Summary
The year was 1926. Glamour, riches and greed filled the air, but under the facade of glitter and gold lay truths much darker, more sinister, and entirely less human . . .
Adeline Colton was cursed. Everyone in Georgia knew the devil walked her farm, and maybe they were right, because each month she had . . . dreams. Visions of a dark prince and a shadowed forest. A creature so wrong, temptation lurked beneath her skin. So after escaping to New York City, it’s no surprise when her bad fortune follows. Only this time, it’s in the form of Jack Warren: millionaire bootlegger, infamous gangster, and criminal who makes Addie his fervent obsession.
Jack is everything Addie should avoid, but the more she resists his pull, the deeper she’s drawn into his extravagant world. Lured by a life of freedom and desire, Adeline must make a choice: heed her family’s warnings or follow Jack into the dark. But when fate binds them together, Jack is revealed to be something else—not man, not beast, not even the devil, but a creature much, much worse.
My Thoughts
The Prince of Prohibition by Marilyn Marks is book 1 in the Fae of the Roaring Age series. It immediately rose to my top read of 2024 so far this year. I loved this book so much. I was captivated throughout the story and couldn’t wait to find out what happened next.
Adeline is a great character to follow. She starts off as a child who people think is crazy, with a father who teaches her to never interact with the ‘devil-folk’ and a brother who came back from war a changed man. We right away get this vision of Adeline as weak, submissive, taught to do what the man says and never argue. We see her starve herself, go crazy, and feel tormented by what only she can see.
Jack is handsome, successful, wicked, and utterly obsessed with Adeline. She was plucked from rural Georgia and relocated to downtown New York in the height of the prohibition, where everyone drinks behind closed doors.
I truly loved the setting of this book. the roaring twenties? Fae in the roaring twenties? It was beautiful and quite honestly a masterpiece. The premise of prohibition is an interesting one, as well as everyones involvement in their rag tag group of friends. The way Marilyn Marks wove fae live into bustling New York City was perfect. I felt like there was a perfect blend of it being a fantasy while also being set in the city.
The plot was magnificent. Weak woman, strong man. Incredible pulsing attraction warring with the knowledge that this would be a terrible idea. Woman having to pick herself up and become strong on her own. Massive character development. The dark and light sides of each main character.
I really grew to love the characters and was invested in them and their well being. At first I was sad for Adeline but a little annoyed by her, but as we watch her grow, she grew on me too.
The attraction between Adeline and Jack is incredible! I loved the sexual tension they felt for each other and how much tensions we got throughout the book. The anticipation of them finally getting together and then getting to read that? Whew!! Worth every agonizing second waiting for it.
I also enjoyed the way the author flirted with a back and forth between attraction and obsession. It was a great theme through the book and I liked seeing it from the perspective of the Fae as well as the humans.
Finally, the characters in The Prince of Prohibition are all wonderful. Violet being a complete bitch made the book. She did not pity Adeline when she was fighting her past beliefs and accepting what was happening in front of her. Violet called her out and hung her out to dry, and that is something that really helped Adeline grow. It also helped me because while I love Adeline, she was a bit of a wet towel sometimes.
Overall, The Prince of Prohibition by Marilyn Marks is a fantastic start to the Fae of the Roaring Age series. I cannot wait for book 2, this was an immediate 5 stars for me! If you like the Great Gatsby, Fae fantasy, fated mates, found family and so much more, this is the read for you.
Worthy of a re-read.
See what other books I think are worthy of a re-read here.
Read my review of book 2, The Veil of Violence, here!
