The Emperor of Evening Stars (The Bargainer Book 2.5)

I've been following Laura Thalassa's excellent 'Bargainer' series and finished this book pretty quickly. It's a relatively short book, and although Amazon listed this as 'Bargainer Book #3', Ms. Thalassa called this 'Bargainer Book # 2.5' and I agreed with her. This book was more a companion to the series, told from Desmond's POV. If you haven't read the series at all, do NOT start with this book as it's not a true stand-alone book. The entire series were written in 1st person, and although I usually didn't mind 1st person books, the style did limit the readers' understanding to just the main character from whose point of view the story was told (in this case, Callie's). That's why I think this book was a great idea, especially since Desmond has been so tight lipped with his story.The first part of the book gives us the history of Desmond in much greater detail than what he reveals to Callie in the first 2 books. It gives a bit of story about his mother and why she hides him from his father. Describes the Otherworld in greater detail, and how Desmond finally receives his chance for vengeance, and how he meets Callie. The second part - the part when Callie comes into his life, is shorter since it's already covered in previous books. In the end, I'm glad I read this book as it gave me a better understanding of Desmond's character. I can't wait for the last book in this series.

Oh Desmond *swoon* The Emperor of Evening Stars by Laura Thalassa is everything I wanted and didn’t know I needed from The Bargainer series. Told exclusively from the King of Night’s perspective, this novella is a glimpse into the life of Des, before and after Callie entered it.Des is my favorite male character written by Laura Thalassa (sorry Pluto). So getting a novella from his POV was, to say the least, exciting. Des is a complex character that I don’t think I understood fully until reading this book. I knew that like Callie he was a tortured soul. But I don’t think I got just how tortured he was. This is a man who witnessed the death of his mother and killed his own father….why didn’t that register with me until now?! Everything Des does is in direct contrast to his father. He wants to be his opposite. Where his father was cruel, Des wants to be just. He has built his kingdom on the ashes of his father’s barbarity.I think the reason I loved this novella so much is because as the reader I got to see some of my favorite scenes from the perspective of Des. All the stories he’s shared with Callie (even a few Malaki shared) from Des’s perspective. This helped to flesh his character out, not that he wasn’t already, but it does help in understanding his motives. There is even the story of how he became the Bargainer which I think I fell in love with the boy more (which I didn’t think possible) after reading it!Overall I loved this novella! I loved seeing Des in a new, vulnerable light. I loved the scary parts and the hurt parts and the all-consuming love parts. This is a man who would die for those that love him and his thirst for vengeance hasn’t quite been quenched yet. While there is no new information, fans of the series will love Des’s story.

I received an ARC for an honest review.This book is everything I hoped it would be and more. I've become absolutely obsessed with this author since reading Rhapsodic, and this book definitely did not disappoint. It was so beautifully written, it gives great insight into Des's life and helps you to understand his character even more. It tells the story of Des the boy, Des the young adult, Des the soldier and finally Des the king. His life was not easy or particularly happy before meeting Callie, but it does help you understand the many layers to his personality and how he became the king/man he is. It also gives his POV from some of the best and most important parts in book 1. The book is pretty face paced, it's not one of those books where you have to skip pages to get to the good part, the entire book is the "good part". Set some time aside to treat yourself and read this book, once you pick it you definitely won't want to put it down and if you're a sap like me you're going to cry at least two times.Impatiently waiting for book 3!! :D

Yes I have read all four books in this series multiple times which is really unusual for me but I love the chemistry between the two leads so much. Sexy, steamy, funny, touching, snarky, fated love...it’s all here. Of course there are holes in the plot and I was a little disappointed by the ending as it was sort of anticlimactic but just ignore them and focus on the love story and fun writing. And the sex! Some of it will make you blush — or at least it did me — but it is all consensual and done with strong emotional attachment. There are some heavy themes here and disturbing imagery as Callie and Des struggle with issues of rape, demonic children, bloody trees, and other frightening things but readers are not forced to live through those events first hand. The one thing I don’t understand in all of this is if Callie is a sexual abuse survivor, why is that never really addressed? We learn that she is lonely and somewhat self destructive but she doesn’t seem to have any repercussions with that horrible aspect of her life...it would have been nice to see how the two of them worked to heal her spirit in this way as sex dies play a large part in their relationship. All in all, this is a very sexy, sweet, and original love story that want to return to time and again. NOTE: I have read only one other series by this author — the Queen of Everything — which I detested completely. The Bargainer series seems like it was written by a completely different author. Give it a try! I hope you love it as much as I do.

