by Jamie (link)
Genre het, romance, drama
Pairings Isaac/OFC
Length 31 chapters and epilogue
Status Completed (sequel to Coming of Age)
The semi-cliffhanger ending of Coming of Age left me really anxious to see what Again might hold. Although the first story was fairly light on drama, I had high hopes that the surprise Jamie threw into the end of it would provide plenty of fodder for potential drama in the sequel.
It doesn’t take long before Isaac and Taryn cross paths again and said drama comes to a head. Unfortunately, much like in the first story, few people aside from Isaac and Taryn themselves seem to find the situation very upsetting. Even Isaac’s parents are quite accepting of him being a father at his young age, although given what we know now, I suppose that isn’t a terribly unrealistic portrayal of them. Still, Jamie does manage to give the couple themselves fairly reasonable reactions that are never over the top and accurately show their conflict over what they want and what they think is right.
The chapters are a bit longer than the first story, too, which is another plus for Again. It’s biggest flaw is really no fault of Jamie’s at all. Again was written during that first Hanson drought of 1999, and since I assume Jamie isn’t psychic, she isn’t able to predict any of the real events of 2000. Still, I think if Again is missing anything, it’s the effect that Isaac being a father at nineteen would have on his career. Had Jamie been able to show that, this story would have been a perfect addition to the original.
Review by Bethany (website)