Winter and Aida are briefly mentioned a few times, but I wish they got a bit more screen time. It would be cool to see whether Hadley and Winter would get along. My curiosity was never satisfied on that point. Grim Shadows was enjoyable, and I will continue reading the Roaring Twenties series. I hope the third book will feature a couple I can fall in love with, like I did with the main characters of Bitter Spirits.

[kimbacaffeinate]

Five reasons to grab a cup of coffee and curl up with Grim Shadows

1. The Roaring Twenties and Egyptian artifacts wrapped in paranormal woo-woo. Bennett weaves a wicked tale around an ancient curse, specters and a quest to find missing pieces to an artifact. All of this in hopes of stopping a lunatic. It was a gripping tale from beginning to end and had me captivated.

2. The Magnusson brothers. Yum. Lowe is Winter’s younger brother. He is an archaeologist and like his brother he skirts around the law. He is a charismatic swindler who happens to be very intelligent. I loved that there is really a good guy hiding beneath his latest scheme.

3. Hadley Becall is a curator and scholar who longs to run the museum and go on excavation digs. She is strong, intelligent and secretly bold. She is cursed by dangerous specters who roar their ugly heads and wreak havoc whenever she is upset. Beneath her carefully built facade lies a wanton woman with a passion for lingerie.

4. You love fleshed out, complicated characters that wrap themselves around your heart. Not only does Bennett deliver an anti-hero and heroine to root for she gives us secondary characters that steal our heart. Her villains will induce fantasies that include running them over with a taxi. The romance itself is quite heated at times, but also had tender moments, and indecisiveness. It made me both swoon and giggle.

5. While I never doubted I would get my HEA, the ride Bennett took me on was filled with twists, danger, and heated moments. She allowed me to experience a range of emotions from laughter to tears. I completely immersed myself in Grim Shadows losing track of time and slipping into the streets of San Francisco.

Grim Shadows was a fantastic edition to the Roaring Twenties series. Bennett’s characters, setting and talent for spinning an exciting tale have me eager for more. If you have not done so, check out book one, Bitter Spirits and watch for the release of Grave Phantoms in the spring/summer of 2015.

Copy received from publisher in exchange for unbiased review that originally published @ Caffeinated Book Reviewer