Thwarted

Fanfiction
Title:	Thwarted
Author(s):	Perry Dowling
Date(s):	2016-05-12 to 2017-10-30
Length:	>350000
Genre(s):	Het
Fandom(s):	Star Wars: The Force Awakens
Relationship(s):
External Links:	Ao3 Link
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Thwarted is a Star Wars sequel trilogy fanfiction written by Perry Dowling. It pairs canon adversaries Kylo Ren and Rey.

It has been nine months since Starkiller and Kylo Ren has become something more. The light still pulls at him from time to time but after the price he has paid, he has been relentless in his pursuit of the dark. And then when Snoke had dared stand in his way, tried to take Rey from him … new power had been born that day. Black and deep. The endless abyss that is Kylo Ren in love.

Reactions and Reviews

This is a foil fic to He Knows in many ways. Rather than pulling him back to the Light, Kylo’s love for Rey pushes him further into the Dark, and the story opens with him as the new Supreme Leader of the First Order. Pursuit of The Rey and Very Bad Decisions ensue. This fic is still in progress and goes some very dark and dire places indeed. Also it has some of the most passionate smut I’ve read recently.

Why I loved it:

Slow burn:' If you’re in an “instant gratification takes too long” mood, this is not the story for you…but if you like a tantalizing buildup and are willing to wait for it, this is worth the time commitment. Rey and Kylo’s chemistry spark from the get-go, and I felt drawn in and invested to the extent I was in tune with or exasperated with one character and then would switch to the other as the chapters progressed. In the beginning, almost all the focus is on the Reylo relationship without a lot of subplots, so you are very immersed in their world and psychology of the characters. I admit to yelling at the computer monitor a few times because I was THAT caught up in it and at times I was Team Rey and others I was Team Kylo…although as the story evolves, you realize that each has some growth to experience, and by the end I was just emotionally spent from the ride on the “Kylo Pain Train” as the author put it, and I was so glad I’d been along for the ride! I think you’ll be very glad you stuck around to the end and finished it!

Character Analysis: I’m always interested in what makes a character tick. This story explores both Kylo and Rey, but really delves deep into Kylo. It’s written from Kylo’s POV, so we know his thoughts, motivations, confusion, desires and pain. We also get to know more of the WHY through original characters introduced, mainly through Shree Vitok, a Knight of Ren who also serves as Kylo’s friend and de facto psychoanalyst through dialogue, giving us clues into why Kylo behaves as he does.

Attention to detail: We’re all familiar with the Star Wars universe, but there is delicious creativity in the world created, including rich descriptions of edibles with original names, sumptuous gowns, breathtaking jewelry, and easily visualized new planets. I think part of the story’s appeal is that the author writes in rich Technicolor. I had no problem “seeing” as well as “feeling” everything that was happening as it unfolded.

Original characters: Sometimes original characters can be a jolt, and at other times they are a sheer delight that we can easily imagine as an established character. I won’t go into the ones in this story for spoiler reasons, except to say they are nicely done and slowly introduced and evolve with the story.

Overall review: This fiction has 75 chapters, so you might feel a bit daunted on starting it, but you’ll be surprised how fast it goes. The spacing is easy on the eyes, which I appreciated. It’s a very psychological story that explores the depths of the souls of both Kylo and Rey, and there’s a “Beauty and the Beast” quality to it that I fell in love with.

~A richly told story of a girl in a gilded cage and a man who doesn’t realize he’s also in one himself.

Highly recommend!!!!