by Kayla and Keryn (link)
Genre het, romance, drama
Pairings Isaac/OFC, Taylor/OFC, Zac/OFC
Length 31 chapters
Status Unfinished (sequel to The Best Things In Life)
I will admit, I wasn’t all too excited about reading this story. Its prequel, The Best Things In Life was little more than typical teenybopper fare, so I didn’t really expect anything different from The Project. In truth, The Project is also little more than that, but somehow it is a more enjoyable read.
In this second fic, Kayla and Keryn attempt something unique with the formatting of the fic, having several chapters be composed of emails, diary entries and other such items. It isn’t entirely an epistolary fic, however, and as the authors get farther into the story, they seem to abandon that structure altogether. It’s a shame; epistolary stories are rare in this fandom but always fun to read. They challenge not just the author, but the reader, too.
But unfortunately, once that concept is abandoned, the story veers on typical territory again, although the teenage drama never becomes quite as overblown as it does in the first story. There are also increasingly more moments when Keryn’s way with words shines through. I almost feel as though I can tell when she’s at the helm and when Kayla is, and it’s clear who is the better writer of the two.
Still, these two stories come nowhere near Keryn’s later works. Unless you particularly like teenybopper tales with self-inserts, even well-written ones, I would suggest bypassing these and instead checking out the stories Keryn wrote on her own.
Review by Bethany (website)