The Trouble with Demons (Raine Benares #3) by Lisa Shearin

Lisa Shearin writes with a great, light touch. Her world is well thought out, her characters are amazingly individual and fun, and her stories always take you somewhere interesting. The Trouble With Demons, the third installment in the Raine Benares stories, is no exception.

The story picks up shortly after Armed & Magical ends. This time around, the big bad comes in the shape of demons because someone has opened a Hellgate on the Isle of Mid, which is Raine finds herself. Already fighting the pull of the Saghred, Raine also has to deal with demons and the love triangle that’s been going on throughout the series, in the shape of herself, Mychael (a white mage) and Tam (a dark mage).

I really enjoyed this story. So much so, in fact, that I had a really hard time putting it down for breaks. It’s fast-paced and fun and made me really excited for the next installment, which, unfortunately, doesn’t come out until next year. Thankfully, these books have a high re-readability factor so I’ll be revisiting Raine’s world before the year is out.

One small bone to pick: once again, I find myself in a position where I love the story but hate the cover. Raine’s gone from holding a large sword with an air of majesty to awkwardly squatting with daggers. I just don’t like it. Cover art has a big impact on the type of reader that a book attracts and this one just doesn’t do the story justice.