the salt and the sea

by Mannakell

The year after her brother James graduates, Teddy Potter returns to Hogwarts for her final year. With the Marauders gone, it should be a quiet, peaceful year despite the mounting tensions in the world outside of school.

The problem, naturally, lies with Regulus Black, the broody boy who just might be the most effortlessly aggravating person she's ever met in her whole life. And for someone who was raised with James Potter, that's saying a lot.

Genres: Fan Fiction, Enemies To Lovers, Young Adult, Fantasy, Romance

ebook

Published December 8, 2021

Reviews

[elle · Rating 5 out of 5]

NORMALISE LOGGING FICS INTO GOODREADS OK WE ALL NEED TO ACHIEVE OUR READING GOAL.

holy fuckballs. this. fic. i inhaled this. i have no words. none.

I LOVE YOU REGULUS BLACK. SO MUCH.

i was VERY hesitant about going into this fic for multiple reasons:
- not really a fan of a mc oc bc it just disrupts the dynamics and stuff and i was wary of having an oc that's james' younger sister when i also ship jegulus
- i literally went into this thinking it was a gay regulus fanfic and was SO HYPED so when i found out it was straight i literally went "what? we write and read non-canon straight couples in this fandom?" and again i was a bit iffy because i ship jegulus so much
- the oc's name is teddy and idk it was just weird bc of how remus names his kid teddy (and also i just finished little women where laurie is called teddy and i also pictured him as timothee so it was just confusing)

THAT BEING SAID I WAS FULLY KNOCKED OFF MY CHAIR. i loved it. my heart physically hurt in the angst. like y'know when it feels like your heart is straining to get out of your chest and envelope the characters and their feelings? i also cried. a bunch. and laughed. and smiled. and seethed. and screamed.

i love regulus so so so so so much. he's probably my favourite marauders era character because i just love how layered he is. and i just love him even more bc of this fic. and i also grew to really like teddy too, surprisingly. i didn't really like james' characterisation (but i think it's probably because of how infuriatingly accurate it is tbh). also evan rosier supremacy. barty crouch jr could never.

SPOILERS (aka my thoughts bc i don't write in the ao3 comment sections)

i have no words to express how much i loved the times where teddy and reg were in hogwarts. LIKE THE ANGST. AND THE ENEMIES WITH BENEFITS. my heart physically hurt and strained when reg came to teddy and was like yeah well it was all a joke. I KNEW THERE WAS MORE TO IT IT WAS SO OBVIOUS THAT REG WAS DOWN SO BAD. and then when he went over to teddy's for christmas. please. my heart. i am a sucker for hurt/comfort. AND THEN REG BUYING TEDDY FLOWERS AND CHOCOLATES AND WRITING NOTES. i will never be over this. never. i adore reg.

the second they were out of hogwarts it felt a bit more iffy but still so good. i just preferred them iin hogwarts y'know? i can't really explain it. i guess it was weird to see reg and james fight without sexual tension LMAO. no, but i still loved every bit. the PAIN i felt when reg got sentenced to azkaban. i cried so much. and then the BETRAYAL in the epilogue bc i thought the author LIED and it wasn't actually a happy ending. i was so distraught bc i thought they broke up.

anyway time to go rewatch a bunch of reg edits and then reread my favourite parts of favourite reg fics.

[maryum · Rating 2 out of 5]

im publicly embarrassing myself by logging this fanfic into goodreads, but ill do anything to meet my reading challenge for this year

[bruna · Rating 4 out of 5]

NORMALIZE ADDING FF TO YOUR GOODREADS READ SO THAT YOU CAN ACHIEVE YOUR READING GOALS, anyways, you should read this 🫶🏻

[connie ⋆*･ﾟ · Rating 4 out of 5]

was i disappointed that the first book i would read this year would be fan fiction? yes and to be honest i'm still undecided if i'm going to count fan fiction as books when completing my challenge. was i disappointed with this book though? absolutely not. this book was phenomenal and i knew i'd made a mistake when the author mentioned that the book was longer than the prisoner of Azkaban and i'd read it in a night.

i was skeptical at first, never really delving into the world of Regulus Black before, normally going more towards his older brother, but this, this has swayed me. everybody say congratulations to Regulus Black for being my number one crush of 2022.

