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Raine Benares #5

Con & Conjure

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Raine Benares, elf seeker, narrates action after Saghred soul-stealing Stone bonds to her, giving great power. Both high-ranking goblins and elves want the Stone's magic. Therefore, both a goblin thief and her ex-fiance elf assassin chase her. To survive, she'll need the help of her criminal family, elf paladin mage Michael, goblin dark mage Tam, and others she cons.

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First published February 23, 2011

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About the author

Lisa Shearin

24 books1,103 followers
Lisa is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of the Raine Benares novels and The SPI Files.

Lisa is a voracious collector of fountain pens, teapots & teacups both vintage and modern. She lives on a small farm in North Carolina with her husband, four spoiled-rotten retired racing greyhounds, and enough deer and woodland creatures to fill a Disney movie.

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5 stars
1,057 (35%)
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 147 reviews
Profile Image for Felicia.
Author 45 books127k followers
March 30, 2011
Well, I love this series, so I was super psyched to read this one, and it didn't disappoint. I was actually relieved to see less teenagers in this one, there was way more of Raine's other relatives in here, and super great baddies, so it was a nice change of pace. And Mychael was yummy as ever, appreciate the fact that she didn't overdo the romancey things, there was juuuuust enough.

Setup for #6 is really good, I just want some more Tam in the next one and life will be UBER excellent!
Profile Image for Treece.
521 reviews150 followers
July 15, 2019
Rating: 4 1/2 stars

Although the ending--as in the finale of the series-- is not quite yet in sight, what is to come next, keeps me hooked. Of course, I expected the main antagonist, Sarad Nukpana, to slip away with his prize--he never disappoints--but how it all happened? Pure genius!

Throw in Raines' wicked ex-fiance--assassin sex machine Rache Kai--, her crazy relatives, and her new sweetie, Mychael, and these books just keep getting better and better. This was by far the best in the series(thus far) and the only reason why it took so long to complete was because it had competition. (I tend to read multiple books at once and had a few hiatus periods in between).
Profile Image for Olga Godim.
Author 12 books84 followers
February 26, 2012
The novel would’ve been a fine romp, if it wasn’t #5 in the series. And the series is getting tired. The protagonist Raine is the same in this novel as she was in the novel #1. She hasn’t changed a bit, hasn’t become smarter or wise. No development of any kind. She is a spicy elven girl with an attitude, plucky and stubborn and full of good will. She wants to save everyone she loves, but too many bad guys, goblin and elves, are trying to get their hands on her and the rock Saghred she is bonded with.
The rock is evil incarnate and powerful, but Raine keeps it in check with her indomitable will. If the villains manage to steal Saghred and use it for their nefarious ends, all hell will break loose. Raine and a bunch of her friends are trying to prevent the disaster, but they’ve been trying since book #1. You’d think by book #5 they should’ve achieved their goal or died in the attempt. They haven’t done either. They are always reacting instead of acting, always one step behind, while the bad guys are always one step ahead. It gets to be irritating how much more clever the bad guys always are.
Having said all that, as a stand alone novel, it’s an enjoyable read. The writing is clear, the action fast, and the dialog often funny. As the odds mount towards the end, Raine is falling from one risky escapade to another. Every few pages, more danger is awaiting her, but she always succeeds in extricating herself from every impossible situation.
My favorite quote: “…surviving something that was suicidal but necessary made you a hero. Failure just made you dead and posthumously stupid.”
Profile Image for Jacey.
Author 27 books101 followers
March 11, 2012
The fifth Raine Benares book continuing her struggles against Saghred, the soul-sucking stome of limitless power that she accidentally bonded with in book one. Sarad Nukpana is still on the loose and Raine is still facing enemies in both the goblin and elf camps not to mention the slimy mage Sylvanus Carnades, but on her side she has semi-reformed dark goblin mage Tam and uber-powerful spell-singing boss of the Conclave Guardians, Mychael, with whom she has bonded in more ways than one.

This picks up barely a couple of weeks after 'Bewitched and Betrayed'. Raine is cautiously supporting pretender to the goblin throne, Chigaru Mal'Salin who despite being a bad guy in the first book now presents the least bad alternative contender in the twisted goblin political system, but someone's out to kill him - and Mychael as well.

