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A Case of You
"She had a voice like an angel, smooth and complex as a twenty-year-old single malt, rich as thick cream. Everyone who heard Olivia sing felt as if she could see right into their souls, that her songs were meant for them alone. This was the magic her artistry conjured. In earlier times, she wouldhave been put to death as a witch. Such was the talent of Olivia Saint." Meet Andy Curran, drummer in a struggling jazz trio. When a distinctly odd street person sings at an open mic night at the club where they work, it’s clear they’ve found their salvation: a vocalist of incredible talent. After she departs as abruptly as she’d arrived, Andy sets out to discover where Olivia Saint has gone and who she really is. That knowledge soon proves to be deadly indeed. In A Case of You, a crime novel that sweeps from the jazz clubs of Toronto, to New York City and Northern California, Rick Blechta has created a compelling story, rich in detail and compassion, and populated with characters not easily forgotten.
- GenresMystery
296 pages, Paperback
First published April 1, 2008
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April 27, 20265 ⭐️
⚠️ This is a review for the Dramione fic A Little Case of You by RoxieWrites. I’m using this as a placeholder because I couldn’t find the fic on Goodreads. Sorry to the author of this book, I’m sure yours is great too 😅
WHAT?!?! This was SO UNEXPECTED. Not even reading the summary prepares you for this fic.
At the beginning, I was complaining about the length (but to be fair, all Dramiones feel impossibly long), but honestly… with the amount of turns this story takes, it makes sense. Relationship-wise, it’s not a straight line at all, but everything works. All the storylines are neatly closed, and the on-and-off dynamic between Draco and Hermione actually makes their future relationship stronger.
This is my first fic where the characters feel very canon, but the world is completely different. There’s no Voldemort, no war, no Death Eaters. Instead, it leans into generational prejudice between muggleborns and purebloods. Draco and Hermione feel almost like forbidden lovers, but not enemies to lovers.
The story spans YEARS, with multiple breakups, personal growth, and relationships in between. I loved that those in-between relationships never felt like a threat (minus freaking Lisa Turpin). It’s more about how they grow, mess up, and find their way back to each other.
It reminded me a bit of Rosemary for Remembrance (just the Shrieking Shack beginning, not the vibe), and a LOT of Greenlight, which I was NOT expecting. It gets DARK. And that part is LONG. But honestly, I liked this fic more than both of those.
The longing, the pining, the ANGST… all of it. The characters are flawed but mature, there’s no forced miscommunication, and the smut is phenomenal.
The POV switches in 3rd person are seamless. This is just really well done.
I would 100% recommend. I LOVED this fic.
🚨 Story:
It starts in detention. Draco and Hermione are assigned to fix the Shrieking Shack. Draco gets a letter from Lucius telling him his future is already decided. No potions, no freedom, just whatever Lucius wants. He vents to Hermione, and she becomes someone he can actually be himself with, without judgment.
Draco notices Hermione is interested when he compliments her ankle socks, and she starts wearing them more often. Small detail, but it sticks.
He sees her at a Quidditch game, and they hold hands for the first time. Later, when she gets drenched by Hufflepuff, he really notices her, physically and otherwise.
They start kissing, which becomes a regular thing, and Hermione straight up asks him if he wants to sleep with her.
Then everything breaks when Hermione collides with Daphne Greengrass and Draco doesn’t step in. She decides to let him go.
They both pine like crazy but don’t act on it. Hermione starts talking with Stephen Cornfoot, and Draco spirals with jealousy when he sees them together.
They brew Amortentia and realize they’re both in love with each other. Draco gets drunk, finds out Hermione goes to the Astronomy Tower every night, and goes to apologize. They start again, this time with rules, especially about not repeating the Daphne situation.
They stay at Hogwarts over Easter and almost feel like a normal couple.
Then Draco tells her he’s betrothed to Pansy. They decide to make the most of the time they have left.
Near the end of Hogwarts, Hermione tells him she would let him do anything to her, and he completely shuts her out after that. He doesn’t even acknowledge her when she asks if they can still be friends.
Hermione moves on, working with Stephen in his family’s potions business.
Months later, Draco sees her again and completely unravels. Blaise and Theo know about them, but tell him to bury it.
They reconnect at a gala. He’s funding a project, she’s the potioneer behind it. He joins her on a trip to Norway to collect rare ingredients.
In Norway, they spend a month together, slowly becoming friends again, agreeing not to talk about their partners. Hermione almost falls to her death while retrieving a feather, and Draco gets badly burned saving her. That moment shifts things again.
Back home, they keep seeing each other (not physically), slipping around their partners. Draco admits he hates his life but feels trapped.
Hermione and Stephen admit their relationship is just a crutch. He loves someone else, and she’s clearly still tied to Draco, but they stay together anyway.
Draco secretly starts his own venture to gain independence and begins developing a potion to counter the effects of too much Occlumency.
Then an article hints at a relationship between him and Hermione. Pansy breaks off the engagement, Draco gets disowned, and instead of joining Hermione on a trip to Venezuela, he goes to Portugal to build his life.
