by ABD (link)
Genre het, drama, romance
Pairings Isaac/Nikki, Taylor/Natalie, Zac/Kate, Zac/OFC
Length 15 chapters
Status Completed
The author of this story, who only ever identifies herself as ABD, states that she was strongly inspired by Bob Dylan when writing this story. I’ll admit that I’m only familiar with a few of the songs from the album Blood On The Tracks, also the story’s title, but I’d like to go into it blind, without expecting something different based on the song than what I’m likely to get. Choosing to associate a story so closely with any song or album can backfire when readers interpret that music differently.
The Bob Dylan influence is unavoidable, though, as the author begins every chapter with some of his lyrics. I usually tune those lyrical snippets out, but here I can at least see how they fit. What I can’t see, though, is through the strange foreshadowing. The story begins with Zac stating that something has happened to him, something that even he can’t make sense of. Everything else we need to know–his location, marital status and the fact that he has a newborn son–is woven into the story easily, but the mystery of what has led him to wander the streets in the middle of night is left unsolved.
That mystery is quickly solved, but it creates another. Much like in another story I’ve read, Zac has a ‘dream girl’–literally, a girl who appears in his dreams and later turns out to be real. The story doesn’t progress exactly as that cliche premise suggests, although I don’t especially enjoy the chapters that are nothing more than Zac’s dreams about Taz. Still, I find several of the characters–although unfortunately not Zac’s dream girl–very likeable and complex. The plot, too, keeps me guessing and ends up being even more different than I expected. There’s a fair bit of cheese in Blood On The Tracks‘ basic premise, but there’s enough humor and complexity to make it work for me.
Review by Bethany (website)