✵
Once, Again, Always
by Amanda Gayle
Enchanting
★★★★☆
I read this entire book in one sitting and I have thoughts. While I do support authors transitioning from fanfiction to actual publishing, I believe that in order to publish the story the characters and story need to be reworked so they are able to stand on their own, apart from the source material.
I read this in it's original fanfic form years ago and enjoyed it, but while this story was enjoyable it felt like a watered down of the original. The plot is nearly the same minus the setting, but the characters just fell flat for me. I feel like we don't get to know them, which makes it difficult to remain invested in their dynamics, which is crucial in a story where the central conflict is Molly's memory loss. We don't see her process that in-depth, we only see it as a tool to create more tension in her relationship with Aster.
In fanfiction the author doesn't have to work as hard to make the audience care about the characters since they are already familiar with the source material. Other fanfiction to book adaptations, like Alchemised and The Irresistible Urge to Fall for your Enemy were able to break away from that pitfall, by creating characters and a world that can stand without the crutch of the source material, but this story felt dull when the context of the original world was removed.
I wish the author would have given us more insight about Molly and Aster as individual because it felt like all I knew is that they disliked each other in school, are now married, and that Molly has lost the past six years of her life. She interacts with other characters, but those relationships also felt underdeveloped. Personally as a reader, I find it difficult to root for characters when you don’t feel like you truly know them, especially when the central conflict revolves around an issue that is largely internal.
The romance itself was good, it had the elements that I was looking for in this kind of story. The yearning and tension are definitely there, but it was hard to fully invest main couple when they felt like echoes of their original versions.
I enjoyed the story, but I also did read it in it's original fanfic form. If I were a new reader I would be looking for more from the characters and story as a whole. While I did have my gripes with it, I do believe this is a solid debut novel and I would love to read more of the authors original work. This transition just didn't fully land for me. 3.5 stars rounded up.
Thank you to NetGalley, Avon, and Amanda Gayle for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
I read this in it's original fanfic form years ago and enjoyed it, but while this story was enjoyable it felt like a watered down of the original. The plot is nearly the same minus the setting, but the characters just fell flat for me. I feel like we don't get to know them, which makes it difficult to remain invested in their dynamics, which is crucial in a story where the central conflict is Molly's memory loss. We don't see her process that in-depth, we only see it as a tool to create more tension in her relationship with Aster.
In fanfiction the author doesn't have to work as hard to make the audience care about the characters since they are already familiar with the source material. Other fanfiction to book adaptations, like Alchemised and The Irresistible Urge to Fall for your Enemy were able to break away from that pitfall, by creating characters and a world that can stand without the crutch of the source material, but this story felt dull when the context of the original world was removed.
I wish the author would have given us more insight about Molly and Aster as individual because it felt like all I knew is that they disliked each other in school, are now married, and that Molly has lost the past six years of her life. She interacts with other characters, but those relationships also felt underdeveloped. Personally as a reader, I find it difficult to root for characters when you don’t feel like you truly know them, especially when the central conflict revolves around an issue that is largely internal.
The romance itself was good, it had the elements that I was looking for in this kind of story. The yearning and tension are definitely there, but it was hard to fully invest main couple when they felt like echoes of their original versions.
I enjoyed the story, but I also did read it in it's original fanfic form. If I were a new reader I would be looking for more from the characters and story as a whole. While I did have my gripes with it, I do believe this is a solid debut novel and I would love to read more of the authors original work. This transition just didn't fully land for me. 3.5 stars rounded up.
Thank you to NetGalley, Avon, and Amanda Gayle for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
J