The Trouble with Demons by Lisa Shearin

Following close on the heels of Armed & Magical, The Trouble with Demons finds Raine Benares facing some problems bigger than ever. As if narrowly escaping an eleven kidnapping plot was not enough, she is one of the first to discover a plethora of multi-colored and heavily-fanged demons running around the Island of Mid. After taking care of a few of the grotesque creatures, Raine is dismayed to learn that these baddies were just the prequel of things to come. An extremely powerful (and equally idiotic) dark mage has opened a hellgate, effectually allowing an entire horde of demons free reign on Mid. *deep breath* A footnote in this charming little plot is that the Queen of Demons is intent on releasing her demonic horde and her trapped husband from inside the Saghred. Guess which seeker-bonded-to-a-rock she needs to do that little bit of mischief? Oh, that's right: Raine. Our girl does not have good luck. Raine will be the first to tell you that:

And all of my problems and predicaments were courtesy of a fist-sized, soul-sucking rock.

And she's quite right. The soul-sucking rock in question has given her an added boost to her normally respectable, but nonetheless minimal, magical abilities but even with with Saghred's help, it doesn't seem enough to accomplish the following:

1. close a hellgate
2. foil the Demon Queen
3. convince the powerful Council of Twelve that she isn't turning into a soulless dark mage that needs to be imprisoned for life (or worse)

Quite a list. Luckily she's got some good friends to back her up: Piaras, the spellsinging wonder-kid; her pirate cousin/sidekick in all things dangerous Phelan; the mysterious Guardian Mychael; and the much-appreciated dark-is-sexy Tam all make appearances as things get dicey. Add in another handful of equally compelling secondary characters and some serious bullies you love to hate, and we've got ourselves a non-stop action story with Raine's trademark smart-mouth narration.

Over the past two books, I've greatly enjoyed Lisa Shearin's back-and-forth, unpredictable love triangle between Raine, Tam, and Mychael. I did feel like the tension had come to a head in Armed & Magical and was sure Raine would be making the Big Decision in The Trouble with Demons. To my dismay, nothing of the sort happened. Not only does Raine not get any closer (whatsoever) to deciding on which hunk she's gonna go for, but all three end up more tangled magically and physically with no clear resolution in sight. I would have left this book pretty dang irritated if it hadn't been for Raine's encounter with one particular hunk the last chapter. A step in the right direction but still so far from the emotional attachment I was craving.

series reading order:
~ Magic Lost, Trouble Found - my review
~ Armed & Magical - my review
~ The Trouble with Demons
~ Bewitched and Betrayed (2010)

Because Everyone Likes a Second Opinion:
Angieville review
Enduring Romance review
Ink and Paper review
Lurv a la Mode review
Tempting Persephone review

book source: borrowed from a friend