4.5/5 stars
2/5 spice

A 1920s era fantasy with Fae and gangsters... this was quite the adventure.

Tropes:
1920s Prohibition era
Secret society
Magical system
Irish folklore
Hidden magic
Soulmates/fated mates
Sheltered/Virgin FMC
Possessive MMC
Welsh endearments
Slow burn
Single POV
Cliffhanger

Overall, this book is amazing. Did it get slow or drag out in the middle? Yes, but once you get past the middle, it's a roller coaster of events. I'm really excited to read the next book. There is an obvious parallel between the Knights of Templar and religious zealots in modern day times. It made the book more relatable to see those parallels because you could imagine this magical world more clearly. The historical accuracy was there but wasn't necessary when most of the story took place within the Fae "world" but when we did see them in the world of humans the descriptions of each place and atmosphere was done very well. I definitely went back and forth between trusting the Fae and not. Jack played a great morally grey MMC. There is no clear Good vs. Evil in this story... everyone has done something for survival purposes or what they considered "for the greater good." But obviously, we're rooting for the morally grey hero and especially Addie coming into her own strength. She does have character growth, and in the end, she's not shying away from doing what she needs to do to survive.

I listened to the audiobook while reading the ebook in tandem. Whenever there are words that I can't pronounce, I really enjoy hearing the narrator pronounce it for me. A lot of Welsh and Irish words throughout the book but hearing Jack call Addie "annwyl" was the best 👌🏽 Their relationship had me on tenterhooks from the beginning. The slow burn was soooo worth it, though.

Thank you to Netgalley and Dreamscape Media for the ALC. All thoughts and opinions are my own. I read the book in tandem via Kindle Unlimited.

Trigger/Content warnings:
Violence, death, war/PTSD, racism, death of parent, injury details, sexual content, explicit language

I saw this book pop up on Netgalley’s audiobook section and I’m in my audiobook era at the moment.
This book was like nothing I’ve ever read before. It was fae fantasy but also so much more. There’s so much more to this story than just being a fantasy romance. It felt like it was a longer book than it actually was.
Addie sees things no one else does fairies, other mythical creatures and a man that visits her dreams once a month that captivates her. After her father’s death, Addie and her brother move to New York. Addie meets her flappy neighbour and attends a party, where she meets Jack Warren. He resembles the man from her dreams and nothing is as it seems.
There was so much to this story, the world building was so good. There’s a quest and a heist and the romance was so good between Jack and Addie. They have some spicy scenes and I can only imagine they get spicier.
The side characters were also so fun. I loved them all.
There were so many twist and turns to this story. I was so addicted to it and kept reading anytime I had a chance. I can’t wait for the next book in the series!

every month, adeline has visions of a dark prince and a shadowed forest. this vision becomes tangent when she moves to new york and meets jack warren. though she knows she should listen to her family’s warnings, she just can’t seem to stay away from him.

what drew me to this book is that it was described as “acotar meets the great gatsby.” although i don’t care for acotar, i interpreted this to mean a fantasy romance, and i love the great gatsby, so this seemed right up my alley! i adored all these elements within the book. i loved the romance between adeline and jack and can’t wait to see where their story goes in book two!

The perfect blend of ACOTAR and the Great Gatsby. It was beautifully written and kept me hooked until the very end. Definitely one of the best fantasy novels I’ve read this year.

The audiobook narrator was very clear and had a nice voice. However I do feel at times the accent was a bit much. She seemingly tried to combine a transatlantic and a southern accent, which sometimes came out a little bit funky.

I was intrigued by the concept, but this book wasn’t for me. Honestly there’s nothing against the author or the book, as it looks like this has been a favorite of so many, but it just didn’t work for me.

From the beginning I struggled to follow the plot, and a lot of it seemed to drag and at times could be pretty cringey. I ended up DNFing.

Like I said, nothing on the book or the author. Just wasn’t for me

I was given an ALC by NetGalley and Dreamscape media. All opinions are my own.

I immediately wanted to read this book when I first saw it because of the gorgeous cover artwork and then when I realized there was an audio version I was thrilled because I love listening to a good fantasy.

