Raine Benares — (2007-2011) Publisher: My name is Raine Benares. I'm a seeker. The people who hire me are usually happy when I find things. But some things are better left unfound...Raine is a sorceress of moderate powers, from an extended family of smugglers and thieves. With a mix of street smarts and magic spells, she can usually take care of herself. But when her friend Quentin, a not-quite-reformed thief, steals an amulet from the home of a powerful necromancer, Raine finds herself wrapped up in more trouble than she cares for. She likes attention as much as the next girl, but having an army of militant goblins hunting her down is not her idea of a good time. The amulet they're after holds limitless power, derived from an ancient, soul-stealing stone. And when Raine takes possession of the item, it takes possession of her. Now her moderate powers are increasing beyond anything she could imagine — but is the resumé enhancement worth her soul?
  
 
Forthcoming: book 6
 Magic Lost, Trouble Found
Lisa Shearin is the Janet Evanovich of fantasy.
She writes with a fun, unpretentious style, and she has mastered writing with humor. In many ways, this is better than Evanovich's Stephanie Plum series. Raine Benares is competent, whereas Stephanie bumbles her way through her adventures, surviving by luck and instinct rather than skill. That joke wears thin after a while. (At least on me — since there are thirteen Stephanie Plum books out, then she obviously still appeals to a lot of people.) Raine is the type of girl who rescues dudes in distress. She comes up with daring plans. She kicks butt, but she's all girl.
Magic Lost, Trouble Found is a rather short book, as far as fantasies go, and it takes place over the course of only a few days. There was not a lot of time to develop much romance, but we saw lots of Mychael and I hope we'll be seeing more of Tam.
And then there's the prince. I know we have not seen the last of him.
The book ended in a satisfying smart way. It was the kind of ending that I like. No magical brawls (which I find tedious), just one character outsmarting another. It was not a cliffhanger, but it definitely points the reader squarely toward book two (Armed and Magical).
I can see myself rereading Magic Lost, Trouble Found, because I think this is the sort of book that will present "nuances" to the reader upon rereading. And of course, I'll want to read it again when Armed and Magical comes out. —Tia Nevitt
FanLit thanks Tia Nevitt from Debuts & Reviews for contributing this guest review.
 Armed and Magical
Armed and Magical picks up almost right where Magic Lost, Trouble Found left off. It's a week later and Raine is on the Isle of Mid with her cousin, Phaelan (“He was a pirate. Excuse me, a seafaring businessman.”), and the leader of the Conclave Guardians, Mychael (“an enigma, wrapped in a riddle, coated in yum”). Raine's young friend Piaras is also there as a student. He is the most powerful young spellsinger to come along in decades.
I don't know what to make of Piaras. He's way too powerful to be a sidekick. He gives Raine some serious competition power-wise, even with her Saghred-induced “resume enhancement.” I like being befuddled like this. I keep wondering if before the series is over, Raine might find herself facing Piaras. It could be heart-wrenching.
The protective Raine finds herself hunting down some missing students. She makes a trip to the library and makes her library-use roll big-time. She finds a tiny, almost unimportant-looking volume that turns out to be a journal of sorts, and the author is mighty interesting. Naturally, getting out of the library with the book is a lot more interesting than going in. Raine really can't go anywhere without running into excitement.
In Armed and Magical, Raine is a bit darker and a bit snarkier. She's still every bit as protective over those younger and/or weaker than she, so you still gotta love her. Still, the novel reads, very subtly, as if the Saghred is affecting her personality. In fact, it is so subtle that I applaud Lisa Shearin. There's no overt struggle, no in-your-face “Give yourself to the dark side, Raine.”
The love triangle between Raine, Mychael and Raine's ex-boyfriend Tam continues to develop. Considering the compressed timeframe of these two novels, it's good that Shearin has not taken it too far. After all, in novel-time, only two weeks (or so) have passed.
The hilarious situations continue and are one-upped. Raine's magic has grown so powerful that it often works much better than she expects, with sometimes-hilarious results. One scene had me rolling with laughter.
Armed and Magical does not disappoint. It continues to be as fun as the first novel with lots of “how the heck is Raine going to get out of this” moments. It's a fast read with a lively conclusion that points the reader to the next volume, The Trouble with Demons. —Tia Nevitt
FanLit thanks Tia Nevitt from Debuts & Reviews for contributing this guest review.
The Trouble with Demons
I can't imagine anyone who enjoyed Magic Lost, Trouble Found and Armed and Magical being disappointed by The Trouble with Demons. For this novel, Ms. Shearin turned up the darkness, turned up the romantic tension, and turned down the snark. All without sacrificing action or fun. Plus, it's longer!
Raine's chaotic world gets even more so in The Trouble With Demons when someone opens a Hellgate, releasing a legion of demons on the Isle of Mid. They want something, and naturally, Raine is at the thick of it. The sentient rock known as the Saghred is also up to some unexpected tricks and is snaring all of Raine's friends in its clutches. Talk about piling on the problems!
I was glad to see the reduction in snarkiness. Armed and Magical bordered on being a bit too snarky for my taste, but in The Trouble with Demons, Raine doles out the sweetness as well as the snark. I was afraid that Raine was going to turn out to be a bit too sharp-edged, but happily, it is not so.
Ms. Shearin has been teasing her blog readers (myself included) all year with hints about the triangle between Raine, Tam and Mychael, which she brings to a new level in this novel. It wasn't what I expected, and I was pleasantly surprised. I was also glad that there wasn't too much sex or too much rivalry. After all, only two weeks have passed since the events in Magic Lost, Trouble Found. And I think I can see Raine developing a preference between the two men.
I'll get my nit-picks over with. When there isn't mind-reading going on, a surprising number of characters are able to not only guess Raine's thoughts, but respond to them as if she said them aloud. I think this sort of thing should be done only occasionally, otherwise Raine will start to seem too transparent. Also, the timing in the ending seemed a bit off. The tension seemed drawn out over too many pages. If you imagine the novel's tension as a hill, it rose up to a plateau and then stayed there for quite a while before the final resolution. At one point, it seemed like a certain female demon waited around until Raine was finished with what she was doing before continuing with her evil schemes.
Enough with the critiques. The action is nonstop. When you have a demon infestation, it does tend to keep you hopping. Especially when they start popping out of the toilet. The actual ending was great, including some very welcome developments with Sarad Nukpana, Rudra Muralin and Raine's father, Eamaliel Anguis. Raine also has a new determination to focus her efforts on parting herself from the Saghred. The novel is very racy, but not at all sexy. Does that make sense? Map lovers will be thrilled with the new map at the front of the book. Now all it needs is an appendix full of names, concepts, and foreign words and phrases. Hint, hint!
One thing I hope to see in the next volume — a return to Mermeia, the canal-city locale of the first book. I just loved that setting, with all its districts, each having its own mood and character. Especially the Ruins.
The Trouble With Demons delivers shovelfuls of fun, which is exactly what we have come to expect from this series. It's great for urban fantasy lovers who might need a vampire break. It's Jennifer Rardin meets Terry Brooks, but substitute sexy goblins for vampires. The action is nonstop, the relationships are deepening, the ending was satisfying (for now) and there are lots of twists and surprises. The final two chapters serve as a sort of epilogue, which only whets the reader's appetite for the next Raine Benares book. —Tia Nevitt
FanLit thanks Tia Nevitt from Debuts & Reviews for contributing this guest review. |
