by Elizabeth (link)
Genre drama, romance, erotica
Pairings Isaac/Nikki, Natalie/Carrick, Taylor/Kate, Taylor/Natalie, Zac/Kate, Zac/OFC, Zatalie, Zaylor
Length 32 chapters
Status Completed (first in the All of Me series)
I do not ship Zatalie.
I do not ship Zatalie.
At least, I didn’t ship Zatalie before two particular authors (including Calla, who I have also reviewed) started writing Zatalie stories around the same time. Even though I had written one of my own, it took their two stories — of which Nine Crimes is one — to get me really interested in this ship at all.
Elizabeth is an author who I think is both a planner and a pantser. That is, her stories often have pretty detailed plots full of layer upon layer of drama, but she also isn’t afraid to write by the seat of her pants and go with whatever wants to be written. I think that’s definitely what happened with Nine Crimes. She began writing chapters around a series of smut prompts, but the plot quickly turns into something a lot more involved than just a smutfest. As you can see if you read the fairly spoilerly list of pairings up there, there’s a lot more to this story than just Zatalie.
…including a pairing that involves a character who sounds suspiciously like me. Yes, she is a Hanson fan from Kentucky named Bethany. That’s where the similarity ends, really. Her character was meant to be a funny cameo, which is why I convinced Liz to name her after me, but she ended up sticking around and taking the plot in even more interesting directions. Whether or not anyone will believe me, I really don’t just love this character (and her relationship with Zac) because she started out as me. She’s just one of many characters who are morally imperfect and unashamed of that, and I really, really love that.
No one in Nine Crimes is perfect, really. As the first person narrator, Zac still manages to be sympathetic (a highlight of Liz’s ability to write in first person) even when he’s kind of a douchebag, too. By the end, though, no one comes out smelling like roses, and I really enjoy that in a story. The ending was different from what I expected and hoped for, and perhaps even different from what Elizabeth planned. I only have one problem now that she’s begun writing a sequel — I’m afraid my favorite ship won’t end up together… and at this point, I’m not even sure which ship that is!
Review by Bethany (website)