Bewitched & Betrayed by Lisa Shearin

Truth be told I have been in a reading slump of late. And I'll be the first to tell you that it just ain't any fun. Add to that a lot of traveling and a potential move in the works (again) and you have some seriously crazy days with not much down time for reading -- let alone any blogging. But it was like the postman just knew I needed a little pick me up when he stopped by on Monday to deliver my rescue in the form of Lisa Shearin's latest Raine Benares novel Bewitched & Betrayed. And just like that I was giddy, I was happy, the endless packing didn't look quite so daunting and I had a serious good book to settle into. No wonder I look forward to checking the mail so dang much. Much more rewarding than therapy.

Following hot on the heels of The Trouble with Demons, Raine Benares' adventures are off to a heady start in Bewitched & Betrayed. Still bonded to that soul-sucking rock otherwise known as the Saghred, Raine has watched her minimal yet respectable magical abilities skyrocket and her enemies multiply just as fast. Which is somewhat understandable after Raine was unable to prevent the souls of six evil mages - including Raine's arch-nemesis Sarad Nukpana - from escaping the Saghred and who are now running rampant on the Island of Mid. Nukpana is one serious evil dude bent on total world domination and would like nothing better than to completely skewer Raine and all those near and dear to her. And since Nukpana has made this fight personal, Raine is more than happy to make it her mission in life to track him down once and for all. After all, she's a seeker.

One of the best parts of this witty series has to be the ever intriguing cast of secondary characters. Raine's less than law-abiding, yet unfailingly loyal family makes numerous appearances to my unending delight - including everyone's favorite pirate, Raine's cousin Phelan. His snarky remarks always leave me in stitches. Though the Benares clan's interactions were comical and even a little.. *gasp* ..heartwarming, they couldn't begin to hold a candle to what we find out about commanding and by-the-book Paladin Mychael. Mr. Share-No-More-Than-Necessary finally opens up to Raine about his past and we get some very surprising insights into what I had previously seen as a pretty one-dimensional character. I don't want to spoil anything, but the man has depth. Depth and skills. Plus he's pretty cute. Pretty much the triple threat there.

Even though Raine really has no time to take a breath between one action scene and the next, her constant running stream of smart remarks keep the pace from becoming overwhelming. She's always willing to let humor diffuse the tension of any given situation and that is a fine quality indeed. And though sometimes I have sorta of scratched my head over the story arc thus far, I'm quite pleased where Lisa Shearin has taken us in Bewitched & Betrayed. Plenty of action, plenty of confident, sexy men, and buckets of Raine's irreverent sense of humor. If you haven't given this snappy series a go, I'd highly recommend picking up all four books. Believe it or not, each is better than the last.

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

Because Everyone Likes a Second Opinion:
Lurv a la Mode review
Skunk Cat Book Reviews

book source: provided by the publisher, ACE Books

Cover Alert & Excerpt: Bewitched & Betrayed

As a Christmas present to her readers (thank you, thank you!), Lisa Shearin has graciously posted the cover and chapters 1-3 of her latest Raine Barnes book Bewitched & Betrayed due out April 2010. After hurrying through her previous three Raine books (one, two, three), I promise I'm trying to wait very impatiently for Raine to pick either Tam or Mychael.

waiting...

waiting...

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

Armed & Magical by Lisa Shearin

I'm a sucker for funny books. Any type of humorous book will do, but after stumbling upon Lisa Shearin's Magic Lost, Trouble Found earlier this year, I knew I had found a kindred spirit in one Raine Beranes. She's an elf, a seeker (someone who can find things with magic), and comes from a long line of pirates and criminals. Just how she found herself on the opposite side of the law still baffles Raine but she's good at what she does and is happy doing it.

As a seeker, Raine has always possessed a respectable amount of magic but after finding (and bonding) with a magical stone called the Saghred a few weeks prior, she's now got more dark magic at her fingertips than she knows what to do with. Raine's new goal in life? Find a way to get rid of the stone without it killing her in the process. Hoping for an answer, she's traveled with Paladin Mychael Eiliesor to the Island of Mid (home to most mages per capita) along with Piaras, her pseudo younger brother, an aspiring young spellsinger who's hoping to get some much-needed training in Mid. Getting rid of the stone is easier said than done however, since her new found skills seem to be a red-hot beacon - attracting every crazy, power-hungry mage in existence who would like their very own catastrophe-causing stone at their beck-and-call.

If that not enough to give a girl stress: Piaras' awesome spellsinging abilities have garnered no little interest and when several other talented spellsingers go missing, Raine is determined to get her loved ones out of dodge before the sparks really fly. But the Saghred is not about to let Raine off that easy, what with the stone's power becoming harder to resist daily since the arrival of some truly nasty goblins who would like nothing better than to take back what they see is rightfully theirs. Throw in Raine's oh-so-inciting temptation to get a little closer to Tam (goblin aristocrat turned nightclub owner in possession of some seriously sexy eyes) which have begun to have incendiary results - and things just take off from there.

Stepping back into Raine's life was like taking a deep breath and then trying to run flat-out for the next 5 to 10 days. It's non-stop action, full of Raine's hilarious quips and her trademark no-nonsense approach to any situation: get in, get out, don't get killed. Simple enough. I'm still laughing over the things that come out of that girl's mouth, for example:

My family's big on denial. And if we denied something long enough, we thought it'd go away. I know that's not how it works, but we're in denial about that, too.

Blunt and upfront - my kind of girl. Also one of the most loyal characters I've ever met, Raine would go through fire (or at least a roomful of nasty goblins) for those she loves with both knives drawn and not even think twice about it. Raine does have her faults, but she's the first to admit to them and never tries to be more than she appears. Armed & Magical is an original, laugh out loud funny book and I can't wait to see where Raine will end up next. That is, as long as Tam is coming along too.

series reading order:
~ Magic Lost, Trouble Found - my review
~ Armed & Magical
~ The Trouble with Demons

Because Everyone Likes a Second Opinion:
A Bookaholics' Review review
Angieville review
The Book Smugglers review
Dear Author review
The Toasted Scimitar review

book source: borrowed from a friend