(DNF at 60%)
Normally I really am not a person to DNF a book and if you liked or loved this one I am really happy for you. It just absolutely wasn´t for me.
What I liked:
1. The beautiful cover
2. The moments where Ginny tried to be a good friend
3. The idea on what it could have been
What I disliked:
1. The absolute wrong and incorrect depiction of therapy and mental illness. Some symptoms were just taken from some other illness and pressed onto something else. An epileptic seizure is not a panic attack and everybody who actually had a panic attack before, can tell you that it is quite different and also feels a lot different. Also the way therapy was depicted is just so wrong, it was really getting on my nerves. In no way can therapy be done through letters, especially court ordered therapy, especially trauma response therapy. That has to always happen in person.
2. That brings me to my next point: The research. I don´t understand how the author managed to research how Baileys was made so beautifully, but then completely disregarded the research for PTSD, trauma response therapy, different forms of therapy, panic attacks, depression, emotional abuse etc.
3. Another point that irked me was how little the others responded to the clear signs of abnormal behaviour shown by Hermione. Because Draco is in therapy, we know that it exists, so it was astonishing to me how Ginny never mentioned anything during her heart to heart conversations with Hermione.
I think those are my main reasons for the DNF. Maybe I will finish the book one day but to be honest I don´t think I will. English
I want to fucking kill her almost as much as I want to kiss her.
No. No, that’s not what I want to do. I don’t want to kiss her. I want to make an indentation of her body in my mattress. I want to hear those fucking sounds she makes again. And I want to ruin her life.
i'm o b s e s s e d. this was so toxic but the chemistry these two had was unparalleled. i was THIS 🤏 close to giving it 5 stars but the ending made me gag dhasjksj fanfic authors need to start writing full HEAs and none of this bittersweet bullshit 😠
but this draco can ruin my life any time he wants 🤗
English 4 ⭐ Honestly, this is a 5-stars Dramione Fanfic, but it was too toxic for me
Word Count: 148,908 | Chapters: 51
Diary,
You don't know what it's like. To wake up and see her there.
But I do.
-Draco
Summary:
Set in the aftermath of the war against Voldemort, many of the main characters return to Hogwarts to finish their final year. While Harry, Ron, and other Order members seem to be adjusting fairly well, Hermione struggles to move past the trauma and horror. She's been through too much, seen too much, done too much to fall back into a routine. Everything feels wrong, but no one else seems to feel this way, except him: Draco Malfoy.
Hermione sees Malfoy in the Great Hall, and he looks awful. His eyes are vacant, he's paler than ever, and his lips are a sickly red-orange. Gone is the haughty aristocratic boy from before the war. All that's left is a shell, and Hermione finds this comforting. At least someone else is just as out of place and struggling as much as she is. . . even if it is Draco Malfoy.
Wherever Hermione tries to seek solitude, Draco always seems to be there too. What do you do when you should hate someone, but they're the only one who understands what it's like to hate yourself?
This story is written in Hermione's POV with a mixture of diary entries made by Draco.
My Thoughts:
This is a beautifully written, darker Dramione story with a semi-happy ending. I really think this could be 5-stars for some, but the toxic Draco/Hermione relationship isn't something I really enjoy, so I took off a star.
The writing is phenomenal. I feel like many fanfics have a lot of throw-ins and embellishments for word counts, but that is not the case here. Every chapter has a purpose and flows so well with the story.
The character development is absolutely wonderful. While the main characters are Hermione and Draco, we are given the chance to understand a few Slytherins that have been otherwise overshadowed. Pansy, Theodore, and Blaise. These three are just . . . words can't explain how much I adore them. I haven't read any fanfic that spends enough time developing their characters, but in Breath Mints / Battle Scars, they become characters you truly love. It's refreshing to read a story that shows the redeeming qualities of other Slytherins besides Draco.
This is a TRUE enemies-to-lovers story. When I say TRUE enemies-to-lovers, I mean this story gives you 'I want to kill you' / 'I hate you with a passion' vibes. Even after reading 75% of the story, I still wasn't sure if they were enemies or lovers. There's so much hate sex and hate-filled admissions of love. Their relationship was so toxic that I often was confused about how to even feel about their relationship. Sometimes I rooted for them. Sometimes I wanted Hermione to kill him. Maybe that was the point??
