A Year Full of Days

A Year Full of Days by seventhswan
Being cautious is one of the only things Nate is well and truly good at, but the new guy at work calling him 'sweetheart' makes him want to do something stupid. 
Banner Credit: Annie

Rosie Thinks: This story is the sequel to 'The Side Effects of Forgetting', but you honestly don't need to read that to understand this story. It's about Nate and picks up where the other story left off: (SPOILER ALERT FOR TSEoF) Kellan and Will together, and Nate struggling with himself and his jealousy. I wasn't overly keen on this story at first, because straightaway there's a love triangle (and I HATE love triangles!). But in the end? I actually seriously loved it (don't get too excited though, I haven't changed my views on love triangles as a whole!). The story spent a lot of time at the beginning detailing Nate's struggle in getting over Kellan, and of course it was messy and painful and beautifully, heart-renchingly depicted, but it is so so worth it in the end.

I left off TSEoF with not good feelings for Nate - he's all twisted up inside, struggling to come to terms with who he is and what he wants. He describes himself perfectly: "a closeted gay boy with daddy-issues and a slight drinking problem". And this is exactly the way he seems at the beginning, until seventhswan begins to take you into his psyche and explore his character in more depth, until you come to seriously adore him. Honestly... I found myself liking Quentin and Nate (especially Nate) more than Kellan and Will, and I didn't think that was a possibility! She also uses brackets to take you back in time and give short snippets of memories from Nate's past. They fit in perfectly with the prose, flowing together with an ease that shouldn't be possible with an abrupt flashback!

This is another super long one-shot at almost 35k words, but it is so worth it. My emotions were everywhere and overflowing, and I found the entire plot to be consistent, realistic and complete. It's wrapped up in a way that isn't overly corny like many romantic endings, but each plot line is tied off neatly. I know I'm repeating myself but I am honestly, seriously mystified that I loved this story so much. I probably never would have read this on my own, but I guess that's the beauty of ADoR!