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Watch The Throne

by Selina (link)

Genre drama, romance
Pairings Isaac/Kate, Isaac/Nikki, Taylor/Natalie, Zac/Kate
Length 40 chapters
Status Completed

From the very beginning, it was clear that Watch The Throne was not your typical hanfic. Firstly, it focused on Isaac. Secondly, it was wildly AU – the Hanson family is the royal family of a fictional micro-country, and Isaac is the crown prince. I have to give Selina bonus points for such a unique premise.

For all that the story is AU, it borrows very heavily from reality — a fact that I think Selina has been rather coy about. All three of the real wives appear in the story, along with a re-imagining of Isaac’s rumored relationship with Kate (aka Lady Katherine). These relationships take place later in the boys lives, as they all approach or pass thirty. That makes the relationship drama, including Taylor’s nearly illegitimate child, a little bit silly, but the royal setting adds some drama back in and creates an entirely new set of problems for the boys that celebrity didn’t. It’s still not surprising, really, that each brother ends up with the “right” wife. There are also a few moments when I suspect the author’s own feelings about the real life people behind her characters has crept in a bit too much, but that’s a risk any author, especially of real person fiction, takes.

Selina’s royal world is a well created one, though. Though her descriptions sometimes go a bit too far, all her lavish depictions of clothing, jewelry, cars and more serve to fill out the luxurious world her characters inhabit. There are a few abrupt and unmarked scene changes and a few changes in narrator that felt unnecessary to me. The story focuses largely on Isaac, and while I appreciate seeing how the other brothers and (future) wives play into the overall story, there are times when I don’t think certain characters’ perspectives are necessary. Aside from these problems, and a few strange turns of phrase, the writing is solid, and Watch The Throne is an interesting alternate universe take on the idea of three brothers growing up under a microscope.

Review by Bethany (website)