Weepy

  i was today years old when i learned that it's milquetoast and not ‘milk toast' lol.  honestly, the first half kinda dragged, but it picked up pace in the end.  the keyword for this is ‘indulgent'. It's long, the quippy dialogue is so quippy, the pining is so piny. Yet, I love it. Idk. Probably the fanfiction to end all fanfiction for me. 

A solid read exploring almost all the topics I love to think about the most; cancel culture, performative activism, racism, creative professions, no ethical consumption/creation under capitalism etc. etc. 

I think the only reason I haven't rated it a full 4 stars is just I was not especially horrified, appalled or challenged by the content of the book. It's a good start, and a solid read. I would be curious to see R.F. Kuang continue to explore similar themes in future works. Perhaps if I was newer to these subjets it would probably be more compelling. However, I already know capitalism be capitalising and white women be white women-ing. 

I read this in one day after procrastinating on a month long buddy read. So it's a fairly easy read, which is sometimes nice. 

Other people said they were confused by the opening, which confuses me. I thought it was pretty clear what was going to happen. But, by the end I was still hoping for some divine intervention or twist that would change the outcome, which means I must have connected to the characters at some extent. 

Sometimes the difference between two stars and three stars is “would I read it again?” in this case the answer is no. Ultimately, the book isn't my style, and there is nothing particularly compelling or enjoyable enough that makes me want to return to it anytime soon.

I haven't felt this seen by a book in such a long time. Intergenerational trauma, but also intergenerational resilience. Complicated family relationships underlaid with love. Traditional nature-based spiritualism that feels comfortingly familiar.

This book is for you if, like me you:
(1) are Indigenous. 
(2) have had difficulty explaining your family dynamics and traditions to people.
(3) Saw the “village crazy lady” Grandmother in the movie Moana and thought, “hey, I know her.”

Did anyone else have a grandmother who might as well have been a legend, a myth, a series of miracles that took the shape of an old woman?”

 Yes. I did. 

Shelving as Read temporarily as I've tapped out for now after chapter 65 or so. 

I really like this fic and would recommend it. I just can't keep up with an in-progress fic because I always lose interest. I'll return to it when it's finished. 

For now, I love the way this author has rewritten the whole series based ona new premise. She also rewrote and summarized just enough to keep it interesting although its covering all the things we have read a million times before.

The slowest of slow burns as far as the relationships go. 

My one critique is that the characters do not act or think in age-appropriate ways. They read as much older off the jump, which is enjoyable as an adult reader but kind of unrealistic and immersion breaking.  Even posh 11 year olds wouldn't act like that in my opinion. 

Honestly, the only imperfection is because its a translated work the writing style sometimes feels a little stilted or stammering in places. Otherwise I loved this book and the heart behind it. I also saw it as an allegory for counselling in a way. Like you sit in a chair, have a conversation and walk away changed. Not necessarily changing the future or the past but changing the way you see it enough that you can walk away lighter, healthier, happier etc. 

I read this book immediately after seeing the movie, so my review is also influenced by that. 

Other reviews were saying that the relationship was so much stronger in the book, but I didn't really feel that. Perhaps it felt stronger because you could hear Snow's inner monologue, but in reality there wasn't something much stronger in the book. 

And, I think that is the point. It's not a story about soulmates or star-crossed lovers you wish could get together in the end. It's romanticizing your first love and being disappointed when they don't live up to your vision. It's trauma bonding. It's the manic pixie dream girl that teaches a guy to enjoy life again but spun on it's head as Snow only ends up further entrenched in his views.

I liked this book.

Cute concept, cute story. Wish it was a bit longer, bit more mysterious and a bit deeper. But a quick read I would go for again. 

Meh. 

I found it boring and far too short to get the payoff I typically like from the enemies to lovers trope. Perhaps I'm tainted by all the marathon long fanfictions that I've read. Despite it being short it took me forever to read because I couldn't get excited about it.