The protagonist is Adeline, a 20-year-old woman who has spent her life on a farm in Georgia, hidden away from the creatures only she can see in her small Southern town. Leaving the only home she’s known for New York during the roaring ‘20s, Addie’s bad luck follows her. There she meets a host of new interesting people, including Jack Warren: a wealthy criminal bootlegger who seems to want Addie above all else. Will she give in to their mutual attraction or fight against the pull she feels towards this dangerous man who is not exactly what he seems?

The world building is fantastic and I love that it's set in the roaring ‘20s! It just makes the story that much more fun and gives it an air of intrigue and excitement with both historical and magical elements. Jack’s character is probably my favorite part of the story; he's charming, handsome and dangerous and the author does a great job building the connection and tension between him and Adeline. Like most fantasy novels, there's a good cast of characters but each one is well developed and unique. If you like enemies to lovers, reluctant attraction, he falls first, action and adventure, magic and romantasy, this book is a great choice! It’s also the first book of a series so if you love it, there will be more to come (:

The audiobook is a little over 19 hours long, but it’s worth it and the narrator Brenda Scott Wlazlo does an AMAZING job. I look forward to the next book in the series and I hope they continue to have Brenda narrate the audio version!

Thank you NetGalley & Dreamscape Media for the Audio ARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

3.75/5
Thank you to NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for providing me with the audiobook in exchange for my honest opinion.

I will admit I have conflicting feelings about this book, because I got immediately sucked in and found the concept to be so interesting (it reminded me of ACOTAR & Dark Olympus series, mainly Neon Gods and a bit of the Hobbit :))) if you read it you'll know why), but at the same time there were some pacing issues towards the middle and a lot of moments where the line between inspiration and identical scenes was non existent; it bothered me somehow a lot more than I would have expected it, because the whole concept of the Prohibition era mixed with fantasy was amazing to begin with and I think it didn't need certain well known scenes or lines to shine.

That being said, there is so much going on from bank robberies and treasure to magical portals, fallen stars, curses and blessings, mystical creatures and let's not forget, mating bonds.
There are also many familiar tropes present - found family, band of misfits, soulmates etc.

The ending promises a lot and I am super curious of how things are going to unfold from where they're left in this first book.
So, as a conclusion, I would say it isn't perfect by far, but it took me on a ride and I enjoyed it.

𝐀𝐔𝐃𝐈𝐎 𝐑𝐄𝐕𝐈𝐄𝐖! 𝐏𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐡𝐢𝐛𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧

WOW!! I LOVED THIS! I didn’t read the book, and I’ve had it on my TBR. So when the opportunity came up to listen to the newly released audio, I was so on board since I lean more towards audios.

And OMG WAS THIS FREAKING GOOD! As soon I heard Brenda’s accent come on, I was I was transported into this new world. This is one of my new favorite narrators. She was amazing and brought this book to the next level! It was just everything you could want in an audio book.

Now the story, so good! Set in the 1920’s, Adeline was raised in the deep deep South. The town seeing her as strange. The truth, she has the ability to see magical creatures. But nobody believes her.
Her journey, takes her into New York City, where she is just a fish out of water. Hoping to escape her past and try to just live a normal life but that’s not in the cards for her. She can not escape what she is, she can not escape “them”, she can not escape HIM.

What a fantastic world this was. I was in the edge of my seat and I loved every minute of it. I can’t wait for the second book. Go in blind like it did, it was so much fun.

Thank you marilyn marks for advanced audio copy!

This is out now! Do yourself a favor and go listen. You will not regret it!

