The Dragon Conspiracy

By: Lisa Shearin

Narrated by: Johanna Parker

After solving the Grendel Affair, the agents have another SPI file to investigate.... We're Supernatural Protection & Investigations, known as SPI. We battle the real monsters of myth and legend, but this Halloween we're searching for diamonds....

A gala opening at the Metropolitan Museum of Art has attracted the upper crust of Manhattan - and thieves. A trio of vile harpies attacks the crowd and steals the stars of the exhibition: a colorful cluster of seven cursed diamonds known as the Dragon Eggs. In the right mage's hands, each stone can pack a magical wallop. Together they have the power to "cure" the supernaturals of the tristate area - but for many of those vampires and werewolves, that means turning into dust.

I'm Makenna Fraser, a seer for SPI. With the help of my partner, Ian, and the other agents, I have 24 hours to prevent total global panic, find the diamonds, and save the supernatural community. No biggie....

©2015 Lisa Shearin (P)2015 Audible Inc.

great book

I believe that I like this one better than the first one. I don't know why, it just seemed a bit more fun.

Fun, Engaging and NOT the Same

One of the downfalls of being a sic-fi fantasy junkie is that you read so much - the stories often just blur together in a meaningless morass of creatures and the "tortured creature (male) saved by the mortal (female)" details to follow. Not this one. This series is not only NOT predictable, but it is refreshing, clever and fun. I am an admitted fan of Johanna Parker and her narration brings life to everything she performs (What would Sookie Steakhouse be without her?) but also that she chose to narrate this book guarantees several things: A smart, spunky female protagonist with a great sense of humor and an intelligent story line. It requires enough cerebral attention to keep me reading/listening and yet entertains. Give it a try - it is well worth the credits.

Good!

Bk 2 in the series and it is getting more in-depth. The characters are more detailed and I find the the plot very interesting. Johanna Parker did a good job I her performance and I am able to differentiate the voices of the male and female parts. I hope there will be more coming in the series. Looking forward to bk 3.

Great Listen!

Main characters: Makenna and Ian are once again trying to save the world, this time from harpies, a self-centered gorgon, and a pissed-off dragon. I like the easy, but not romantic, relationship that is developing between Makenna and Ian. They tease each other, they watch out for each other, and they are becoming great friends. I love their loyalty to Yasha as well, and his loyalty to them.

Other characters: In this installment of the SPI files, we meet harpies and gorgons — two very interesting creatures of Greek mythology. I like the character of Helena Thanos; she is portrayed as being sophisticated and gracious. I have to admit I’m a bit smitten with goblin Rake Danescu. You can’t trust him, but he has the allure of the “charming bad-boy.” I’m going to have to go read the Raine Benares series, since the goblins appear in both worlds. I really like Ben Sadler, too, and hope he appears in future books.

Story: The Dragon Conspiracy is another fun adventure. I really liked the link between the Dragon Eggs and the Romanovs. That was a fun bit of history to bring in. I liked hearing the backstory on Victor Kane as well. I think villains without a backstory are too shallow. At the end of the novel, we’re told that the villain of this piece was not working alone. Intriguing! It ties this story into a bigger picture and builds anticipation for what is yet to come. It might have been nice to have more clues about this in the story itself so we could be shown the intrigue instead of told (actually, there were a few hints in the beginning), but overall, I still had a lot of fun listening to this book.

Narrator: Johanna Parker rocks; not much more I can say. :) She’s a great choice for this series.

Overall: This novel is great fun and an excellent listen. I’m looking forward to The Brimstone Deception coming out later this year.

Purchased. Review courtesy of One Book Two book review blog.

Fun, Funny, and Fast-paced

I love this series because the writer has the great skill of blending serious with humorous quips and Texas slang (We're off like a dirty shirt!") cEntertaining storyline that fits fantasy/sci-fi perfectly. I wish they'd find a better cover artist. The series deserves a much better interpretation for a man and woman who are described as extremely handsome and pretty. Narrator is perfect!

A good sequal

I enjoyed this sequel. It follows up with book 1 well. These books don't need to be heard in order. There are few references to things in book 1. Tired of male or female tortured creatures meeting their opposite mortal? Tired of good stories ruined by an over abundance of sex and bedroom scenes? Then give this series a try. These characters are presented in a fresh way. There is some predictability with the plot. The fun is that the solutions are not as anticipated. I hope that future books will feature the supporting characters a bit more.

Excellent sequel

As good as the first book and still surprising. I will be going for the next book in the serie

I enjoyed it!

What made the experience of listening to The Dragon Conspiracy the most enjoyable?

I like the characters that LS has developed in this series- I haven't read her other series, so can't speak to those. I love the Southern Girl in the Big Apple back story that goes along with the main story with Dragons, elves, shifters, demons, medusa', etc. No spoilers, but this is a great summer listen, I liked it and am looking forward to the next instalment.

Have you listened to any of Johanna Parker’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

LOVE Johanna Parker- she always gives a great performance and has certainly done so in this book.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes, but truthfully, I feel that way about most books. :)

Great Series

Where does The Dragon Conspiracy rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

So far is a great book. I enjoyed the first one more but the this one was also good. I do look forward to learning more about Rake. I think he is going to make it interesting. The whole SPI team is great but I would love to more of the others stories as well. I also love learning more about the dragon.

What did you like best about this story?

Seeing the 2 main hero's find romantic interest. I think it is going to bring a little tension to the story and that should be good. Also when we learn of an old enemy being behind it again.

Have you listened to any of Johanna Parker’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

Oh yes she is great I love all her book. I love way of telling a story she makes you feel so comfortable you want to keep cleaning house so you can finish the book.

Any additional comments?

I look forward to seeing were the story takes us next.

Exciting and Funny Urban Fantasy Series

I found Lisa Shearin and the SPI Files series in the Night Shift Anthology that I reviewed late last year. I instantly fell in love with Mackenna Frazier and the team at SPI. I found that I really enjoyed the world of supernaturals in New York City. Mak is a great character who continues to prove that she is one of the great heroines of the urban fantasy worlds, even if she still has a lot to learn.

In The Dragon Conspiracy, we are in New York a few months after the end of the previous book. Mak and her partner, Ian, are stalking out the Met as they keep an eye on some very power and cursed gemstones called Dragon Eggs. Each of these Eggs are very powerful on their own, put them in a collection, like we have here, and the power is almost limitless. Their job is to make sure no one steals these dangerous items. Of course, they are stolen anyway. We also get to meet a new type of supernatural in this book, Gorgons.

The mystery about who steals the eggs is great. There are tons of twists and turns. Plus, we continue to learn more about the eggs as the story progresses. I enjoyed watching Mak and Ian progress through the case and continue to become even better partners. As per the previous stories in this series, it is filled with a lot of humor. The characters are very well developed and continue to get more so with each book.

This is a series that I really feel you should read/listen to in order. I found that starting with the prequel in the Night Shift Anthology really helped me to get some background on Mak and SPI as an organization. That’s not to say you would be completely lost if you didn’t read them, but there is some backstory on the characters that you would miss, plus I think they are all great books and worth the read anyway. I’m very excited to get to the next book in this series.

Narration
Once again, I think Johanna Parker has done a great job with series. She is one of my favorite narrators for a series with humor. She has a great ability to make a funny story even funnier in her telling of it. I like her use of different voices. I’m always able to tell who is speaking. She does a great job with all the voices, include the males.