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A review by terriaminute
3 Dates by Lily Morton
4.0
It took me a little while to warm up to Mick, as he is a bit slow on the uptake. (This story only works because all but the epilogue's his point of view.) But I cried a lot toward the end. Archie is so freakin' sweet. :)
It's minus a star for a few reasons, and they're all tied together.
I have a growing trope pet peeve: why is it always TEN years? Why not six, or nine, or eleven? Or for this story, a much more reasonable four or five since they're never separated by distance. I suspect the author fell into the decade trope, which is just lazy. Had she avoided that, she would've avoided the rest: Archie is aware of mortality given his job, and should never have been that patient, and Mick isn't stupid. He would've responded before the year (again, too long a time) wasted with the narcissistic* boyfriend. There isn't enough supporting evidence for Mick's tolerance of terrible people who claim to like him. "Orphan" carries little weight on its own; the author relies on us to add weight to it; also lazy.
For a story I enjoyed this much, I have a lot to complain about, and they are structural, important elements that, seen to, would've been great. The end could have used more power, but romances often end rather sloppily, so I'll just throw that one out generally. Stick those landings. Make it sing. I'd be hunting for more by this author if I'd gotten that.
*I don't use that label lightly. I've met a Narcissist. They are difficult and quickly impossible to live with, and you can't fix them. That's not how mental problems work. Any improvement has to come from inside, but this type often can't see what needs work. Look up the list of traits. Mick's ex is a simple version, too simple to be representative. Just close enough that he creeped me out.
It's minus a star for a few reasons, and they're all tied together.
I have a growing trope pet peeve: why is it always TEN years? Why not six, or nine, or eleven? Or for this story, a much more reasonable four or five since they're never separated by distance. I suspect the author fell into the decade trope, which is just lazy. Had she avoided that, she would've avoided the rest: Archie is aware of mortality given his job, and should never have been that patient, and Mick isn't stupid. He would've responded before the year (again, too long a time) wasted with the narcissistic* boyfriend. There isn't enough supporting evidence for Mick's tolerance of terrible people who claim to like him. "Orphan" carries little weight on its own; the author relies on us to add weight to it; also lazy.
For a story I enjoyed this much, I have a lot to complain about, and they are structural, important elements that, seen to, would've been great. The end could have used more power, but romances often end rather sloppily, so I'll just throw that one out generally. Stick those landings. Make it sing. I'd be hunting for more by this author if I'd gotten that.
*I don't use that label lightly. I've met a Narcissist. They are difficult and quickly impossible to live with, and you can't fix them. That's not how mental problems work. Any improvement has to come from inside, but this type often can't see what needs work. Look up the list of traits. Mick's ex is a simple version, too simple to be representative. Just close enough that he creeped me out.