Hermione spends over 3 months in Venezuela searching for an ingredient. She basically has to give up part of herself, her passion, to find it.
Draco comes back when he hears she’s in St. Mungo’s. He stays with her, and they fall back into old patterns, but now it’s heavier. He’s trying to keep her from completely losing herself.
He asks her to move to Lisbon with him. She agrees, but only after finishing her project, which takes her to Siberia for the last ingredient.
In Lisbon, Hermione is still struggling. She starts seeing a mind healer but continues battling low self-esteem.
Draco begins testing his Occlumency potion, and it starts affecting his behavior.
Hermione works with a botanist who helps her “talk” to ancient knowledge, trying to solve the Mount Roraima mystery. She interprets it as needing to do things alone, so she breaks up with Draco.
The breakup is brutal because they spend weeks acting like everything is fine before she finally does it.
Draco spirals. Drinking, sleeping around, just trying to forget.
Hermione goes full muggle life. Works as a barista and in a bookstore, makes friends, and starts rebuilding herself in a quieter way.
She meets a muggleborn girl, Lilian, and becomes a mentor figure to her. That relationship helps Hermione heal. She realizes she would never speak to Lilian the way she speaks to herself.
She starts working on A Muggleborn’s Guide to the Wizarding World and builds a guild to help future muggleborns before Hogwarts.
Stephen gives her a space in Diagon Alley for the guild and an apartment above it. This time, she trusts his intentions, completely platonic and with no strings attached.
At a Ministry gala, Draco shows up with Lisa Turpin, Hermione with Harry. They barely talk, but both are internally spiraling.
They become neighbors.
Then Hermione is lured to a party by Daphne, who plans to drug her and have her assaulted. Draco finds out and saves her.
That’s the turning point. He breaks up with Lisa and joins Hermione’s guild as a volunteer after seeing her passion again.
He tells her he loves her. She tells him to read her letters. He does, and realizes she’s been telling him the same thing for years.
This time, he properly courts her.
They go back to Hogwarts to deliver pamphlets and end up in the Shrieking Shack, where everything started.
Their potion becomes groundbreaking, and they both receive an Order of Merlin, 2nd class.
There’s a hiccup when Isabella kisses Draco and he doesn’t tell Hermione right away. She finds out, they fight, and agree to be fully transparent moving forward.
They officially become a couple.
The guild expands internationally, Draco’s apothecary grows globally, and they build a life together.
They eventually get married and take the name Granger-Malfoy.
⚠️ This is a review for the Dramione fic A Little Case of You by RoxieWrites. I’m using this as a placeholder because I couldn’t find the fic on Goodreads. Sorry to the author of this book, I’m sure yours is great too 😅
WHAT?!?! This was SO UNEXPECTED. Not even reading the summary prepares you for this fic.
At the beginning, I was complaining about the length (but to be fair, all Dramiones feel impossibly long), but honestly… with the amount of turns this story takes, it makes sense. Relationship-wise, it’s not a straight line at all, but everything works. All the storylines are neatly closed, and the on-and-off dynamic between Draco and Hermione actually makes their future relationship stronger.
This is my first fic where the characters feel very canon, but the world is completely different. There’s no Voldemort, no war, no Death Eaters. Instead, it leans into generational prejudice between muggleborns and purebloods. Draco and Hermione feel almost like forbidden lovers, but not enemies to lovers.
The story spans YEARS, with multiple breakups, personal growth, and relationships in between. I loved that those in-between relationships never felt like a threat (minus freaking Lisa Turpin). It’s more about how they grow, mess up, and find their way back to each other.
It reminded me a bit of Rosemary for Remembrance (just the Shrieking Shack beginning, not the vibe), and a LOT of Greenlight, which I was NOT expecting. It gets DARK. And that part is LONG. But honestly, I liked this fic more than both of those.
The longing, the pining, the ANGST… all of it. The characters are flawed but mature, there’s no forced miscommunication, and the smut is phenomenal.
The POV switches in 3rd person are seamless. This is just really well done.
I would 100% recommend. I LOVED this fic.
🚨 Story:
It starts in detention. Draco and Hermione are assigned to fix the Shrieking Shack. Draco gets a letter from Lucius telling him his future is already decided. No potions, no freedom, just whatever Lucius wants. He vents to Hermione, and she becomes someone he can actually be himself with, without judgment.
Draco notices Hermione is interested when he compliments her ankle socks, and she starts wearing them more often. Small detail, but it sticks.
He sees her at a Quidditch game, and they hold hands for the first time. Later, when she gets drenched by Hufflepuff, he really notices her, physically and otherwise.
They start kissing, which becomes a regular thing, and Hermione straight up asks him if he wants to sleep with her.
Then everything breaks when Hermione collides with Daphne Greengrass and Draco doesn’t step in. She decides to let him go.
They both pine like crazy but don’t act on it. Hermione starts talking with Stephen Cornfoot, and Draco spirals with jealousy when he sees them together.
