Mac and Rake are on a date (so sorts) on the yacht of heir to one of the vampire families when he is kidnapped by creatures from the black lagoon aided by a kraken. Then a series of bank robberies led by the "ghoul" that has been haunting/hunting Ian sucks SPI into the maelstrom brewing up river. Then another kidnapping leads SPI into rescue mode. Interesting character development for Ian and Rake with plenty of action and intrigue leaves open plenty of interesting situations for future books!

Review goes live on Butterfly-o-Meter Books on May 12 at 00.00 am GMT+2 and will show up on Goodreads sometime later.

In a Flutter: Rich, delicious world!
Fluttering Thoughts:
Worldbuilding: Mix New York with a wealth of fantasy -gnomes, dragons-, paranormal-shifters, vampires, mages-, and mythological -Tuatha de Danann- elements, and you get the fabulous world of the SPI series. Loved the hell out of it!
Characters: Makenna was an interesting MC in terms of typology. Aside the whole agent angle, which I always but always love, she also had this fun – and funny! – personality, she was loyal, dedicated to doing the right thing, but she also missed this “senseless hero” gene that many MCs actually have. You know the type I’m talking about, those MCs which are not in any way equipped to deal with whatever plot twist comes their way, but they jump in blindly and just somehow manage to get it done (sometimes on their own, too) because special skills just magically pop up? It’s fun to witness, particularly in certain settings, but there’s something about realistic fantastic fiction that speaks to me. In our case, Mac behaved in a responsible way. It was SO refreshing to see that! I just loved the hell out of her approach. She was loyal, involved, hands-on, brave, but she was also responsible and behaved like part of a team. It was exactly what I wanted to see from her, and I loved seeing it.
Other characters were also cool, Ian for sure, Rake abso-freaking-lutely, but all other characters were interesting too. I just loved the whole cast.
Plot: The whole suspense part, with Janus and his antics, was very cool: some mystery, some chases, heists, magic action – a whole lotta yummy. The story had an alert tempo without becoming too agitated. The romance angle was kind of like a teaser, like it was so good and slow burn and yummy, but it also left me wanting SO much more of Mac&Rake. Loved the story, all in all.
Writing: First person, past tense narrative, Mac’s POV. While I loved her voice and sense of humor, the style a bit more narrative than say dialogue, and I tend to love that balance leaning in the other direction. It wasn’t annoying or anything, but it’s a personal preference kind of thing. It worked, but it would have worked even more for mee with the balance leaning more in the other direction.
Curb Appeal: Cool cover, hooking blurb – definite impulsive buy material for my agency UF cravings.

The Ghoul Vendetta was a fun, rich read, with all sorts of emotions and elements combined in an entertaining way. The fact that I could jump right in the series, and it all made perfect sense to me, speaks to the author’s mad skills.
I recommend the novel to lovers of agencies and UF mixes, to fans of realistic MCs and rich worlds full of all kinds of fun magical elements. Loved the ride!

Lisa Shearin continues SPI Files with Ghoul Vendetta. Makenna Fraser, seer for Supernatural Protection and Investigation, has to rescue her partner Ian from a supernatural shapeshifter and avert armageddon from destroying the human race. SPI reconnoiters in New York and chases suspects up the Hudson River. Meanwhile, Irish myth is coming to life. Monsters, paranormal heroes and bad guys and lots of action. Read this and go back and read the rest of the series. Great fun.

What should have been a fun date for Seer Mac and her Goblin boyfriend Rake quickly turns sour when the yacht they're partying on is attacked by a kraken and a bunch of other weird creatures normally only seen in bad sci-fi movies. Things only get worse when ghouls start carrying out perfect bank jobs and eating any security guards who come anywhere close to catching them in the act. Throw in an old vendetta against her SPI partner Ian and shocking kidnap and Mac realises the stakes have never been higher but can she rescue Ian from the clutches of a madman AND save the world from an ancient enemy or is she destined to fail?

One of the things I love most about this series is the way Lisa Shearin keeps coming up with interesting new creatures to populate her world with. We've had dragons, gorgons, demons and more but The Ghoul Vendetta increases the stakes and introduces a whole new host of monsters for Mac to worry about. We also get to find out a lot more about Ian's background which was fascinating (I wish we'd seen some of the story from his point of view though!). Mac is much more confident than she was at the beginning of the series and while she's not the strongest fighter in the SPI she's definitely willing to stand up when it counts, especially when her partner's life is on the line.

