Spy. Assassin. Inventor. Phillip Lichner is used to knowing what needs doing and how to do it with skillful efficiency. But with a big brother who is the king of Abaddon and the acknowledged strongest lich ever known, Phillip has always felt second-best. Still, when his brother, King Eric, asks him to come to Earth to get a spy network established before the banished Abaddonites are allowed to … return, Phillip can’t refuse. He has always supported Eric to the best of his ability and he knows an efficient network will be critical in maintaining Eric’s control over the volatile races of Abaddon. But how long is it going to take to recruit spies for magical beings in an unfamiliar world full of magically-blind humans? Then he meets Rebecca and he is no longer quite so impatient to get his task done so he can return to Abaddon.
Rebecca Smythe fought hard for her job with the FBI—against the good ol’ boy’s club, controlling relationships, and even her own father. She’s not about to give it up just because she finds Phillip so intriguing. Minor flirting is all she’ll allow rather than risk forming an attachment that would have her defending her life choices yet again. But when a case goes sour and Phillip is the only one she can trust, his unconditional support makes her question her view of relationships—if she can get past the fact that he’s not quite human.
Then again, it’s not only the banished races that can be monstrous. The humans she chases are far more ‘monster’ than the handsome lich helping her.
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He has always felt below his big brother and he will help out whenever he can. When he is asked to go to earth and starting a spy ring. He just wants the job done so he can go back home until he meets her. She had fought hard to get where she is and she is not allowing this alien push her to far. It seems they are attracted to each other. What will they do? Will they push the lines between them? See how they get on
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Phillip Lichner’s older brother King Eric of Abaddon, the strongest lich ever known and Phillip’s role model all his life, has asked Phillip to travel to Earth via portal on an assignment for him. Phillip is his only spymaster and gives his brother a list of excuses as to why he can’t leave Abaddon right now. But King Eric needs his brother to set up a spy network on Earth, similar to what he has established on Abaddon, before he allows too many Abaddonites across the portal when it is opened to them. Rules for behavior over there will be stricter, so he needs a system in place to keep him informed of potential trouble spots. Only Phillip has the expertise he requires to accomplish this.
Phillip always felt he was trying to prove himself to his larger-than-life brother. Here on Abaddon, he is useful and skilled. On Earth, he would be blind and deaf in comparison since he had no spies and no network on Earth yet to gather intel his brother needs. And Abram Noya, the escaped traitor, was still at large. But Eric needed him on Earth, so he would go. The initial team would be taking a week-long class to understand Earth culture before they left. He would need to quickly establish the contacts he needed on Earth so he could get back to the task of tracking down Noya who was still a dangerous threat to the king.
Rebecca Smythe had a long history with the FBI. Only her boss, Jay, was aware of her “feelings” about the success of an op. The first time, Jay listened to her and pulled a man off an op when Rebecca said he would not survive if he went with them. It made hard feelings, but she was correct as he had a heart attack he wouldn’t have survived if he had gone. Since then, she had been known as ‘Sixth Sense Smythe’—or ‘Triple-S’. Now Jay let her sit in on cases he assigned so he could have her input. And she told him something BIG was coming, but she didn’t know what.
Phillip now needs to get the network in place for Eric. There are still other magical races in hiding on Earth. But how long will it take to recruit spies for magical beings in a world full of magically-blind humans? Then he meets Rebecca Smythe and everything changes! Is he the bonded Concordia he thought he would never find?
This was a good story and very different from most I have read with similar elements. I enjoyed the characters and the pace of the story line. Having a human as the Queen, the bonded Concordia of King Eric, was a great idea as well since she could better prepare the initial team for the differences they would find on Earth. Grab your copy and enjoy the team’s attempts to fit in and the humorous mistakes they make along the way.