A To Z Book Review: Rhapsodic By Laura Thalassa
My letter “R” pick for the A to Z Reading Challenge was RHAPSODIC by Laura Thalassa. This is book one of The Bargainer series, a four book set – and I am so freaking happy to say it’s complete because I. Love. It. So. Hard.
Calle is a human with the supernatural powers of a siren, living in a modern-day earth where supernaturals are a normal thing. We begin the story with fifteen year-old Callie standing over the body of her abusive stepfather. She has just accidentally killed him defending herself and in a moment of sheer panic, she digs through her stepfather’s stuff and locates the calling card for the Bargainer, a rockstar warrior Fae hottie named Desmond who has the ominous reputation of being able to solve anything for you—for a price. He takes in the situation, then balks and refuses, saying he doesn’t make deals with minors. Callie begs him and (reading her motive for the murder correctly) he finally relents. Since she’s now all alone in the world (mom is dead and she doesn’t know who her real father is), he packs her up to a magical boarding school on a full scholarship and makes the whole sordid murder go away. A year later, a painfully lonely and ostracized Callie calls him again. This time for her bargain, she only asks that he hang out with her for a little while.
A little while becomes nearly two years, and they become closer, first as friends, then falling for each other hard. Eventually, Callie voices her love, and Des instantly disappears, abandoning her for seven years. This is where our story starts, and Callie is now a PI with her best friend, a talented witch. She never quite got over Des and when he suddenly reappears and sweeps her off to his faerie kingdom, she gets pulled into a search for a faerie criminal with ominous powers who, for some reason, has drawn a target on her. The story is told in alternating present-day and flashback chapters, and I fell in love with Des along with her in every one. The mystery villain is compelling, and the stakes are sky-high. The author’s world-building is stunning, Callie is smart, but flawed, and Des is a snarky, arrogant sex god who deserves every bit of his self-confidence. I am already happily devouring the sequels and will be reading more of this author after that. Five steamy stars.
