Rating: Mature

Archive Warning: Graphic Depictions Of Violence

Category: F/M

Fandom: Jericho (US 2006)

Relationship: Bill Koehler/Original Female Character

Additional Tags: Romance, Fluff, Mental Health Issues, Additional Warnings in Chapter Notes if Needed

Summary: Bill Koehler is a sheriff’s deputy in Jericho. While he has friends and a good job, there’s something missing from his life. However, even if he found someone to love, would his panic attacks drive her off?

Sarah Morgan is freshly arrived in Jericho, looking to assuage the depression that has followed her like a plague. She’s convinced she will never find a stable life and as for love? Probably not for her.

This is a story about two damaged people who manage to find love and hold onto it in spite of everything stacked against them.

A Bill/OFC fic because Bill needs some lovin’ too.

I might be biased about this story, but I’m going to review it anyway. I say I might be biased becase I have been the beta reader for this series for exactly three months today. I have been saving this review until the series was completed, which also happened today. While the reivew is titled for the first story in the series, this review applies to the whole darned thing. All 320K+ words of it.

A tiny bit of backstory on my history, which will illustrate why I lov this story so much. I started writing fanfiction a very long time ago. In those days Original Characters WERE NOT DONE. Caps are required to get across how not done they were. (Side note: because I am a rebel, I created two original characters in those days who were so popular readers demanded sequels. Take that stupid traditions!)

I have been so pleased that the “not doneness” of original characters has subsided greatly. However, they do tend to not be as popular as canon characters, so I admire authors who write them anyway. Not to mention authors who stick to them for so many words and then go make me fall in love with them. I have been living with Bill and Sarah for so long that they have almost become like family to me, and I am very sorry to see the series come to an end.

So, if you’re getting the impression that these stories are well written, you’d be right. The Summary covers the basics. Yes, it’s a love story, but it’s so much more than that. The Prequel is set before the events in Jericho and is perfectly readable without having seen the show. (I’m speaking from experience here. I think I had seen two episodes before I started reading, and I had no trouble following it. Nor did it spoil the series.)

Part 1 is a good romance which follows lots of typical tropes. I don’t say that as a criticism. Tropes are there for a reason, and this one has the additional dramatic tension of two characters dealing with mental illness and its effect on their relationship. The mental illness is sensitively handled and adds to the plot without taking over. As a beta reader, I occasionally encouraged the author to add a bit more of it in places. (Why, no. I don’t go for Bill h/c. Not at all!)

Part 2 covers the events of the Jericho show, and is, to a large extent a retelling of the show, but with LOTS more Bill. Here’s another reviewer confession. I generally will not read stories which are rehashes of canon episodes. However, I devoured this part. It does draw from canon and uses some dialogue and scenes from the show but still feels fresh and cohesive. Did I mention that it has A LOT more Bill? ‘Nuff said.

Then there is Part 3. If you’d told me I would have eagerly anticipated and read each and every part of what is basically a slice of life story, I would have laughed at you and said, “Not a chance.” However, by the time you get to Part 3, you’re so invested in the characters that you want to keep going. It doesn’t hurt that the beginning of Part 3 continues the storyline from the series end and, in my opinion, does it justice. If you’ve finished Jericho and felt the ending was a bit lacking, read Part 3. You’ll get the resolution you wanted. Plus an AWESOME tactical artillery battle which I may have had some part in rewriting.

Fair warning. After well over 300K words, you’re going to be invested in Bill, Sarah and their entire extended family, which includes children and several grandchildren. And yes, the story does end with Bill and Sarah’s death. (No that’s not a spoiler. You see it coming miles away.) I rarely cry at fanfics, and I’m tearing up now as I write this. I read those final scenes just a few hours ago, and they are still painfully fresh. But it’s worth it. Trust me.

So, I might be biased because I was the beta reader. I’m probably also biased because the author has become a close friend (and my beta reader) in the three months we’ve known each other. But I wouldn’t review this if I didn’t love it and think you all should read it.

Thanks, babe, for such a great ride.

And yes, an author interview!

Author:  GG_and_MM (Ao3) lacqueluster (Tumblr)

Rating: Explicit

Fandom: Supernatural

Relationship: Gabriel/Sam Winchester

Tags: Freeformexplicit. FreeformSupernatural, FreeformAlternate Universe, Slow Build, Sad Ending

Summary: Gabriel is bored. He’s tired of hiding, of living a lonely and monotonous existence. He’s made for bigger and better things, but he can’t risk drawing any attention to himself. So he decides on a vacation, one in another universe, because why not?

When he meets another version of Sam Winchester, he’s not prepared for how the experiences they’ll share in just seven short days will change them both forever.

Let me start by saying that I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this story! However, fair warning, to properly express why I love this story so much, I’m going to have to edge into spoiler territory. Apologies, but I think you’ll see why.

The story is both an AU and not. Let me explain. Gabriel is his canon self. When he’s bored, he travels to different universes, where he can only stay for a few days before returning home. At the beginning of the story, he’s bored and he travels to another universe. Where he runs in an AU version of Sam.

What’s totally cool about this universe is that there is no magic or religion. They don’t even have the concepts of magic or religion. Which leads to some amusing scenes where Gabriel tries to explain angels to people who have no concept of angels. The lack of magic in this universe leads to an interesting side plot which provides most of the dramatic tension in the story. I’m not going to say any more. I need to leave something unspoiled.

Since this is a Sabriel story and tagged as such, it’s not saying too much that Sam and Gabriel do fall for each other, and the love story is glorious. Sam is divorced from a bad marriage, and he’s reluctant to fall for this crazy guy who claims to be an angel. Gabriel knows he has to go back to his own universe, and, while he’s willing to hook up for sex, he’s understandably reluctant to go any farther, emotionally.

Speaking of sex, OMG, it’s scorching hot and so well written! Some of my favorite smut scenes ever. One even has a lovely twist on the “breaking the bed” trope.

Now we venture into the spoilery territory because, so far, I know, this review has made this story sound good but has not yet expressed why I think it’s great. If you want to just take my word for it, stop now.

Still reading? Okay. As you read the story, it’s obvious how it needs to end. I knew what was likely to happen by the time I was–I don’t know–a third of the way through? Certainly by the halfway point. However, I desperately didn’t want the story to end that way, and I spent the remainder of the story praying to just about every god I could think of that the author would figure out a satisfying, non-cheap way to avoid the inevitable.

However, I’m a writer, and I’ve been one for a long time. I knew there was no satisfying, non-cheap way to avoid the inevitable, and the author made the right decision. It tore my heart in two, but it was the right decision, and I applaud them for making it. A lesser author would have come up with something cheesy, and the story would have been good. However, by making the harder decision, the author made it great.

Well done! Bravo! I have never had my heart so satisfyingly broken.

I hope that didn’t spoil things too much, but seriously. Go read this story right now. It’s that amazing!

Author Interview: lacqueluster

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.

Interview with author: spaceyshipper