Review: Like You - Reviewers' Mansion

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daOtterGuy

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daOtterGuy #1 · Feb 14th, 2022 · 4 · ·

Like You by forbloodysummer

TLike You

Sweetie Belle knocks on Adagio's door.

forbloodysummer · 1.6k words · 100 1 · 1.6k views

Everyone told Sweetie Belle that Adagio was manipulative, dangerous, and willing to make others suffer to further her own agenda. But they also all agreed her voice had been magnificent.
Sweetie Belle has lots of great friendship role models already. What she really needs is a singing teacher.

Opening remarks

Like You is a slice of life written by forbloodysummer string two interesting character pairings: Adagio Dazzle and Sweetie Belle. This is a very interesting setup with two incredibly different characters and I look forward to seeing how the author handles them. Without further ado, let’s get started.

Technical

No technical issues found. Full marks

10/10

Character

The two main characters of this story are Sweetie Belle and Adagio Dazzle. Both are characterized well for the plot, just enough to differentiate them from a generic placeholder and not too much to ruin the cozy feel of the story.

Adagio is excellent as she oozes the confidence of her canon self, but strikes a balance with her washed out vibe having lost everything in the battle of the bands. She’s sarcastic, she sees everything in the most negative light possible, and is an excellent counter balance for the more optimistic Sweetie Belle.

Sweetie Belle is also a delight. She’s the innocent child who’s looking to improve and willing to do what it takes to do so. She straddles the line between thoughtful and impulsive making her feel believable in her logic and actions. Another rather pleasant note is that unlike most child characters, she doesn’t have any of the major annoyances that make some child characters unbearable to read.

Great characterization that fits the slice of life feel. Full marks.

10/10

Concept

The opening hook and long description do an excellent job of drawing in the reader’s interest. Additionally, it features the very unique pairing of Sweetie Belle and Adagio Dazzle, which is an intriguing setup for a slice of life fic. The execution is decent and fits the slice of life feel very well.

Solid concept and hook. Full marks.

10/10

Vibe

Firstly, the author definitely nailed the feel of the slice of life genre in this fic. It has that cozy feeling that one would expect from this kind of plot and leaves the story on a light comedic note that leaves the reader in a good mood after finishing.

The prose is excellent. The imagery and contrast invoked are particularly enjoyable parts as they really bring in Sweetie’s perspective and emotional state without having to state it outright. However, there are a few instances (mostly near the beginning) in which the text feels overly verbose and redundant comparatively to the prior sentences.

A major good point is the pacing. The fic is the perfect length for the proposed premise and hits the main story points at a proper clip, never feeling like it is rushing through or slogging by. That being said, I did find that the ending resolves too easily. All the right moments are there leading up to it, but the final moments feel unsatisfactory as the goal is achieved seemingly without much of a struggle.

Overall, though, solid story and an excellent slice of life fic.

8/10

Closing Thoughts

Like You by forbloodysummer is a great slice of life fic that I recommend to anyone who wants to get that content feeling that comes with the genre.

9.5/10

Personal Score

I liked this. It was a pleasant quick read for an afternoon, and I enjoyed the fun, if strange, pairing. Solid work and I would definitely recommend it to anyone else. Only reason this is lower than my review score is due to personal tastes.