by Katie (link)
Genre het, drama, romance
Pairings Isaac/OFC, Taylor/Natalie, Taylor/OFC, Zac/OFC
Length 34 chapters and epilogue
Status Completed
Everything changed for hanfic authors in 2002. This story, however, was written prior to the infamous shotgun wedding. Still, Sucks To Be Me purports to show what it might be like to really be a Hanson girlfriend, from the perspective of the girlfriend we had only just found out about months prior.
Because Natalie was still something of a mystery to the fans, it isn’t surprising that Katie got a few important details about her wrong. You can almost read this story as though she were an original character, and it might be better to do so, otherwise you’ll just be annoyed at how wrong it all is, even if you’re not a nitpicker like me.
Even ignoring those nagging errors, the story isn’t flawless. I’m not sure how else Katie could have told the story she wanted to tell, but shifting from first person for Natalie’s narration and third person for Taylor’s is a stylistic choice I really don’t approve of. Likewise, I don’t enjoy the short chapters and most of Taylor’s scenes seem filled with pointless moments that don’t go anywhere or add to the plot.
The plot, as it turns out, isn’t so much about what it’s like to be Hanson girlfriend but about Taylor being an unrepentant cheater. There’s some drama with jealous fans at the beginning that would have been a more interesting, nuanced read, but with Taylor’s lack of morals, the actual plot is just too thin and boring for me. At least Sucks To Be Me ends unhappily, something few stories do but which is the only ending I can see for these characters.
Review by Bethany (website)