by Becca and Nat (link)
Genre romance, comedy
Pairings Taylor/OFC, Zac/OFC
Length prologue, 28 chapters and epilogue
Status Completed
How many times have I begun a review by saying that I’m not a romcom fan? But any genre, when done well, can be good, and Becca and Nat are two of the best romcom authors in hanfic. From the community layout to all the various extras they include, it’s obvious they’ve worked really hard to make this story an experience, and I can definitely appreciate that.
The basic premise of the story is a honeymoon road trip. It’s a simple and fairly drama-free setup, but it allows Becca and Nat to take the story lots of places — pun intended. The prologue is full of exposition and back story, but the story soon takes off.
I like the way Becca and Nat gave each character a really distinct personality. They’re all their own, well developed people. In cowritten stories, it works really well to have each author write a different character, but it can be difficult to make that feel cohesive. Writing If I Don’t Kill Him First in third person, with chapters focusing on each character, helps eliminate that problem.
Becca and Nat’s knack for creating really interesting characters is a big part of what makes this story so good. There are of course fights and one breakup, but overall, it isn’t a hugely dramatic story, so it’s the character details and all the extras such as soundtracks, photos and all the geography that really complete the story. If you want a fairly quick, amusing, heartwarming read, If I Don’t Kill Him First will hit the spot.
Review by Bethany (website)