There are some new players in town. On the plus side one of them is her sneaky banker cousin Mago who's popped in to lend some underhand Benares family support. (The Benares are the most criminally active family on the planet, but in the nicest possible way.) On the minus side there's also her ex-fiance, an elven assassin with a grudge.

Another fast paced, amusing fantasy romp with sexy goblins, gorgeous elves and a kick-ass, leather-clad wisecracking elven heroine with a unique character voice that hooks you right in. It feels as up to date as urban fantasy but not as we know it, having no connection to out world at all. However the worldbuilding is vivid and detailed and you feel as though these characters are getting up to tricks even when they aren't on the page.
Profile Image for Brittany.
1,312 reviews62 followers
March 18, 2023
3.5 stars
Parts of this I loved and it was so fun being back in this world. However, with the same enemy constantly coming back and the almost constant threat of certain doom it wasn't as good as it could have been. The events of all 5 books have happened in such a short period of time it feels insane that Raine has done everything she has and that the bad guys have schemed through all these new plans to counteract all she has accomplished. I also would like more character growth for our MC and to not hear its because she's a Benares repeated throughout every book.

I loved the addition of Mago, the banker cousin, he is a character I could follow more! Also Rache, the ex-fiance assassin, was an interesting touch. I enjoyed the goblin parts more for the most part and wish there had been more Tam in this one. The snark and side characters are my favourite parts of the series, there are so many excellent side characters and sometimes I wish we could follow them a bit too.

Good book, still want to finish the series and see where it goes
Profile Image for Megh.
225 reviews4 followers
September 21, 2011
I'm not sure what it was about this book, but I didn't enjoy it. I didn't even finish it. I have always loved the swash buckling nature of these books, but I feel like Raine hasn't progressed as a character. Her justification for doing things is that "she's a Benares." That's awesome. My family shaped who I am, too. But I don't repeat that to myself constantly while out doing things. Ultimately she should be making choices because they're what she thinks needs to be done, but, that's not her justification. I guess I just got tired of that from her.

I've enjoyed this series since it first came out, and if another book arrives, I'll probably force myself to revisit this book and finish it so that I can read the next. I think I just feel like after 5 books Raine should have matured a little.
Profile Image for Shelley.
5,581 reviews490 followers
July 3, 2011
Rating: 3.0
Genre: Fantasy/Science Fiction

*Review*

Con & Conjure is the fifth installment in the Raine Benares series by Lisa Shearin. Raine Benares is a seeker who finds lost things and people. She is also attached pretty much against her will to the evil soul stealing, empire destroying rock called the Saghred. The Saghred has taken her magical abilities from mediocre to monstrous and a person who is now considered a threat. Some say that she has more power than those that are members of the Seat of Twelve. Not something she willingly signed up for.

She has, over the course of three months, helped defeat Sarad Nukpana (who later escapes and is still a threat), a Demon Queen who wanted her King back, Elven assassins, Goblin assassins, while somehow managing to capture the fancy of Mychael Eiliesor who is Paladin, and Commander of the Conclave Guardians. He is also one of the strongest spellsinger’s around, and a member of the Black Cats, a secret organization that answers only to the Elven Queen.

Raine has a slew of enemies that either want to kill her, or use her against her will to start a war between the goblins and elves. People like Taltek Balmorlan, Magus Carnades Silvanus and Sarad Nukpana are head and shoulders the most dangerous people she faces. They all want to possess the power of the rock for themselves. They, however, are not the only ones. There are also traitors among the Conclave Guardians, Conclave Sorcerers, elven intelligence and of course, Sathrik Mal’Salin, the goblin king who wants nothing more than to kill each and every elf he can find.

I enjoyed the addition of Mago Benares who is a banker on the Isle of D’Mai. His suggestion of a con against Carnades and Balmorlan was perfectly thought out. Naturally he is also a Benares, and they are the most notorious criminal family in the seven kingdoms. Her cousin Phaelin is wanted for all sorts of crimes, including piracy. It’s sometimes becomes repetitive to hear about how notorious this family is. But, they all seem to stand together against anything that comes their way.

