by Jezebel T. Jordan (link)
Genre het, erotica, romance, drama
Pairings Isaac/OFC, Taylor/OFC, Zac/OFC
Length 107 chapters and epilogue
Status Completed
Amongst the many authors who popularized the smutty side of hanfic was Jezebel T. Jordan. Surprisingly, I don’t recall reading any of her stories; I think I would, given the deceptively high chapter count. I say deceptively high because Wild Hearts isn’t nearly as much of a story as one hundred and seven chapters would lead one to believe.
The plot seems to follow typical romance lines–Zac meets a girl randomly and the two quickly fall in love, with copious sex scenes to entice the reader. Unfortunately, the girl (Emma) is little more than a Mary Sue. Copious descriptions of her physical appearance, her quirky personality and the fact that Isaac and Taylor are enamored with her too put her firmly in this category. The dark, dramatic backstory that she tries to hide from Zac does add some to an otherwise boring plot, but it doesn’t change Emma’s Mary Sue status.
In true Mary Sue fashion, the plot largely revolves around Emma, taking the typical (although not always predictable, as I can’t guess her biggest secret) dramatic twists and turns. Even though he begins as a side character and only gradually comes to the forefront, Taylor is the most well-developed Hanson in the story–a real shame, since Zac is ostensibly the main character. Even Los Angeles itself seems to be more of a well-developed character than he is, and the sex scenes, though numerous, aren’t quite varied enough to justify the sheer number.
In spite of all these criticisms, I do see an inkling of a good story in here somewhere. If certain characters were fleshed out, short chapters combined together and the entire thing properly formatted, Jezebel would have really been onto something better with Wild Hearts than just a vehicle for her smut.
Review by Bethany (website)