Should I Read Rhapsodic? (Rhapsodic v. ACOMAF)

The Similarities Between Rhapsodic by Laura Thalassa and A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas

In other words, should I read this book if I'm a SJM fan?

Quick short answer to this question ^^^ at the very end.


General Context about Me as the Writer of this Post:
1. I am a huge Sarah J. Maas fan. Like, massively huge.
2. I am planning on giving Rhapsodic its own full review. This is almost a prequel post so that I can sift through some of my thoughts and reactions.
3. This is, I feel like, old, small, book community tea. Yet, one that I still find interesting.
4. This is not going to be a slam post of any kind. I'm genuinely just curious about the conversation around and between these two books.

Phew. Here we go.
I read the ACOTAR books by Sarah J. Maas as they were coming out. I have very clear memories of hearing about Rhapsodic on Tumblr, Twitter, etc. because there were so many similarities between this book and the second ACOTAR book, A Court of Mist and Fury. (Which, in my own very biased opinion, is one of the best books ever.) There were posts encouraging people to read Rhapsodic, calling it a hangover cure or a tie-over until the last ACOTAR book came out, but there were also posts telling people not to read it because it was too similar and felt like a rip off.

Here's the thing: there is context to me that suggests certain elements of Rhapsodic were inspired by A Court of Mist and Fury.

A Court of Mist and Fury came out May 3, 2016. Rhapsodic came out November 15, 2016. This six month timeline would normally disqualify any notion of the latter copying the former, BUT, I feel fairly certain that Rhapsodic is self-published. Timeline and publishing-- it normally takes about two years for a book to go from agent at the start to on-selves at the end. Self-publishing however, can be very quick, especially if someone is genuinely skilled at writing quickly without the need for editors.

Why do I think Rhapsodic is self-published? Well, I'm actually not 100% certain on this, but when I tried to find anything about the publisher, Lavabrook Publishing Group, the only books that come up are Laura Thalassa's and her husband's. The only bit of information I could get about the publisher was that there is a mailing address for it in Ventura, which is an easy drive away from Santa Barbara (where Thalassa's Twitter says she's from). There's no publisher's website either, which seems very odd. It would also make sense to me from a business perspective for her to do this, because there are times that self-publishing sites bring certain negative presumptions about the kinds of writing someone is about to read. So even though it's self-published, it sounds like a full-standard publishing house novel. And maybe the company is growing and right now it's just her own small business. But the book still has the quick timeline capabilities of a self-published novel.

Now, the real odd wrench in Rhapsodic being "inspired" by A Court of Mist and Fury. There are old blog posts from Laura Thalassa saying that she originally got some of the ideas back in 2014. However, there doesn't seem to be mention to the things that would be common between the two books and it seems like odd timing to me that she didn't talk about Rhapsodic again or come back to it until a month after ACOMAF came out. To me, that seems like there was plenty of time for her to read ACOMAF and use pieces of it to finish up Rhapsodic. Like things clicked all of a sudden and she was able to finish it. Who knows? At the end of the day, these books are their own entities and if there are commonalities between them, well, then so be it. There are some things that can't be claimed by a single author or owned by one person.

Points of Similarity/Difference:

1. Bargains

Des and Rhys make bargains with Callie and Feyre respectively. Funny enough, Des even traditionally tattoos his deals onto the person's skin, sort of how Rhys does to Feyre. For Rhys and Feyre, the tattoo is initially one that shows how Feyre will need to spend a week in the Night Court every month for the rest of forever. But, I don't believe this is typically how Rhys marks his deals. I feel like he partially does this with Feyre to (a) give her a constant reminder about him, and (b) screw around with Tamlin. Also, their mating bond is an identical tattoo on her other arm, so I think it just is a connection between the two of them because Rhys has his own Illyrian tattoos.

Callie doesn't get a tattoo, she gets a bracelet instead with a bead for every bargain she makes. I liked this idea. I don't think I would have liked a bracelet that big, but it worked! But this also shows a difference between the tattooing for Rhys and Des. Rhys tattooed Feyre to get closer to her. Des didn't tattoo Callie so that she wouldn't be just another bargain.

Also, the circumstances around the bargains are very different. Des uses it as a side job and Callie gets bargains because she's bored and needs a friend to hang out with. Rhys I don't think ever makes these deals and Feyre only does it because she's legit dying and has no other choice. Very, very different.

2. Wolflike Boyfriend- Possessive + Temper Tantrum

Tamlin is a bit like Eli, I have to say. They both are super alphaholes, take on wolflike forms, and completely trash a house when they lose control of their tempers. They also are the old love interest that loses, which is a win in my opinion as a reader.

3. Heroine is taken away to a different kingdom

Feyre is forced to go to the Night Court with Rhys. Callie is "forced" to go to the Court of the Night. Yeah, they're kind of similar in this way, but even the tone of the "taken away" is different for these books. For Feyre, she really really did not want to go. She was there in the Night Court, throwing shoes and asking when she could leave. For Callie, she puts up a little bit of a fight, and then acquiesces once Eli trashes her house. So.... it's similar, but also very different.

4. Secret pent-up love

Not even going to touch this one because it is such a strong trope across all books, not just YA/NA fantasy. Is it there? Yes. Moving on. 

5. A Nighttime Court/Kingdom

Rhys is Lord of the Night Court, Des is king of the Court of Night... clearly there is a similarity, but honestly not one that I think is remarkable. Sort of like the "pent-up love" thing I didn't bother going into detail with, this is something that just seems common. Thalassa could have gotten a night court idea from literally dozens of places. And it's not like she had Des looking like Rhys on top of it. They have very different descriptions. The courts looks different as well, again highlighting the difference here between one as a fantasy novel and one as an urban fantasy novel.  So again, similar theme, but different execution.

If you notice, none of those things are unique ideas. So many authors use them so many different ways. What is slightly curious to me is the huge reaction that I saw this having on the social medias back when they were both new releases. But I think ultimately, while they use similar themes or pieces, they are very different stories. For one thing, ACOMAF is TWICE as long as Rhapsodic. It's also a complete fantasy whereas Rhapsodic is an urban fantasy. There are different creatures, different rules, different kingdoms, different travel, different writing styles and foci... a whole lot of differences.

So should I read rhapsodic? I would say it depends on what you're looking for, especially if you're coming off a Sarah J. Maas read.

If you're looking for that new adult, sort of edgy, fae romance, then yeah, go for it.

If you're looking for the complex character game and political development, then maybe not.

Thanks for reading!