Oh my! Laura Thalassa has done it again and created another masterpiece. The Emperor of Evening Stars was awesome, it was enchanting, it captivated and enthralled me and I've fallen even more in love with Des than I had before.First off, please do not read this book if you haven't read the first two in the series, The Bargainer and A Strange Hymn as it will ruin important plot lines. Also, don't read any further in this review until you've read those two books.The Emperor of Evening Stars is the story of Desmond Flynn and is told completely from his POV. We finally learn about his life before Callie, how he became The Bargainer and how his past shaped him to be who he is. We also finally get to see his true feelings for Callie and how he dealt with those seven years they were separated.I loved reading this from his POV, it made me fall even more in love with him and it also made certain situations from the first two books a bit clearer as to why Des was that way. This book is not a rehash of books 1 & 2 from another POV instead it's mainly about Des's life before Callie but then also from when he first meets her.This book really is a must read for the series and easily gets five stars from me. I'm now going to go back and reread books 1 & 2 all over again before rereading this one.

I must confess, as much as I wanted more information on The Bargainer himself, I was worried that with reading The Emperor of Evening Stars that Des would lose some of his mystery. But I need not have worried. I loved Des even more after reading this. It’s a wonderful window into the world of The Emperor of Evening Stars and his life before Callie. Even with all this extra information about Des, he still retains his mystery.I love that Des is a morally grey character, one who is honest with himself about that. Having a window into the Otherworld and more specifically to the Kingdom of Night was a wonderful gift and one which really added to the series as a whole. I am pretty sure I could read endless books about the Otherworld – and I hope that Laura Thalassa decides to write more books based, at least partially, in this dark and feral Otherworld.

Maybe some spoilers.When I started reading The Emporer of Evening Stars (how poetic is the title?) I thought this kinda should be read after book 1, with the focus on Des's beginning and childhood, even though we get more snippets of it in book 2 when he tells Callie more of himself. I actually begun to think the entire book was dedicated to Des, with a too long waffle about his adult life pre-Callie. Thankfully it wasn't like that. After he meets Callie, all those sweet moments make him more than the Bargainer, Shadow King and generally someone out for blood and repayments. He is so, so sweet and gentle with young Callie. Thought it would show more of their intimate moments from his POV since it covers nearly everything else. Their little trips here and there were a real treat to read. He is so at her mercy and wound around her little unknowing finger it was beyond cute. Then near the end it was gripping and has me thirsty for the 3rd and last book.

The Emperor of Evening Stars is a Novella that accompanies The Bargainer Trilogy. So if you if you’ve not read Rhapsodic or A Strange Hymn then I advise you to stop reading now and go read them because they are awesome!This novella was perfection, this is the story of Desmond Flynn and what a story it is and it all starts with his mother’s escape from his father. I really really love this story, my only complaint is that it wasn’t longer because I could read about Des all day.I love how deeply complex he is and learning more about his background homed that in more than ever. I love how he switches from good guy to bad ass motherf*#cker in 0.5 seconds!“Coldly, I break his femur. While he’s still screaming, I crush his kneecap. His shrieks are the sweetest music”And let’s not forget his love for Callie, some of the passages where he is describing his love for her are so swoony.

I connected with Des and Callie quite early in book one so this book was quite an easy read for me as i love both characters. If you havent connected with the characters then i really recommend you read this book to see if you have a different perspective by the end of it.One thing I really liked about this book is that we get a glimpse of Des life through his eyes. I think it was really important to see things from his point of view and seeing what he has grew up from.Emotionally driven, fast paced swoon worthy.