Rhapsodic by Laura Thalassa

      

 

 T This: Why did I read *This* book?  

    Fantasy romance is a genre that I own a lot of but I do not gravitate towards because it intimidates me. I am not one who likes romance all that much. I started listening to it in 2018 and 2019. It is definitely something light to read after a heavier read but it is still something that I rarely add to my TBR. 

    I have said that fantasy is my favorite genre and I am okay if there is a little bit of romance thrown in. This novel focuses more on the romance and steamy sex scenes and less on plot. I was intimidated but I have heard so many good things that I had to give it a try.

A Atmosphere: How did it make me feel? What was the world like? This might include overall tone

    This book made me feel so many different things. I fell in love with both characters and for the first time in my reading life I developed a crush on a fictional character. I like the main character too but Des is the best thing ever. 

    One thing I loved about this book was while there was a lot of romance, there was a plot and the plot actually gave me the creeps. I do not typically get the creeps when reading books so that's a pretty big thing. 

    The world was developed and I hope that in the following books we will learn more about the otherworld. The land where all the faeries live.

    This book is definitely one of those books where the main love interest is tall, dark, handsome and has an evil yet kind streak. It's the typical girl falls in love with bad boy because he has a good heard. I suppose this is a trope I like. I mean, to be honest, I do not think I could ever fall in love with a bad boy (I prefer IT nerds). They're too much work, really. But, it worked for this book and I cannot wait to read more.

   S Style: What was the writing style like? Simplistic or sophisticated? Clunky or beautiful?

    This is a self published novel and I think it could have used better editing. There were some mistakes that could have been fixed if they'd been gone over a bit more extensively. That being said, I do not feel like the mistakes were bad enough to detract from the writing. I always get nervous about self published books because "What if it's awful" and I was pleasantly surprised. I hope to pick up more self published books this year.

    P Plot/Pace: Was it engaging? Were there holes? Did it feel too rushed or too long?

    I picked this up when I was slumping a bit and it pulled me out. There were no glaring plot holes but my biggest weakness is not noticing or not caring about plot holes. I felt like the length was just perfect. The story was wrapped up well enough but the author left you with just enough interest to want to read the nest book.

    E Enjoyment: Was it a chore to finish or compelling enough that I picked it over other fun           activities?

    I was pleasantly surprised by this novel. It was definitely a read I expected to feel meh about and now I have a new favorite series.

    C Characters: Were they believable, sympathetic, interesting?

    Des and Callie are amazing. They're a bit dumb because neither is open but that's another trope. 'Does he love me as much as I love him', 'Does she love me as much as I love her'. It worked in this novel.

 I loved Callie's best friend Temper and I hope we will see more of her in the second book.

 Overall, I rated this book 5 stars. I was pleasantly surprised and cannot wait to pick up the second one.