Armed & Magical

Raine Benares, Book 2

By: Lisa Shearin

Narrated by: Eileen Stevens

Length: 10 hrs and 3 mins

Publisher's Summary

"My name is Raine Benares. Until last week I was a seeker, a finder of things lost and people missing. Now I'm psychic roommates with the Saghred, an ancient stone with cataclysmic powers. Just me, the stone, and all the souls its ingested over the centuries. Crowded doesn't even begin to describe it. All I want is my life back, which means getting rid of the stone and the power it possesses.

"To sort things out, I head for the Isle of Mid, home to the most prestigious sorcery school, as well as the Conclave, the governing body for all magic users. Its also home to power-grubbing mages who want me dead and goblins who see me as a thief. As if that's not enough, Mid's best student spellsingers are disappearing left and right, and I'm expected to find them. Lives are at stake, goblins are threatening to sue, mages are getting greedier, and the stone's power is getting stronger by the hour. This could get ugly."

©2008 Lisa Shearin (P)2010 Audible, Inc.

Critic Reviews

“Shearin continues to demonstrate her marvelous gift for balancing offbeat humor with high-stakes adventure and paranormal thrills in book two of her high-octane, first-person suspense ride. You don’t get much better than this imaginative and hilarious book." (Romantic Times)

"Armed & Magical is the kind of book you hope to find when you go to the book store. It takes you away to a world of danger, magic, and adventure, and it does so with dazzling wit and clever humor….I absolutely loved it.” (Ilona Andrews)

Narrative better in second book

Ok.. In all fairness the narrative improves with practice. The flow is better and the characterizations are better executed. I suppose the lady just needed a little practice with the style of writing. This book was done better than the last and convinced me to go ahead and purchase the last two books.. The narrative improves enough in the second half of the first book to give hope for the second and it improves enough through the second book to warrant giving the third the benefit of the doubt. The story is good enough that it is worth putting up with the few short comings of the reading that are left once the narrator has gotten the rythme of the reading down a little more smoothly. And let's face it guys, no one is perfect!

Fun book, bad reader

This is such a cute series, it's too bad audible couldn't get a better reader. Eileen Stevens reads like she was just called upon by the teacher to read out loud to the class. At times it sounds like she never bothered to read the book before she came to the recording studio. She also doesn't have a clue how to pronounce arcane words such as archmagus. Do a little research, woman!

Fun and enjoyable

The story of Raine Benares continues in this fun and enjoyable book. I’ve read this book multiple times and still find it enjoyable- a hallmark of a well-written story. The narration was solid and brought the story to life.

Excellent

I read and enjoyed these books when they were first released, so when I saw them on audible I had to give them a listen. Eileen Stevens brought the characters alive, the wit and humor of the books, what made them so much fun to read is even more evident in the recordings. Highly recommended.

Great girl power fantasy

If you are into girl power fantasy this is the series for you. A strong female lead, sorcery, goblins and elves with a fast paced story line, what is not to love. Each book follows each other and you are left wanting more. Bit like having a cliff hanger at the end of each episode of FlashGordon. Would recommend