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Tuesday, 7 March 2023

Harry Potter fanfic

 Soooo... I have read, quite a bit actually, but have not had the will or strength of will, whatever you think fits best, to write anything about the stories I've read for quite some time now. I believe my last post on this blog was back in April, 2021. But this post will not be much of a post about books, per se, as I happened to dive into the rabbithole called Dramione fanfic a few months ago and have been reading them in between other books quite happily as I discovered that this particular coupling and fanfic compasses my favourite trope of them all - slow burn - so beautifully that I simply cannot get enough. Most of the stories are slow burn, but if not, I've written a note about it as well.

I have written a few sentences about a couple of them on my Goodreads as well, if possible, I try to incorporate those thoughts into this one post as well. But not all of these works have been added to Goodreads, so it's also an attempt of kinds from me to keep track what I've read so far.

I have included the word count under each work, and do keep in mind that: 100 000 words is about 200 pages single-spaced or 400 pages double-spaced.

The fanfics I've read so far (If you click on the name, you should be redirected to each work's  home in Archive of Our Own):

1. Draco Malfoy and the Mortifying Ordeal of Being in Love by isthisselfcare

Complete work, 199644 words.

This was my first Dramione fanfic that I discovered in the summer and I LOVED it. It was perfect in the sense that I got to pine with the characters and I even got to scream for them to finally get their heads out of their backsides and finally acknowledge their feelings for one another. I blame this work for drawing me into this rabbithole as I simply cannot get out anymore.

2. Meet Your Match by Morriganmercy

Complete work, 121611 words.

After the first one, I dived into Meet Your Match and thought it to be wonderful, simply wonderful. I loved that Draco found himself friends with muggles and these friends were trying to set our MCs up. After reading, I thought that there may have been a bit too much smut. I would've loved more interaction without bed play as they were a hoot to read about.

3. Love and Other Historical Accidents by PacificRimbaud

Complete work, 153854 words.

I believe this one is one of my least favourite stories as it was really silly with accidental time travel and Hermione and Draco pretending to be siblings in the early 1800s. I read somewhere that it was also supposed to have some influences by Austen's Pride and Prejudice (my first favourite book of all time)... and I am sorry to admit that there may have been some similarities between the stories, but I don't think the author did Austen's work the justice it deserves. Love and Other Historical Accidents was full of shenanigans and plot of "I cannot believe this is real". Fun, but not the work I was looking for.

4. Three Wizards and a Baby by Lizzie_carlile

Complete work, 138415 words.

If I remember correctly, than this one tended to drag in the end. I think the most this fanfic had in common with the JKR original was the characters' names... It had more in common with the movie Three Men and a Baby, tho I have to admit I have not seen in years and may be lying slightly at this point. It was somewhat enjoyable, BUT I have a hard time recommending the story to anyone.

5. Dragon's Bride by Rizzle

Complete work, 225164 words. This work is not Ao3 in its entirety, I found a .pdf of the full work on Reddit.

I liked the story as a whole, but frankly, the first chapter was a bit off putting as first because of Draco's actions towards a SLEEPING Hermione. Like really, he should've stopped, but luckily he redeemed himself in the rest of the story. 

6. Measure of a Man by inadaze

Complete work, 590655 words.

This was a mammoth of a story. It took me FOREVER to read, but I adored the hell out of it as well.

I cannot believe myself, but this slow burn may have been a bit too long. Usually I am definitely in the camp of the longer, the better, and I usually skip too short books, but this one ... I downloaded it from ao3 to my kindle and my kindle says it's 29670 locations long. I guess it's somewhere around 1800 pages? And bloody hell, it was almost like Outlander all over again. I loved most of it, but this Hermione definitely was obtuse to a fault.
I think it was somewhere around 30%, I had been reading for HOURS and when my husband asked me what I'm reading, I giddily told him that nothing is happening, but everything is happening and I am loving it. However, by 90% I simply tired of the story as Dramione were together and there were other storylines still being explored.

7. Manacled by SenLinYu

Complete work, 370515 words.

Definitely the darkest of the stories I have read so far. Luckily the author has an explanation for everything, but boy, oh boy was it DARK at first. I had some difficulty reading it all, but in the end it was worth it. Definitely one of those stories you have to be in the mood for it to work, though. 

