Review - Magic Lost, Trouble Found by Lisa Shearin

I LOVE this front cover. It is just so fantasy looking :)

My name is Raine Benares. I'm a seeker. The people who hire me are usually happy when I find things. But some things are better left unfound. I'm a sorceress of moderate powers, from an extended family of smugglers and thieves. With a mix of street smarts and magic spells, I can usually take care of myself. But when my friend Quentin, a not-quite-reformed thief, steals an amulet from the home of a powerful necromancer, I find myself wrapped up in more trouble than I care for. I like attention as much as the next girl, but having an army of militant goblins hunting me down is not my idea of a good time. The amulet they're after holds limitless power, derived from an ancient, soul-stealing stone. And when I take possession of the item, it takes possession of me. Now my moderate powers are increasing beyond anything I can imagine-but is the résumé enhancement worth my soul?

This was a fun read. It did take me a little while to warm up to Raine though. She struck me as trying to be too smart and ‘clever’ but I liked her once I got used to her.

Raine belongs to a family who is more often than not on the wrong side of the law but earns a living by being a 'seeker' finding things that have been lost or stolen or even people that have been kidnapped. And because of this she knows quite a few people both on the right and wring side of the law, so you can imagine that this book is filled with a wide variety of characters.

In this novel we have what I can assume is the beginning of a love triangle between Raine, the Elven Guardian Mycheal and Tam the goblin nightclub owner. *interesting* And while we are on the subject I think I may be in love with Tam…I mean dang, this guy is the bad boy of the book (I am pretty sure of this). But also there is the fact that he seems to genuinely care for Raine – maybe even love her *sigh*. And the whole bad boy thing is definitely an attraction.

Tam and I tried to have a non-emotional parting; I said we tried; we didn’t succeed. I knew I had to leave; Tam knew I had to leave, but knowing it didn’t make it any easier. Tam had a business to run. I had a stones of power to rid myself of. 

In the end, words just weren’t getting the job done for Tam, so he went for action instead. I’ve been on the receiving end of some heated kisses in my time, but none of the top contenders had ever involved me being slammed against a mainmast. I have to admit I liked it. A lot.

Mmmmhmmm I BET you did!
Dang *fans self*

And then there is Mycheal…yeah, I really REALLY don’t know what to think of him (if anything). There is the attraction there but I am afraid that Tam had already stolen my heart before I could form any kind of opinion on Mycheal.

And then we have the truly evil, people-sacrificing, innocent-killing, skin crawling bad guy and a battle for the goblin throne between two royal brothers. Brilliant! And throw is a magic enhancing, souls stealing rock and you have the story.

I loved the world building that went on and the different ‘districts’ of the city where Raine lives. (goblin district, sorcerers district etc) It may seem like a bit of a cheat to do it this way but I love it. It gives the impression of China Towns in big cities. Of having separate countries within a big whole (does that make sense?).

Another fantastic aspect of this book is that it only covers a couple of days but at no point does it get boring. There is nothing but action from page one!

Raine is surrounded my colourful characters that were fun to read about and added lots of life to the story.

My one problem is that things were constantly being repeated. Raine was ALWAYS telling us that she could move things with her mind. ‘Yes, I got that the first 5 times you told me, thank you’.

Brilliant fun novel! I will absolutely be checking out the second book.