I had the idea recently to start writing book-style fanfic reviews. I see lots of recommendations, but I couldn’t find anyone who was writing article-length reviews. I used to write for a digital publishing blog, and books reviews were one of the things I used to write. Seemed like a perfect match.
When possible, I also want to feature interviews with the story authors. I have discovered that getting in touch with authors can be difficult, but this is one of the first story/interview pairings I’ve had.
Enough about me. On to the review
Expressoself! (Archive of Our Own link)
Author: spaceyshipper
Rating: Explicit
Fandom: Supernatural
Relationships: Gabriel/Sam Winchester, Castiel/Dean Winchester
Tags: Coffeeshop!AU, Stanford!AU, Single Parent Sam Winchester, barista!Gabriel, Light Angst, Fluff, human!AU, Slow Burn, Awkward Sam Winchester, Awkward Gabriel, Insecure Gabriel (Supernatural), John Winchester’s A+ Parenting
Summary: Sam Winchester is a single dad attending Stanford. His life crosses with that of Gabriel Milton, the owner of the local coffee shop Expressoself! The two become friends, bonding over shared intellectual interests, and Gabriel welcomes Sam and his daughter into his life. The two dance around each other and slowly fall into something more.
Small confession. I never could quite pronounce the name of the coffee shop, but that didn’t detract in any way from my enjoyment of the story.
One more confession. I’m generally not a fan of AUs, and coffee shop AUs in particular have never been my thing. However, someone must have recommended this story because I bookmarked it. Then I noticed the author was commenting on my story, and I decided I would return the favor by reading and commenting on hers (hoping that I would enjoy it). I’m happy to report that I loved the story, and I think just about any Sabriel fan will enjoy it. It’s lighter on Destiel, but fans of that ship should enjoy it as well.
The Summary describes the story perfectly, and I have nothing to add, so I’ll just dive into why I loved this story.
While a Human!AU, the characterization of all the characters is excellent. Gabriel can be challenging to write without his angel/Trickster powers, but the author did a fantastic job with him. While I loved all the characters, Gabriel had a special place in my heart here. He’s comfortable with himself, his sexuality (gay), and he loves his coffee shop. His insecurity comes from his appearance, and his attempt to diet and lose a bit of weight is an important plot point and handled well and sensitivity. Oh, and if you read the comments, you’ll discover in my comment on Chapter 20 that I have a thing for the LEATHER JACKET (from Season 13), which makes a delightful appearance in this chapter. And then, sadly, does not ever return. 🙁 Does that count as criticism?
Sam as single parent college student is delightful, as is his daughter, Mary. There was so much to love here. He’s broken up with Jess, the mother of Mary, because, while he loves her, she wasn’t quite right for him. (Obviously because he was still supposed to meet Gabriel.) However, the author has it be an amicable break up, so there’s no angry ex trope here to spoil the sweet mood of the story.
Sam’s sexuality is a huge part of the story, and I am no expert of demisexuality, but it felt handled well and sensitively. As you’ll see in the interview, the author was looking for good representations of alternate sexualities, and, as is often the case, had to write what she wanted to see.
The Cas and Dean subplot was much smaller than Sam/Gabriel, but it was still important, and OMG, I loved Cas! It’s not quite how I envision Cas and his personality, but it worked well in the story, and the way the author tied the canon “indifference to sexual orientation” in to this story was brilliant! Dean’s sexuality journey was fascinating as well, but you’ll have to read the fic to see what I mean by that.
I love me a good slow burn, and this one was slow and hot but didn’t drag on too long. I think it was just about the perfect pacing. Okay, I admit, I did get a teeny bit impatient with Sam, but, hey if you can deal with the canon Destiel pacing in the actual show, this’ll feel super speedy.
Overall, this was a great fic with excellent pacing and a completely satisfying ending. I didn’t realize until I received the interview answers that this is the author’s first fic!!! It definitely doesn’t feel like it, and I look forward to more great things from her.