by Bethany (link)
Genre het, drama, romance
Pairings Isaac/OFC, Taylor/OFC, Zac/OFC
Length prologue and 18 chapters
Status Completed (first in a trilogy)
It isn’t a very good sign that Bethany warns that the story improves as the trilogy goes on. I do recall that the second story in the trilogy was far more popular than this one, so I can’t help thinking she might have been right. All things considered, it doesn’t make me very enthusiastic to begin Listen To Your Heart, but I just couldn’t find it in myself to skip ahead in the trilogy.
The prologue/introduction doesn’t give me high hopes for the story. It’s barely two paragraphs, and it establishes two very cliche facts — one of the main characters shares her name with the author, and Hanson have just moved in next door. There are two unique plot points established in the first chapter, though. While it isn’t that unique for someone to write about the boys having “normal” lives, I think the fact that Zac’s immediate love interest — Bethany — is four years older than him is something interesting and potentially very dramatic.
The characters are all quite immature, though. It makes it a little hard to really care about all of the various love triangles that happen. I do like the relationship between the three brothers, especially the backstory of them having a chance of fame and turning it down. It adds a few more layers to what really seems to be a fairly shallow story. The threatening letters and phone calls add another layer, which culminates in a rather over the top confrontation.
From there, the love triangles and teenage drama continue for the rest of the story. The big twist was one that I anticipated, but I think it still works. Like so many stories from this era, there’s something good in Listen To Your Heart, but it needs a lot of polishing. All of the various plot elements could work, if written with a little more nuance by a more experienced author. I can only hope that, as Bethany promised, her writing improved as she continued the trilogy.
Review by Bethany (website)