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lynseyisreading's review against another edition
5.0
Excellent continuation. I am so glad I persevered with this series after my shaky start. It's unfortunate that it has what I call "dodgy book one syndrome" which I'm sure will put many people off from picking up the second book, but you really, really should. It's not that book one was bad exactly...just confusing. But even that could have just been me having a particularly slow day. I bet if I read it back now, knowing the characters and the world as I do, I wouldn't have a problem with it.
See, it's me, not you, book. Oh how the tides and turned.
BEWITCHED AND BETRAYED sees the re-emergence of a couple of adversaries from past books. I really wanted to delve into the book, grab them by the scruff of the neck and scream, "will you just DIE already!" but alas, the laws of physics were being stubborn as usual.
Ooh, ooh, and FINALLY some progress on the romance front! Yay! I'm not a fan of love triangles, and really, I'm not sure if I would even classify what happens in this series as a love triangle. It's more just that there are two guys declaring their interest and intent, and only one prize. So my delicate sensibilities when it comes to cheating and messing with people's feelings, don't get offended by this series at all. And the romantic development here in this book is more than satisfying and puts an end to discussion once and for all.
I'm heading straight for the next book in the series: Con and Conjure. Can't wait!
See, it's me, not you, book. Oh how the tides and turned.
BEWITCHED AND BETRAYED sees the re-emergence of a couple of adversaries from past books. I really wanted to delve into the book, grab them by the scruff of the neck and scream, "will you just DIE already!" but alas, the laws of physics were being stubborn as usual.
Ooh, ooh, and FINALLY some progress on the romance front! Yay! I'm not a fan of love triangles, and really, I'm not sure if I would even classify what happens in this series as a love triangle. It's more just that there are two guys declaring their interest and intent, and only one prize. So my delicate sensibilities when it comes to cheating and messing with people's feelings, don't get offended by this series at all. And the romantic development here in this book is more than satisfying and puts an end to discussion once and for all.
I'm heading straight for the next book in the series: Con and Conjure. Can't wait!
tessisreading2's review against another edition
3.0
I've been enjoying this series, but something about it irks me. Our narrator/heroine, Raine Benares, is Special - she has extra-special parents, various extra-special abilities, and hot guys falling over her everywhere she turns. But why does this bother me when a lot of epic fantasies are similar, with Special male leads? I think it's basically the lack of "competition" - Raine is really the only female lead in the books. There are occasional female supporting roles, but they never last more than one book, they are generally not prominent, they are generally very much "supporting" (e.g. they are not the crucial characters involved), and they never present sexual competition for Raine - most of them are significantly older or younger and presented as "wise matriarch" or "helpless young girl." Given that, I really enjoyed Inara's introduction here, but as we stacked up man after man after man - all of the supporting mage roles were men, all of the pirates are men, all of Raine's family are men (we met her uncle, her cousin, and another cousin - and not a single mention of the aunt who presumably produced them all; then there's ). There's one lady assassin () and Inara, and mention of Inara's grandmother; that's pretty much it. In a previous book we met Piaras' girlfriend, a powerful mage student - whose role was , full stop. I think she literally fainted at crucial moments. It just feels like a D&D campaign being run by people who have taken the totally historically-inaccurate assertion that "most women in the middle ages didn't do anything except cook and have babies" to heart.
That said, it's a fun read and it moves along at a good clip, so I'm definitely going to be continuing the series.
Spoiler
her father, who is in another body - which is a male bodySpoiler
whose identity Raine assumesSpoiler
helpless kidnap victimThat said, it's a fun read and it moves along at a good clip, so I'm definitely going to be continuing the series.
blodeuedd's review against another edition
3.0
The series is still fun :) I still like Tam way too much ;=) Team Tam!!
I will try to make this short (tryyy.) Raine is busy with catching escapees since stuff happened in the last book. There is danger. She thinks about Mychael a bit. There is this stupid elf I wanna smack over the head. And everyone else is there too :)
So we have action, action, danger, a bit of romancing, and a thrilling hunt.
