Rhapsody

This book I picked up because a good friend of mine with similar taste in books recommended it highly to me. I had heard her and another friend of mine talk about it multiple times, so I was sure that it would be one that I could dive right in and be absorbed in the story.

It was not a "dive right in" kind of book. It wasn't even a "cannonball" kind of start where it was not pretty, but you are still completely in the water in a few seconds.

I would say this book was more like a kid who doesn't like how cold the water is, so he starts taking steps in, slowly, surely, then when he is standing on the bottom of the pool, he gets up the courage and actually goes under the water. Once completely submerged, the water is great, and he doesn't want to get out.

That is my best analogy for how I felt about this book. For a good many chapters in the beginning I was confused, I didn't know how all the characters connected, I was frustrated with the location of the story and how long the characters were there, but... less than halfway through... it picked up, and I was completely hooked.

All of the pieces of the beginning that didn't make sense before started falling into place. The setting of the story improved vastly so I could really picture it and enjoy the ride. By the time I got to the last page, I was so ready to start the sequel (there are at least 2 more in the series, maybe more, but I haven't read them yet, so their reviews will follow later).

This is a fantasy story, set in another world with its own unique history. It has time travel elements in it. It starts with a lot of loose ends, and as the story continues it starts to come together, and I was surprised when some of these connections were revealed.

Rhapsody is the name of the strong female main character, who you grow to like with all of her faults. She has two unlikely companions, neither of which are fully human (not Disney movie cutesy companions, but races that are dark and scary and misunderstood). The three of them undertake a journey that takes them somewhere that I don't think any of them expected.

I apologize if this review seems to be very vague. I do always try in these reviews to not give too much away, but this book requires me to be more vague than normal. As I said before, I really enjoyed how the loose ends got tied up in a surprising way, and I am concerned that if I give too many details about the story of the book, I will take away some of those surprises and thus some of the fun of the book. You will have to read it and experience it yourself.

My biggest recommendation with this book is don't quit when the characters are on their journey, because once they get to their journey's end, the book becomes much more interesting, and everything will make sense.

In my ratings, I had to take stars off for how long it took to get hooked, and that is reflected in the overall score too. But keep in mind, that I still recommend it because I only post books I really enjoy.

Out of 5* possible-
**** Overall
*** Hooking me into the story
***** Desire for a sequel
***** How far removed from this world