Raine is finding it harder to not use the magic and power she has been given by the Saghred. This is especially true when demons come calling, or fire mages attempt to kill her and those she is trying to protect. The only question remaining after this story is whether or not she actually has lost her power thanks to being stuck in a prison cell with magic eliminating chains by Balmorlan.

Negatives: The continuation of the Sarad Nukpana storyline has finally got under my skin. I don’t mind the overall story of the pending war between the elves and goblins and those who have come together like Mychael, Tam, Imala, Prince Chigaru, and Raine to stop it. But, to have Sarad in each and every book plotting and scheming against Raine, Mychael and the others, is just singularly not worth it any longer. I believe that Ms. Shearin could have found six separate storylines without having to resort to using Nukpana each and every time out.


Positive(s): We get to see more of Imala Kalis, the director of Goblin Secret Service and the fact that she is serious and very good at her job. She is definitely a person worth reading about and following. She definitely doesn’t take any crap from anyone, including her own guards and stands with Raine time and time again when her own people are trying to kill her and end up putting a price on her head.

We also get a peek into Raine’s past when an Elven assassin by the name of Rache Kai shows up and attempts to kill Prince Chigaru Mal’Salin. Rache, it seems, was Raine’s first love and fiancé. He even does the right thing in the end, and saves her from the vicious plans of Taltek.

Naturally, we are left with a cliffhanging ending which obviously leaves us with more and more questions. I’ve heard that All Spell Breaks Loose (2012) is the last book in the series, and one can only hope for a realistic and satisfying ending as well.

Overall, Con & Conjure is an action filled story with several twists and turns along the way. Raine finds it hard not to run away and hide at times. Unfortunately, she doesn't really have that luxury as long as her family is continually being threatened. She also finds that she is running and hiding more than doing. She somehow manages to step into trouble without even thinking about it.
Profile Image for Christina Stind.
529 reviews66 followers
November 3, 2012
It’s actually really hard to write reviews of this series since they all just seem to blur together. Yes, I know I start listening to the next one as soon as I finish one but they are all so similar that it’s difficult to separate them.

This of course is the Raine Benares series. It consists of six books, taking place over a rather short amount of time. In the first book, Raine helps a friend steal a necklace with a stone. She puts it on – and is instantly bonded with the rock which turns out to be the Saghred, a soul stealing nasty thing that can destroy whole kingdoms and normally, turns it’s wearer, it’s bond-servant, insane. However, Raine is able to wear the rock without getting insane and the rest of the series is spend with Raine trying to get rid of the stone and find a way to destroy it as well as trying to avoid the psychopath Sarad Nukpana who wants both her and the rock. Luckily, Raine has help from not only her friends but also from new friends like Paladin Mychael Ellisor and archmagus Justinius Justinius Valerian.

As per usual, this one starts off with a bang. The conflict between the goblins and elves is slowly escalating and when the Goblin prince Chigaru Mal’Salin arrives to Mid, things gets moving. The prince is wanted dead by almost everyone so before he even sets food on Mid, several assassins try to kill him. Luckily, Raine is there to save him – even though not all the goblins see it that way.

While the elves – or at least some of them, led by Sylvanus Carnades – is trying to get their hands on Raine, having a specially prepared cell ready for her with magic-reducing manacles in the cellars of the elven embassy, the Goblin king and Sarad Nukpana is preparing to attack the elves – and just being nasty as usual.

It seems to me that the new characters being introduced in these last books in the series, are rather more interesting than some of the ones who have been in all the books. In this one, we’re introduced to Raine’s cousin Mago, a banker, who’s of course still in the family business of sneaking, stealing and other sorts of criminal activity. He’s the prince’s banker and is of course in an excellent position to help Raine. Also, we have Raine’s ex-boyfriend and former fiancé who is a most skilled assassin who’s of course after the prince. And maybe others? Someone at least is taking shots at Mychael.

So when you listen to a whole series, it’s hard to come up with something new to say about the narrator for each book. However, when you have listened to a whole series and the narrator suddenly starts saying something in a different way, it does distract from the listening experience. For some reason, in this book Eileen Stevens has started saying ‘the Saghred’ in a different way.The Saghred is mentioned a lot and every time, she says the word in this new way, I start wondering why she has changed it and it takes me out of the listening experience and ruins the flow of the story for me.

