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katyanaish's review against another edition
2.0
***2.5***
Honestly, there was a lot I didn't like about this one. But let me start with this: I love Lisa Shearin's books, and the Raine Benares series is one of my all-time favorites (the Raine books, not the Raine Benaraes World books) ... and I'm super excited that she said in her newsletter that she's going to write another book with Raine and Mycheal. Yes, I subscribe to her newsletter, because as I said, I love her books.
But I didn't like a main character from that series - Tam - rolling into this one. I thought I would, but I didn't. Look, I love that the worlds are connected, and I love the intersection, the easter eggs dropped about events happening over there. It is freaking awesome. But having a main character pop in ... well, I felt like it undercut the SPI team. By which I mean, honestly, the SPI team became background characters in this book. It felt more like the Tam / Rake adventure that Mac tagged along on (and they treated her like a tag-along, more on this in a moment). Even Ian was barely present (though when he was, he pissed me off ... that's part of the "more on this in a moment" though).
This series has a great cast - with Mac and Ian as the leads - and a rich secondary cast, and I love them ... and resent that they were largely sidelined. And I'm also confused, because Ian seems to not be a lead anymore. He was present, somewhat, in a token way. And Mac mentioned he was her partner, or called him her partner, probably a dozen times. But they didn't work together. They'd split up at incident locations, and when Mac gets jumped by the ever-present baddie who wants to kill the seer (a constant goal of theirs, for good reason), Ian is nowhere near ... and comes running when things are over. That happens twice in this book, but more than that, I was struck that they are literally never side-by-side working. They're not partners. They call each other that, but it's stupid. And it is even more stupid because of what happened at the end.
I was furious at what Ian pulled at the end. This is the "more on that later" bit, in case it wasn't clear. Here's the more.
I was even more furious that Mac completely let it go. She doesn't rip them a new one - after she makes her way back inside, ALONE, and saves their bacon, AGAIN. She doesn't even underscore that not only were they assholes, but she's actually the only one who handled the mission because they were all caught flat-footed. She got the goddamn crystal and got it away. While doing that, she caught the high-level baddie to interrogate. As far as I can tell, Ian was just standing on the sidelines with his thumb up his butt, because he literally contributed nothing to this mission, other than showing his "partner" how very little he thinks of her as an agent.
This was so infuriating to me that I am undecided whether I'll read more in this series.
Aside from that inexplicable bullshit, this series is stuck in a weird place that it now needs to solve. We used to have Mac and Ian. And while they weren't romantically involved, they were damn good partners - and they used to respect each other - that worked well together. I was cool with them not being romantically involved, I thought it was an interesting change of pace. Then Rake enters, and over the course of the last few books, he and Mac have gotten seriously involved. That's cool, I like Rake. I have a couple problems with their relationship, though. One, he treats her like a child who needs to be coddled. She's a freaking agent, dammit! Further, the coddling seems to have grown some kind of crappy self-esteem issue for her, as several times in this book she laments that she's not sure she can handle this. Dude, this woman, until now, has always rolled up her sleeves, jumped into the fray, and done what needed doing. Where did this wishy-washy crap come from? Is it because of Rake?
But now the book seems to be rolling Rake into the lead, with Ian contributing nothing (that's not an exaggeration) and being out of character. The bit in the spoiler tags above, that's way out of character imo - Ian has never been that stupid. Further, Ian was always Mac's shadow, because he was going to keep his partner safe (given that seers tend to have a short lifespan in SPI, since they are major targets for the bad guys). Now, he seems to have dropped out of that role entirely, and I don't understand why. I get that we need to have Rake there as her romantic partner, but he doesn't work for SPI and this is still an SPI series, right? Can we please have Ian actually BEING Mac's partner again? I like Rake being there, but it should be Ian alongside Mac when we get down to business or are handling an incident. Either that, or just freaking have Rake join SPI and be Mac's damn partner, because this currently feels like a mess.
Honestly, there was a lot I didn't like about this one. But let me start with this: I love Lisa Shearin's books, and the Raine Benares series is one of my all-time favorites (the Raine books, not the Raine Benaraes World books) ... and I'm super excited that she said in her newsletter that she's going to write another book with Raine and Mycheal. Yes, I subscribe to her newsletter, because as I said, I love her books.
But I didn't like a main character from that series - Tam - rolling into this one. I thought I would, but I didn't. Look, I love that the worlds are connected, and I love the intersection, the easter eggs dropped about events happening over there. It is freaking awesome. But having a main character pop in ... well, I felt like it undercut the SPI team. By which I mean, honestly, the SPI team became background characters in this book. It felt more like the Tam / Rake adventure that Mac tagged along on (and they treated her like a tag-along, more on this in a moment). Even Ian was barely present (though when he was, he pissed me off ... that's part of the "more on this in a moment" though).
