Name: Stella Blue (Signed) · Date: 27 Jan 2018 06:46 PM · For: (hold me like) a candle

Hey Branwen! Congrats on your FROG nomination! (Clearly, this is not terrible.)

 

I'm sure I've said this before, but I love your Astoria. Even if I hadn't already read some of your other stories about her, her personality just jumps off the page, and you manage to weave so much of her history into each fic without smacking the reader over the head with it. I know a lot has happened between this fic and the previous one I read about her, which is before Astoria and Draco even begin dating, but I don't feel like I'm missing any information. You're so good at setting up a story and providing exactly the  level of detail that is needed.

 

Draco saying I love you and Astoria's subsequent analysis of her own feelings, the realisation that she does love him too, and what it means to her to be able to let down her walls after all the distrust she had in people during and after the war - this was such a well-written transformation. Also, the series of notes between Draco and Astoria while he was at work cracked me up.

 

I really am very fond of my boyfriend, but he’s incredibly prone to dramatic reactions. -- Bahahaha. I loved this. I love Astoria's sense of humour. It shows a lot more in this fic than it does in some of your previous fics of earlier on in their relationship, and I think it says a lot about how happy Draco makes her. She does seem really happy in this. And as much as I adore her snark, I think that moment when she thinks about responding to Draco with snark and then goes for honesty instead is really telling, because so often it's easiest to use sarcasm and humor as a way to protect your deepest feelings, and I like that she doesn't feel like she needs to have that wall up.

 

The love scene was really well written, too! I would never have guessed you hadn't written something like this before. It was the perfect combination of sexy and sweet, and I really appreciated how Draco keeps checking with her to make sure they're both on the same page. Yes for enthusiastic consent.

 

This was a great fic! Well done and good luck in the FROGS!

Name: MuggleMaybe (Signed) · Date: 12 Jan 2018 07:53 PM · For: (hold me like) a candle

Girl. It is not terrible.

i will leave it at that bcs I don’t want to get in trouble for violating the review ratings rules lol

Name: ReillyJade (Signed) · Date: 05 Jan 2018 10:59 PM · For: (hold me like) a candle

There's no way I'd have guess you have never written anything like this before if you hadn't said so. You did so well! This was brilliant! It was a perfect blend of heartwarming, dramatic, funny, awkward, and touching, which made it all the more realistic.

 

I continue to absolutely adore how you portray Astoria to the point where your characterizations are seeping into my own headcanons about her. I love her sass, her brutal honesty, and her confidence, and I love that she continues to show Draco that it's okay to just be yourself. It's so awesome how she doesn't shy away from what she wants, in any scenario, and just goes for it. Like, here she is, about to experience a pretty major life milestone, and upon realizing she likes something a bit out of the norm, she doesn't go "weeeell, maybe next time." Nope! She's just like, "this is what I want and I won't accept anything less." It completely matches the personality you've given her thus far, and it's fabulous! It also makes it pretty unique to fics of this nature.

 

Favorite line: "Coat racks were for proper adults, and I was definitely not a proper adult yet." I can SO relate, Astoria. :p 

 

Yet again, a wonderful piece! Thank you for sharing!

 

Cheers,

Reilly

Name: Renacera (Signed) · Date: 16 Dec 2017 08:55 PM · For: (hold me like) a candle

I DID NOT HATE THIS.

 

Oh my gosh, it was so good! Literally, this is everything I wanted for them. The lead up, the admitting of their love, the enthusiastic consent, their actual first time together! Ahh! It was fantastic!

 

Astoria shined so bright in this. I love her realization that she loves Draco, as soft and hesitant as it was. He makes her laugh! He makes her feel safe! Awww! There are no words for how happy that made me. And that she does think through her reasoning and what it means for the next phase of their relationship. She’s, what, 18 at this point? But she seems older and more mature because of all she’s gone through. I like that that always shows.

 

And Draco himself with wanting her but always being willing to wait and be patient. He’s phenomenal. And the fact that even when she clearly wants to have sex with him, he waits until it is PERFECTLY clear and she’s verbalized it.

 

My only question about this story is where it takes place. Is Astoria still living at Brendon’s? Or does she have her own place now? If so, how is she affording that on part-time work?

 

 

I loved this. I’m so happy for them and I need you to write 200 more stories in the series, because I’m almost done with what you’ve published and I really can’t get enough of these.

 

Write more. Right now. Kthx.

