Reviews with content warning for Sexual assault - Rhapsodic

this book was terrible, but i talk shit about people who leave one star reviews so oh well.

listen, all i’ll say is, for the love of christ at least make your characters 18 at a MINIMUM. how hard is it to put the character in college instead of high school? come on man.

Content Warnings

llau's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous dark medium-paced

3.75

Content Warnings

sowhitemocha's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark funny mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.5

Content Warnings

caitsreadingcorner's review against another edition

Go to review page

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.

Content Warnings

poetsofsweetpea's review against another edition

Go to review page

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.

Content Warnings

helminthy's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark medium-paced

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

2.0

Very easy to read. The plot is interesting but the pacing made it clear that the characters were the focus. This would be fine if the character arcs were fleshed out, but they seem to change opinions and states in order to make the tone feel more broody.

Content Warnings

keyro's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous mysterious fast-paced

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

3.5

Firstly, I don’t see too many reviews mentioning that this is an “age-gap” fantasy romance book. Age-gap used lightly since she was 16 and he was falling for her, although he said he wouldn’t touch her until she was of age.. alarming and very.. child groomy.

Personally, I thoroughly enjoy the past/present jumps but it also made it gross just listening in detail for how much they cared for one another romantically while she was a TEEN.

As far as the writing, it’s a STEP UP from those terrible wattpad-esque, It’s easily digestible.

I wish we got more of a POV from Des or learned more about him, we know surface level details, hoping the 2nd book will dig deeper, if it is, then it was a semi-great intro to Callie, although towards the end - she was set out to be a damsel in distress which is contradictory when callie was initially written to be a strong person.

Rhapsodic - 3.5/5

Content Warnings

More...