Other than that, this is just like the other books in the series. Plenty of action, very fast pace, some things are repeated over and over etc. If you’ve come this far in the series, you know exactly what you get. It’s decent light fantasy. It’s quite entertaining when you read it/listen to it but nothing more. I do admit that at a few points in this one, I really didn’t want to put it down but just to keep on listening but normally, I don’t think about it when not listening to it. I’m actually looking forward to finishing this series so I can try out other audiobooks and see if my lack of enthusiasm is because of the book or the medium I experience them through.
Profile Image for Rachel-RN.
2,396 reviews29 followers
October 4, 2015
Much better than book 4. I liked that more of Raine's family was in this one. I enjoyed the dynamic between everyone (now if all families were that loving and supportive of each other). I liked that, despite everything, those that know Raine, know she would never do anything that would hurt them. Nice twist (and resolution) with the assassin(s). A bit of a cliffhanger at the end. We will see how book 6, All Spell Break Loose wraps everything up.
(Potentially a 7th book that's a WIP now. Looks like it will be self-published.)
One of the funniest parts was when Raine glamoured herself to look like a certain man.
"I felt his/my chest and grimaced. Then I quickly unbuttoned the front enough to take a look. The man had a bird chest. I flexed my right thigh against my left and then my left against my right.
"Ah, hell with it." I pulled my trouser out from my waist and looked down."
Profile Image for Donna.
1,055 reviews57 followers
May 2, 2011
Once again, Raine and her companions face almost certain doom as a group of goblins tries to steal the all-powerful evil rock Raine has been magically bonded to. I'm starting to think the poor woman needs a vacation.

I loved the new Benares relative we met. It was fantastic to see someone make an impact in a way that didn't need swords or magic. I'm still iffy on the other new character from Raine's past. The series already has one foxy bad-boy with a soft spot for the heroine (one who didn't show up quite often enough for my taste), so I'm not sure if Mr. Assassin Ex-Boyfriend will be able to win me over.

There are times when I wish that the pacing of these books was just a tiny bit less hectic. Raine got a few nice breaks with Mychael, but their chemistry fell a bit flat for me this time.
Profile Image for Li.
1,039 reviews33 followers
November 4, 2012
I'm frustrated by the fact that there's been minimal character growth since the first book - the general conflict appears to be along the line of Raine worries about using the Saghred and turning to the dark side, she gets reassurance that's not happening, she uses the Sagred's power when attacked by enemies, and then we're back to worrying that the Saghred will corrupt her. And yes, we know she's a Benares already and all that entails.

Okay, lack of growth aside aside - it's not all bad. There's snarky humour and interesting secondary characters. And I'm determined to finish this series, just to find out how all the loose ends are tied up.
Profile Image for Literary Lusts.
1,410 reviews338 followers
May 24, 2011
I love this series to pieces. And while I'm not exactly surprised at the result of the big love triangle in the past books, I do still sort of hold a torch for Tam <3. Otherwise it was still as fantastic as the previous books and I was only sad when it ended.
Profile Image for Sunny.
1,449 reviews
December 31, 2023
I found myself smiling through this whole book
Profile Image for Kara Babcock.
2,104 reviews1,578 followers
May 19, 2011
I have been reading a lot of heavy, "serious" works lately, works that employ a large cast of characters to deal with issues on a big, even epic scale. And while many of these works have been upbeat, some of them have also been "downers." So I thought it was time to read something lighter. Coincidentally, a new Raine Benares book came out in April, and it happened to be sitting on my shelf.

The levity of Lisa Shearin's writing is exactly what I wanted. Con & Conjure definitely has high stakes and serious issues: the narrator, Raine, is psychically-bonded to a rock called the Saghred. The Saghred feeds on souls, and in return it grants its wielders immense magical power. Unfortunately it also drives people insane. Raine, as the only link to the Saghred, is a tempting target for several powerful factions. In particular, a goblin sorcerer who was once trapped inside the Saghred wants it back, and a faction of elves led by Taltek Balmorlan want to use Raine as an excuse to start a goblin-elf war. The situation is tense, and assassination attempts on a rogue goblin prince who wants peace don't make it any better.