Their relationship is EXTREMELY toxic. As I mentioned above, it was difficult to tell if they wanted to murder each other or make love. Draco even says a few times that he doesn't even know which one he'd rather do. LOL. While their relationship is toxic, it is done in a believable way where they are both victims and perpetrators. Both are at fault, and they know it. I don't personally like this type of relationship, so I didn't really get into it, but I will say it made complete sense. Hermione and Draco have been through a terrible war at such a young age. They have emotional trauma and physical scars that haven't healed. The author did a fantastic job exploring this type of relationship and developing their relationship into something deeper. And as I mentioned earlier, if you like darker fanfics with toxic relationships, you'll definitely LOVE this one.
Here are just some examples of their toxic encounters:
• When I feel the way I feel around the rest of them, I feel like a stain. Like I'm tainting everything else. I don't- I can't explain it properly. I just... with you, I can- I can feel as furious as I need to feel. You're so sullen and so mean that it doesn't feel like I'm ruining anything. It's already ruined.
• “I hate you,” she rasps as he sucks at the lobe, tracing his tongue along the shell of her ear. “I fucking hate you.”
• Make no mistake, he growls- a threat wrapped in affection. If you get yourself taken from me, I will kill you. Do you understand? I will bring you back from the brink of death if I have to, and then I will fucking kill you. Just so I can do it myself.
The trauma is handled exceptionally well. Thanks to the beautiful writing, readers can understand the emotional toll the war has taken on Hermione and Draco. It's tragic, dark, violent, sad, isolating, and hopeless. Yet somehow, two broken people can heal from it together, even if it's done in an unhealthy manner.
The smut is fantastic. Fair warning, since this story centers around a toxic relationship, there are some very aggressive sexual encounters. Again, not my personal favorite, but I thought the smut to toxicity ratio was just right. When things start to get a little too intense, it simmers down. There's enough sweetness between the harshness for it to keep me interested. My only complaint: Why the fuck was there so much biting? Seriously, is Draco a dog?
The pacing in the first 70% is perfect; however, the final 30% was rushed. There were a few things that weren't really explained well, The ending somewhat felt a little forced for the story's sake versus what really would happen in this situation. It also wasn't exactly happy either. Not saying it needed to be, but I wasn't satisfied with what we got. I just wish we saw Draco and Hermione's relationship mature out of something toxic. Maybe some fluff?
Overall, Breath Mints / Battle Scars was not my favorite Dramione fanfic, but I'm still so happy I read it! I enjoyed the realistic take on Draco and Hermione's recovery and coping after the war. It isn't something I've seen to this extent, and it was beautifully done. Definitely worth checking out!
My Current Dramione Fanfic Rankings
⭐ = Must-Reads
🌶️ = Best Smut
Novels (150,000+ words):
1. Manacled - SenLinYu ⭐
2. Remain Nameless - HeyJude19 ⭐🌶️
3. Cruel and Beautiful World - Lena Phoria
4. The Disappearances of Draco Malfoy - Speechwriter ⭐
5. Various Storms and Saints - ViridianAtNight
6. Isolation - Bex-Chan ⭐
7. Bring Him To His Knees - Musyc 🌶️
8. The Auction - LovesBitca8 ⭐
9. All You Want - SenLinYu 🌶️
10. Breath Mints / Battle Scars - Onyx_and_Elm 🌶️
11. The Right Thing To Do - LovesBitca8
12. Beginning and End - MightBeWriting
13. The Gloriana Set - ThebeMoon
14. All The Wrong Things - LovesBitca8
15. Hunted - Bex-Chan
16. The Fallout - EveryThursday (DNF)
Novellas (less than 150,000 words):
1. Hot For Teacher - MotherOfBulls ⭐🌶️
2. Apple Pies and Other Amends - ToEatAPeach ⭐
3. Thirteenth Night - Nelpher ⭐
4. Sex Ed - MrBenzedrine89 🌶️
5. Still Life - monsterleadmehome
6. A Second Look - RiverWriter
7. The Best Of Me - MrsRen
8. Silencio - AkashaTheKitty
9. Wait and Hope - MightBeWriting
10. Between Certifiable and Bliss - HeyJude19
11. Incomplete - Niffizzle
12. Love and Other Misfortunes - SenLinYu
