The Bargainer Series review
“But normal people also don’t get to feel their soul mate’s magic move in them. They don’t get to be part of a fairy tale. They don’t get the love that transcends time and worlds.”
Dark Harmony - Laura Thalassa
So we come to the end of an era – the Smutty Trio (an aptly named book club featuring three smut-loving ladies) has finished Laura Thalassa’s The Bargainer Series. We started the quartet last year, interspersing the books amidst Ice Planet Barbarians sequels and holiday-themed standalones. We’ve developed close relationships with the Night King, Desmond Flynn, and private-investigator-siren Callypso Lillis.
The most succinct synopsis is this: Callie is a paranormal creature known as a siren, capable of using her feminine wiles to enchant people to her will. Des is a fairy with plenty of secrets and the inability to resist making a bargain (hence the name). The two cross paths after a horrific – but justified, in my opinion – act of violence. Cue magic, angst, other dimensions, and spice.
In a word: this series is fun. While it has plenty of dark and shadowy themes and undertones, it ultimately is a fast-paced, action-packed, sexy delight. Each book has its own emotional and plot arc as Callie and Des find their footing as a romantic couple and defeat enemies, though there is an ultimate Bad Guy.
Here are my complaints, though they be but few: 1. Callie is a swell narrator, but when Thalassa introduces Desmond’s point-of-view in The Emperor of Evening Stars, the third book and a prequel, I seriously wished the entries series was dual perspective. 2. A common device in these romantasy books is the constant reference to each other as “my mate” or “this man” or “the King” – titles and endearments that honestly sound so stilted in conversation, they read as cringy to me. This is probably a personal problem of mine, though. 3. Thalassa has a tendency to overstate how “dirty” Callie and Des’s sexy time is. I’m sorry, Laura, but a finger in the bum is pretty tame compared to what other shenanigans a body can get up to.
As for things I like? Plenty! 1. The relationship between Callie and Des is built up over a long period of time and obviously over many books; as the characters grow, so does their relationship. Their banter and sarcasm are always fun to picture. 2. The smut itself. There is no magic penis trope here, although technically since Des is magical…? What I mean by that is lots of foreplay occurs, different positions, sometimes loving and gentle, sometimes feral and unhinged. Smut should be multi-faceted, just like the couple it reflects. 3. The plot scoots right along with a huge mystery at its center. We as the reader get to explore other magical dimensions, and Thalassa’s imagination guides us through fantastical realms – sometimes beautiful, sometimes ugly, most likely dangerous.
In loving conclusion, I’m sad to see this series end, but the Smutty Trio is stoked to eventually begin Thalassa’s Four Horsemen series in the near future!
*TRIGGER WARNINGS: sexual assault, domestic violence, blood & gore, and a really fucked up villain