Despite the gravity of the situation, however, Raine's narration is delightfully flip. Shearin's world is full of epic fantasy tropes: sorcerers, soul-stealing rocks, goblins, elves, etc. Yet the novels take place in urban fantasy environments. (Sometimes this lead to use of language I might consider questionable—is "green" really an appropriate metonym for money if everyone still uses gold as currency?) The Isle of Mid, the setting since the second book, resembles a city-state of Renaissance Italy, if Florence or Venice were controlled by a conclave of elven mages. Shearin sends Raine ducking down alleys, weaving through crowds along the docks, hiding in brothels, and getting into barfights. All the while, Raine is describing the action with her characteristic wit and sarcasm. In short, Con & Conjure, like all of the Raine Benares books, is fun. In fact, while it's not the best book I've read all year, this is probably the most fun I've had reading a book so far this year. I suspected that would be the case when I started reading it, and Shearin has not disappointed me.

I love stories with con games and heist movies. These fall into a category of deception that appeals to me because they, especially con games, are very cerebral efforts. One defeats one's enemy, the mark, by winning a battle of wits, by utterly devastating him or her but leaving him or her alive to suffer the humiliation. Then there is the adrenaline of not knowing if or when the con will fall apart and leave the characters in danger. This combination of deception and suspense is attractive, dare I say even sexy. Hence my love for The Lies of Locke Lamora and movies like Ocean's Eleven and Foolproof.

So I was excited by the prospect of watching Raine pull off a con with the help of her cousin Mago. Unfortunately, Shearin pulls a Scott Lynch on us. Like Red Seas Under Red Skies , the promised con soon gets sublimated beneath ancillary action, fading into the gentle night to become a secondary plot. Though there is still plenty of deception, with Raine and her enemies both using glamours to assume various identities, the intricate test of wits that I had been anticipating was, alas, not to be.

Still, there was going to be a con, and I guess that's what matters. It just fell apart much earlier than most con games do. Instead, Raine finds herself in a series of increasingly untenable positions, at one point having several warrants out for her apprehension. And she can't just lie low, because she has to find out who is trying to kill Prince Chigaru and steal the Saghred. Raine has never, ever been the kind of person to sit on the sidelines—and the other characters are finally starting to figure this out! There is a lot less, "No, you aren't coming with us," in Con & Conjure, especially from Mychael. I find this absence most gratifying, because in the previous books it killed the pacing unnecessarily: it is pretty obvious that Raine is going to come along. She is, after all, our narrator and kickass heroine. Similarly, I appreciate that Shearin did not inject some simmering jealousy or resentment between Mychael and Raine after the former learns that one of the assassins gunning for Prince Chigaru is Raine's ex-fiancée.

The stakes for Raine have seldom been higher. Well, OK, that's not strictly true … I guess attempting to prevent the release of a demon king and trying to stop an evil goblin sorcerer from regenerating are pretty high stakes. But now we're talking war, racial war between the goblins and the elves. And both sides wouldn't mind getting their hands on the Saghred. The easiest way to do that is to get their hands on Raine, through whom they can sacrifice souls to the Saghred. Yes, through her.

Since Balmorlan revealed that plan, complete with magic-sapping manacles, to a glamour-disguised Raine, I kept having these flashes—the kind you get teased with during trailers for "next week's episode"—of Raine on a cell wall, defeated. (Of course, with most such episode trailers, what they don't show you is the immediately subsequent triumphant escape.) I won't reveal whether Balmorlan actually makes good on his threat to imprison Raine, but there are several times when she is in imminent danger of losing control, either over herself or over the Saghred. There is a very chilling scene where Raine lets loose and lets the Saghred mete out some well-deserved destruction on people we consider bad guys. And the climax of Con & Conjure might be my favourite; I like it even better than The Trouble with Demons, which up to this point has been my favourite Raine Benares book. While the climax is both much faster and on a smaller scale in this book—no epic demon battles—it's a lot more emotionally poignant. We get a guest appearance from Sarad Nukpana, and Shearin expertly manoeuvres Raine into a position where, despite her best efforts, she is on the cusp of losing everything. More impressively, Shearin goes ahead and deals Raine and our protagonists a setback that, while not wholly surprising, definitely alters the balance of power in favour of the bad guys. And it sets up the next book.

