Xing

Rating: 4-4.5 stars

Before I begin my (overly long) review, I just want to make apparent that you do not have to be a fan, or have even watched a single episode of Supernatural to read this ebook.

The Doors of Time (DOT) is a story about two boys. You have Jensen, who has magical/supernatural abilities. He can change the weather, project his conscious and unconscious emotions onto others, freeze time, conjure thunderstorms in his own bedroom, and just about anything you can think of. He is also lonely, living in a family that deals with his issues by condemning his abilities, keeping it a secret, and alienating him from the world. His only outlet in controlling his magic, and the emotions that fuel it, is through his piano and music. Then, you have Jared - shy, but with an open heart that, for some unexplained reason, allows him to connect with Jensen while everyone looks the other way in unexplained fear.

Though the story introduces both boys separately as infants and children, it really begins to take root when Jared is 13 and Jensen is 17 years old. At this point, Jensen is a piano tutor and Jared is his first and only student. And if one believes in Fate, then that very person could say it was Fate itself that brought these two boys together, weaving their lives in unpredictable ways over the course of 10 years (whether the boys knew it or not).

DOT is not an easy ready (not fluff at all!). What I find so attractive about this relationship dynamic, is how well the gay-for-you theme was implemented. It seems like many GFY stories tend to start with a physical attraction or lust that leads to an emotional attachment (or a very shallow emotional attachment that leads to strong physical lust). In this case, I felt Jared and Jensen were soul mates, requiring the emotional support of one another, first and foremost. It wasn't what one did to the other, but what one was missing when apart. It was the need to have the other there in order for the world to just make sense. It was such a breeze of fresh air within this category of M/M fiction. Other things that I liked about DOT: a nice set of supporting characters that did not distract from the MCs, good proofreading (always a plus with free fiction; there were some mistakes, but not distracting overall) and a HEA that was long deserved.

Some of the things I didn't like:
1) The story did feel overly long. While I like long stories, I couldn't help but feel that there were scenes that could have be excluded and still keep the story just as enticing.

2) The problems with introverted MCs - they think. A LOT. So if you are one of those readers that hate to read the ramblings of characters throughout the story, then this may not be for you. As a reference, anyone who has read Bear, Otter and the Kid by TJ Klune knows how Bear is a soup of mental rambling - I would say the amount of internal dialogue is similar to Bear, though less chaotic. :) As much as I love some of the internal yacking, it felt a little much at times.

3) Jared was a little too dense for my liking. It seems like most of the problems, or initial shocks, could have been avoided if his skull wasn't so thick. His constant use of "Oh God!" and "Jesus!" along with his uselessness at times (due to circumstances) got kind of grating at times.

4) And there were also some unexplained phenomenon. To be as vague as possible, this mostly includes how people's interaction with Jensen changes from Part 1 to Part 2 of the story. It never really gave a clear explanation as why. And a couple other things, but that's about it.

So there's a lot to this book: magic, music, psychological trauma, love, fear, heartache, and so much more. Not everything is sunshine and rainbows here - I felt my heart clenching and tears brimming at many points while reading. But over all, this story was what I needed.

The Doors of Time hits all the right notes, resounding a song that expresses magic of the strongest kind: love.