But now, the 5th book, I can't get a hold of it. Sad me. I do want to know what happens in this series. Sure it's never awesome you know, but I enjoy the lightness and fun of it all.
I will try to make this short (tryyy.) Raine is busy with catching escapees since stuff happened in the last book. There is danger. She thinks about Mychael a bit. There is this stupid elf I wanna smack over the head. And everyone else is there too :)
So we have action, action, danger, a bit of romancing, and a thrilling hunt.
But now, the 5th book, I can't get a hold of it. Sad me. I do want to know what happens in this series. Sure it's never awesome you know, but I enjoy the lightness and fun of it all.
claire_loves_books's review against another edition
3.0
This was fun- the pace seemed to pick up a bit from the previous books and while it was still a bit repetitive in places it wasn't as much as the previous books.
Spoiler
I liked that Raine finally chose between Mychael and Tam, I'm never a fan of love triangles and Tam and Raine we just so terrible for each other it was really frustratingleabookjoy's review against another edition
4.0
A book just OMG
Raine's new mission ? Find the souls that have escaped from the Saghred including the one of Nukpana who is determined to take full advantage of his newfound freedom to avenge Raine by attacking those she cares the most.
Combining magic and politics, the plot still holds even if finally Raine spend more time trying to survive than finding a way to get rid of the stone. In my opinion, it's the style of the author that makes this series so much interesting and the characters above all, new and old both: Mychael of course that proves to be much more intriguing than he sounds first (loved discover his past as Black Cat =D), Piaras changing at great speed, Raine with her sooo bad luck but also with her humor, her courage and strength but also the necromancer Vidor I instantly became a fan of (nothing to do with his brother), Markus, the famous spy chief elves that I was really intrigued by and Imala his goblin equivalent that under her doll features proves to be very deadly ... and amusing both =)
Well, I must admit that I dislike both Tam or Talon (WHAT A MORON !!!!) but it's personal so I can not really blame it on the author =)
Small problem: I didn't notice it at first because I wasn't reading the series non-stop but for many descriptions, the author repeats almost word for word what she said previously ... A shame in my opinion.
Nevertheless, a decidedly addictive series
PS: And YES YES Mychael and Raine FINALLY made out !!!
Raine's new mission ? Find the souls that have escaped from the Saghred including the one of Nukpana who is determined to take full advantage of his newfound freedom to avenge Raine by attacking those she cares the most.
Combining magic and politics, the plot still holds even if finally Raine spend more time trying to survive than finding a way to get rid of the stone. In my opinion, it's the style of the author that makes this series so much interesting and the characters above all, new and old both: Mychael of course that proves to be much more intriguing than he sounds first (loved discover his past as Black Cat =D), Piaras changing at great speed, Raine with her sooo bad luck but also with her humor, her courage and strength but also the necromancer Vidor I instantly became a fan of (nothing to do with his brother), Markus, the famous spy chief elves that I was really intrigued by and Imala his goblin equivalent that under her doll features proves to be very deadly ... and amusing both =)
Well, I must admit that I dislike both Tam or Talon (WHAT A MORON !!!!) but it's personal so I can not really blame it on the author =)
Small problem: I didn't notice it at first because I wasn't reading the series non-stop but for many descriptions, the author repeats almost word for word what she said previously ... A shame in my opinion.
Nevertheless, a decidedly addictive series
PS: And YES YES Mychael and Raine FINALLY made out !!!
alliecat37's review against another edition
4.0
I really enjoy this world and these characters, and this was another highly entertaining chapter in the story of Raine Benares. If you liked the previous books in this series, you should like this one as well. The love triangle is nicely resolved, and it feels like the series is moving towards something big. I wouldn't recommend jumping into the series at this point, but it's worth it to start at the beginning.
My only gripe about this book was that Raine didn't seem to know how much time had passed since the events in the last book. Three weeks? Two weeks? Several weeks? She kept using different figures, and it would pull me out of the story. It might be that the Saghred has caused brain damage that won't let her keep good track of time, but it's more likely that the book could have used a bit more editing. That said, I really did like this book, and I'm looking forward to the next one!