 

Best,

Emily

Name: manno-malfoy (Signed) · Date: 10 Dec 2017 12:44 AM · For: (hold me like) a candle

Hi I'm here for the winter wonderland event. Again. 

 

I've been eyeing this story for days now, but I never found the right time to do it. I really wanted to savour it because I had a feeling I'm going to love it. In case you're wondering, I did. I finally caved in today and read it and almost missed my bus stop because of how immersed I was into,  so thanks for that. 

 

First of all, it does not show at all that you haven't read anything like this before. It's not just sexy, it's smoldering. It is 5,000 words worth of thrill. And even when Astoria was analysing her feelings for Draco, it was done so beautifully that it gave me butterflies. 

 

If you don't know it by now, I've gotten rather attached to these two. I feel that I've covered enough of their story to love and understand them. So all the amazing sexy things in this one-shot, I'm particularly proud of them for how much they've grown and developed together. I mean, did I think I would live to see the day that Astoria would be vulnerable enough to tell anyone, let alone an ex-death eater, that she loves him. And on a more personal level, this felt like reassurance. I mean, if Astoria can let her walla down to this point after all her trauma and all her trust issues, then maybe there's hope for me.

 

Draco was also marvelous in this story. You do such a wonderful job balancing respectful and sexy, and sarcastic and tender. He's just so balanced, and I love him so, so much.

 

This was such good piece, one of your best in this series in my opinion. I understand why you might've been uncertain about posting it, but in so glad that you did.

Name: justawillowtree (Signed) · Date: 05 Dec 2017 04:59 PM · For: (hold me like) a candle

So I was looking for 4K+ one-shots to review, and then I stumbled across this fic. Since I read all of your Drastoria fics in one large binge-reading a few days ago, I was really happy to find another one.

 

When I got to the end, I read your author's note and laughed a little bit, because I never realized before that in all of your fics, you generally avoided being too explicit about sex scenes. But this one-shot seemed as though it was written naturally, and so it totally didn't occur to me that this was a first for you. Though, I get really shy whenever I talk about explicit writing, so I hope it's okay if I mostly focus on the other parts, haha.

 

Your ability to weave shorter, smaller storylines into a simple one-shot never ceases to stun me. In this story alone, you included Draco's paranoia in checking identities, his happiness at overcoming the Imperius Curse, Astoria's feelings regarding his "I love you," and the fact that they use a cute parchment for communication.

 

Also, your hyphenations made me smile. I have a fondness for those. In particular, "exceedingly-unexpected-but-probably-shouldn’t-have-been declaration" was really cute.

 

I'm really happy with your Draco. He really sounds like someone who did horrible things as a teenager, yet spent his adult life making up for it. And Astoria is so funny. She sounds like someone that everyone would want to be friends with, despite her lack of trust in humanity. These two seem to bring out the best in each other, and seeing that just makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside.

 

I can't wait to see more of your Drastoria. You write them so well.

Name: Rumpelstiltskin (Signed) · Date: 05 Dec 2017 04:25 PM · For: (hold me like) a candle

Hey!

 

First of all, insulting mirrors would drive me mad! 

 

I love both Draco and Astoria in this and everything about them as a couple (even if they've [Draco, mainly] has been hiding it. Their flirting is positively adorable and I love how Astoria teases Draco while he's at work. Given they've never actually had relations, it's built an awesome sexual tension between the two (which you've done an amazing job presenting, by the way). I also really loved the way Draco told Astoria that he loved her and, though she didn't say it in return (well, you know, until later), that she loves him back (and, to be quite honest, who doesn't like being undressed?). 

 

Plans for after dinner? I love the frenzied feel when they finally do get back home--the absolute urgency they'd been feeling. I also think it speaks profoundly of Draco when he had restrained her wrists, realized what he had done and apologized for it, not intending to do it again until her sincere request. It's adorable when he froze up after she said I love you back, too.  Also, poor Draco doesn't have time to register all of the surprises tonight (it's hilarious and Astoria just doesn't care for waiting for him to process and react). I guess I can't really say poor Draco...I think they both win at the end of this.

 

"The Draco-Malfoy-guilt-complex-grimace" -- haha! I love how he's constantly worried about pushing her boundaries, constantly making sure everything is okay--it's really absolutely fantastic! 

 

So, I think you handled this really well! It had a whole lot of depth besides a love scene, which was really appreciated, and I think you handled the actual love scene really fantastically, too! 

 

-Rumpels