Reviews

Bargain by Kelley Armstrong

vikingwolf's review

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2.0

Xavier wants to make Elena a professional contact of his and plans to help run a man eating mutt out of town. He also decides to try to find a job that he can hire her for and is intrigued to hear about the Jack the Ripper documents.

I failed to really see the point to this story. It is meant to be the lead up to Elena's investigation in 'Broken' but it doesn't really add anything to the story and can easily be skipped. It is just Xavier sitting thinking for the most part.

charlottenw1's review

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3.0

Love these short stories

hemloc's review

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4.0

Two reasons to read Bargain:

1) It fills in a few blanks and makes Xavier's motivations a lot clearer. Seeing him show up in Broken was a tad odd – you wouldn't contact someone who may want you dead for such a small favour – but this story explains exactly what he had in mind.

2) Xavier isn't the most memorable character in the series, but he is morally corrupt, which makes him interesting. He's also disarmingly upbeat and excited. It's a fun combination.

One drawback to Bargain:

1) The story focuses on explaining Xavier's motivations and doesn't do much else beyond that. There's no mystery, no threat. Nothing really happens.

readingrenbo's review

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adventurous mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

bookfessional's review

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2.0

First time Xavier's shown up since Stolen. I'd forgotten about him (the teleporting half demon if you forgot about him too).

Short POV that walks you through Xavier's conniving to get Elena's help in Broken. MEH.

a_h_haga's review

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2.0

So I never liked Xavier, and this short only cemented that. Xavier is just what Karl was hinted at being in Bitten - but proved to not be: a manipulative man-child that prefer to use everyone around him.

This story tells us how/why he approaced Elena with the From Hell Letter-deal in Broken. Didn't do much else for me, but well written and ok story.

lpcoolgirl's review

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5.0

Set before book 6, and how Xavier wanted to build up a working relationship with Elena, and yeah, he actually has a family, 3 older siblings, and yeah, he thought that was it was going to be good. Loved it!

si0bhan's review

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2.0

Bargain is another of the quick little stories designed to fill in blanks and add more details to the Otherworld story. Bargain sits nicely between books five and six, giving us information that leads nicely into book six.

Whilst there isn’t much happen within Bargain, I know enough about what to expect with book six to realise this works as a nice little prequel. Reading this one is not a necessity, but it has worked nicely to build up more excitement for book six – in fact, I’m even more excited to give it a read now that I have an insight into what is to come.

A short few pages that do not add much, but worth it for fans of the series.
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