13. An Indefinite Amount of Forever - MotherOfBulls (sequel)
14. Making Amends - slytherin_prince27
15. Proximate - In_Dreams
16. The List - AureliaBlack90
17. The Erised Effect - Ada_P_Rix
Short Stories (less than 50,000 words):
1. Best Shot - AccioMjolnir ⭐
2. The Library of Alexandria - SenLinYu ⭐
3. The First Rule of Fight Club… - LadyKenz347
4. Until The Ink Runs Dry & Indelible Ink - AccioMjolnir
5. Break For Me - Ada_P_Rix 🌶️
6. Call It What You Want - HawthorneWhisperer
7.Under The Wings of The Shadow - AccioMjolnir
8. The Watergaw - smokybaltic
9. Write For Me - Ada_P_Rix
10. Amateur Cartography - worksofstone
11. Blood Rights - uselessenglishmajor
12. Big Dick Energy - louiseob
13. Jammed - Ada_P_Rix
14. One and Done - PacificRimbaud
One Shots (less than 15,000 words):
1. Your Lonely Calls To Me - SenLinYu ⭐
2. The Unbearable Tedium of Romance - smokybaltic
3. For Her - dirtymudblood
4. Because You’ll Like it - BedtimeFantasies 🌶️
5. A Patient Man - LadyKenz347
6. Between Pages - DarkoftheMoon
7. An Unlikely Companion & An Unlikely Family - happy_valley
8. Potions, Perfume, and Apples - ellywolf111
9. Les Pelerins - PacificRumbaud
10. Like A Dagger To The Heart - hxllowsandhorcruxes
11. Fantasy - krissyxkat 🌶️
12. Head over Dragonhide Thigh High Heels - rubykrishna
13. Coming Down - nikitajobson and raven_maiden
14. A Matter of Practicality - OlivieBlake
15. Elevator - its_banannaz
16. Preface - ephemeraltoxic
17. Friends - poppyclocks
18. Familiar Faces, Worn Out Places - LovesBitca8
19. The Art of Seating Etiquette - inadaze22
20. Self-Preservation - SenLinYu
21. Height - SenLinYu
22. Minimal Risk - Galfoy
23. The Seduction - SenLinYu
24. Chasing For Keeps - In_Dreams
25. The Labyrinth - AccioMjolnir
26. Who Am I To You? - ViridianAtNight
27. Knee Socks - trix_of_bella
28. Quiver - Keii_sha
English i mean was it perfect? no i think everyone made a mistake. was it seamless? was it flawless? nope nope nope nope it wasn’t any of those things but it sure was entertaining. i’d let this version of draco ruin my life, i would, it’s true🤞🏽
English 4 stars ✨
“Stop that. Stop doing that”
“Doing what?”
“Pretending to be cruel”
“I’m not pre-“
“You don’t have to do that with me” she whispers, “I see right through you”
just gonna keep this brief,
because this is my second dramione fanfic (that first one that i've no memory of doesn't count), imma make a few comparison of how i felt to Manacled
🐍 writing style & plot-wise, this book could not compare. everything that happened in Manacled felt more well-thought & organized
🐍 draco in both books were as awesome as the other
🐍 but i connected more with the couple, and hermione in this book (just more expressive)
🐍 their enemies to lovers to enemies to lovers (the cycle goes on) push & pull was just freakin fun
i wasnt feeling it at first, it was a slow start for me. however it started getting real entertaining from the middle, & i loved it by the end. (still wanted more relationship to grow w/ time, but here’s what i loved) :
🐍 how she fought for the slytherin kids’ right
🐍 would like to see those relationships grow ^
🐍 when Blaise gave her the slytherin dorm pass
🐍 that epilogue. bruhhhh that epilogueeee
🐍 draco’s howler & letter to her were funny as hell
🐍 her friendship w/ theo & frenemyship w/ pansy :
“Pansy, trust me” Hermione lets go of her wrist and forces her fingers onto Pansy’s stiff hand, entangling them. “I can see you,” she says, only a desperate whisper now. “Behind all of it, I can see you. I know you aren’t this” she squeezes hard . Until she’s sure it hurts. “Trust me, I have your back—“English
A scoff. “No one ever has—”
“I do.” She yanks her hand. “I have your back”
Pansy’s gaze is razor sharp. But Hermione can see the faintest trembling breath escape her chest.
“Trust me”
She can feel Pansy’s fingers shaking. Can see what just might possibly, maybe, be the glisten of tears forming in her eyes. But she closes them before Hermione can be sure and straightens up. Goes hard and stiff, the practiced posture of a true Pureblood
Okay
Onyx_and_Elm é 1 FREE READ
For a moment, she's almost giddy. Because Draco Malfoy's been ruined by this war and he's as out of place as she is and — yes, he has scars too. He's got an even bigger one. She wonders whether one day they'll compare sizes.