8. Remain Nameless by HeyJude19

Complete work, 312286 words.

I fear I have to admit that I loved the first 70% or so, but the ending kind of ... lagged for me.

9. All You Want by SenLinYu

Complete work, 172650 words.

This on was completely bonkers Alphas and Betas and Omegas and naturally Draco is an Alpha and Hermione is an Omega that is bound to this particular Alpha. SOOOO MUUUCH SMUT, less of a slow burn, but fun to read nonetheless. Luckily I was in the mood for smut, because this story had more than enough.

10. Apple Pies and Other Amends by ToEatAPeach

Complete work, 76720 words.

A complete change of pace from the ninth one in this list. This was quite lovely. YA friendly, maybe even middle grade friendly, I'd say, as there was some indication of intimacy, but nothing too extravagant on page and mostly fade to black.

11. The Gloriana Set by ThebeMoon

Complete work, 271830 words.

Enjoyable, but I would have enjoyed a slow burn instead of a love triangle with Theo Nott ... Seriously. At some parts, I had some serious doubts, because I found it difficult to associate this FF's Hermione and Draco with JKR's originals. Also, I grew tired of the LOOOOOOONG notes at the beginning of almost every chapter and by the end I skipped most of them.

12. Haunted, Hollow, Hopeful, Cursed by HoneyOvercast

Complete work, 267306 words.

On my GR, all I have written is this: extraordinay slowburn, my fave. 

And it was extraordinarily difficult to read due to the subject matter as well, but the tension in the air between Hermione and Draco was simply to die for (forgive me for the pun, because in the context of this story, the pun is slightly off).

13. The Fallout by everythursday

Complete work, 311153 words.

At first the writing style felt off, but the more I read, the more I got into it and the more I actually enjoyed this kind of storytelling.
I loved the fact that Dramione's relationship really was a slow burn one, but I wasn't a fan of Hermione denying herself the recognition that there is more going on. I may not have agreed with all of their actions, but the story was really engaging.

Complete work, 306741 words 
In this one I felt that the Weasleys were not themselves. They were petty, sometimes even cruel to others and I may have loved Draco and Hermione together, but I completely HATED the Weasleys, especially Molly in this one. 

Complete work, 174911 words
Years of pining... and yet I could not feel the feels. What a disappointment for me. I would have loved to pine alongside them, but instead I got tons of miscommunication. And I mean it. Tons of it. 


Complete work, 98584 words

Mostly, when I search for Dragon fics on Ao3, I add the filter for works that have more than 100k words. I would've completely missed this one. Somewhat silly, but also very enjoyable. I have come to an understanding that SenLinYu's writing style is something I enjoy, but unfortunately they have a ton of short stories and I simply want long stories....
Not slow burn as there is a Veela bond that makes the relationship somewhat "meant to be because there is a bond of mates" and also because I, at the very least, didn't really feel the tension in the air. It was more along the lines of Hermione trying to figure out what Draco's hiding from her. 

Complete work, 137559 words

Started off really well, but unfortunately I failed to understand where and when exactly the protagonists found themselves caring for one another. Too much time was simply glossed over for me to *get them*. 
Otherwise the work was well-written and thought out, it simply didn't do it for me in the slow burn department.

Complete work, 121072 words

Didn't really get into this one... Also, I definitely would NOT count it in the slow burn category. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't great either. Simply ... meh?


There are also a couple works I have started, but decided to DNF as they didn't work for me.
After about 14% of 264105 words I found that the story didn't flow as I would have liked to. I felt that Hermione and Draco were plain awful to one another inbetween shame-masturbating while thinking of the other one and being locked up in a tower together. Forced proximity isn't always my thing and I believe this is one of those cases.
This one didn't work for me as Hermione kept reliving her wedding day to Ron over and over again. I made it about 12% of 160447 words when I decided to call it quits.
I read 8 chapters of 16 (125886 words in total).. and in a way it was a lovely read, but there were way too many POVs for my liking, and to be honest, none of them really stood out. 





And the most off one of them all, is a Snape + Hermione fanfic for me. I have read only one, it was very well written, but I had some difficulty getting rid of the image of Alan Rickman in my head... Maybe I'll try again in the future, but I think I will stick to my Dramione fanfics for now.

34435 words. Considering how short it was, it was great. I would have wanted more even with Snape as the hero of the story.

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