“…People like us are not victims. We’re someone’s nightmare.”
Rhapsodic is the first book in The Bargainer series by Laura Thalassa.
The Bargainer is the man (well fae) you go to if you need something and he always collects repayment sooner or later. But there is one client he’s never asked for repayment… until now.
Callypso (Callie) Lillis is a siren with a slight problem – a wrist full of black beads… aka bargains. The beads will remain until she dies or repays her numerous debts and the bargainer has now decided to cash them in.
When women start mysteriously appearing in glass caskets, children clutched to their chest, the Bargainer must gain Callie’s help to determine what evil has been awoken. Unfortunately his foe has a taste for exotic creatures and Callie fits that brief.
“And mountains may rise and fall, and the sun might wither away, and the sea may claim the land and swallow the sky. But you will always be mine. And the stars might fall from the heavens, and night might cloak the earth, but until darkness dies, I will always be yours.”
So I really like this book. The Bargainer gave me a Rhysand vibe (that will only make sense if you’ve read ACOMAF) and I liked Callie despite the whole normal Callie vs siren thing being a little weird/ confusing sometimes.
There is a plot in this book but honestly the main focus is on Callie’s relationship with a few select people. Sometimes the whole strange women in caskets thing just seemed like Thalassa’s way of saying hey this isn’t just some romance book. Despite this I liked it and I was reading it while traveling around Europe so something a bit lighter was a nice change. There was a fair bit of action crammed into the last part of the book but it was a bit at odds with the pace of the first 3/4 of Rhapsodic.
I’ve bought the second book but haven’t read it yet but I do hope it has a bit more substance than this book… but I’ll probably read the whole thing anyway even if it doesn’t.
This book was probably more 3 & 1/2 stars instead of 4 but I rounded up because I’m generous and didn’t particularly mind the lack of plot because the Bargainer is great.
Thanks for reading!
Georgia-Rae
PS – this is my 50th post!!
