The Solstice Countdown
Author: Lisa Shearin
Reviewer: Jen
Rating: B+
What I’m Talking About:
It’s Christmas time and Mak is taking boyfriend Rake home for the holidays. It’s been over a year since she last visited her hometown of Weird Sisters, in the remote mountains of North Carolina, and it’s the first time she’s ever brought someone home to meet the family. On the way into town, the couple nearly dies in a mysterious fog and then is confronted by Cernunnos and the Wild Hunt. Soon the town discovers that they are trapped in a pocket dimension and cut off completely from the outside world.
The Solstice Countdown is another action-packed adventure for SPI Seer Makenna Fraser and goblin boyfriend, Rake. I love how close the pair has become; they team well together whether in romance or when solving a case. Not only can they actually read each other’s thoughts, but they are intuitive and sees to each other’s needs.
The primary storyline is different from previous tales, yet there are a lot of familiarities. With the action set in Mak’s home town, we get a whole new cast of characters. The change in scenery and additional characters adds a wonderful dynamic to the familiar actions of a well-known bad guy. Seeing Mak work with her family is a lot of fun, and I love how they get to see SPI Mak in action. Additionally, there is a WONDERFUL twist that has major implications for Mak.
Mak has grown in confidence, no longer hesitant. She’s embraced her abilities and is comfortable giving orders, but she also recognizes her limits and is content when others sit in the driver’s seat. While the author continues to add unnecessary repetitive thoughts and phrases to Mak’s internal dialogue, I’m recognizing it as part of Mak’s personality, and it doesn’t bother me quite as much.
The Solstice Countdown has the usual battles and magic, but also new mythology and fun twists. I love how personal the stories are getting; I’m vested in Mak and her life because I witness more of her personal side rather than just work. The story provides some closure on part of the past as well as some new beginnings. I look forward to following Mak on more adventures!
My Rating: B+ Liked It A Lot
Jen
About the Book:
As an agent of Supernatural Protection & Investigations (SPI), I know that evil doesn’t take a vacation, but this time it made an exception and followed me on mine.
I’m Makenna Fraser, seer for SPI, and I’m taking my boyfriend, goblin dark mage Rake Danescu, home for the holidays to meet my family.
Weird Sisters is a small town in the North Carolina mountains that was built on a network of ley lines that magnify psychic and paranormal energies. It doesn’t show up on Google Maps, was named after the three witches in Macbeth, and the first word of the town name perfectly describes most of its human and supernatural citizens.
A stranger has come to town, bringing with him a dormant source of primordial evil. Soon, magically gifted locals start vanishing, and the power of the ley lines is turned against us, cutting us off from the outside world and any source of help.
For a town and its people steeped in magic, and my family sworn to protect both, it’s a race against time to use a local winter solstice phenomenon to free the town from its prison. But first, I must trust a father I’ve never known to fight and defeat an awakening evil that’s existed since the beginning of time. If we fail, and it is unleashed, the world will not survive.
Release Date: March 9, 2021
Publisher: Murwood Media
Series: SPI Files #7
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Format(s): paperback (296 pages), e-book
Book Source: Author
Purchase Info:
Amazon (affiliate link)
Reviews in the Series:
“Lucky Charms” by Lisa Shearin (Night Shift) (SPI Files #0.5)
Grendel Affair by Lisa Shearin (SPI Files #1) – Audiobook Review
The Dragon Conspiracy by Lisa Shearin (SPI Files #2) – Audiobook Review
The Brimstone Deception by Lisa Shearin (SPI Files #3) – Audiobook Review
The Ghoul Vendetta by Lisa Shearin (SPI Files #4) – Audiobook Review
The Myth Manifestation by Lisa Shearin (SPI Files #5) – Audiobook Review
The Phoenix Illusion by Lisa Shearin (SPI Files #6) – Audiobook Review