Bewitched & Betrayed (Raine Benares #4) by Lisa Shearin

Released: April 27, 2010
Format: Mass Market Paperback
Pages: 366
Publisher: Ace
ISBN-13: 978-0-44101872-7

Lisa Shearin is one of my favourite authors and I’m always excited when she has another installment of Raine Benares’ adventures on the shelf. Be forewarned: there is a spoiler in the third paragraph of this post. I’ve included it because it’s been a few months since the book’s release but please don’t read on if you haven’t already read Bewitched & Betrayed.

In Bewitched & Betrayed, Raine is dealing with the aftermath of The Trouble with Demons. She’s still bonded to the Saghred (the incredibly powerful soul-sucking stone) and she has to use her powers to track down the ghosts of six evil mages, including her nemesis Sarad Nukpana. Unfortunately, Sarad Nukpana’s also on the hunt for Raine, since he wants the power of the Saghred and needs her body to get it. And he’s not afraid to steal peoples memories, knowledge, magic, and lives to get it. On top of all this, Raine’s still in quite the love triangle with Mychael and Tam. Because she didn’t have enough on her plate with all the danger.

I was really pleased with this book. It has all of the elements that I love about the series – adventure, well-developed characters, Raine’s quippiness, interesting magic – with a little bit more romance I was expecting. (A welcome development to my mind, and wonderfully written, even though Lisa Shearin says that it’s harder for her to write the romantic scenes.) MILD SPOILER: Though I remain staunchly on Team Tam because I’m a sucker for the bad boy, it’s impossible not to appreciate Raine and Mychael’s developing relationship. SPOILER ENDS. This novel really is superlative and I wish we didn’t have to wait until next year for Con & Conjure because I’m desperate for the next installment in the series.

Finally, since I commented on the cover art last time, I feel it would be remiss of me not to say something about this one since I like it a bit better than the last one. The background is great and Raine’s holding one fierce looking weapon. The model reminds me a lot of Hudson Leick, though I’m fairly confident it’s not actually her. In any case, I think the cover captures the tone of the novel well. (Full disclosure: Looking back at the cover for The Trouble with Demons, I don’t dislike it as much as I first did. The model’s posture is still a bit awkward but I love the colours they incorporated.)

Raine Benares series (click on the title to purchase through The Book Depository)