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Something To Believe In

by Alecia (link)

Genre het, romance
Pairings Zac/OFC
Length 17 chapters
Status Completed (with unfinished sequel)

Often, the problem I have with het stories is that the author takes forever to introduce their main character and her tragic life before we ever catch sight of a Hanson. Not so with Alecia’s first story. We get a taste of what Olivia has gone through in the first few chapters, but only enough to intrigue, and soon enough Zac is in her path — literally.

The story is set on the North Carolina coast — a new and different location for a hanfic, at least in my experience, and one that Alecia describes so well that I feel like I’m right there on the beach. The characters feel just as real, too, from Olivia’s amusing inner monologue to Zac’s snappy dialogue.

It’s soon revealed that Olivia isn’t the only one with drama in her past. Zac has his own demons he’s been running from. The story moves quickly, but the pace works, and I don’t even mind the time jump around the middle.

With Something To Believe In, Alecia manages to avoid the problems I have with so many het stories. The characters are well developed and believable, the drama is kept to a reasonable level, and everything works out happily but not cheesily at the end.

Review by Bethany (website)