by Becca (link)
Genre het, romance, drama
Pairings Zac/OFC
Length prologue, 10 chapters and epilogue
Status Completed
Becca has always been one of those authors who writes rather short stories. I admire her for it, because I couldn’t possibly tell a complete story in just ten chapters. At the same time, such a short story is likely to leave the reader longing for more.
The prologue wastes no time getting down to business; it’s not a spoiler at all to tell you that by the end of it, Zac’s wife is dead and it’s revealed that it was his second marriage. After these two failures he swears off women altogether, but as the title Third implies, that doesn’t last long. It’s not a complicated premise, really.
What makes a simple premise work, though, is strong worldbuilding, and Becca excels in that department. She sets the majority of the story in her home state of Oregon, where Zac meets Harlow, a girl who is nothing like his ex-wives. The next several chapters show their friendship progressing as they reveal their secrets to each other. Although the chapters are at times a little short, the pace feels right. The epilogue set in the very distant future ties a little too neat of a bow on everything, though, but Third is still a cute little story. A little editing and maybe a bit more fleshing out of certain portions of the story would take it from good to great.
Review by Bethany (website)