I have long been an avid fanfiction reader. I discovered it in 1999 when I was still in high school and for the past 20+ years I have gone through bouts of reading nothing but fanfiction for a single pairing for months/years on end. According to my iBooks stats (where I download most fics from AO3 in epub format), I have read 163 fics in 2020 and 146 in 2019. And to this day, no book I ever read has had the same immediately uplifting effect on me as a good fanfic. I even wrote some, though that will never see the light of day.
So even though I started focusing more on real books a couple of months ago, today I read the first fanfic of the year – which was so wholesome and sweet and has been an absolute balm to my soul after too many actual books involving sexual assault – and I decided I might as well celebrate it here and that I will indeed start reviewing fanfic. I have given myself some parameters, though. I will not review any fics shorter than 50,000 words, and only ones that are really good. While I have gone through a few fandoms in my day, most of what I read nowadays is HP, so be advised if you’re interested in my fanfic reviews.
Owl was well is Harry Potter fanfic; Drarry to be exact (Draco Malfoy/Harry Potter pairing). It was posted on December 12th and is about 67,000 words long.
Summary: Draco Malfoy is not an owl, really he isn’t. He simply assumes the shape of one on occasion when he wants to find a bit of privacy—a goal entirely thwarted because Harry Potter doesn’t understand you can’t just grab any old bird from the Owlery and force it to send your missives and deliver your packages.
This story was just unbelievably wholesome and sweet. Draco is on probation at Hogwarts for his 8th year and all he wants is to be left alone. Until Potter shows up and tries to get him to deliver post. Hilarity ensues. But Potter is stubborn, and maybe Draco can be bribed with owl treats? Annoying Potter has always been one of his favourite pastimes anyway.
Owl Draco befriends one Harry Potter without really meaning to, even as he does his best to drive Potter spare. In a world where we all need some fluff, you get a lot of cuteness and sweetness in this story. The romance is almost an afterthought. Worth it if you just want something to make you happy for a couple of hours. 🙂
I’m not much of a Drarry fan, so I’m not likely to read this, but it’s a great review. The fic does sound very sweet and wholesome. Now if only that same fic existed but for Snarry.
Thank you! It really did light up my day. 🙂
A fanfic review! Dude, if I would have reviewed all the fanfic I read last year alone, I would have hit a Cannonball times twenty. It is one of my main anxiety coping strategies, and you’re right, nothing quite hits the spot and gets to your id exactly like a really good fic. I am planning on posting some this year, I just have to find the right fic. I’m not quite as free of shame as to post everything that I read. Or write! I write fic occasionally as well, and have a couple of modestly successful fics that NO ONE I KNOW will ever read. So I feel you on that.
Oh my God! I definitely wouldn’t post everything I read either! But you are right, it is definitely a coping mechanism for me as well – nothing gets me quite as out of my head as fic 🙂
Have you heard about “Fangirl” from Rainbow Rowell? Cath is an avid fanfic reader and writer, off to her first year of college. She navigates finding herself, managing the expectations of her fanfic readers, with possible romance brewing, and balancing a college schedule with a writing teacher who doesn’t believe fanfic is valid writing. An excellent read that feeds into “Wayward Son” by Rowell, which was inspired by the fanfic Cath wrote in “Fangirl”.
and the third book is coming out this year!!!
I can barely wait 🙂
I’ve heard of it, but never read it. I will add it to my TBR. 🙂
So very much agreed! There are some fanfics that are on Goodreads as well, I’ve started reviewing them and including them as books. Certainly are as good as actual books I’ve read…
Spoiler Alert by Olivia Dade is a romance which has as a lead a woman who is an avid fanfic writer and forum member, and part of her journey is being open with that fact–I felt so seen!
I imagine you’ve read all the Drarry fic I’ve read but I’ll link to a few anyhow just in case 😁
Drarry isn’t my main ship–I am mainly L/J +/- Wolfstar and diehard R/Hr–but recently I have become ambivalent between Hinny where Ginny is actually interesting and snarky Drarry, which is the only type?
Far from the Tree by aideomai
https://archiveofourown.org/works/26460403
my review to my friend: this is quite good, it is that usual sort of Drarry vibe where Draco is sort of an ass and unsure of whether he wants to be redeemed (the conceit here being “harry’s twins lily/james suddenly pop up during everyone’s eight year, no on knows why or how to send them back, but other than that there’s not much drama just an 8th year.”). Her reply: Oh this was really nice! Could’ve done with a little less angst but what is Drarry without angst?
Here’s the Pencil, Make it Work by ignatiustrout https://archiveofourown.org/works/640449
Summary: Harry thinks “Why is Malfoy working in a coffee shop in muggle London?” is a much simpler question than, “Are you going to accept that auror offer and, if you don’t, what will you do?”
Two that I haven’t read but which are on my TBR:
Never Grow a Wishbone by ShanaStoryteller https://archiveofourown.org/works/8017603/chapters/18355225
Grounds for Divorce by Tepre
https://archiveofourown.org/works/18960145/chapters/45017440
Oh thank you!
I am actually fairly new to Drarry, only started reading about 3 years ago, maybe? I hail from the original Roswell fandom, and then Twilight for a while 🙂
I did read Far from the Tree, Here’s the Pencil, Make it work and Grounds for Divorce, but I am adding the other one to my list – the summary has hooked me. 🙂
Since you’re reading aideomai and Tepre, have you read anything by Galla Placidia? She’s one of my favourite authors, and the 3 of them did a colab a few months back called The Bolthole which was such a delight!
And Galla has a podcast where she made it into podfic (she’s also narrating all her other stories, which are absolutely fantastic. I highly recommend it as an easy way to get into it. She does flawless narration.
https://open.spotify.com/show/7ggX2rikP7av9byhTD6m5M
And OMG snarky Drarry is definitely the only type. I mean, if you’re not looking for snark, why would you be reading Drarry in the first place? 😀
WE CAN REVIEW FANFIC???
I’ve never read any Harry Potter fanfic, but when I was a die-hard X-Phile and Mulder/Scully shipper, I read gobs of fanfic. When the pandemic started last year and I was a ball of anxiety, I went on a mission to find all my old favorites and then got distracted but maybe it’s time to pick it up again.
In any case, I love your review and now am determined to find some good fanfic to review.
omg save it alllll!!! There is this ONE fic that I read which I didn’t save which I spent close to 20 years trying to find again…I eventually confirmed it was in a closed yahoo! group that was no longer being actively moderated, so no way for me to get in. And now Yahoo! Groups is closed. I might have legitimately shed a tear.
That is the saddest feeling! There was an author I really liked but I think she must have wiped her stories from the internet. And yes, that is her prerogative but WHAT ABOUT ME.
Yes! Review all the good fanfic! 👽