Grim Shadows by Jenn Bennett – a Review
Grim Shadows
Roaring Twenties series – Book #2
by Jenn Bennett
Release Date: June 3, 2014
Amazon / Barnes & Noble / Kobo / The Book Depository
Description:
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.
Review:
Grim Shadows by Jenn Bennett is the 2nd book in her Roaring Twenties series. Of course, knowing the series title, you know this series takes place during the prohibition era, and in San Francisco, with a paranormal/magic background theme. Wheras, Bitter Spirits (first book) was about bootlegging and ghosts; Grim Shadows is about Archaeology and specters (evil spirits).
Our hero is Lowe Magnusson, who is Winter’s (first book hero) younger brother. He is a con-man, but also a charming and gorgeous hunk, whom you fall in love with early on. Lowe lies easily, and we find ourselves laughing at the stories he tells people, when trying to escape a bad situation or just to get where he wants. Having discovered a priceless Egyptian artifact (djed amulet), Lowe makes his plans to head home and sell the amulet to the highest bidder. But before he leaves, he meets Hadley, our heroine.
Hadley is the daughter of renowned Archibald Bacall, who wants the amulet for his museum, and will pay a hefty price. Hadley, who is an archaeologist expert, helping her father run the museum, approaches Lowe, in behalf of her father, to make an immediate deal and ensure they receive the amulet. Lowe finds her attractive, but cold and distant; but has no qualms lying to her, since he plans to have a fake amulet made to help him cover his debts to some bad people. However, they are thrown together in a wild and dangerous trip home.
What follows is a wonderful exciting and fun filled story, with Lowe and Hadley working together to discover the mystery of the amulet, and trying to put together the clues to find the missing pieces to complete the amulet. Lowe finds himself falling hard for the strangely distant Hadley. She too finds herself attracted to Lowe, but because of a childhood devoid of love, Hadley keeps herself aloof. She also carries a curse that plays a major part of her life, and why she cannot let herself allow anyone in.
But Lowe is determined to discover all that is Hadley, even when he learns the truth about the dangerous spirits that hover over her, he refuses to back down. This turns out to be a beautiful romance, and it was so wonderful to see how Lowe slowly breaks down her defenses. The sexual chemistry between them was hot, and to see Hadley come out of her shell was a joy to see. Bennett did this so well. I loved Lowe and Hadley. So different, and yet so perfect for each other.
The story was an a tense and exciting ride to the finish, as each missing piece is discovered, each creating much danger with various mythical creatures trying to stop them from completing the amulet. In the middle of this, is a sinister villain, who will stop at nothing to find those pieces himself.
Jenn Bennett has impressed me with all the research that she had done to create this wonderful story that deals with Egyptian Mythology, and was so well written, we totally understood everything. But best of all, our two heroes, Lowe and Hadley were such a fun couple, not to mention being a hot sizzling romance that steamed the pages. If you want an exciting, tense adventure, action filled mystery, and a fun sexy flirty couple, then Grim Shadows should be your next read.
Reviewed by Barb
Copy provided by Publisher