I really enjoyed the premise, but I think the particular writing style wasn't for me. The characters were very ‘heady', as in the writing focused a lot on their thoughts and rationalizing of situations rather than their experiences. It would be fine if that were a character choice for some characters, but not a good fit for everyone. 

I also enjoyed the relationship developing between Theo and Harry in the background a lot. Perhaps even more than the main relationship that was happening.

I loved this book in the beginning, but my enjoyment started to wane in the end. The author's notes discussed how the story was expanded at the request of readers, which is fun when you're actively following a fic, but makes it a bit more bloated, meandering and boring to read as someone who is late to the party. The story also ended a little abruptly in my opinion. 

Honestly, would read again, but not anytime soon.

I loved this one. I personally need a little more substance and story running in the background of my love stories to keep me hooked so this was perfect for me. 

There were a few awkwardly worded moments - i.e. repeating phrases or sentiments in the same monologue. I also would have appreciated a few more specific misdirects or barriers for them to overcome as they solved this mystery - as it was there was one major barrier ‘breakthrough' and then they were just described as passively reading and researching until they found the right information/until the plot called for them to have the right information to move on to the next phase. 

Would read it again.

I read this as an audiobook, which might have contributed to my discomfort with the writing. It's one thing to read cringey immature characters in your head and another thing to have some voice actor whining in your ear. 

Sorry, that sounds harsh. I didn't hate this book. It's just too romance and no other plot for me. I also really struggled with the white boy hockey player names in the beginning. There were just so many of them and none of them stood out besides Nate himself. 

Might give it a try again as an e-book, but not motivated to do so anytime soon.

 I thought this was a cute concept and decently written. It's hard for me to rate and review stories that are so short because I devoured it so quickly, but I was wishing for more. Like wishing for more moments between the couple, more information about Hermione and her life. I think especially because this fic retconned all of the canon, I was especially curious. 

I enjoyed this fic mostly. I found the writing quality improved as the story went on. I also enjoyed the Theo character twist as interesting and unexpected. I didn't see it coming. I also liked the sex magic concepts and was so interested in exploring this element of magic in this universe. 

Unfortunately, the story was limited (or prolonged) by both character's holding staunchly to purity values of waiting to have sex until marriage. And, even after marriage, continuing to have views about having sex for ‘proper' purposes. I would have preferred a fic that challenges and changes these views rather than one that conforms to them.

Really enjoyed this one. Premise was cool. Relationship development was twisted but solid. I cried in the end. 

Negatives include a few really noticeable typos. Excessive torture scenes followed by forgiveness/sympathy for those committing the torture. A need to exact revenge on those that hurt you to cope with the trauma. A lack of clarity around numbers (so many big battles in a tiny wizarding population?) and focus on other significant losses outside of the main couple (i.e. Luna?!). 

Mid but enjoyable. A lot of pretty prose and heartfelt moments. My main critiques are the excessive length and lack of focus. 

Hermione is introspective, and rigid. Needs to be dragged out of her own way. We are in her head. Being told over and over again about how uncertain and risk-averse she is. Which makes sense considering where she is in the timeline, but is a slog to read through. 

I loved the maturity of this romance. The fact that she falls for his mom and son first. 

However, by the end of the fic there were just convenient excuse after excuse to get Scorpious and Narcissa out of the way in favour of political/criminal subplots. I enjoyed these subplots, but felt a little sad that the best/most unique parts of the fic had to be sacrificed for that. Also, forcing in these subplots added to the length of a story and not much to the development of the characters. 

Honestly. It gives ‘I'm 14 and I'm broken and this is deep.” Kind of energy. And yet, I liked it. It was good. I would re-read it again, eventually. 

I enjoyed Hermione's brokenness and no one knowing what to do about it. The state of therapy in the wizarding world is apparently abysmal but it is what it is. I enjoyed seeing her bond with some of the Slytherin characters and eventually fighting for them. I liked the push and pull of the relationship and Draco's self-fufilling attempts to push her away. 