Fanfiction for Harry Potter by J. K. Rowling.
Rating: Explicit
Relationship: Hermione Granger/Draco Malfoy
Words: 148, 908
Tags: Hogwarts Eighth Year, Post-War, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), Healing, Hurt/Comfort, Explicit Sexual Content, Smut, Eventual Smut, Romance, Drama, Angst, Recreational Drug Use, Explicit Language, Love/Hate, Coping, Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Damaged Draco, Damaged Hermione, Mental Health Issues, Recovery, Violence, Blood and Injury, Physical Abuse, Bigotry & Prejudice, POV Hermione Granger, Emotional/Psychological Abuse, Consensual Non-Consent, Character Death Breath Mints / Battle Scars
3.5 EAST OR WEST TOXICITY IS BEST STARS
When there's a will there's a way...
It's no secret that toxic love stories are my kryptonite and I've finally found the ✨one✨ (*happy dance*) in which the heroine can give the hero a run for his money when it comes to being a toxic, despicable human being.
“Fucking mudblood cunt,” he growls, jerking her once. Her head knocks back against the stone. And as she sees stars, she thinks about how she’s never heard him use that word before.
And if I'm being honest, Malfoy has a point because, yes, this Granger actually is. 🥺👉👈👄👸🏻
“I like how alone you are,” she breathes, “because it means I don’t have to share you with anyone.
I kinda, almost, felt sorry for Malfoy??? Possessive and selfish Hermione is a sight to behold and a force to be reckoned with. 💅🏻
In the interim, I can tell you it’s still immensely gratifying to watch Granger’s life fall apart. Practically fucking orgasmic.
They both exercise in self-harm, destructing things and making each other's lives miserable while needing and craving it in a sick twisted way.
I'm immensely happy I finally finished reading this fanfic and I'll probably never ever open the story again cuz even I'm not that much of a masochist.
I'm tempted to give this fic a lower rating due to the Mary Sue vibes that Hermione gave off and a cheesy ending but ENOUGH IS ENOUGH. Today I refuse to spread the toxicity. 💦💤 English I don't mean to offend anyone, but I do have a question.
If you are triggered by toxic relationships, death, or whatever dark themes, why do you read things like these?
The author never claimed this was going to be a pink romance novel. It's clear from the beginning what you'll get yourself into. So, why do you read it? You're not going to like it, and you're going to come here and rant about how toxic the relationship between the characters is, and you'll leave a bad review for the author who, if I may, has done a fantastic job with this story.
I've seen this happen A LOT, and I truly don't understand. I'd love to talk about it if you're up for it because it truly interests me. I don't really enjoy fluffy romances. I don't. Whenever I read one, it ends up being a low rating for me because I find them boring and predictable. Do you know what I do then? I try to avoid them unless I'm in the mood for them.
One of my biggest triggers is parent/offspring incest. I just find it TRULY disgusting. So I don't read books that I know have that theme in them. Ever. So, if you know you're not into toxic relationships in books, my advice would be to avoid those books altogether! Save yourself the pain.
I hate Fifty Shades of Gray. I absolutely despise those books. It's not because of the toxicity of their relationship though (which it's very bad), but because they're not well-written. Do I hate the characters and their relationship? Yes. Do I like the fact that some people think that's the epitome of romance? No. But they're free to think whatever they want. I simply don't enjoy it, so I won't read those books again. I don't even think I wrote a review for those books. What I'm trying to say is sometimes maybe, we remember that a book is just a book, and try not to take it too seriously.
I think this story was amazingly well-thought, beautifully written, and more than anything true to Draco Malfoy's character. He's a fucked up character, it's only fitting that a romance with him will be fucked up. The way it's written is so gripping that I couldn't put it down. I'm truly impressed and I really think this author would be great at writing her own novels. English The way this fic makes me want to bang my head on a concrete wall for hours
“You think, out of a room of hundreds, I’d choose you?”
“I’d choose you.”
“Because, let me tell you, I fucking wou—” His words stop as though he’s been magically silenced.
She’s staring at the window again. Doesn’t want to look at him. And yet, she meant to say it. Could’ve stopped herself, but chose not to.
At the very least, she appreciates she made a conscious choice.
“You what?” he asks quietly. Barely a murmur.
“I’d choose you.” English 2021 is the year i start counting fanfiction as books because i really should English
Diary,
You don't know what it's like. To wake up and see her there.
But I do.
Draco English