Reviewed:
Dammit, LV, you've done it again. Here I am trapped under this mountain of completed stories to review and this guy swaggers right up to the front of the queue into the VIP waiting area. Not cool.
If you haven't seen my reviews for the other stories by this author, go read those. I don't have much new to add beyond those because all of the high quality attributes present in the previous episodes are also found in this one.
Completely disregarding my previous statement, I do have a few things to add, beginning with the fact that a very different tone is set in this next iteration: Joey is growing up and learning more about himself as a person, and there are definitely some growing pains. New and interesting characters abound, though the usual cast is also around. Can't say too much more here without giving the game away, though I do, predictably, lament the relative lack of QK.
Having read this over the entire course of the time that it was posted, it's a bit hard to remember the quantity of stroke from earlier parts of this story, but I'll say, based on my recollections of the later parts, that this isn't something worth reading if you're just looking to get off.
The one thing I will warn readers about for this story is that it's considerably darker than the previous parts. LV really drops the hammer on all the characters here at one time or another, and I found myself quite upset with various outcomes--not from a technical perspective, but because I had grown attached to the characters and wanted the proverbial Happily Ever After for all of them. A huge plus, however, is that I am now aware of the Snow Angel Biathlon, which sounds like it would be the best winter sport of all time.
It's tough to anticipate what might unfold in sequel(s) which are so obviously hinted at, but there are certainly enough intentionally unresolved plot threads to make it into a compelling read, and I'll be on the edge of my seat (and likely in the author's inbox) waiting for the continuation.
Read it.