Reviews with content warning for Alcohol - Rhapsodic

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Rhapsodic by Laura Thalassa

35 reviews

caitsreadingcorner's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.25

I very much loved the writing style in this book. The plot was engaging, the imagery and metaphors were beautiful and well written but there were a few things that I didn’t care much for

the way Callie was essentially groomed by Des at a young age but I did respect that he waited for her to mature and was at least somewhat aware of all of the torment and abuse she had endured. It is obvious that he cares deeply for her and loves her

.

The romance was well written. I typically don’t go for such toxic relationship tropes but I did still enjoy it. I thought the world building was nice though it could have been better. I was not at all pleased with the stereotypes forced on her POC best friend Temper and it’s too cringey to elaborate on. There are a lot of unanswered questions but that just means I’ll have to keep reading!

The other thing that disturbed me was

Callie’s changed physical appearance. I don’t think she deserved anything else to hate about herself, to make her feel tainted and vulnerable. She had endured enough before that.

Overall, a good read.

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poetsofsweetpea's review

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dark fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

Rhapsodic was a fairly spicy Romantsy story. It was scary but threaded with sexual assault. The age difference between the characters was problematic for me. It wasn't just that there was one, but the age and circumstances of their first meeting gave me the ick. The mystery of the children and catatonic fae was scary, but I wasn't satisfied with the resolution. Perhaps the payoff is further down the series, but I won't get there. I don't like sexual victimization as a plot point, and it was really the only thing moving the story forward.

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vreyna20_2004's review against another edition

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2.5

Good God. I’ve heard that this book was bad but Jesus Christ. I couldn’t even come up with good things about this book. Let me begin with some nitpicks of mine. Callypso Lillis is the name for the main character. I know it’s a real name, but it’s spelled like Calypso not Callypso and why Lillis?? Anyway, onto the next one. Desmond Flynn. His name is Desmond. I had thought he would have a badass name but no, his name is Desmond Flynn. Onto the next, Temperance. I’ve read two books with that name, and I can’t take it seriously. You’re going to look me in my face and tell me Temperance is a real name?? Good Lord. I went into this book as blindly as possible and no one mentioned not even the book about how Desmond isn’t the only supernatural being in this book. There was werewolves which I didn’t know Cally’s ex-boyfriend was one until she mentioned it and she also is a siren. This would’ve made sense if the author simply said so in the beginning of the book that there’s supernaturals in this world which also just so happens to be located in motherfucking Los Angeles because LA is the most magical and mystical place on Earth. It also took until Chapter 8 for ANY fantasy to happen. Fucking chapter 8 and it didn’t take until half of the book for my interest to be piqued.

They characters suck cause most of the time they’re together, they want to fuck each other so badly it literally deosn’t seem like a book more like let’s watch these two horny ass people want to fuck each other, not fuck. Whenever Callypso is horny she would call her vagina “lady parts” which was a lot. And God was hearing Callypso say “my Siren” got on my fucking nerves and the whole glamor also. Then theres edge lord Desmond Flynn talking about “deep stuff” only for him to say this most current time saying of all time and then the fact that he knew Cally when she was 16 and still had feelings for her but the book tries to excuse it as “in the supernatural world, 16 is considered an adult” like no, shut the fuck up. It gave me the ick so badly.

The story went so slow and then so fast in a manner of seconds I couldn’t even keep up with anything. It was all Des and Cally confessing and then them doing it over and over to Cally talking to the client only to get kidnapped and then she gets wings all of a sudden. I had to reread it and I was still confused. I also hated how they just killed Karnon without questioning him. That man committed war crimes but they let him die because Desmond got angy (I meant that spelling) and kills him because he touched Cally.

There’s only a few things I like about this book like the way Des says “mouthy thing” I can’t deny but blush at that or the fact that Des begged for more than a kiss and obviously the fact that he saved her even if it was late but it wasn’t worth it with the countless things I did hate about this book.

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kassidyreads's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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avialaeleigh's review against another edition

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dark emotional sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

This is a really great romantacy read. Funny and witty with just enough angst to not make it too frilly. I like that we kind of flop back and forth from present and past times so we see how Des and Callie met and used to be but also how they are now and everything.

Also the surprise soulmates thing was a nice touch. Did not see that one coming. I also like that we get that bad boy, broken girl trope as well as strangers to friends to enemies to lovers thing that they have going on.

Also the banter, really great made me laugh a lot and pause my audiobook to really make sure that I heard the narrator correctly. Both of them have some great one liners. And there were also moments that I was truly sad and also those that I wanted to hit them both upside the head cause they were both being idiots.

I'm really interested in seeing where the rest of this series goes.

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maddierandolph's review against another edition

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adventurous dark tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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witcheep's review against another edition

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dark lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

The book presents a mystery to solve, but it's quite superficial - almost like an afterthought - in the plot. The plot focuses more on the FMC Callypso' and the Bargainer Desmond's relationship both in the past and the present. The premise of this book is interesting, but the plot and character relationships fall a little short to give room for smut. Some additional editing to strengthen the plot would have make the story more impactful.

Callypso has been through some seriously hard times in the past. Desmond helped her through it then, but then left her for years. Callypso was left heartbroken and alone, to put her life back together again and to cope with hardships. One of her not-so-healthy coping mechanisms is to avoid any meaningful romantic relationships.

She gets over that unhealthy habit in a heartbeat, though, when "the right person" comes around talking about soulmates.

Mate business? Mate business? Nope. Nope. Nope. Nope.

The protagonist and her best friend both see red flags in the Bargainer's current actions,

yet she quickly disregards them because he makes her horny.

All this giving on my end, all this taking on his. This isn't what healthy relationships are made of.

I would have hoped to se Callypso be more strong-willed than her lusty siren side, but maybe she'll get to spread her own wings more in the sequels. Maybe I'll even continue reading this series.

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sparklingpynk's review

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I made it to chapter 20 and maybe one day I will go back to listen to how this ends but I just can't be bothered at this point. It's a bit interesting with the fantasy world and the issues in the kingdom, but the romance part isn't doing it for me. I get there is a history between these two where a lot of time has passed but this is all dragging on way too much for my liking.

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kayceeisbookish's review against another edition

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dark emotional reflective sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

Content Warnings

bookwormbarber's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

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