Like mother, like daughter

This past week my mom has been in town, helping out with my little turkey boy post-surgery, saving my bacon on numerous occasions and in general just being a good person to have around. Something else I have rediscovered on this visit however is that I seem to have gotten my bookish tendencies (unsurprisingly) from her. Imagine that. When I think about it, my mom is the single most important reason why I am such a bibliophile in the first place. She and my dad always had stacks and stacks of books lying around the house, silently tempting us kids to visit the various exotic worlds of Tolkien, Kipling, and Twain. My mom's one of those parents that read every single book I ever brought home, be it for school or one a friend lent me, she always wanted to find out what I was reading. And later would inevitably draw me into a discussion about it. A sneaky tacit I'll have to remember for the future as a way to communicate with unresponsive teenagers.

Until I found myself firmly surrounded by all you marvy book bloggers and readers, I'd never before met anyone besides my mom who enjoyed reading for the sake of reading like I do. Now, our reading preferences don't necessarily always align: I'm more of a YA/fantasy type of gal while she likes classics, mysteries, and non-fiction - what I call 'thinker' books; but we are always willing to try out what the other likes and recommends. So I'm always a little bit giddy and a just a teeny bit nervous when she comes to visit because I want her to love the books I've recently discovered as much as I did. And then I want to discuss them. Habit, I guess. I always set a few aside for her but mainly I just let her browse my shelves until she finds something that looks interesting or new. On this trip so far she's gone through (remember she's only been here 4 days folks): Crossing, A Song for Summer, Bewitched & Betrayed, Mind Games (which she set aside because, as she said "It had a little too much sex."), Dairy Queen and just tonight I laid my beloved President's Daughter set on her bed, hoping she'll be as awed by them as I am.

To my surprise (although not really, cause who doesn't love these books?) her favorite so far has been Eva Ibbotson's A Song for Summer. Like me, she was instantly overwhelmed by Ibbotson's lush and descriptive writing style. My mom loved the characters, the setting and of course, the ending. "Perfect" was her final verdict. I agreed wholeheartedly. 

I think I had forgotten how nice is it to actually sit down with someone, face to face, and discuss books you have both read and enjoyed. I also had forgotten that rush you get when you recommend a book to a friend and they wind up loving it as much as you hoped they would. Which is why I think I'm on a bit of a high at the moment seeing as how I had specifically picked out A Song for Summer as one she'd love. Although since our conversations have me itching for a re-read, I guess the apple really didn't fall too far from the tree in this case.

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...