My biggest complaint about this fic is largely a matter of taste- the first and second thirds of the fic are occasionally quite repetitive. Despite the fact that this takes place in a world without Glory or Dawn, most of the other canon events in season five still happen, and most of them play out roughly the same way, which can get old. However, the events are plot-relevant, and they do affect what happens later. I will say that this approach has the positive effect of grounding Buffy. It's not a work where Buffy's life revolves around Spike, and there are a few chapters where he doesn't even appear.
As much as I was tempted to skim passages of part one, I'm glad I read the whole thing. The author writes a very in-character Buffy, and it's nice to get her perspective on certain things. The parts that aren't taken from canon are lovely (the Christmas chapters stick out in my mind). There's also every scene involving the mysterious dream-vampire, which is a really interesting plot element- I knew some of what was going on, but the specifics were elusive, and I was left trying to figure it out right alongside Buffy. Part three has an entirely non-canon plot, and I didn't find any part of that boring.
The fic is competently written, the character voices are great, and the fairy tale/myth element ends up working really well (although it may have helped that I'm not as well-versed in mythology as I'd like to be). I think the slowness of part one keeps this fic from all that it could be, but it's much better than most of the stuff out there, and there's no denying the emotional punch that certain scenes had. I'm easily affected by stuff, but I had to take a break to collect my feelings more than once. All in all, I definitely think it was worth my time.
Slow Beginning is Worth It.
My biggest complaint about this fic is largely a matter of taste- the first and second thirds of the fic are occasionally quite repetitive. Despite the fact that this takes place in a world without Glory or Dawn, most of the other canon events in season five still happen, and most of them play out roughly the same way, which can get old. However, the events are plot-relevant, and they do affect what happens later. I will say that this approach has the positive effect of grounding Buffy. It's not a work where Buffy's life revolves around Spike, and there are a few chapters where he doesn't even appear.
As much as I was tempted to skim passages of part one, I'm glad I read the whole thing. The author writes a very in-character Buffy, and it's nice to get her perspective on certain things. The parts that aren't taken from canon are lovely (the Christmas chapters stick out in my mind). There's also every scene involving the mysterious dream-vampire, which is a really interesting plot element- I knew some of what was going on, but the specifics were elusive, and I was left trying to figure it out right alongside Buffy. Part three has an entirely non-canon plot, and I didn't find any part of that boring.
The fic is competently written, the character voices are great, and the fairy tale/myth element ends up working really well (although it may have helped that I'm not as well-versed in mythology as I'd like to be). I think the slowness of part one keeps this fic from all that it could be, but it's much better than most of the stuff out there, and there's no denying the emotional punch that certain scenes had. I'm easily affected by stuff, but I had to take a break to collect my feelings more than once. All in all, I definitely think it was worth my time.
Final Verdict: A-