Rating: 
Summary: Entertaining with some flaws
Review: I would like to start of by saying that if I could I would give this book another half a star. I enjoyed this book very much and thought that it flowed rather well. I found the characters for the most part to be interesting and likable. However, the fact that the title character was made into something of a silly, thoughtless girl on occasions(mostly in the beginning of the book)did detract somewhat. I also enjoyed the setting of the story. Haydon does a credible job of creating a complex and interesting world. The main way the author integrated magic into the book, via Rhapsody's singing skills, was also very intriguing and certainly added to the story. The only real problem I had with this book is the way it did drag on from time to time. I was glad to see in some of the earlier reviews that I was not the only one to think the trip on the root was overly long with no apparent point. Overall, however, this was a very entertaining novel and I will definatly continue reading the series.
Rating:
Summary: Decent, but not classic
Review: Given the reviews I'd read of "Rhapsody," my expectations were very high. Unfortunately, I was disappointed. The characters and setting are indeed sharply drawn. The world and it's rules are particularly complex and original while still drawing upon classic fantasy as inspiration. However, I quickly found my attention wandering. The problem? The plot. The main character of Rhapsody has a fascinating past and powers, but she's extremely passive throughout the entire novel. Instead of driving the action, she follows along, reacting. She has no mission, no goal, no ultimate quest in the manner of the best fantasy (Tolkien, Pullman, C.S. Lewis.) She's kidnapped in the beginning by the mysterious Achmed the Snake and the weirdly cockney Gunthor, and from there one she does little to instigate action. We keep hearing about how strong she is, but all she does is help Achmed and Gunthor on their quest, despite her own misgivings about it. In between we get a lot of rather tired banter and long passeges dwelling on Rhapsody's extraordinary beauty and charisma. Without an active protagonist driving the action, the novel quickly begins to drag. Normally I'm a big fan of character development and detailed world-building, but action IS character, and Rhapsody is sorely lacking in that department.
Rating: 
Summary: great mix of romance and fantasy
Review: I really liked the detail and character of this book. It has been a long time since I have read a book that has measured up to my idea of the perfect fantasy. Most books these days like to be a bit on the bizare side for that large selection of readers that like to be easily entertained without trying to hard to understand the book. The charcters in this book were easy to relate to, but not being extra pretty myself I mostly related to the firbolg who is a chalenge to understand but still wonderfull. Haydon seemed to have a great grasp of the form of magic she choose to use for her book. I myself am a reader who loves both fantasy and romance and any other book that snatches my intrest. So the only flaw I could find in this book is the fact that in the prelude of this book she really defines the characther of one of her ... charachters but then we dont see him again untill the end of the book and under a diffrent name. While it gets really confusing as to was he lord stephons friend who has the same name and was killed or is he the cloked man. Im a confusing writer but I hope that you somewhat understood what I just wrote.
Rating: 
Summary: Excellent
Review: I'm not normally a reader of fantasies, but something about this book made me pick it up and take it home. What a fortunate circumstance! I think Haydon is a brilliant writer with a wonderful imagination, and her characters are marvelous. She could have spent a little less time in the tree root, but that's my only quibble, and perhaps not a valid one, because that part of the book firmly establishes the relationship between three of the major characters. The sequel is even better, and I can't wait for the third installment! If you like outstanding writing, you won't regret buying this book.
Rating:
Summary: Great Characters
Review: I really enjoyed "Rhapsody." The plot brings together parts of storylines that can be found in other books in a very unique way. The 3 main characters are interesting and multi-faceted. Just when you think you know how Achmed the Snake will react, he does something unexpected. Achmed the Snake, Rhapsody, and Grunthor each have a good sense of humor. It's refreshing to meet characters with depth to them who don't constantly complain about their situation. All of the main characters exhibit compassion, caring, humor, rage, and ambition in varying degrees. The storyline is a little uneven in that it jumps ahead in some places where more explanation would be helpful. The descriptions are vivid enough to help your imagination, but not so detailed that they get boring. The story keeps you enthralled and entertained. I plan to read this book again to catch anything I missed the first time before I read Prophecy.
Rating:
Summary: best book ever
Review: rhapsody is one of the most enchanting books ive ever read. immediately in the beginning haydon hooks you into the book with an enchanting love story turned tragedy and after that its adventure after adventure exploring rhapsody's emotions and growing love for achmed and grunthor her two kidnappers/savers. I would reccomend it to ANYONE who likes a good adventure/romance with a lot of humor and magic mixed in : )
Rating: 
Summary: Too Slow, Not Enough Characters To Get To Know
Review: Sorry, but I agree with those who didn't like this book. I can't believe how slow this is. In one part, the characters go underground and walk and climb and walk and climb and slash at worms for fifty pages for no real reason. I suspect I wasn't the only one thumbing ahead to see when they would get out of there. Also, book suffers from lack of characters. Rhapsody is a reasonable character but the bolg is a flat character mainly for humor and the Brother is so wrapped in secrecy that you can't get to know him, and you get sick of the repetition of phrases such as his "sandy voice" and his sarcasm and criticism of the main character. Where are the character relationships and the characters we should care about? I'm a third of the way through and thinking of quitting. And who the heck were those people in the first chapter who suddenly disappeared. Unlike books by Jordan or McFarland or Eddings or Martin, this book is tough to get into and care about. I can't recommend this.