So Con & Conjure is a satisfying story filled with action, even if it doesn't quite deliver the confidence game I was expecting from the title. Shearin knows how to pace her scenes—trite phrases like "action-packed thrill ride" and "never a dull moment" come to mind, and they would be accurate. Unfortunately, Con & Conjure, like the other books in the series, share with thrillers a dearth of strong characterization. Though all of Shearin's characters are delightfully depicted and very amusing, they are, with the exception of Raine herself, rather two-dimensional. And again, we have the dichotomy where the protagonists universally love Raine and the antagonists consist of snivelling bad guys who whine when they don't get their way. Judging from the setup for the next book, this will not always be the case, as Raine and company will get a reluctant ally to help them take on Sarad Nukpana once and for all.

But that flaw is just so minor compared to the heart of the book—indeed, of the series: Raine herself. She is one of my favourite protagonists and favourite first-person narrators I've ever encountered. It's not just her voice; it's the way she has changed over the past five books, and the way she bears her singular burden. She is the only one bonded to the Saghred; she can feel the enmity radiating off the stone. She feels its desire to consume souls and escape its prison. And always there is the threat looming over her that she will cross the line, succumb to the lure of the Saghred's power, and essentially go insane and give herself up to it. Then there would be no Raine, just the Saghred and a nice, mobile bond servant to go procure soul snacks. That would be bad for everyone.

Though the threat has been real and present in all of the previous books, it's especially palpable here. Raine keeps running into scenarios where she has no good choices: if she doesn't use the Saghred, everyone dies; if she uses the Saghred, she gets one step closer to losing herself. And when she puts it that way, the choice seems rather obvious, but it's still a little heartbreaking. Once again, Shearin uses the magic of literature to distort our sense of time: Raine has grown so much since we first met her in Magic Lost, Trouble Found, even though only a month or two has passed since she bonded with the Saghred.

I wish I could say the other characters were half as interesting as Raine. As in the previous books, while they are amusing, the rest of the cast is rather two-dimensional—and we again have all the protagonists loving Raine and all the antagonists consisting of snivelling bad guys who whine when they don't get their way. Judging from the setup for the next book, this will not always be the case, as Raine and company will get a reluctant ally to help them take on Sarad Nukpana once and for all.

Con & Conjure, while an improvement over the previous book, Bewitched & Betrayed, hasn't really altered my opinion of this series. But that is fine, because my opinion thus far has been pretty damn high: I like this series, and while it has its faults, Shearin's books have always been fun and satisfying to read. That level of consistency is difficult to maintain and deserves a great deal of admiration. And if you like witty fantasy adventures, soul-stealing rocks, or kickass female heroines, then you should read these books.

My Reviews of the Raine Benares series:
Bewitched & Betrayed

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Profile Image for jammaster_mom.
1,051 reviews8 followers
November 11, 2021
This is a great series that takes place in the same time as the SPI series but in the Elven and Goblin worlds instead of Earth. There is not character overlap but there is world building/rules overlap.

Raine is an Elf who is a member of a notorious pirate family. She is the black sheep in that she has chosen to make her living legally with her magic as a Seeker. She has found herself attached to a powerful rock that everyone wants to get their hands on. The Elves want to use it to destroy the Goblins. The Goblins want to use it to destroy the Elves. The rock itself just wants to suck the souls out of people to make itself more powerful and Raine is just trying to prevent the end of the world.

In this book many threads are coming to a head. The exiled Goblin prince is on his way to Mid for talks with his brother the King. No one believes that the talks will go well or be peaceful. Raine is still trying to stay out of the hands of the Elven Inquisitor who has a dungeon with her name on it. She does not want to be bonded to mages in order to feel the Saghred. Raine is also still trying to figure out how she can separate from the Saghred without losing her life. At the same time Raine knows she has to be sure that she can prevent a war.