If there is one thing I'm a little disappointed with it's the romance though. Rake has really grown on me as a character but I just don't see any real connection between him and Mac which makes it very hard to believe in them as a couple. Mac spends so much time thinking about Ian that Rake is pretty much an after thought throughout the whole book, even when he's going out of his way to help her. It's probably easy to guess that I'm totally team Ian but I can see that ship has firmly sailed and I'm sure I'll get over it eventually. I just hope the author can actually create half the chemistry between Mac and Rake that she's already done between Mac and Ian. Luckily the romance isn't the main focus of the story though and I'm happy to just roll with the unbelievable relationships because I'm enjoying the rest of the story so much.

The Ghoul Vendetta has plenty of action and some really funny moments to lighten up the dark nature of the ghoul attacks. We're getting a much view of the world now and there are some really interesting revelations that will have a knock on effect as the series continues. I'm definitely looking forward to seeing where things go from here and I'm still not-so-secretly keeping my fingers crossed that Mac and Ian will see sense and stop dating other people when they're both so obviously in love with each other LOL.

Source: Received from Ace in exchange for an honest review

I dont think I have ever read a book quite like The Ghoul Vendetta. When I read the blurb I immediately wanted to know more so when I got an chance to read this book I dived into this story as soon as I could and I could not put it down ! it was so so good !!!

In this book we mainly follow Makenna and I just loved how strong , independent ,loyal , smart and kick ass she was. I felt like this story was Lisa Shearin twist on combination of things but in away reading this book made me think of the crime shows I have watched and loved, and men in black only with paranormal creature instead of aliens and I just loved that . We spent a lot of this book hunting down the bad guys and Makenna partner who got kidnap. There was not one dull moment in this book .I also I want to talk about the relationship between Makenna and Rake OMG do I love those two together, this book is in no way centered around there romance but those small moments they had with each other , the way they looked at each other and cared for each other , the date , the kiss was just everything ! .The way that Lisa Shearin weaved this story together was amazing . Everything about this book was just wonderful .

The Ghoul Vendetta was a fun , unique, addictive urban fantasy and now I am very eager to get my hands on the next Lisa Shearin book. If you love all these things in your books you should definitely pick up a copy

The SPI Files series is full of well developed characters, interesting story lines with plenty of mystery and lots of action.

Trouble always seems to find Makenna and her boyfriend Rake is usually with her when it happens. Their date doesn't go as planned when the ship they're on is attacked and someone is kidnapped. Since he was kidnapped by creatures that don't belong in this world, Makenna and her partner Ian end up on the case. If you're a fan of the Raine Benares world get ready to be excited, a few characters make an appearance in THE GHOUL VENDETTA.

I really like Rake. He grows on me more with every book, but for some reason I still find myself looking for romance between Makenna and Ian. Mac and Rake's relationship continues to grow and Ian is with someone as well, but I just keep looking at the two like they should be together.

I always seem to wait until the very last minute to read each SPI Files book after I receive it for review, but I always really enjoy it once I start reading it so I have no idea why I continue to do that. If you enjoy urban fantasy, I say give this series a chance and make sure to start with book one.

* This book was provided free of charge from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

In previous books in the SPI Files series, Agent Makenna “Mac” Fraser and her partner Ian Byrne have repeatedly encountered a mysterious villain from Ian’s past. He poses as a ghoul, but they know he’s really something much more powerful. In The Ghoul Vendetta, they’ll finally discover just who and what he is and the reason for his grudge against Ian. But first, they have to find a missing vampire, heir to the powerful Bathory family, who was kidnapped off his yacht by sea monsters while Mac and her goblin lord boyfriend watched, and find out why a gang of ghouls are robbing banks.

I love the variety of creatures and mythologies that Shearin incorporates in this series. I feel like it would be spoilery to say which ones come into play in The Ghoul Vendetta—it’s a myth I’ve seen referenced before but never in as much detail. I really enjoyed getting more of the story. She also brings in some characters from the Raine Benares world, Shearin’s other series. I love that the two very different worlds can be connected by a portal, as well as the subtle reminder that I still need to pick up Treasure and Treason.

