Taste of Fire or Taste of Failure?

I'm sure that if it's your first time reading a Sesshomaru/Kagome fanfic then A Taste of Fire by Silver_Dog_Demon found on A Single Spark might make the cut. However, if your a veteran reader of fanfiction I doubt you'll like this one. A Taste of Fire...how can I describe it? Personally I find the charachter to be one-dimentional and far too cliche for my liking. They have no personality, they're just the below-average, Kagome who has a huge heart, Inuyasha who's the jerk, and Sesshomaru the silent and cold.

I know, these are some of their most defining characteristics, but please, there's more to the charachters than just one thing, it's like watching one scene repeat itself over and over. Not to mention Sesshomaru doesn't even appear to be in charachter for all the author made him silent and cold, but really, where's the dynamicy? I can't help but to think that Inuyasha is being used as a foil for Sesshomaru...only, it isn't working.

Now, I will admit that I've only read the first two chapters, but honestly, they're long, and if the fic hasn't caught my attention by then chances are I won't like it. The grammar is fairly brutal. yes, I know, editing your own work is hell, and even I have my off days or forget, but at the very least keep the tense the same. Reading A Taste of Fire hurt my brain, the flow of the story was choppy, characters kept popping up for no apparent reason, I mean, Rin suddenly stumbles intot heir camp because she thought it was hers (not to mention everyone is okay with this) and then Sesshomaru comes in, but he lets her stay the night and there's maybe one harsh word between him and Inuyasha?

Don't even get me started on Kouga. And the deux ex machina1...my goodness people, please! There can only be some many of them in one chapter. I mean really, Kagome falls and is clinging to the side of a cliff but Kirara can't fly down to get her because, somewhere along the line that we haven't even been told of she was attacked by a badger youkai and has wounds. Hmm...so, Kirara is fine in the two paragraphs before this sudden fall, but she obtained wounds from somewhere along the line. Yes, raise your hand if this makes sense. I didn't think so.

But still, A Taste of Fire does have a few good points, at least, I'm hoping it does since it has an overal rating of 9.11. Let me know if you find any, because, as of now, I can't. I can't even make myself finish this fanfic, maybe it gets better in the later chapters, I don't know, but if you're like me and you need a fic to catch your attention fairly early on then I wouldn't suggest readign this one.

Aly

1. Deux ex Machina: describes an unexpected, artificial, or improbable character, device, or event introduced suddenly in a work of fiction or drama to resolve a situation or untangle a plot.

Resource for definition: wikipedia