Fantastic follow-up - just got to survive the dreaded wait for the next one...
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This is a wonderful sequel, which I loved reading.
'Armed and Magical' is the second in the series charting the adventures of Raine Benares and her attempts to rid herself of the Saghred, a soul-sucking rock of cataclysmic power.
The action picks up pretty much straight after the events of the first book. Raine is on the Isle of Mid, the home of the Conclave of Sorcerers, the Conclave college for magic users and the Guardians who protect the them. She is looking for someone to break the connection between her and the Saghred. Accompanying her is Piaras, her unofficial little brother, who is hoping to gain a place as a student of one of the Conclave's spell singing Maestroes.
As the book unfolds it becomes clear that there are a number of interested parties who want their hands on Raine, the Saghred and Piaras or a combination of the three. Many of those parties also want Mychael, the Paladin of the Guardians and Raine's chief protector, and Justinius Valerian, the Archmagus and Mychael's boss, dead. A series of dramatic confrontations, with an entertaining mix of magic, action and political machinations, ensue. All this happens in a short timeframe, the action is crammed into a couple of eventful days and nights (and all only a week after the events in 'Magic Lost, Trouble Found'.)
The plot is cleverly worked out and the action is non-stop.
There are loads of fantastic scenes. I loved the scenes in the Scriptorium (or library) with it's dangerous contents and officious chief librarian. The fact that Mychael rides to the rescue and there's a dragon involved make it even better.
The characters in this series are wonderful. They are vivid creations, who live, breath and make you laugh.
The book is once again told from the first person from Raine's perspective. She has a unique and very entertaining voice, so much so that the fact that it's a first person narrative sort of fades into the background - whereas often that narrative style can get in the way.
Raine is a great character. She's funny, brave, intelligent and independent, the combination of all those features making her likeable and someone you have to root for.
Mychael is even more gorgeous in this book and you get a fuller picture of his character with him working on home territory. It's absolutely clear how much he cares about Raine and how far he is willing to go to push his office to protect her, as Raine herself says: "Most girls get flowers or candy. I get a declaration of marshal law." He's written with the perfect combination of honour, rule bending for the right cause, humour and very tightly reined in passion, while retaining a clear sense that he is a powerful and formidable opponent. There is a lovely moment between him and Raine near the end of the book where his restraint cracks a bit and I can't help but hope we see a bit more of that in the next book.
Tam is also back and is dangerously attractive. We learn more about his dubious past and it informs the choices he makes now. His relationship with Raine is believable and passionate, and the images of him striding around furious and dressed all in black including thigh high boots do leave a lasting impression.
Generally speaking I hate love triangles in books, largely because I always like one pairing more than the other, and get frustrated if things are not progressing the 'right' way. In this case the Mychael / Raine / Tam triangle actually works really well. There are complications on all sides and it will be interesting to see how things progress. (I'll clearly be cheering for auburn haired, spellsinging healers who lead an army of Guardians, but I can see why others might be going for tall, sliver and sexy).
There are lots of other great characters. Raine's cousin Phelan is charming rogue. He's thoroughly believable as a pirate and as a man who is going to look after his family.
Vegard, Raine's slightly homicidal Guardian bodyguard and his stoical partner Riston are lovely characters, Vegard especially.
There are lots of very unpleasant bad guys - varying from bad bureaucrats to really evil- but they are all individual and interesting.
I enjoyed all the political goings on and thought that having to factor the political realities in to temper the tendency to just bash heads made the book more interesting.
Like the first book, this one is also very funny. Raine's tone throughout is wry and there are some great lines: "I couldn't be bound to any stone of cataclysmic power. Mine had lawyers."
All in all it was great and I want to read the next book now...
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FUN!
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This book starts where the first book finished with Raine on the Isle of Mid.
I really enjoyed it and thought it was just as good as the first. A fast pace full of action story.
So looking forward to book three to see which man she chooses, Tam or Mychael.
If you like Rachel Caine, Ilona Andrews etc you will like this author.
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