This series has a great cast - with Mac and Ian as the leads - and a rich secondary cast, and I love them ... and resent that they were largely sidelined. And I'm also confused, because Ian seems to not be a lead anymore. He was present, somewhat, in a token way. And Mac mentioned he was her partner, or called him her partner, probably a dozen times. But they didn't work together. They'd split up at incident locations, and when Mac gets jumped by the ever-present baddie who wants to kill the seer (a constant goal of theirs, for good reason), Ian is nowhere near ... and comes running when things are over. That happens twice in this book, but more than that, I was struck that they are literally never side-by-side working. They're not partners. They call each other that, but it's stupid. And it is even more stupid because of what happened at the end.
I was furious at what Ian pulled at the end. This is the "more on that later" bit, in case it wasn't clear. Here's the more.
Spoiler
As they are about to go into the big confrontation, Ian inexplicably sends Mac out on a stupid errand. And when I say inexplicable, what I mean is that the whole group was working in pairs at the hotel, for safety, and Ian sends her off alone. Then we find out he was just sending her out of the hotel to keep her safe. WHAT THE FUCK? Mac has been a part of this team, on the front lines, over and over since this series started. She has saved their bacon more than once. For him to undermine and disrespect her so horribly ... I was stunned. Not just at the treatment of her, but also the stupidity, because as the seer, she's their goddamn eyes when the unexpected happens. How does this bullshit action even make sense?I was even more furious that Mac completely let it go. She doesn't rip them a new one - after she makes her way back inside, ALONE, and saves their bacon, AGAIN. She doesn't even underscore that not only were they assholes, but she's actually the only one who handled the mission because they were all caught flat-footed. She got the goddamn crystal and got it away. While doing that, she caught the high-level baddie to interrogate. As far as I can tell, Ian was just standing on the sidelines with his thumb up his butt, because he literally contributed nothing to this mission, other than showing his "partner" how very little he thinks of her as an agent.
This was so infuriating to me that I am undecided whether I'll read more in this series.
Aside from that inexplicable bullshit, this series is stuck in a weird place that it now needs to solve. We used to have Mac and Ian. And while they weren't romantically involved, they were damn good partners - and they used to respect each other - that worked well together. I was cool with them not being romantically involved, I thought it was an interesting change of pace. Then Rake enters, and over the course of the last few books, he and Mac have gotten seriously involved. That's cool, I like Rake. I have a couple problems with their relationship, though. One, he treats her like a child who needs to be coddled. She's a freaking agent, dammit! Further, the coddling seems to have grown some kind of crappy self-esteem issue for her, as several times in this book she laments that she's not sure she can handle this. Dude, this woman, until now, has always rolled up her sleeves, jumped into the fray, and done what needed doing. Where did this wishy-washy crap come from? Is it because of Rake?
But now the book seems to be rolling Rake into the lead, with Ian contributing nothing (that's not an exaggeration) and being out of character. The bit in the spoiler tags above, that's way out of character imo - Ian has never been that stupid. Further, Ian was always Mac's shadow, because he was going to keep his partner safe (given that seers tend to have a short lifespan in SPI, since they are major targets for the bad guys). Now, he seems to have dropped out of that role entirely, and I don't understand why. I get that we need to have Rake there as her romantic partner, but he doesn't work for SPI and this is still an SPI series, right? Can we please have Ian actually BEING Mac's partner again? I like Rake being there, but it should be Ian alongside Mac when we get down to business or are handling an incident. Either that, or just freaking have Rake join SPI and be Mac's damn partner, because this currently feels like a mess.
kasaya_mt33's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
rusticreadingal's review against another edition
4.0
I was so excited to dive into The Phoenix Illusion, book six of The SPI Files. It was another fun and action-packed installment. It was great to be back on another adventure with these characters and, like always, Mac was a great narrator who made it feel like I was listening to a dear friend tell me her story. I was instantly pulled in and completely hooked from the start. There was another appearance by a character from Shearin's Raine Benares series which makes me really eager to try those books out. I highly recommend The SPI Files to anyone who enjoys urban fantasy.
nelljustice's review against another edition
5.0
Lisa Shearin does it again. Am I surprised? No. Not at all. She makes it look easy to sit down and put story to paper or computer or whatever. SPI files is one of my all time favorite series and once a book is released I do my best to get a copy tracked down and in my library as soon as possible.
This story is a puzzle of who and why are buildings disappearing all over the world. Oh, not many buildings, just 8 - 10 or maybe 15. Isn't a big deal, right? Well, kind of is when one of them is Rake's house from Regor, the capitol on the goblin home plane, and it's on fire. And there is a dead guy inside. Duh Duh Daaaahhhh! (That's all we can afford here at One Book Two for special effects.)
