I loved this story when I read it as it was posted online, so I was more than happy to find out that it had been "extensively re-written and only the ideas in it remain" and would be published in time for Christmas!Except that... it doesn't really seem like there was much of a rewrite, just that a few new scenes from Daniel's POV were added to what was there before, maybe some other scenes cleaned up a bit. That's it.Despite how much I loved it, the free online version still seemed incomplete and a bit lacking when it was taken down in preparation for publication. Chris still seemed to be feeling his way through this new relationship, still seemed to be adjusting and finding himself again after what happened with the private school, and I had hoped that the published version would show more of Chris's growth, both as an individual and has half of a relationship, but this published version doesn't really fill in those missing parts and the ending is as conveniently neat as before. It's really not much different from the online version except with a bit of bonus!Daniel-pov! parts thrown in to make it longer.So... this is all to say that, while I still like the story, I also came away feeling a bit let down.
3.5The characters are great, the romance is, well, romantic, and I loved the story overall, but (and these are incredibly minor points)...As a senior at MIT, it seems likelier that Alex would be in a single, or if he does have a roommate, that his roommate wouldn't be an upperclassman. Also, the dorm rooms have locks. He has the presence of mind to put the sock on, but not lock the door?Just a couple of niggles, but they did make me pause for a bit.
It's not a very encouraging sign when one partner (Nolan, in Zach's case) doesn't ever make any attempt, in 5 years, to tell his lover about himself, his life, his work, or even just his day-to-day dealings. And then he acknowledges that he was using his lover's career situation as an excuse to do this, just in case the relationship falls apart, even after 5 years. Wow! Shows how committed to making things work Nolan really is.It's also not encouraging when the other partner, Zach, doesn't even notice any of this (again, 5 years!) until they have a big ol' fight about coming out. Then things get patched up with just a little talk and all is hunky-dory again. All in all, I wasn't left feeling like there was any great love between them, just maybe some lust? Companionship? Who knows.
Marking Time (Love is Always Write)
-_- My review of this story originally released during the LiAW event, listing my problems with it, has disappeared. I'm not thrilled about that and I didn't like this story enough to re-read + rewrite a review.
