by Jess (link)
Genre crossover, cest, drama
Pairings Taylor/OFC, Zaylor
Length 25 chapters
Status Unfinished
Save Me begins with some reflection on Taylor’s part, and what we see of his and Zac’s relationship there makes this story seem like a unique, possibly angsty, take on their relationship. It’s hard to find new angles to take on that couple, but Jess seems to have done it.
After that opening scene, though, the story moves back in time to the beginnings of their relationship, in what I think is supposed to be 1999. The timeline, as well as the characters’ ages, is a little hazy, and I’m left feeling like most of them are behaving way above the age they are supposed to be. There’s just something about young teenage Hansons (and Moffatts, who appear here as well) engaging in such sexual behavior and drug use that leaves a bad taste in my mouth.
These twenty-some chapters clearly show the beginnings of the dysfunction in Zac and Taylor’s relationship, but unfortunately the story never progresses past this very beginning. There’s obviously a lot more between these short chapters and what Taylor was reflecting on in the first chapter, and I’m dying to see it. While twenty five chapters seems like a pretty lengthy story, Jess really lingers a bit too long and could have combined quite a few of these chapters to move the story along faster.
It’s always a shame to see a unique idea languish and never quite get off the ground, and that’s exactly what I see in Save Me. If Jess does pick it back up someday, it could very well be a lengthy epic, covering years and years of Zac and Taylor’s relationship, but for now, it feels like just the introduction to something much, much bigger.
Review by Bethany (website)