Friday, September 9, 2011

Fanfiction rec: "Always and Forever" by librawriter, Ron/Hermione, rated M, incomplete

The following review was originally posted in my author's notes of Chapter 14 of my fic "Coming to Term":

Fanfic Pic:

So I decided to start doing this little segment every few updates where I rec a fic I'm reading, & for my very first pick I'd like to rec "Always and Forever," rated M, by librawriter, which can be found in my faves:

(Warning: Spoilers for the above-mentioned fic ahead!) "Always and Forever" is a little Ron/Hermione piece about the consequences of unprotected sex, set during their seventh year. The story is clearly AU, but the author isn't very precise on where, exactly, it branches off from canon, something that's always important for me as a reader to get my bearings. That is to say, I'm unsure whether the Horcrux hunt occurred in this timeline, although the author referenced the "war" in the first chapter. We know, at least, that Ron still dated Lavender in year six.


But I digress: Once you get past the rather strange, farfetched notion that Hogwarts secretly segregates its pregnant students to a night school and forces them to either marry the boy who impregnated them or else choose expulsion (plus, it brings up a lot of questions about how no one seems to notice students disappearing in male-female pairs, since the arrangement is so hush-hush that apparently no one knows about it), it's a rather engrossing story. I actually spent an entire morning reading it when I should've been writing. As an added bonus, the writing itself is mature, clean, and easy to read. Definitely worth a try.

Warning: Although the story starts out fluffy and smutty, it quickly gets angsty, and, yes, unfortunately, Ron cheats on Hermione with Lavender Brown when he and Hermione "break up" after their first major fight as a couple. It's a plot device that would normally have me running for the hills, but I found that the author was respectful with the characters (unless you're a fan of Lav-Lav, in which case she's nothing more than a one-dimensional temptress here) and that it worked for the purposes of this story: It added more angst and made for a definite page-turner. There, since you've been warned, please don't flame the author if you decide to check it out. ;p

Additional warning: This story is only seven chapters in, yet it's been around for two years. However, since the most recent update was only a few days ago, I'm crossing my fingers that that's a sign that the author has chosen to actively work on it more often…

Happy reading, writing, & reviewing!

-Kari

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