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

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!

He stuffed his hands into his pockets as he lowered his head and spoke to her conspiratorially in a teasing voice. “Let’s just pretend that you needed my help. It will make me feel useful.”

A thrill flowed through her like an electrical current. “Would you have actually hurt him?”

“In a heartbeat.”

"How foolish of me to find that exciting.” His mouth parted and he grinned, big and genuine. She couldn’t stop herself from grinning in return.

This is so different and fresh (ghost and bootleggers), very into this story. 

"I knew going in that a bootlegging hero was probably going to have to kill someone. Not every rumrunner forbade guns like Seattle’s Roy Olmstead, though I suspect that’s partly who Bitter Spirits hero Winter Magnusson was based on. And there’s definitely room in romantic heroism for killing: Han shot first, after all. So I wasn’t surprised when the book revealed that Winter has a few deaths on his conscience.

"I was a little surprised that one of them was his wife, though."

Finishing out my Booze Infused Romances! Bootleggers! 

1. Bitter Spirits by Jenn Bennett

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…

2. Bootleg My Heart by A.M. Westerling 

Delia Becker returns to Bandit Creek in search of the man who killed her dad several years earlier. She reopens her late father's garage and hires the attractive stranger Jackson Durant to help her out. Only after she catches Jackson snooping around does she realize her new mechanic has a mysterious past.

Revenue man Jackson Durant arrives in Bandit Creek looking for the rum runners operating in the south east corner of Montana. Working undercover as a mechanic at Joe's Garage, he finds himself falling for the garage's owner, Delia Becker. The only problem is, all evidence points to her being part of the rum running gang he's after.

Will their growing love for each other overcome the secrets that are spilled late one night on Lost Lake road? Or will Delia's desire for revenge drive them apart?

3. Heaven Sent by Pamela Morsi

Seeking a husband in order to escape a lifetime of spinsterhood, preacher's daughter Hannah Bunch finds an unexpected mate in Henry Lee Watson, a man who realizes that his unwanted marriage promises to be better than he hoped for.

4. Scarred Hearts by Bonnie Dee

At the close of WWI, moonshine and bootlegging rule the night in the Kentucky hills, but two damaged souls manage to find light and love amidst the darkness. Nearly destroyed by a grenade blast, Shadow Robeson returns home from war only to be trapped by family expectations he has no energy to fight—until a secret romance with a loving woman sets him on a new course.

Bound by poverty and a ruined reputation, Lettie Calloway seems destined to spend her days serving at the local tavern. It takes a kind and gentle man entering her life to expand her dreams to the horizon.

Shadow plans to escape the backwoods with Lettie for a new start, but his violent family threatens to destroy the fragile growth of new love. As the couple struggles toward freedom, will they escape this dangerous country before their lives explode?

5. Coming Through the Rye by Grace Livingston Hill

Trouble awaits Romayne Ransom when she returns home to find Evan Sherwood and his fellow officers lying in wait for her father and brother. When Evan accuses her family of being involved in a bootlegging scheme, Romayne adamantly denies him. Then Evan reveals a secret underworld hidden from Romayne’s view, and the horrid truth is too plain to deny. As Romayne is forced deeper into a harsh reality, her survival is at stake. But can she trust love to see her through?

6. The Widowed Bride by Elizabeth Lane

Ruby Denby Rumford endured her monstrous husband's abuse until death—by self-defense—did them part. Now she and her daughters seek a new beginning in Dutchman's Creek, Colorado, but will her dark past stay buried?

With an obligation to uphold the laws of prohibition and an undercover persona in place, U.S. Deputy Marshal Ethan Beaudry comes to town ready to end a shady bootlegging ring. He doesn't expect to find beautiful, mysterious Ruby involved—or be forced to choose between duty to the law and this forbidden passion.

7. Prohibited Passion by Rae Summers

In the age of jazz and champagne cocktails, respectable English widow Jenny embarks on a new life in America. Whatever adventures lie ahead, she's certain of one thing: one loss was enough for a lifetime. She will never love again.

So when, halfway across the ocean, she is stuck in an elevator with Tom Gallagher, a roguishly handsome and very unavailable Prohibition gangster, she has nothing to fear where her heart is concerned. Or does she?

8. High on a Hill by Dorothy Garlock

At 21, Annabel Lee Donovan wants nothing more than to settle down and live a normal, quiet life, but her father's bootlegging business keeps them moving every few months. In preparation for one last big score, her father moves Annabel to a house high on a hill above the small town of Henderson, Missouri. But the new location proves to be a fatal mistake, for the people and events in Henderson will change their lives forever.

Unlike how it was with past residences, Annabel quickly finds herself making friends in Henderson, and when she meets Corbin Appleby, she's instantly drawn to him. She has no inkling that he's an ex-lawman working undercover for the local marshal, nor that fate has sent Corbin to save her. Dark forces are afoot and Annabel, Corbin, her father, and their friends are threatened by powerful bootleggers and clannish hill-folk neighbors. If they can't find a way to thwart the villain determined to harm Annabel, elude the big city gangsters sent to kill them, and unmask the local mobster hiding in the community, they're all liable to die.

9. Speakeasy Dead by Vicky Loebel