Recent Reads: Secrets & Masks by Emerald Slytherin

Secrets & Masks by Emerald Slytherin 

Publisher: Self-pub 
Publication Date:  Completed November 12, 2022

  

Available at Archive of Our Own

Format: Ebook
Source: Downloaded from Archive of Our Own

Rating:


Goodreads Synopsis: 

9 years after the battle of Hogwarts, the war still rages on and everyone is much changed since their days at Hogwarts.

Hermione is the most lethal soldier in The Order, spending her days on rescue missions to free captured Muggleborn slaves and fight on the front line.

For years, she's been meeting in secret with a spy within Voldemort's ranks to exchange information.

But, when she's captured and made prisoner at Malfoy Manor, of all the dark and evil ways she'd envisioned Malfoy would torture her, she never quite imagined anything this horrific.

Review: 

I have been on a Draco/Hermione- ship fanfic kick lately, and I seem to always have one going in the background. I don't often review them becuase they are fan fic and I am reading them for me versus to really share opinions about them but this was a long one and I thought I would share some feelings about it. 

This fanfic follows the Harry Potter group after the war. Voldemort was not defeated but is still reigning with terror, with the help of his army, the mask-wearing elite of the dark order. The Order is trying to keep up and find Horcruxed with little luck. On one mission Hermione gets taken.  After her capture, she and Draco form a love/hate/spicy relationship with each other. 

I enjoyed this fanfic, but it was so long and the cadence had me all over the place. I had to amp myself up for the battles and possible losses and come back down for 'home time' and there was a lot of those ups and downs. The first third of this read was the best part- it all felt new and fresh and I liked the world build and the Voldemort army dynamics. Then things took a turn. Once Hermione and Draco where together, it just started to read like the originals - person in a found family group locates horcruxes to kill Volde.

The ending was so sad, I didn't really care for the real ending, the epiloge was the 'real ending' in myu mind. It was sweet but didn't fully pull back my love for the 1st third of the book. I am glad that I read it though.

Recent Reads: Manacled by SenLinYu

Manacled by SenLinYu 
Series: Fanfiction for Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling

  

Format: Downloaded FanFiction
Source: Archive of Our Own

Rating:


Goodreads Synopsis: 

Harry Potter is dead. In the aftermath of the war, in order to strengthen the might of the magical world, Voldemort enacts a repopulation effort. Hermione Granger has an Order secret, lost but hidden in her mind, so she is sent as an enslaved surrogate to the High Reeve, to be bred and monitored until her mind can be cracked.

Fanfiction for Harry Potter by J. K. Rowling.

Words: 370,256

Trigger warnings - rape, attempted rape, violence, torture, murder, mass murder, physical abuse, mental abuse, this is a very dark read.

Review: 

I have never been into Fanfiction, but I kept hearing about this Draco/Hermione retelling. I finally signed up for an Archive of Our Own account and picked it up. I was so happy that I could download it and email it over to my Kindle in full. I was immediately inthralled by the story and never wanted to put it down. The story broke my heart multiple times but I absolutely loved it.

This fanfic starts at the end of the war, only now, Voldemort has won and all of the characters are pretty much dead. Hermione finds herself in a dark dungeon left to wither away. Suddenly she is pulled out, learns all her friends are dead, and that she will now be a surrogate in the wizarding re-population project. During her initial medical checks, they all realize that she has blocked and locked away memories; memories that the Dark Lord think will help him scoop up the last of the Resistance. And so...Hermione is gifted to Draco, who is his normal antisocial, mean, bully self. 

In the orginal books, I always had a soft spot for Draco. I think a lot of people did. Yes, he was a pain a lot of the time, he was spoiled, but his parents were creepy and rude, and he never felt loved. So during this read, I again felt those things and was really drawn to this Dramione offering.  

From the beginning, I was dubbing this a Harry Potter retelling with a Handmaids Tale theme and concept, and it is certainly that, but so much more. 

I want to leave this as spoiler free as possible - but here are some important notes. This read is not for the faint of heart, there is a lot of violence, some of it graphic, there is rape, also pretty graphic... You will hate main characters like you have never before hated them. Umbridge - still very evil, but you will also want to throat punch Harry, Ron, and the Order. You will swoon over Draco, even when he is being a dick, because he is misunderstood and trying the best he can. 

The fic, starts in 'modern' time with Hermione pulled out of her captivity, and you are with her for a number of months as she lives with Draco. As she starts to recover memories, there are short dreams and flashbacks. The the fic takes a turn and completely goes into full Flashbacks and there are a number of chapters before eventually popping back into the now. It seems like a lot, and you WANT so badly to see how understanding these flashbacks make Hermione feel about her situation, but trust me ... wait it out, read it slowly and when you pop out on the otherside you will be in tears with her. 

I adored everything about this read. It was so lovely. I am going to re-read it. Once you get through the Flashbacks you will want to as well and see if you can pick up on things in those beginning chapters. 

Another wonderful thing is that each chapter has notes - breaking down if there were quotes from the books, adding fan art links, and any other information readers might find useful. 

If you were a fan of Harry Potter, but wanted more adult versions of the slow burn love stories, and were a fan of Draco already, this could be for you. Do not take the trigger warning lightly though, this is a very dark read and could turn your stomach.