Blows ass.
Earthchild has a dynamite first chapter that a lot of people mistook for a one-shot, and understandably so. It took a whirlwind romance to an unexpected but cathartic conclusion, with an implication on what the future might hold. The linchpin of the opening chapter was its incredible climax, and perhaps the author got a little too hooked on people's reactions to it, because the second chapter attempted to have a big moment as well. And then the third, and then the fourth, ad nauseum, trying to recapture that magic.
Big moments that stay in our memory happen because they're timed with the pace of the story and our investment in the characters. Done right, one of these can be pulled in the opening act, but after that you have to pump the breaks a little, cool the pace and aim for another big moment at the end of a story arc, perhaps. But when Earthchild tries to be nothing but highs, it just feels like it's trying to manipulate you.
