by Diamond (link)
Genre het, romance
Pairings Taylor/OFC
Length prologue and 18 chapters
Status Completed
I don’t think it’s any secret that Diamond is both one of my favorite authors and a really good friend of mine. So I’ll cop to being a little bit biased about how fantastic she is, but that doesn’t mean she isn’t still one of the best authors out there. Biased or not, I thought it was about time that I read her entry in a challenge I totally failed to complete.
The story is unique for one written these days — set in the past, with a teenage Taylor, narrated by a female friend. At least, she’s a friend in the beginning. The prologue, set farther in the future, suggests something more. The narrator sounds a little bit precocious for her age at first, but it suits, her I think. As the story moves along through the years, that voice begins to suit her better. It moves throughout the years seamlessly, showing the way that Taylor and Mirie’s relationship — or lack thereof — has progressed.
The challenge Diamond wrote this story for was a complicated one. Each author was given a big list of prompts to incorporate into the story. I read the list before beginning the story, but only two or three of them jumped out at me throughout the chapters. I think that’s a good thing; she wove them into the story seamlessly. I’ve got to say I’m really impressed by this; having failed the challenge myself, I know how difficult that must have been.
Like I said, Diamond is one of my favorite authors. That’s probably the biggest reason I chose to read this story; had it been written by any other author, I’m not sure I would have enjoyed it so much. Stories that focus so much on the female narrator are hit or miss for me, but it works quite well here, since Mirie is such a well developed character. Despite Suitcases and Songs being relatively short, Diamond accomplishes quite a lot with it. While it isn’t the sort of story I would seek out, I did enjoy it.
Review by Bethany (website)