I wish that all or part of this book were told from Ian’s point of view. It’s not called the Makenna Fraser series, so I don’t see why it couldn’t be, although Mac does have a very distinct voice. She rambles and digresses, which I think is part of what makes the series feel light and funny. But I feel like this is really Ian’s story. It’s frustrating to watch Mac try to get information from him and it feels odd to have Mac learning about Ian’s past without him. And I realize that dual points of view would suggest a romance, which Mac repeatedly points out that she and Ian are not having. At this point in the series, they’re even both seeing other people.

Mac’s relationship with Rake still feels off to me. He’s saying things like, “I can’t imagine my life without you,” while she seems surprised that she actually wants to kiss him. I wasn’t sold on that ship at the end of the last book and I’m still not. It may just be that after book one I really wanted Mac and Ian to be Cat and Bones, leading this top-secret team together. I suppose there’s still time for them to be Booth and Bones, who got together somewhere around season five.

I really enjoy the SPI Files series and I feel like it’s one that not enough people know about. Shearin’s lighthearted take on the paranormal police procedural is a breath of fresh air in a genre that can get very dark. Since The Ghoul Vendetta brings in so many threads from earlier books, I’d definitely start reading at the beginning with The Grendel Affair.

The Ghoul Vendetta is the fourth installment in author Lisa Shearin's SPI Files. This is a series that features Makenna (Mac) Fraser as a Seer who works for the Supernatural Protection & Investigation. SPI keeps the peace between the supernatural races, while also keeping the human race from discovering that others live among them. Mac has come a long way from the first novella, to this book. She's grown not only in the way she handles things, but in other aspects of her life as well. One being her ability to see portals, which has been a handy dandy tool over the last few books.

As the curtain opens on our heroine, Mac is on a date with the devilishly handsome and dangerous goblin Rake Danescu who has focused his attention solely on Mac and making her fall for him. Things move forward rather quickly in this story. The yacht that Mac and Rake are on is attacked by creatures from the Black Lagoon and a freaking Kraken! But, to make things even more twisted, a vampire they were keeping an eye on, is kidnapped by the creatures. Why take the vampire? Who were these creatures, and who knew that they lived in the rivers surrounding NYC?

Oh my word what an opening! A lot of the story focuses on Ian, his background, his heritage, and his adversary now calling himself Jonas. If you haven't read the previous novels, you definitely should! I'll just say that Ian and Jonas have a relationship that goes back to his days as a NYPD police officer. Ian wants his revenge, Jonas, the most dangerous villain this series has seen, has a few secrets all his own on why he focuses so much time and effort on Ian. Then there are the bank robberies, and what the thieves are actually taking. Mac and crew have to go it alone after Ian is ambushed, & taken by Jonas and his friends called the Fomorians.

Mac must put her own emotions aside in a safe place until Ian is returned. Mac has a tendency of landing in the middle of the next big crisis, but still lands on her feet thanks to those who protect her like Ian, like Yasha, like her bosses Alain & Vivienne, and now by Rake. She also has a cast of friends, and co-workers who back her up when things are at their darkest. As one of a rare breed of Seers who works for SPI, Mac's life is constantly on the line. There are those who would do anything to see Mac dead before she can ruin their diabolical plans. Mac isn't a heroine who has amazing kick ass characteristics at her beck and call. She uses her own imagination, and her own courage to survive to fight the good fight.

There is an interesting aspect to this story that really boggled my mind. But, in a good way. Mac & Rake make for an interesting coupling. Especially since she's never quite trusted him fully. Ok, so he's chased after her. He's made some serious inquiries about Mac working for him. He's a dangerous black mage who has his own agendas. He's hated by Ian, and most of SPI, but trusted by Dragon boss Vivienne. But, this romance goes to a whole new level thanks to Rake's actions and Mac's heart finally opening to the possibilities of a relationship. It's not the only curious romance. Not when Ian has his own burgeoning romance with Kylie O'Hara that readers will be curious about. I wasn't sure where the author was going to go with the romance angle, and I'm not sure this is where the romance will actually end, but either way, I'm good.

