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Disaster in Paradise

by Taylor Quest (link)

Genre slash, romance, drama, thriller
Pairings Isaac/OFC, Taylor/OMC
Length 10 chapters
Status Completed (second in The Story In Your Eyes Series)

How does one follow up a story such as The Day The Earth Moved that makes such an earnest attempt to reach epic proportions? If you’re Taylor Quest, the answer is by picking up immediately after the end of said story and copying its plot structure far too closely.

Disaster in Paradise begins with Taylor and Will headed for, you guessed it, paradise–specifically, a vacation in Hawaii on which the other men in the family will soon join them. Unfortunately for them, Taylor’s ex has discovered his plans and is none too happy about his new relationship. It’s not surprise that their relationship would encounter criticism and homophobia, but having the main source of these a crazy ex-girlfriend is the laziest sort of storytelling.

Equally lazy is what happens once Taylor and Will arrive in Hawaii. As the title suggests, another natural disaster strikes, and our boys are caught in the middle of it. Their family arrives just a little too late, and I’m left wondering how this plot twist could allow for so many more stories in the series. That’s when Taylor Quest reveals his clever trick, only this time it’s just a regular, if slightly psychic, dream–no concussions to be found, and indeed, no injuries at all. Only the fate of Taylor’s ex, Anthea, is left uncertain, but I have a feeling we haven’t seen the last of her.

Yet in spite of the poor plotting, Taylor Quest knows how to create engaging characters. Crazy exes aside, even his minor characters, such as the hotel staff member with a crush on Taylor, are well fleshed out. There’s even a banter between Zac and Isaac’s girlfriend that leaves me hoping Zac gets a plot of his own later on. I can only hope that in the later stories, Taylor stops recycling his own plots and creates something new.

Review by Bethany (website)