Fic Review - Bad Girls
In this post here, I volunteered to read fic ppl hadn't read. ralst asked me to read GL Dartt's Bad Girls fic 'Dead Slow, so here it is.
I found this an incredibly frustrating read because, like the title, this story is *dead slow*. Seriously, the pacing on this just about killed me ded! It's about two people, Helen and Nikki, who are MEANT FOR EACH OTHER, we all know they're MEANT FOR EACH OTHER, suddenly deciding to restart their relationship at the beginning to see if they really are MEANT FOR EACH OTHER. It's about circular conversations over events that have already happened. Nikki being bullheaded for the sake of being bullheaded, Helen being hurt, frustrated, patient and loving because Nikki's being bullheaded.
It starts at the scene at the end of season three, only, instead of running back to Helen's place to shag like bunnies, Nikki gets it in her head that they should take things slow. And, yeah, that makes sense because there's always been an imbalance in their relationship and now they're on equal footing. It's just.. that's all there is to the story. I don't know. I've read and liked GL's other works but this one felt.. plodding.
I never really dipped my toes in BG fic because I was pretty much satisfied with the show. Aside from a few missing scene fics, I never really had the *need* to read fan fic because the show gave me pretty much everything. Still, if this were a short fic, it probably would have been more satisfying. But it's over 25k, and things just seem to take *forever* as Nikki and Helen have conversations regarding things the audience already knows. Which is another problem I had. This felt like it was written for people who haven't seen Bad Girls instead of those who are already fans. Too many conversations and scene descriptions of things I, as a viewer, already know. Conversations that go on for *way* too long and don't really go anywhere. It started to get to the point where I was skimming rather than reading.
There really isn't any tension, or conflict other than Nikki's reluctance and issues regarding Helen coming between them. So when the sex finally happens my reaction was more along the lines of 'well it's about fucking time' as opposed to 'omg, they're totally about to do it!'.
Ultimately, I was disappointed. Part of what I loved about BG was the gritty realism, it was more than *just* the trials and tribulations of Nikki Wade and Helen Stewart. I don't want to say I was expecting some of that kind or realism, but I wasn't expecting Nikki and Helen's lives, post Nikki getting out of jail, to be so.. insular. Had I not been asked (okay, technically, I volunteered) to read it, I wouldn't have finished it. And nothing I read in the first installment makes me want to read the others. I'm not saying it's bad, per se, just not my cup of tea and not what I desire from a Bad Girls fic, or expect from GL Dartt.
I found this an incredibly frustrating read because, like the title, this story is *dead slow*. Seriously, the pacing on this just about killed me ded! It's about two people, Helen and Nikki, who are MEANT FOR EACH OTHER, we all know they're MEANT FOR EACH OTHER, suddenly deciding to restart their relationship at the beginning to see if they really are MEANT FOR EACH OTHER. It's about circular conversations over events that have already happened. Nikki being bullheaded for the sake of being bullheaded, Helen being hurt, frustrated, patient and loving because Nikki's being bullheaded.
It starts at the scene at the end of season three, only, instead of running back to Helen's place to shag like bunnies, Nikki gets it in her head that they should take things slow. And, yeah, that makes sense because there's always been an imbalance in their relationship and now they're on equal footing. It's just.. that's all there is to the story. I don't know. I've read and liked GL's other works but this one felt.. plodding.
I never really dipped my toes in BG fic because I was pretty much satisfied with the show. Aside from a few missing scene fics, I never really had the *need* to read fan fic because the show gave me pretty much everything. Still, if this were a short fic, it probably would have been more satisfying. But it's over 25k, and things just seem to take *forever* as Nikki and Helen have conversations regarding things the audience already knows. Which is another problem I had. This felt like it was written for people who haven't seen Bad Girls instead of those who are already fans. Too many conversations and scene descriptions of things I, as a viewer, already know. Conversations that go on for *way* too long and don't really go anywhere. It started to get to the point where I was skimming rather than reading.
There really isn't any tension, or conflict other than Nikki's reluctance and issues regarding Helen coming between them. So when the sex finally happens my reaction was more along the lines of 'well it's about fucking time' as opposed to 'omg, they're totally about to do it!'.
Ultimately, I was disappointed. Part of what I loved about BG was the gritty realism, it was more than *just* the trials and tribulations of Nikki Wade and Helen Stewart. I don't want to say I was expecting some of that kind or realism, but I wasn't expecting Nikki and Helen's lives, post Nikki getting out of jail, to be so.. insular. Had I not been asked (okay, technically, I volunteered) to read it, I wouldn't have finished it. And nothing I read in the first installment makes me want to read the others. I'm not saying it's bad, per se, just not my cup of tea and not what I desire from a Bad Girls fic, or expect from GL Dartt.