A Kingdom by the Sea

4.5

What a ride! My complaints/criticisms of the first two volumes remain but I got over myself and enjoyed an epic love story. One for the ages. That this was published on AO3 still boggles my mind.

We start off with Ryan in self imposed isolation, mourning a relationship that never was and watching from afar as his love and friends go on living. Or doing a good facsimile of life. Luckily a fan & would be Ryan biographer pries him from the deep freeze and sets him on a path back to life.

The whole series is told from Ryan's P.O.V. but the thoughts and motivations of the other characters don't remain a mystery. I for one knew where Brendon was coming from and had no difficulty empathizing with his choices.

Perhaps my favorite thing is how the author doesn't inject modern mores into a story that takes place in the past. Even though the end is a HEA it remains rooted in a historical reality.

Though the original inspiration for the story seems to be Panic! fandom I had songs from a different band running through my mind, particularly “I Wanna Be Yours” by Arctic Monkeys. To my mind it could've been written by the character of Ryan (apologies to Alex Turner) and easily be the anthem for his love for Brendon.

This is long. A lot of time is spent describing the minutiae of road life for a touring band, Ryan's head and thought process is thoroughly explored etc. None of it was boring but I'm sure this was published in installments and meant to be digested piecemeal like books of yore. I paced it out because time has been scarce but I would definitely recommend a slow read too just to ensure the enjoyment factor. Maybe I'm wrong.

Whew, that was a rollercoaster. My heart almost couldn't take it. I asked myself why I put myself through this torture, but the experience is worth it. I love when books make me emotional, even when it hurts.