The Phoenix Illusion (SPI Files, #6)

by Lisa Shearin

[Melanie]

My review and an extended sample of the audiobook are posted at Hotlistens.com.

I continue to enjoy stories with Mac and the gang of SPI (Supernatural Protection & Investigation). This story starts off at a birthday party which is interrupted by a house appearing in a vacant lot. The house and the vacant lot are both own by Rake Danescu, very rich goblin and boyfriend of our leading lady, Makenna Fraser. Since SPI’s main goal is to keep control of the supernaturals on Earth and keep magic from unknowing humans, you can imagine having an elaborate house appear in a vacant lot isn’t the best of things. Then the house burns down.

In this story, we get a lot of time with Rake, much more than we’ve had in the past. We continue to learn more about his race and his home planet (it seems that goblins come from another planet instead of another realm). We also meet Rake’s cousin, Tam.

This story had a lot of the things I love about this series, action, humor, characters that I love. I wish we had more time with some of the SPI characters, as Rake and Tam take over a lot of the page time, so we didn’t see as much of Mac’s partners, Ian (human) and Yasha (werewolf).

There is a scene towards the end of the story that is really frustrating. I know that the characters had their hearts in the right place, but it was not the right thing to do. I know that is very vague, but I don’t want to give spoilers.

Anyway, overall, I did really enjoy this story. I enjoy my time with these characters. They always make me laugh. I can’t wait to see where we go from here in this series. I’m hoping that we might get to meet Mac’s family and maybe even Rake’s. That should be interesting.

Narration
Johanna Parker continues to do an amazing job with this series. She really brings out the humor of Mac and the gang. I love all the voices she’s chosen for these characters. She does a great job with men and women (which is really good because there are way more men in this series than women). If you haven’t tried Johanna Parker, I highly recommend her. She has several great paranormal series out there that I’ve listened to and enjoyed.

**I like to thank the publisher for providing me with a copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.