𝙄 𝙨𝙝𝙤𝙤𝙠 𝙢𝙮 𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙙. “𝘼𝙧𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝘿𝙚𝙫𝙞𝙡?”
𝙃𝙚 𝙡𝙚𝙖𝙣𝙚𝙙 𝙞𝙣. 𝘾𝙡𝙤𝙨𝙚, 𝙨𝙤 𝙘𝙡𝙤𝙨𝙚 𝙤𝙖𝙠 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙧𝙖𝙞𝙣 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙜𝙪𝙣𝙢𝙚𝙩𝙖𝙡 𝙬𝙖𝙨𝙝𝙚𝙙 𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙢𝙚, 𝙨𝙡𝙖𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚𝙙 𝙖𝙘𝙧𝙤𝙨𝙨 𝙢𝙮 𝙡𝙞𝙥𝙨. “𝙁𝙤𝙧 𝙮𝙤𝙪, 𝙄’𝙡𝙡 𝙗𝙚 𝙨𝙤 𝙢𝙪𝙘𝙝 𝙛𝙪𝙘𝙠𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙨𝙚.”

Set in 1926: Addie is a sheltered, innocent, 20 year old Georgian girl who sees creatures who *aren’t there*, and happens to dream of the devil every month... One day her brother decides to uproot the two of them and move to NYC, and there Addie meets Jack, the infamous gangster/bootlegger, who just so happens to be her devil dream man…

First of all, shout out to Violet “𝙂𝙤𝙤𝙙 𝙜𝙞𝙧𝙡𝙨 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙗𝙤𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙜. 𝙄’𝙙 𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙗𝙚 𝙖 𝙬𝙝𝙤𝙧𝙚” Warren, my favorite no-nonsense, tell it like it is side “friend” character. Every time she was around was my favorite part. I just love a super bitchy character! 😂

I also really like the growth Addie went through during this book, from the extremely sheltered, prim girl we first meet, to who we see at the end. It was fun to go on that journey with her.

And Jack? So good. Loved him, especially on his date(s)! 🥰

The best parts of the story were definitely the beginning and the end. I felt sometimes the story got bogged down in the middle when dealing with the fae lore, but it was all worth it for that ending. And speaking of the ending. Holy cliffhanger! I’m ready for book 2 now, please!

Audiobook notes: As soon as I started it up, that southern drawl was begging me to speed it up, so I did, to faster than I’ve ever sped up an audiobook before. 🤣 But overall, the narration was decent.

What this book is giving:
✅ Historical Fantasy Romance
✅ The Roaring 20’s
✅ Fae in the real world
✅ Found Family
✅ Soul Mate Bond
✅ One Bed
✅ Cliffy

Rating:
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️½ /5

I have been meaning to read this one ever since I saw the cover on Kindle Unlimited. I was happy to see the audiobook on Netgalley since I love to have an audiobook going everyday.

The book is told from one point-of-view and it comes from Adeline Colton. She has grown up on a farm and her father had taught her rituals and because of all of this she sees creatures many wouldn’t. Her brother comes back from war and everything changes when her father dies.

A lot of the plot was unique and gave a new way to view fae, especially since it had a historical setting. It’s not a time period you see often and I thought it was cool. It also goes over some of the terrible laws they had back then. One thing I didn’t like about the plot was the romance. It was very much insta-love and it is not something I enjoy. The two main characters due to fae rituals wanted to jump each others bones every second they had but it also couldn’t happen because of a bargain Adeline had struck when she was younger. I just didn’t care for the tension and didn’t see the chemistry between them.

The characters were alright but I never connected to any of them and it made the book drag on. I think it also had a very slow beginning and the book itself could have been shortened. I did like the narrator though and thought she did a good job with accents.

Overall, this just wasn’t for me.

I saw this book and thought, "I love the 20's and I love Fae, what could go wrong?"
Unfortunately, a lot could go wrong,
Now it wasn't the worst thing I've rear this year but it wasn't something I plan to recommend.
I found the main character insufferable and the middle of the book an absolute bore.
But I am rating it a little higher because it had a good ending.

6 STARS!!!!!!

Adeline, born in the early 1900s, had special abilities. She could see magical creatures. Her father and brother kept her safe, deep in countryside in Georgia. But seclusion could only last so long. After tragedies strike, Addy finds herself in New York City in the roaring '20s. She encounters a mysterious and powerful bootlegger named Jack. But he might be more than he seems. Addy begins to get sucked into the world of gangsters and...fae? What's really happening here? Who can she trust? And what happens when she can't help but fall for the Prince of Prohibition?

