Rhapsodic by Laura Thalassa

Rhapsodic (The Bargainer, #1)

by Laura Thalassa

Callypso Lillis is a siren with a very big problem, one that stretches up her arm and far into her past. For the last seven years she’s been collecting a bracelet of black beads up her wrist, magical IOUs for favors she’s received. Only death or repayment will fulfill the obligations. Only then will the beads disappear.

Everyone knows that if you need a favor, you go to the Bargainer to make it happen. He’s a man who can get you anything you want... at a price. And everyone knows that sooner or later he always collects.

But for one of his clients, he’s never asked for repayment. Not until now. When Callie finds the fae king of the night in her room, a grin on his lips and a twinkle in his eye, she knows things are about to change. At first it’s just a chaste kiss—a single bead’s worth—and a promise for more.

For the Bargainer, it’s more than just a matter of rekindling an old romance. Something is happening in the Otherworld. Fae warriors are going missing one by one. Only the women are returned, each in a glass casket, a child clutched to their breast. And then there are the whispers among the slaves, whispers of an evil that’s been awoken.

If the Bargainer has any hope to save his people, he’ll need the help of the siren he spurned long ago. Only, his foe has a taste for exotic creatures, and Callie just happens to be one.

Reviewed by nitzan_schwarz on

4 of 5 stars

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Okay, this one was REALLY GOOD! Seriously, if not for some *minor* issues I had, this would be a 4.5 stars read and I wasn't expecting that AT ALL! I really did pick this one on a whim because I saw someone on my feed really loving it (I don't even know who, I feel so ashamed) and this was really cheap on kindle.

SO GLAD I DID!

Things I liked:

* Callie - girl is feisty, cranky, smart and funny. I DIG IT! girlfriend didn't have an easy life, but she didn't let it break her completely. Her narration is a real good pov and I loved being inside her head! She's one of those main characters I can really get behind.

* Desmon - Lord, the guy is fine. Like, they keep telling us he's so bad but he's SUCH MUSH WHEN IT COMES TO CALLIE??? Like, seriously, even when he's being jerk-ish it's with so much affection and so much love with how Callie response?? He's so in love with the way she doesn't let him get away with shit, and I *loved* it. This guy is a real softie. A badass softie. HE HUNG OUT WITH A SEVENTEEN YEARS OLD GIRL. PLATONICALLY. FOR A WHOLE YEAR. JUST MAKING HER SMILE AND TAGGING ALONG. And he was so noble about the whole thing. The night king. A wicked fae. A manipulative bastard with a heart. Seriously, Thalassa created one heck of a book boyfriend with this one.

* Their relationship - guys, TAKE NOTE. Here we have a relationship With a Shared History. Now, one of my major peeves is when authors set up a couple like that (From now one called WaSH) and just expects us to understand that because of that shared background, their love is valid. That it makes sense. Because they knew each other once. Even though we've seen nothing of it and therefore have not been convinced of anything. NOT HERE! Thalassa takes time to let us SEE that past. To make us understand, aside from the characters telling us Things Happened and I Was In Love With Him. Therefore, I 100% understood why Callie loved Desmond. I 100% understood the guy must have had a reason to leave her because GODS HELPED ME IF THAT'S NOT LOVE IN HER MEMORIES I DON'T KNOW WHAT IS. It helped see past some of Desmond's manipulations. IT WAS BRILLIANT!

* Temper - can wee more of her, pretty please? Also, what is that destiny that has been hinted and how is it going to come into play??

Things That Could Go Either Way:

*Misdirection - okay, so the whole ending feels like sort of a trick to me. like, that wasn't really the king, and that Other Persona was actually this Thief of Souls who is actually someone else but stole the King's body & soul and used it. Otherwise, a lot of things kind of don't make sense, including why the "dead" women aren't awake, or in general why the whole thing even HAPPENED.. If I'm right, then the book would turn out to be REALLY GOOD. If I'm wrong, then it would be REALLY DISAPPOINTING. So this point could go either way.

Things I Didn't Like:

*Typos and generally messed up sentences - this book needed one more person to go through it. There were a lot of mistakes where you understood the sentence was supposed to say A but because a word was missing or wrong (like "his" instead of "him" or missing "I" or "to") the sentence was messed up. Which SUCKS because the writing was really good but then these would come and irritate me lol

* The final 15% or so felt kind of rushed and like they were setting the next book because Callie needed the wings and scales. Like, Des literally obliterated the dude in five seconds flat. If he had found her three seconds earlier she would be okay. So it all felt really convenient and like it was mostly done for the benefit of Book #2

Proper Review to Come!

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Reading updates

  • Started reading
  • 27 April, 2018: Finished reading
  • 27 April, 2018: Reviewed