However, the angst is overwhelming and tiring. She took him back every time when he didnt deserve it which shows her damage but is hard to read. Especially at the very end when his ‘growth' is just running away from everything, and everyone and Hermione just looks for him and takes him back like nothing. It was out of character and  kind of cheesy.

Quick. Fun. Smut-filled. OOC. Would re-read just for the good times. 

I'm drawn to Dramione usually because Draco can match her intellectually compared to Ron. While I'm drawn to Romione because Ron is an uncomplicated himbo that can help her mellow out. However, in this fic Draco is playing that role. It's cute for a switch up in this case but honestly Draco loses his Draco-ness and could have been subbed in with any character from the HP universe and the story would have been the exact same. 

Unnecessary epilogues are my pet peeve and this one has one. Usually epilogues show the result of growth, or give closure. In this epilogue Hermione continues to be petty and resentful and Draco continues to be a himbo.

This is my real deathly hallows and nothing can convince me otherwise. Not as spicy as the fics I usually read, but that means it keeps in line with the original tone of the stories, which is nice. Would definitely reread. 

I always thought Hermione needed an ally in the trio, and Draco joining them helped me feel like the relationships were more balanced and reciprocal for her. 

Ron's arc was brilliant. I loved how his moody and immature walkout on his friends converted into  a hero's journey of his own. The only negative was that to tell the story, the author had to switch perspectives abruptly, so it brought me out of the immersion a little. 

I also liked how this fic had a collectivist approach to war. It wasn't just some teenagers operating alone. Instead, the order is operating in full force to fight against evil. 

The negative of having a safe house as a base means the main characters are isolated from the realities of the war themselves. Which is good as they are teenagers, but bad as it makes the war feel less scary.

 I'm a sucker for slice-of-life and healing fics. While I like a little politics, mystery, action or intrigue along with my romance, sometimes I just need to see my faves becoming human again in the aftermath of all that.

I loved the found family. I loved the premise.

I did not enjoy the final major conflict. It felt like a regression for Draco in a way that was jarring. He had similar miscommunication and conflicts with her earlier in the book and then suddenly takes this one thing out of proportion and pulls away so hard? Obviously this had the additional stressors of dealing with his mother and stuff, but I felt there would be a way to do that without it feeling like a rug pull. 

The beginning was a bit of a slog, but the work greatly grew on me when they finally left Hogwarts. Would read again for those parts alone honestly.  

I think this fanfic requires too much suspension of disbelief for my taste. Hard to believe that Harry and Ron would leave Hermione behind, hard to believe that Hogwarts staff would let Draco stay literally in her bedroom. (Especially at a school where the stairs canonically prevent boys from entering girls dorms), and hard to believe that a Draco this stuck in his beliefs could be reformed by a kiss and an MLK book.

Honestly, I just found the book difficult to follow. There were some meaningful moments and tidbits of cleverly worded sentiments that stood out to me. Which is why I couldn't bring myself to just give up on this. But honestly, understanding the book would have been easier if I knew anything about the soviet period it was set in. As it was, there was just a lot I was skipping over or not understanding because I didn't get the context probably. Maybe this is one I  can come back to in a while. 

Read and DNF'd at 60% as part of a buddy read. 

Honestly, the smut was quality but the context was ?!?! 

I thought the worldbuilding was actually kind of cool and interesting. I would have been interested in a book that explores this world a bit more. I suppose that might have happened in later sections that I did not read. However, at the 60% mark I was just not interested enough to continue. Perhaps I'll go back to it at a later date.

I found this book was decent, but just didn't capture my interests like fantasy-romance usually does. I think I was expecting it to be more lighthearted, smutty and fun because of the reviews I saw on TikTok. I've heard the subsequent books are better; but probably won't be trying this one again anytime soon so I won't be trying those either. I gave myself extended time to finish it but eventually called it as a DNF once I got through another book and was really reluctant to return to this one.