Rhapsody is a woman, a Singer of some talent, who is swept up into events of world-shattering import. On the run from an old romantic interest who won't take no for an answer, Rhapsody literally bumps into a couple of shady characters: half-breeds who come to her rescue in the nick of time. Only the rescue turns into an abduction, and Rhapsody soon finds herself dragged along on an epic voyage, one that spans centuries and ranges across a wonder-filled fantasy world-- a world so real you can hear the sweet music of Rhapsody's aubade and smell the smoldering forges deep within the Cauldron.
My Thoughts:
Good grief! I've had these books on my shelves for YEARS and I always planned on picking them up and getting into them, but somehow my dumbass would always find a way to not. First off, I am in love with the way Haydon writes. The environments, the characters, the action scenes...everything is written so vividly and so beautifully! Her characters are fleshed out and you care about them.
Let's talk about the characters shall we? Rhapsody is the main character. She's a Singer, basically like a mix of medic, fighter, poet, musician...she used to be a prostitute (not by choice) so she's got an edge to her. She can be sweet as sugar but you get her pissed and she will not make things good for you. It's a nice mix, she's never sickly sweet and she's never too tough as nails that you don't like her. She's head strong, smart, and just a well rounded character.
Achmed and Grunthor are the secondary characters. Grunthor is the best! He's literally my favorite so far, imagine a big burly troll like charactor that speaks with a cockney accent and is on one hand the scariest mofo you've ever seen, but on the other hand wouldn't hurt a fly. He's loyal, smart, snarky, and my favorite. Did I mention he's my favorite? 'Cuz he is.
Achmed is complicated. Like, understatement of the year here. He's got layers this guy, and he doesn't exactly peel easily...He's not the prettiest dude out there, but he's tough. He's not quick to let anyone (besides Grunthor) in and when he meets Rhapsody, he's not sure about it all. Though soon both of these gents accept her as one of their own.
The main three go through a LOT in this book. They journey literally through the center of the Earth, through YEARS ON YEARS, to make it to the end of the book. There's so much going on and I don't want to spoil this book for you. They form a friendship that I do hope only strengthens more over the series. There are eventually other characters that join the merry trio, but the main relationship here is why I love this book so much!
I cannot think of too many grumps about this book. I think the main one I have is that nearly 90% of the book is world/character building. Of course, I love the first book in a series to focus on world building and character development, but there's got to be more story set up for the rest of the series..I hope that makes sense? However, while this would make it a no go for me, I didn't notice the over abundance of building in this part of the series. I wanted to know these characters. I wanted to see how their bond forms, and of course I wanted to enjoy the world more and more.
If you are a fan of epic fantasy and have never ever read this series, I highly HIGHLY recommend it!!
**Disclaimer: Cover pic goes to Amazon affiliate link for the book***
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