by Morgan Andrews (link)
Genre het, romance, drama/angst
Pairings Isaac/OFC, Taylor/OFC, Zac/OFC
Length 50 chapters
Status (second in the Petals of Time Series)
Being the second in a series, Devastation had quite a bit to live up to, and I think it succeeds. Although at times it feels like not much is really happening and the story isn’t moving forward, this works well for the middle story in a series, laying the ground work for what may come in the third.
The story picks up not too long after the previous one, with Gabby still recovering from her attack and besieged by constant verbal attacks from fans. Every story has to have a villain, but it’s a little frustrating when the villain is the entire Hanson fanbase. While the conclusion to this drama may be a bit hard to believe, it is satisfying to see the fans start to change their mind about Gabby. There is one possible plot thread left dangling, fan-wise, but it could be just a red herring.
It’s always hard to tell with Morgan, when her stories are peppered with twists within twists within twists. You never know which character will turn out to be evil next, and there’s at least one big surprise turn in Devastation. It isn’t easy to guess when even the good guys–like Gabby’s ex, Sierra–can be just as frustrating as the bad guys. It is good to learn more about Gabby’s past, though, and to see her bonding (or re-bonding, in one case) with other females as she works to finally heal some of the mental damage that has been done to her.
Of course, there is still one more story in this series, so I know that at least some of the progress she and Zac have made will be undone. I do hope, however, that the third story sees the happy ending in this one become final. Devastation was a nice breathe of fresh air, in spite of the added drama, but I know it’s not the end.
Review by Bethany (website)