Rhapsodic (The Bargainer #1) by Laura Thalassa

 

Summary (from the publisher): 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 fae king of the night 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.

Review: To escape her traumatic past, Callie had to make the choice to bargain with the fae king of the night. In return for his help, she has racked up debts, each represented by a black bead on a bracelet around her wrist. For seven years, he hasn't showed up to collect on his debts, so Callie is shocked to find him in her room, finally ready to claim what she owes him. While there is undeniable tension between them, there is more to their interactions. Fae warriors are going missing and whispers of an evil that has been awoken. To save his people, Des needs Callie's help and siren abilities. 

This was an intriguing premise. Early on, I was curious to know what debts Callie had accrued and how exactly she would have to repay them. It's clear from early in the novel that the Bargainer was interested in Callie in a deeper sense than he must be with others who owe him. I liked the world building as it was beginning to be set up in this. Callie is a siren, with the potential to sway others to her wishes and wrench the truth from others, which was an interesting twist. 

Unfortunately, this just wasn't a huge hit with me. Callie is given a very poorly fleshed out back story. Almost no real detail is provided about her childhood other than the fact that her stepfather was awful to her. But both her stepfather and mother are virtual non-entities. (And she certainly does not act like someone with a traumatic past.) The only other real character is her best friend, who fills the stereotypical role of just being available to allow illuminating dialogue to happen so the plot can continue to unwind. She's another stock character with little substance. The Bargainer has a lot of substance and history, not all of which is fully explored, but most of the characters lacked depth.

Also, as the story progressed, the relationship between Callie and Des continued to resemble sexual grooming more and more. He first meets her when she is a young and vulnerable teenager. He does her favors, gains her trust, and then calls to collect once she's older and firmly in his debt and has no choice but to give in to him. It was just a bit ick to me. I was also put off by the way he continually calls her Cherub one thousand times in the book. 

There was also a lot of groundwork laid about this supernatural evil brewing and evil, unnatural babies being spawned. I'm sure that will be explored in later installments in the series but I'm not sure I have it in me to keep going with this one. 

Stars: 2.5