This is a great series and I very much enjoy the characters. There are twists and turns that are unexpected. I also enjoyed seeing the relationships between the characters grow. Great series and looking forward to the next book in the series.
Profile Image for Midnight.
395 reviews1 follower
March 31, 2024
Trigger Warnings: Murder (some graphic), theft, assault, kidnapping, imprisonment (with manacles), suggestive behavior that's almost sexual assault (his hand doesn't touch her but ghosts over her), poisoning, hanging, prostitution, I think that's it

If you've been reading the series then this is a good continuation of the story. If you read this out of order I would suggest beginning with book one. Not that you can't understand what's going on but it has more impact if you start from the beginning. A lot of loose ends are finished in this one and it wouldn't be nearly as satisfying to see some bad guys get what they deserve if you haven't been a part of the series the whole time.

Not a whole lot of Tam or Mychael in this one. Lots more Phaelyn and his older brother, Mago. Not that I don't like those characters, I do, but if you were hoping for more romance you would be very disappointed. These books are pure fantasy with a slight hint of romance. This book remains in the same city that books 2-4 were in and follows the same set of characters. The young guys, Pairis and Talon, are hardly in this one either though. So if they were your favorite characters be prepared.

The action was good, the suspense was good, all in all a good book. For better or worse the characters stayed in character and didn't take any weird swan-dives into other personalities. I really wish Raine would just knife a B but whatever.
550 reviews5 followers
January 11, 2018
While I enjoyed the narrative, at the conclusion I felt a little disappointed. This was her chance to do more, do more with a book than the same Raine has an idea, Raine gets into trouble, someone Raine loves gets into trouble, they all find an unlikely way out of trouble.

While I understand that the book is primarily from Raine's perspective and she was largely unaware of some of the things that went on behind the scenes while she was indisposed. I still would have liked a little more sleight of hand, a little more clever plan to get the better of the co-conspirators.
Profile Image for Celeste.
984 reviews59 followers
January 4, 2019
While the pacing and action are just as break neck as the previous books in the series and Raine and her friends and family are as fun as ever, the plot remains constant and it's getting repetitive and slightly boring. Had to really push myself to finish this and forced myself to read the next one only because I read a review that said the Saghred and Sarad situation finally gets over and done with and I wanted it to be done so, so bad.
660 reviews
April 27, 2018
Lots of action, good set-up for the next book. My biggest complaint is the repetition. Situation explained, then by the next page it's being explained again in different words. We really do get it, don't have to be pounded over the head to understand what is happening or going to happen. Other than that, I really am enjoying the series.
Profile Image for Doris.
2,031 reviews
August 24, 2024
I struggled to finish this, having read too much of the crying screaming and hiding behind others that appeared. There were some comical bits, but they were few. I liked the cousins and the family mentality but not the seeming confusion about gender and race, some of which made me backtrack.

Sticking this in the dnr so I can bypass this author.
Profile Image for Amanda.
389 reviews
May 10, 2017
Just when I think I have seen it all... there goes another surprise!! I was on the edge of my seat, eagerly and nervously waiting for the drops, jumps, and awws. I love this series and can't wait to get my hands on the next one!
2,246 reviews23 followers
August 22, 2018
I am starting to have some issues with the compressed timeline of these books... even when there is a resolution to the main issue in the book, they always end on cliffhangers. This is no exception. On to the next!
1,085 reviews
April 30, 2021
I continue to enjoy the adventures of Raine and her friends and family. Though this is one of those series where the issues continue to escalate through each book, leaving me wondering just how bad it can get. Looking forward to the next one.
Profile Image for Cathie.
456 reviews1 follower
September 12, 2022
Rains is less annoying in this one, and their are less cringey romance parts, but the couple of times it went bad were just sad. I would like her to be a little more thoughtful. I mean, you can’t come up with a question only your boyfriend could answer!
Profile Image for Cindy.
1,863 reviews13 followers
March 21, 2019
Book #5 I got as a deal on Amazon. WOW! Good addition to the series. Although I really hate that cliffhanger Grrrrrrrr
Displaying 1 - 30 of 147 reviews

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