Rhapsodic by Laura Thalassa Series: The Bargainer #1
Published by Lavabrook Publishing Group on November 15, 2016
Pages: 423
Genres: Fantasy, Paranormal
Amazon
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.
I don’t read much fantasy but I have to say that Rhapsodic is an intriguing story. It’s very complex and I’m enamored with the enigmatic hero, Desmond (aka The Bargainer or The King of the Night). I’m also drawn to Callie, a broken but resilient siren fueled by anger and lust.
The writing could use some editing. There are some typos but I mainly object to the choppy storytelling. The story unfolds by flashing back and forth between present and past — not a favorite device of mine. It could possibly work if one full chapter was set in the past and another was set in the present. The way it is written, however, the story switches back and forth mid-chapter. Even when dealing with key moments during a particular time period, the author rarely sees the action through to the end of the chapter. For example, a chapter might begin in the present day and then switch to March, 7 years ago. We come to a key point in the story when everything freezes. A new “header” (not a new chapter) is inserted that also says March, 7 years ago and the story picks up again. It’s just an odd interruption.
That aside, the fairies, werewolves, sirens, enchanters and their lives both on earth and in the Otherworld have completely beguiled me. The ending is a doozy and I’m eager to see where the story leads.
Recommended for fans of:
Fantasy
Macaroons
Avenging angels
Soulmates
About Laura Thalassa
Found in the forest when she was young, Laura Thalassa was raised by fairies, kidnapped by werewolves, and given over to vampires as repayment for a hundred year debt. She’s been brought back to life twice, and, with a single kiss, she woke her true love from eternal sleep. She now lives happily ever after with her undead prince in a castle in the woods.
… or something like that anyway.
When not writing, Laura can be found scarfing down guacamole, hoarding chocolate for the apocalypse, or curled up on the couch with a good book.
Her books hook me too! Although I never finished the The Bargainer series, I think I stopped at book 3 🙈 but I love her Four Horsemen – can’t wait for Famine
The Four Horsemen sounds super interested and it’s available in KU. Bonus! 🙂
Love KU just for that – one click without bad conscience 😀
I enjoyed Fantasy romances because of her. I enjoyed her Four Horsemen series. I still have to continue this series though.