They brew Amortentia and realize they’re both in love with each other. Draco gets drunk, finds out Hermione goes to the Astronomy Tower every night, and goes to apologize. They start again, this time with rules, especially about not repeating the Daphne situation.
They stay at Hogwarts over Easter and almost feel like a normal couple.
Then Draco tells her he’s betrothed to Pansy. They decide to make the most of the time they have left.
Near the end of Hogwarts, Hermione tells him she would let him do anything to her, and he completely shuts her out after that. He doesn’t even acknowledge her when she asks if they can still be friends.
Hermione moves on, working with Stephen in his family’s potions business.
Months later, Draco sees her again and completely unravels. Blaise and Theo know about them, but tell him to bury it.
They reconnect at a gala. He’s funding a project, she’s the potioneer behind it. He joins her on a trip to Norway to collect rare ingredients.
In Norway, they spend a month together, slowly becoming friends again, agreeing not to talk about their partners. Hermione almost falls to her death while retrieving a feather, and Draco gets badly burned saving her. That moment shifts things again.
Back home, they keep seeing each other (not physically), slipping around their partners. Draco admits he hates his life but feels trapped.
Hermione and Stephen admit their relationship is just a crutch. He loves someone else, and she’s clearly still tied to Draco, but they stay together anyway.
Draco secretly starts his own venture to gain independence and begins developing a potion to counter the effects of too much Occlumency.
Then an article hints at a relationship between him and Hermione. Pansy breaks off the engagement, Draco gets disowned, and instead of joining Hermione on a trip to Venezuela, he goes to Portugal to build his life.
Hermione spends over 3 months in Venezuela searching for an ingredient. She basically has to give up part of herself, her passion, to find it.
Draco comes back when he hears she’s in St. Mungo’s. He stays with her, and they fall back into old patterns, but now it’s heavier. He’s trying to keep her from completely losing herself.
He asks her to move to Lisbon with him. She agrees, but only after finishing her project, which takes her to Siberia for the last ingredient.
In Lisbon, Hermione is still struggling. She starts seeing a mind healer but continues battling low self-esteem.
Draco begins testing his Occlumency potion, and it starts affecting his behavior.
Hermione works with a botanist who helps her “talk” to ancient knowledge, trying to solve the Mount Roraima mystery. She interprets it as needing to do things alone, so she breaks up with Draco.
The breakup is brutal because they spend weeks acting like everything is fine before she finally does it.
Draco spirals. Drinking, sleeping around, just trying to forget.
Hermione goes full muggle life. Works as a barista and in a bookstore, makes friends, and starts rebuilding herself in a quieter way.
She meets a muggleborn girl, Lilian, and becomes a mentor figure to her. That relationship helps Hermione heal. She realizes she would never speak to Lilian the way she speaks to herself.
She starts working on A Muggleborn’s Guide to the Wizarding World and builds a guild to help future muggleborns before Hogwarts.
Stephen gives her a space in Diagon Alley for the guild and an apartment above it. This time, she trusts his intentions, completely platonic and with no strings attached.
At a Ministry gala, Draco shows up with Lisa Turpin, Hermione with Harry. They barely talk, but both are internally spiraling.
They become neighbors.
Then Hermione is lured to a party by Daphne, who plans to drug her and have her assaulted. Draco finds out and saves her.
That’s the turning point. He breaks up with Lisa and joins Hermione’s guild as a volunteer after seeing her passion again.
He tells her he loves her. She tells him to read her letters. He does, and realizes she’s been telling him the same thing for years.
This time, he properly courts her.
They go back to Hogwarts to deliver pamphlets and end up in the Shrieking Shack, where everything started.
Their potion becomes groundbreaking, and they both receive an Order of Merlin, 2nd class.
There’s a hiccup when Isabella kisses Draco and he doesn’t tell Hermione right away. She finds out, they fight, and agree to be fully transparent moving forward.
They officially become a couple.
The guild expands internationally, Draco’s apothecary grows globally, and they build a life together.
They eventually get married and take the name Granger-Malfoy.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 24, 2012
This is the fourth book I've read by this author, and I enjoyed it very much indeed. He doesn't write a typical series (other than musicians being the common element), but I'm noticing that characters from one book can appear in another, maybe only as a walk-on, but also as an integral character. It's kind of neat. That's the case here with the private investigator from Blechta's previous book, showing up and mingling with a new main character, who is a jazz drummer struggling with a failed marriage, a daughter who seems to be slipping away from him, and a career that's going nowhere.
I like the fact that Blechta is comfortable telling a great deal of his story through his excellent dialogue rather than relying on the long descriptions many authors use -- more to show of their writing chops (I often think) than to move their story forward. This story rips along as a result.
More than any of his other books I've read, this one deserves a re-read at some future date. Highly recommended!
I like the fact that Blechta is comfortable telling a great deal of his story through his excellent dialogue rather than relying on the long descriptions many authors use -- more to show of their writing chops (I often think) than to move their story forward. This story rips along as a result.
More than any of his other books I've read, this one deserves a re-read at some future date. Highly recommended!
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April 11, 2021Enjoyable read
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