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Flawed Design

by Sarah Irene (link)

Genre cest, drama/angst, romance
Pairings Isaac/Natalie, Isaac/Nikki, Taylor/Natalie, Zaylor
Length prologue and 83 chapters
Status Unfinished

Because of its unique premise, I was excited to begin reading Flawed Design as soon as Sarah began to publish it. I lost track of it somewhere along the way, and I fear Sarah lost track of the plot as well.

Although it may not be medically sound, the amnesia plot, combined with Zac’s penchant for lying, is unusual and interesting. Unfortunately, this part of the plot only lasts for a few chapters before Taylor regains his memory and Zac is sent away. An awkward summary of a chapter tells us what has happened in the time that has passed, but it isn’t enough for me to really feel like the characters are the same ones I saw in the story’s beginning.

Instead, the largest portion of the story seems to revolve around a meek Zac and a Taylor who never seems to take Zac’s feelings seriously. There are hints of more interesting ideas in Zac’s former drug problems and the drugs found in Taylor’s system after his suicide attempt. But these ideas are ignored in favor of money drama and even a possible other love interest for Zac. Like so many of Sarah’s stories, interesting plots devolve into more domestic drama that really never goes anywhere. Even an interesting idea can’t make up for that and her occasionally sloppy writing, but I will give Flawed Design points for having one of the most interesting premises of any Zaylor story I’ve read–a premise that, sadly, isn’t fully realized.

Review by Bethany (website)