The Ghoul Vendetta is an action packed story filled with Goblins, Dragons, Vampires, Werewolves, Water Spirits, Mermaids, (we actually meet the mermaid Queen), Kaiju, Fomorians aka Creatures from the Black Lagoon, and Tuatha Dé Danann warriors who make a brilliant and timely and brief appearance. I think the most interesting tell of this story is the ending. Where the author goes from here, should be rather interesting. Especially since this book took things to an entirely new level.

This series is so much fun, I absolutely love it. Each book is a solid block of entertainment and THE GHOUL VENDETTA was no exception. There's so much humor between the phenomenal cast of characters despite all the very dark things they have to deal with. This time around was a doozy, and yet the story never once lost that sense of levity that I truly enjoy about it. Mac is fierce, but in a focused little engine that could type of way rather than your typical take no prisoners heroine. Her self deprecating humor mixed in with her determination to serve and protect is a breath of fresh air. You honestly never know what she's going to do next, but somehow she always comes out on top in the strangest of ways. She's unpredictable and admirable, and I just adore her for it. The rest of the characters are honestly top notch as well. From Mac's partner Ian, who is the definition of the perfect supernatural cop, to her mischievous lover, Rake, who is still a mystery, but oh so yummy, and to the rest of the SPI crew, simply fantastic.

Speaking of fantastic, man was the plot behind THE GHOUL VENDETTA one heck of a roller coaster ride. I read this book in one setting because I simply couldn't put it down. With each new release, Lisa Shearin has upped her game and brought higher stakes and bigger character developments, but this one takes the cake. Perhaps it's due to the fact that it hits very close to home for the SPI crew, but it just felt so much more intense. I won't spoil things, but trust me when I say you'll be on the edge of your seat while reading this one!

I couldn't have asked for a more enjoyable read. I truly hope there are many more books in this fantastic series to come!

I’ve been a big fan of this series since the beginning, and this book didn’t disappoint. Makenna Fraser is on a date with her boyfriend Rake, when the ship they are on is attacked and someone is kidnapped. With a not-so-welcome face from the past and some unusual robberies, Makenna and coworkers have almost more than they can deal with. Will she solve everything is time, or will her partner Ian pay the ultimate price? As always, I found this book to be fun, well-written, and a great story. I like how Makenna and Rake’s romance is progressing, but I do wish it would go a little bit faster. And, I do wish we would learn a little bit more about him. Sometimes I don’t feel I know him enough. These are a personal preference, though, not something the author has done wrong. We are slowing learning more about him as the series goes on, and we do learn something intriguing about him in this book, and I hope we learn more in future books. The only thing that was a little disappointing was the quick wrap-up at the end. That, however, in no way ruined the book. If you are fan of this series, you will like this one. If you haven’t read the series, you can start here, but I do think it’s better to start at the beginning and work your way forward. Fans of the Raine Benares will also enjoy this series. Highly recommend!

Thanks to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for the e-book which I voluntarily reviewed. This exact review posted on both Amazon and Goodreads.

Love this series! I am not sure, but it may be even more fun than the Raine Benares books. Either way, this author writes great characters and I can't wait until the next one.

O.M.G!! What an awesome installment to the SPI files. We have Mac and Ian, of course. Alain, Yasha, Kenji, Kylie, and swoon-worthy Rake. This is a fantasy mystery with no sex, no blood and gore, monsters and a little romance. The romance is just enough to make me go *sigh*.

I would suggest you start at book 1, but carve out plenty of time because it's necessary to read one after another.

Ms. Sagadraco is on vacation this time around, but it's ok cuz there are still dragons, vampires, ghouls, elves, and goblins. Ian finds out he is more than a vanilla mortal, and Mac gets to show her boss and her very good friend, Rake, what she's made of—a lot of backbone! I enjoyed that Mac didn't need saving this time around, and I also enjoyed that Mr. Alpha-Arrogance-on-a-Stick, Dark Mage billionaire, Goblin version of 007, Lord Rake Danescu is getting gushy for Mac. Oh, it's so much fun!! I get giddy just thinking about it!

Those that aren't keen about romance in their books, don't worry - there isn't enough to make you puke. Those of us that love the romance, settle in because, well, Rake kinda shares a little more of himself than we are used to. Again, giddy!!

The mystery case links some past cases together and Lisa Shearin does describe events from prior books to bring the reader up to speed. This is a 'one sitter' so be sure there will be no interruptions because you won't want to stop.