My only gripe about this book was that Raine didn't seem to know how much time had passed since the events in the last book. Three weeks? Two weeks? Several weeks? She kept using different figures, and it would pull me out of the story. It might be that the Saghred has caused brain damage that won't let her keep good track of time, but it's more likely that the book could have used a bit more editing. That said, I really did like this book, and I'm looking forward to the next one!
rinn4's review against another edition
4.0
Loved It!! So good, there was more about her family which is filled with funky characters. There was also some interesting information about the Paladan and there was more about there Archmagis who is just hilarious!! There was more background into everyones past in this novel but there were also some progress into the future. I thought this one was the last one so finding out it wasn't was also a nice suprise.
veldhoenv's review against another edition
4.0
I've found that with each Raine Benares book, I have been enjoying the series more and more. Bewitched and Betrayed is my by far my favourite so far.
I won't spoil you all but I WILL say that Raine makes a choice in this book between her two suitors. It was done really well and I very much enjoyed all of the steamy bits.
Mychael's character was really well fleshed-out in this book. In the previous books I always felt like there was a lot more to know about him and in this one we really learn a lot. Not everything of course (because what fun would that be?) but enough to make him a more enticing character and to make me want to learn even more.
Raine also seems to be understanding the Saghread and the power it's given her in this book a lot more now. With the earlier books, it was still very much a new experience but now Raine really has a clear understanding of how she can use it without feeding it.
I love all of the characters and they are just as fun in this book as they are in the others. Tam, Talon, Mychael, everyone in the Benares family... The dialogue between them all is just so well-done and is always fun to read. Raine's plethora of zingers also never fail to entertain.
I felt a lot more closure with this book than I did with the first three. There are still a lot of loose ends and issues that need to be addressed, but I feel like B&B gave me enough answers to keep me satisfied. In summary, I would recommend this book if you have read the previous three because I think it's even better than the first ones. And if you haven't read the other books yet, I would definitely recommend all four and would also add that I am really jealous that you have four really good books to go through!
I won't spoil you all but I WILL say that Raine makes a choice in this book between her two suitors. It was done really well and I very much enjoyed all of the steamy bits.
Mychael's character was really well fleshed-out in this book. In the previous books I always felt like there was a lot more to know about him and in this one we really learn a lot. Not everything of course (because what fun would that be?) but enough to make him a more enticing character and to make me want to learn even more.
Raine also seems to be understanding the Saghread and the power it's given her in this book a lot more now. With the earlier books, it was still very much a new experience but now Raine really has a clear understanding of how she can use it without feeding it.
I love all of the characters and they are just as fun in this book as they are in the others. Tam, Talon, Mychael, everyone in the Benares family... The dialogue between them all is just so well-done and is always fun to read. Raine's plethora of zingers also never fail to entertain.
I felt a lot more closure with this book than I did with the first three. There are still a lot of loose ends and issues that need to be addressed, but I feel like B&B gave me enough answers to keep me satisfied. In summary, I would recommend this book if you have read the previous three because I think it's even better than the first ones. And if you haven't read the other books yet, I would definitely recommend all four and would also add that I am really jealous that you have four really good books to go through!
octagonal's review against another edition
4.0
I would never have read these books if I had seen the covers first... ridiculous covers! Who thinks these things up...
But thankfully I've read the e-books instead. These are FANTASTIC. Raine is a wonderful heroine. She is badass, yet sweet. She is a rockstar, damn it.
Spoilery time:
When Sarad Nukpana posesses Tam... WAAAAH. Didn't realize how much I fangirled my dear Tam until that moment. *pets him* Thankfully it ended okay for him. For now.
But thankfully I've read the e-books instead. These are FANTASTIC. Raine is a wonderful heroine. She is badass, yet sweet. She is a rockstar, damn it.
Spoilery time:
When Sarad Nukpana posesses Tam... WAAAAH. Didn't realize how much I fangirled my dear Tam until that moment. *pets him* Thankfully it ended okay for him. For now.
alliebookworm's review against another edition
4.0
Another great Raine Benares novel. The first half is all talk, but let the knowledge of the second half being all action and reminding you why you love these characters so much get you through.