when i tell you this book had me screaming at 3am i utter no word of a lie. the plot twists had me screaming for air and begging myself to make a taylor swift playlist about. Teddy??? hello, my new best friend. the whole way through i was BEGGING for it to not be canon compliant and i think i manifested that shit because that was one of the best alternative endings i've read in a WHILE.

normally with fics like this, once the couple get together and the tension seems to fade, i get bored. i love the chase and banter and yearning but this had me hooked to the very end and i loved every second. do i have an essay due in 3 days? yes. is it completed? no chance mate. did i spend the past four days reading and only thinking about this story. you guest correctly.

as a fool for enemies to lovers, this book had me in a chokehold. so throw in forbidden romance, fighting, every trope under the sun, plotwists and smut - i had no chance really. the way it was set up, the sneaking and desire for more was unmatched. i felt myself physically throwing my phone multiple times, all because of Regulus mother fucking Black.

4 stars cuz its fan fiction and obviously something is going to piss me off or make me cringe but jesus, i cant wait to re read this in a couple of months and question everything about my life once more.

[consti]

"oh its a fanfi-" yes and i read it during my lectures and still particpated and had good grades LEAVE ME ALONE!!!!!!

[colette · Rating 5 out of 5]

love it so much, it was my first regulus black fanfic and now I can’t find a new one bc it was too amazing. I feel all the emotions in this fanfic and it was probably the first time since I read all the young dudes. it makes me love regulus black and I like how the author portrayed him.

[viktoria. · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don't add fanfics to my goodreads,but if you love Regulus, The marauders and happy endings, take this as a recommendation. I loved this fanfic so much.

[cait ౨ৎ · Rating 5 out of 5]

in addition to the ridiculous amount of my marauders fanfiction i read over the weekend <3

[JC Addison · Rating 5 out of 5]

idc this is a fanfic it’s one of the best books i’ve read all year. like i literally read it in one sitting.

this author is absolutely AMAZING at writing and keeping things interesting while following plot. i was blown away with how good the writing was for a fic.

10/10 on everything i think it’s my favorite fic as of right now.

[Ciara · Rating 4 out of 5]

It’s feels weird adding fanfic to my Goodreads read list but I loved this book it’s one of my favorites Reggie and Teddy are the best.

[imann_ · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked Regulus and Teddy’s interaction. Very enemies to lovers. I wasn’t a huge fan of the enemies to benefits.

[Ikay Hates Books · Rating 4 out of 5]

IM INCLUDING THE FANFICS I READ ON GOODREADS BECAUSE I SAID SO AND IT WOULD BE A WASTE TO NOT INCLUDE THEM IN MY READING GOAL BECAUSE THEY'RE HELLA LONG

This regulus fic is the best I've read so far!! The first half was great but they kinda lost their banter in the second half plus I feel like the grovelling and begging(?) was a bit out of character for reg BUT THE whimpering?!?!!! That I really enjoyed😏

[Charles · Rating 3 out of 5]

My toxic trait is that I actually enjoyed this a lot? Def a solid 3!! The writing was actually very nice, my problem was some of the characters were perfectly well developed and some were…not. Also the Peter arc kind of threw me for a loop, not literally because we all saw it coming from a mile away, but it was so different to how Peter is usually written in these stories that I was like “wow this is new”

[Dels · Rating 5 out of 5]

i saw god when i read this fic for the first time. head spinning. hands shaking. sweating. read it three times in a row and i am a changed woman after it. i cant read any other reg fics after this bc i compare them all the this version of reg. i cried like a bitch at the end-and never felt better. 10 stars pls read it

[Andrea]

I like this fanfic; Sometimes I was furious about how Teddy reacted, but it just adds to her character I guess, otherwise everything was good! :)) I recommend this to everyone who loves enemies to lovers

[MaryRose · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was the most heartwarming fanfic I have ever read in my life. I loved the characters and the plot. All of the best tropes are included. Please read this book if you want to feel joy.

[julia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hehe Regulus

[Liv · Rating 5 out of 5]

y’all i’m not even embarrassed i enjoyed every second of this ngl!

[sherifa · Rating 4 out of 5]

shamelessly adding fics to my goodreads, especially ones as AMAZING as this one!!! mind boggling, toe curling, earth shattering - all of the above. The only reason its not five stars is because james got on my nerves just a tiny bit sometimes but other than that holy-

[aphrodite (marauders version) · Rating 5 out of 5]

SO GOOD OMG I MISS IT ALREADY

[Leona · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 stars, no regrets. This had me giggling and kicking my feet at 3am in the morning.

