Burdened with the soul sucking rock, Saghred, Raine Benares has traveled to the Isle of Mid in an attempted to remove herself from the unwanted bond. The drawback is that knowledge of her bond with the epitome of evil has made her notorious with an enclave of elves clamoring for her arrest and a clan of goblins clandestinely trying to acquire her. When an old keeper of Saghred comes to the surface with a plan for sacrifice and mayhem it is all that Rayne can do to keep things under control, a feat even a talented seeker half-elf with significantly boosted powers would find almost impossible.

This is the second installment of this series and here we learn the repercussions of Raine’s various entanglements, of which there are many. I kind of lost track of who was who after a while with so many bad guys and others coming and going. Raine herself is entertaining. She’s not racked with guilt over her shifting love life interests as many heroines in her position might be and it is interesting to read about such a go with the flow kind of person. The story held my interest and I’m curious enough to see where this all leads in the third installment, “The Trouble with Demons”. This is a very fast moving fantasy story with goblins, elves, wizards and more with a heroine who will appeal to those who like the quick witted, cheeky type that seems to frequent many urban fantasies on the market today. ( )

Raine benares needs to get rid of her link to the Saghred. With it, she has unlimited power at her disposal - and the evil Khrynsani shamans on her tail. She has just arrived on the Ilse of Mid, hoping one of the mages of the Conclave can help her get loose of the Saghred's grasp. But she's followed by the goblins who want "their" stone back, and now amongst magic users are those greedy for power, who will go to any lengths to get it. And when spellsinging students disappear from the school on Mid, Raine is expected to find them.

I have no idea how I am going to manage to review this book bar these two words: absolutely amazing! I loved MLTF, but A&M goes above and beyond what I expected.

Quite literally, Lisa Shearin is a fantasy genius. That is it. I was bubbling over with excitement at each and every twist and turn that smacked me in the face - or rather Raine in the face. There is so much suspence in this novel, I sitting on the edge of my seat throughout most of it.

Well loved characters show their faces again in A&M, along with new people. As soon as you meet him, you love the goblin spell singer Talon. Ronan Cayle is pretty awesome too, in his strict teachery sort of way, and for someone who has control of the island, Justinius Valerian isn't bad either. The lovely Mychael and Tam are still here, but a new bunch of bad guys come out of the woodwork too, the kind you love to hate.

I highly recommend! ( )

An excellent sequel to Magic Lost, Trouble Found! More rollicking fun with Raine and company - with additional characters to make things even more interesting! Raine travels to Mid to try and remove herself from the Saghred, while preventing the baddies from getting their hands on it. The love triangle between Raine, Michael, and Tam gets even more complicated. All in all, Shearin gives us another deliciously witty delight! ( )

Fun and quick to read. I really liked the action and flow of the story. I think that the characters are becoming more strongly developed. One of the best things about these books is the ripping good pace they keep. The first covers only the space of a week, and the second not much more. Yet they are filled to the brim with near constant action, and a wide range of intriguing characters. I like how saavy Raine is at handling the various male figures in her life. I like how she is exactly who she claims to be (and she never claims to be perfect). And I particularly like how fierce she is when it comes to protecting her family. ( )

More high-paced action as Raine goes to the Isle of Mid to try and get a mage to break the link between here and the Saghred. There are goblins, the elven secret service, various factions of the magi who want to capture or control her.

There are others, like Tam, who find her even more irresistible than before.

The story is fast-paced, and there's quite a bit of humour. Raine also is lusting after both Tam and Mychael and there are a few kisses and one naked leaping out of the bath scene - but it's all very PG really and very light on the description.

There's a very funny scene when she tries to cast a glamour to appear to be someone else - the Saghred ramps it up a bit and she transforms fully into a man and tries to get used to walking as a man for the first time. There are other moments of hilarity too but that scene is hardly new but deftly handled. ( )