Rating:
Summary: Strong Debut and Voice
Review: I really wanted to give this book a higher rating, and would have were half stars allowed. This is a decidedly strong debut that imaginatively jumps out at the start and for the most part keeps the pace rolling. The opening chapters cleverly establish the premise that is to come, and the shifts in time and time character are both effectively done and driving in their interest. While none of the main characters is particularly unique to either fantasy or Hollywood, Haydon breaths fresh and vigorous energy into the stereotypes, rendering them in a way that is both credible and engaging, Grunthor in particular successful except when he reverts too heavily into English slang of the last century. And therein suggests the hitch---not singular---that weighs down the tale's obvious strengths and prevents me from enthusiastically ranking it among the best. There are many wonderful and inventive elements to this story: the cwellan, the vibrational magic of song and blood, much of the lore and the way in which Time is spun. Even with its faults this is a hard book not to enjoy. But the tale tends to ramble and often loosely evolve, at times stalling between episodes that start off well enough, such as the over-long travels along the Root, as well as an ad hoc sense of episodes extraneously strung together and lacking the tighter plot focus found in better works. While there are ample hints that the author has an overall epic tale she wants to unfold, many of the secondary characters and episodic steps being taken to get there seem only incidental to the larger plot---Michael, Rhapsody's "grandchildren," Tsolton, the visit to the seaside basilica, the sleeping wyrm, the cavern house of Elysium---occupying a chapter or two only to be conveniently discarded once the action moves on to the next event. It is difficult to imagine authors such as Martin, Hobb, Kay or even Jordan, with his multitudes, so lackadaisically weaving the threads of their stories and characters together: every element has an informing role to play upon the larger stage of their stories. Further, the main characters have assumed personas much larger than life, with little sense of vulnerability to the forces they confront, with Rhapsody's god-like and mesmerizing beauty in particular problematic. Nonetheless, there is no doubt in my mind as to the strength and inventiveness of Elizabeth Haydon's authorial voice, and this is certainly one of the best debuts to come along in the last couple years. I can only look forward to what I am sure will be work that will continue to grow in strength, and I certainly won't miss the next installment. All in all a pleasurable read and recommended.
Rating:
Summary: It's one of the Best!
Review: Take a series of 8 good fantasy books and distill them down to the very best parts, ideal characters, and fabulous plot, and you might have a book that could hold a candle to this one. I must have read at least 200 fantasy novels in my life, but this is the best. Every character is developed to perfection, and the story line could not be better. The author never falls into the traps so many other authors do - the characters are never split apart, no one you love is killed, the story flows - it is perfect! The beginning part of the story seems as if it doesn't fit in with the rest until you get to the very last pages. I can't wait to buy the sequel!!!
Rating:
Summary: Good enough...
Review: ..But not without its share of flaws. The strongest aspect of this book is its imagination and a certain originality that awakes your curiosity (I, personally, am waiting for the sequel with mounting impatience). The supporting cast of characters are very good. The intriguing characters of Achmed the Snake (who is very cool and my favorite character in the book) and his sidekick, the giant and cannibalistic Grunthor were really the best thing about the book. The humor was great if, yes, occasionally juvenile, but it worked, right? The pacing was surprisingly excellent for a story that spends several centuries travelling in a monotonous Root. :) The heroine herself, of whom all rhapsodize in a very annoying manner, was a different story. By herself, I would probably consider her the perfect fantasy female protagonist. After all, she didn't whine (too much) and she wasn't overly self-centered, but neither was she some arrogant princess with a lot of "spunk" or a toughy-tough warrior woman, the equal of every and any man. No, she was human, but better yet, feminine, while still holding her own, being capable and sympathetic, and not thrown in for romantic interest. So where does she go wrong? When the author keeps sticking down our throat how wonderful Rhapsody is and when she suspends our belief by transforming her late into the story into a really irresistable, completely gorgeous, surreal being. Please, Ms. Haydon, what purpose did that serve? I was deprived of getting an honest reaction from the people (especially men) who encountered her ever afterwards, and couldn't add to my understanding of the character, because no one reacts to HER anymore, just to her stunning beauty. That was a bad move in my mind because her meeting with Ashe, which should have been special, was just made really disappointing and commonplace instead. But if the author actually has a reason for this transformation (it wasn't neccessary in the least; Rhapsody was already naturally beautiful and winning) then I guess it's not a real problem. After all, normally something so irritating as Rhapsody's utter gorgeousness would have been devastating to the story plot and interest, but the book takes it in stride and somehow continues to be worth the reading. So, I'm recommending this book I guess, and pretty strongly. Though I never cried (and usually I do), I did laugh a lot (and in all the right places) and was drawn effectively into Ms. Haydon's world.
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