THIS BOOK. "By the f*ckin' fates!" I have been absolutely been BLOWN AWAY. The narrator, Brenda Scott Wlazlo, has a voice like melted butter. From the moment it started, I was transported, first to the deep south in the early 1900s, then to New York City during one of its most exciting periods. It's The Great Gatsby meets ACOTAR (A Court of Thorns and Roses). It's spicy, dangerous, magical, romantic, and compelling!

I am not typically a fantasy reader. I often get lost in high fantasy and can find world building tedious. This was absolutely not the case. Marilyn Marks is a master storyteller, building a fantastical world brick by brick. I love this time period. I loved the magical elements as well. And I loved the love story. So powerful. So different. I CANNOT WAIT until the other book in this duet comes out. I'll be first in line to read it!!!

Trigger warnings: drowning, seizures, shooting, blood/bleeding, death

I'd like to thank Dreamscape Media and Netgalley for the eARC of this book. All opinions expressed are my own.

★★★★★ - 𝓐𝓾𝓭𝓲𝓸𝓫𝓸𝓸𝓴 𝓡𝓮𝓿𝓲𝓮𝔀

The Prince of Prohibition by Marilyn Marks
Book 1 - Fae of the Roaring Age series
༘Spoiler free ༘
🎙️⭐️5/5 *audiobook rating
📖⭐️ 4.25/5 *book rating
🌟 4.5/5 *combined rating
🌶️ very spicy
Romantasy, Dark Fantasy
🎙️ Brenda Scott Wlazlo 5⭐️

➳ Roaring ‘20s
➳ Fae
➳ Dark Magic
➳ Enemies to Lovers
➳ Warring Factions
➳ Romantasy
➳ Banished Prince
➳ Dark Fantasy

✨ I shook my head. “Are you the Devil?” He leaned in. Close, so close oak and rain and gunmetal washed over me, breathing across my lips. “For you, I’ll be so much ******* worse.” ✨
The Prince of Prohibition is a must read dark romantasy tale featuring a banished prince, fae, mystery, and unfinished bargains set in NYC during the roaring ‘20s. If you liked Peaky Blinders, ACOTAR & The Great Gatsby, this will be your cup of tea ☕️

🎧Audiobook Review🎧

Brenda Scott Wlazlo expertly performed the narration for this book, and provided a lovely and honeyed American Southern narration for our FMC. the voices she provided for the other characters suited them well without feeling forced or sounding awkward. I was pleased to find that the narration sounded nice all the way up to 2.5 speed, and found 1.75-2.5 to be my comfiest listening speed for this book.

There are moments in the book where singing is involved and I found that the narrator executed the singing beautifully as well. Brenda Scott Wlazlo’s narration allowed for me to be fully immersed in the story, and it was hard to pull away from. I’m someone who usually isn’t a fan of American Southern accents in audiobooks, but didn’t find this one to be grating. The pacing, quality, and recording was perfect.

I LOVED the atmosphere in this book. The setting is the 1920s and it is glitzy and glamorous. This is a sweeping, fantastical story filled with awe and magic.

Unfortunately, very rarely do I find the steam and sexual energy a deterrent in fantasy, and this was filled with it. The story was so intriguing that I wanted more of that beauty and less of the heat. Crazy, right?

I was anticipating that ending, but STILL… gah, it got me!

Thank you NetGalley and publisher for this audio ARC. Goodness, this audiobook was so hard to listen to. Now, I don't mind when the voice actor has an accent, but this felt forced and fake. It was so distracting from the story and honestly made me roll my eyes.

I was really intrigued by the premise and setting of this book. I think when done well mixing fantasy into a more modern timeline can be really interesting. For me though this missed the mark.
First the southern colloquialisms feel really forced, I’m not sure if it’s the antebellum accent the narrator uses or if it’s a part of the writing but it took me out of the story some.
Then with the FMC she felt really inconsistent, going from extremely sheltered and childish to suddenly being able to exhort someone then right back to sheltered in a few pages. If felt cheap. Then we have the idea of fated mates, I love a good mate trope but they can’t be a bandaid for total lack of chemistry. I really wanted to like this one but it just wasn’t working for me.