That dead guy and Rake's burning house transported from the goblin capitol is enough to get SPI's attention. The story evolves from there to include goblin nazis and crystals that have a lot of power. The case isn't difficult once it's boiled down, but to get to the boiled down version it took a lot of luck and less investigation. Rake didn't hide anything like the super spy he is and Mac and Rake's relationship grew. I gotta say I enjoy that part, a lot. I mean really? What girl wouldn't like to have her significant other be romantic, thoughtful and protective (on occasion)? I felt like Mac felt like the third wheel during this investigation. It felt like Ian and Rake were partners instead of Ian and Mac. That part I was a little sad about. I really like Mac and she shined toward the end, but it felt like she was somewhat dissed in regard to her experience and knowledge. I mean she doesn't know it all, but she should get a little more credit. She was frustrated about Ian and Rake's behavior. I feel like she felt all that was missing was Rake patting her on the head and telling her to go make dinner and let the men handle it. But maybe that's the way goblins roll?
Like other installments of the SPI Files, there is no sex, no foul language and no graphic gore. There is wizards (mages, sorry!), goblins, elves, vampires, werewolves and dragons (Oh, my!) The book didn't take long from start to finish and it was hard to put down. I'm looking forward to the next one already.
This story is a puzzle of who and why are buildings disappearing all over the world. Oh, not many buildings, just 8 - 10 or maybe 15. Isn't a big deal, right? Well, kind of is when one of them is Rake's house from Regor, the capitol on the goblin home plane, and it's on fire. And there is a dead guy inside. Duh Duh Daaaahhhh! (That's all we can afford here at One Book Two for special effects.)
That dead guy and Rake's burning house transported from the goblin capitol is enough to get SPI's attention. The story evolves from there to include goblin nazis and crystals that have a lot of power. The case isn't difficult once it's boiled down, but to get to the boiled down version it took a lot of luck and less investigation. Rake didn't hide anything like the super spy he is and Mac and Rake's relationship grew. I gotta say I enjoy that part, a lot. I mean really? What girl wouldn't like to have her significant other be romantic, thoughtful and protective (on occasion)? I felt like Mac felt like the third wheel during this investigation. It felt like Ian and Rake were partners instead of Ian and Mac. That part I was a little sad about. I really like Mac and she shined toward the end, but it felt like she was somewhat dissed in regard to her experience and knowledge. I mean she doesn't know it all, but she should get a little more credit. She was frustrated about Ian and Rake's behavior. I feel like she felt all that was missing was Rake patting her on the head and telling her to go make dinner and let the men handle it. But maybe that's the way goblins roll?
Like other installments of the SPI Files, there is no sex, no foul language and no graphic gore. There is wizards (mages, sorry!), goblins, elves, vampires, werewolves and dragons (Oh, my!) The book didn't take long from start to finish and it was hard to put down. I'm looking forward to the next one already.
kvsreads's review
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
chllybrd's review against another edition
3.0
I'm a fan of the SPI Files series, but THE PHOENIX ILLUSION didn't blow me away.
What I liked: I enjoy watching Makenna and Rake's relationship grow. The overall story was interesting. I truly enjoy all the characters in this series.
What I didn't like: There was a LOT of explaining of past events and re-introductions of already known characters.
I honestly don't know 100% why I didn't totally love THE PHOENIX ILLUSION. It didn't grab me like the previous books in the series and had a different feel to it. Hopefully book 7 will draw me back in.
* This book was provided free of charge from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
What I liked: I enjoy watching Makenna and Rake's relationship grow. The overall story was interesting. I truly enjoy all the characters in this series.
What I didn't like: There was a LOT of explaining of past events and re-introductions of already known characters.
I honestly don't know 100% why I didn't totally love THE PHOENIX ILLUSION. It didn't grab me like the previous books in the series and had a different feel to it. Hopefully book 7 will draw me back in.
* This book was provided free of charge from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
laureljeanreads's review against another edition
informative
medium-paced
2.0
While this had the writing style u love from the series there was no real plot to wow me in this one. The MC really had nothing to add to the story except for at the very end, but it mostly felt like she was just along for the ride because she is the narrator. There was al ot of telling but not enough showing
tinasbooknook's review against another edition
4.0
SPOILER ALERT!
So much fun! I adore the worlds Lisa Shearin has created and the fact that Tam makes a guest appearance is just the icing on the cake.
Great characters, a neatly twisted plot, and enough magic to move houses, The Phoenix Illusion is another great addition to the SPI Files. I can't wait to discover what happens next, either in Raine or in Makenna's world:).
So much fun! I adore the worlds Lisa Shearin has created and the fact that Tam makes a guest appearance is just the icing on the cake.
Great characters, a neatly twisted plot, and enough magic to move houses, The Phoenix Illusion is another great addition to the SPI Files. I can't wait to discover what happens next, either in Raine or in Makenna's world:).