Rhapsodic
Ratings76
Average rating3.6
Book one in the darkly hypnotic Bargainer series! The King of the Night always collects his debts... 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 Bargainer 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.
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3 primary books4 released booksThe Bargainer
The Bargainer is a 4-book series with 4 primary works first released in 2016 with contributions by Laura Thalassa.
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I ended up liking this much more than I thought I would.
The book starts off very cliche for the genre, with a tough-but-soft woman who just happens to have a supernatural ability and uses it in her career as a private PI. She has a token black best friend (whose dialogue feels more than a bit racist) and is dating a werewolf who is also in (supernatural) law enforcement.
When I first added the book my to-read list, I don't think I realised that it was more in the romance genre than general fantasy (and it's definitely not YA though was in a ‘similar to' rec of one). There is a fair bit of graphic sex (including a vagina being referred to as her “core” several times) and curse words but the story itself was actually very interesting and I ended up really liking a few of the characters. The writing feels very fanfiction-y and I found a few misspellings or words missing in my copy, so I'm not sure how well-edited this is or if I ended up with an ARC and the final product is a bit different.
Overall, I ended up really entertained by it. If you like dark fantasy with a side of adult situations, check out this series.
I now can see the ACOTAR vibes this book has, but it goes beyond that! Callie is a siren, and even at 23 has gone through so much hardships that Thalassa executes perfectly. The flashbacks are written so well, and that paired with Callie's relationship with Desmund is stuff to dream of. At times, I wanted the relationship (as great as it was) to take the back seat as other things happened (it's the focus of the book I would say), though the plot progresses smoothly and includes mystery, fantasy, and exploration of poignant themes as well. Number 2 has made it onto my tbr.
I really liked this book. Literally finished in a day.
I did miss some things in this book, like some extra characters. I know Des his life is pretty private, but I would have loved to see some side characters from his side. From Callie we've got temper and Eli, but it was basically just Des and Callie.
The book also really reminds me of ACOTAR. I love ACOTAR. excited to see where the other books go.
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