[Liss (❁´◡`❁) · Rating 5 out of 5]

LOVED IT. LITERALLY LOVED IT BYE

[Claire Lambert · Rating 5 out of 5]

man the amount of times i’ve reread this story since it came out is wild. literally love it so much i’m so happy i can note it on my goodreads bc it’s fire😍

[carmen :) · Rating 5 out of 5]

THE regulus fic, all time favourite, have read it like 7 times

[ils · Rating 3 out of 5]

oh god, let’s do this. i LOVED the first half, it was really everything i wanted but the second one? hell no. after the “i got bored with you” everything just felt like a wattpad 2016 fic and i even refused to read the last chapter.
the manic-peter was such cliché and really embarrassing? i didn’t really love the canon compliant and the switch from kids that messed around to adults in a middle of a war was honestly too fast and messy.
teddy was great, i love her but in some moments i really wished she would stand up to james.
don’t even get me started on him, in some parts was lovable but all that jealousy and treating teddy like a child? and lily acting like his mother was just not it.
regulus is immaculate but the chapter where he tries to make up to teddy went from being cute and ended up being absolute cringe.
the rest was pretty good, i loved evan and i wish he and mary ended up together 😭😭
the thing i appreciate the most is that s*verus was mentioned literally three times.
when i tell you this fic got me GIGGLING and staying up until 3am- it’s embarrassing but the enemies to friends with benefits really served

[stephanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

this was one of my first regulus black fics and OMFG now im scared to read anything else. im lit not even joking this IS SO FUCKING GOOD IM GIGGLE AND KICKING MY FEET AT 3 IN THE MORNING i swear to god, if i had the time to read it one sitting i wouldve. i finished it, kept thinking about, then reread it a week later. i cannot emphasize enough HOW GOOD IT WAS.

anyway, I LOVE EVAN ROSIER AND GRANNY THE KNEAZLE. the regulus black characterization is also AMAZING. when he kept sending flowers and chocolates, i was DYING inside. 10/10 highly recommend.

[hayley · Rating 5 out of 5]

loved it !!!!
thanks Kirsten <33

[Jade Hogains · Rating 5 out of 5]

well… I dont even use good reads but when I found out this fic was on here I just had to say something about it. This was my first ever regulus black fic…ever. And when I tell you it ruined all other regulus black fics I mean it. I never want to read another regulus black fic because no one can compare to ‘the salt and sea’. Im actually not even joking im actually terrified to read another regulus black fic because I feel like it wont ever be the same. This fic was just everything and the author needs a kiss.

Best things about this book:
Granny
Evan
Teddy
Remus & Teddy ( she literally got it all and im so jealous 😭)
Regulus
Regulus & teddy
Evan & teddy
evan
Evan
Evan
Regulus
Teddy

I really recommend like not even lying 10/10

also peter was on some shït not gonna lie but #teddyisagirlboss

[rina · Rating 4 out of 5]

this is so embarrassing, i’m just adding it to reach my reading goal but i’m gonna go ahead and give it a review.

honestly this is one of the best regulus fics i’ve read even though i felt like sometimes he was a bit out of character. i know that there’s so little info of him and that gives the writer more room to explore their version of the character but i feel like there was a lack of angst but maybe that’s because i’m whore for depressing books.

i don’t normally read oc fics for the same reason that i’m so lazy to get to know a new character and decide whether i like them or not but teddy fit so effortlessly in the story. it didn’t feel forced and i could actually see the canon story with that alteration (not that i care much ab canon but still). loved the oc, she felt real and complicated.

[Livvy Wright · Rating 4 out of 5]

I should be more embarrassed about adding fanfiction to my shelf but I want to complete my reading challenge. Do love this book even if it's a bit cringe at points, mainly because of Regulus who I just found a bit too much. A perfectly executed enemies to lovers until he breaks up with Teddy and THAT scene happens which honestly ruined the momentum of the book for me. I wish there had been more focus on him being morally grey and dangerous and that be the rising action instead of the weird dare (which still makes no sense to me, like why did it happen??) Another thing that made no sense to me was the Peter plotline which seemed sloppily chucked in so that Regulus could save her but I do appreciate the canon divergence so won't complain too much.
Anyway I love Teddy and she was the standout of the book for me. <3