This Bitter Earth

by ikorous

Sequel to On the Nature of Daylight.

Control isn't the only thing Draco Malfoy has lost. But he will get it back. He will get everything back.

Genres: Fan Fiction, Fantasy, Dark, Dark Romance, Romance, War, Smut

1624 pages, ebook

First published March 14, 2024

Reviews

[⚔Irunía⚔ · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Burn me. Love me. Fuck me."

Ohhhhh, Draco...



Y'all brains cannot fully encompass the enormity of the feelings that

this sassy,

"Don't worry, Granger, I'll make it good for you." He kissed the top of her head and breathed in deeply. "My sweet girl. I could never stay mad at you, could I?" No… and she couldn't stay mad at him either. "Not when you look up at me with those big eyes of yours and tell me how badly you want my big cock in your tight little-"
Hermione shoved herself away from him violently, almost falling off the side of the bed. Draco watched her scramble as she righted herself back onto the bed, laughing in her face.

sarcastic,

"Granger… Please tell me we are not going to be thinking about Potter all afternoon. He's so fucking boring. 'I'm sad because my parents are dead.' Great, it's not like you ever fucking knew them anyways. 'There's an evil man trying to kill me.' He's trying to kill everyone, you're not that special. 'My scar hurts.' Would you like another? I swear Granger, you have the stupidest fucking friends and I hung out with Crabbe and Goyle for six years."

angry,

That bitch. That goddamn stuck up motherfucking bitch. That fucking Mud-
Draco turned the bottle back up again, swallowing down another mouthful before slamming it down on his desk again, gasping and wincing against the harsh burn in his chest. It would fade. The more he drank, the easier it got and the whisky moved in filling up all the shattered little cracks inside him that the fucking cunt in his bed had opened up again when she shoved him away.

tortured,

Draco's mind was nothing but white walls and red pain. It was so simple, so clear. Natural. He emptied his pain into Yaxley. And it felt good.

obsessive,

He would get Granger's location one way or another. He had just hoped it wouldn't have included torturing and maiming one of her friends, but… the bitch shouldn't have run.

tender,

All the irking doubts that plagued him washed away in the warm bath and Draco pulled her close to him again, pressing her thin frame into his scarred chest in a loving embrace, burying his face in her neck and breathing in her sweet smell of cinnamon and vanilla that was still present under all the dirt and blood.
Still the same. Still his girl. His good, sweet girl.

loving,

"I know what you don't want," his words came slowly, weighed down by the whisky. "You don't want... someone like me- to love you." He looked over his shoulder, glaring at her with bloodshot eyes. "But I do. So you're just going to have to find a way to live with it, Granger, because I'll love you till the day I die. Probably after too."

loyal

Why was he attacking his own blood to spare hers?

BIGOT,

Because even though she was a goddamn fucking Mudblood who didn't deserve half of the mercy he'd show her, he'd be damned if he let anyone else touch her.

full-blooded MURDERER,

By the time Draco was done, Theo was broken, loose and barely held together by his discolored skin, and bleeding freely from his ears, nose, mouth, and eyes.
Draco didn't let go.
He held the curse until it was jerking Theo's dead body in a sick parody of life.
This was his future.
A body.
A boy.

DEATH EATER DRACO MALFOY brought out in me.

I knew I lost this game the moment Draco wasn't able to physically stomach the fact that a guy who had once managed to get a taste of Hermione's lips lived to see another day any more so he sought him out under false Death Eater pretences, tortured the poor guy till his tongue fell off (💀), dug his memories of ever touching his girl out, but got so angry and sick watching them that he almost winded up killing the unfortunate loser in cold blood after having wiped out all those memories anyway...

What kind of mental illness is that?



In the previous book, he had merely broken the guy's arm. But Draco ain't playing around no more... 💀💀💀

Possessive #icon #king #emperor

To think that I sincerely couldn't imagine my conceited, dripping with sarcasm and quips, snobbish schoolboy from the first part — On the Nature of Daylight — getting any more intense and obsessive...




I feel very humbled at the moment.


I don't deny it: Draco has been a toxic, insufferable asshole with a very flexible conscience from scratch, but I didn't expect him to turn that dark, transform into a fully-fledged murderer, a persecutor of Muggleborns, a human trafficker and one of the most unhinged men in love in the history of fanfiction.

It's truly impressive how skillfully the author built Draco's character, the smooth and natural quality to that quite radical (yet not so out of character) transition. The transition that comes across as something almost inevitable, in retrospect: the natural outcome of Draco's dormant darker side rearing it's head, coming to the surface and raising to it's full height in those turbulent times.

What am I supposed to feel while reading about yet another vile, inhumane war crime he winds up committing when he commits it solely for her? His sweet little girl. His kitten. His pet. His bitch. His whore.


Disgust??? Pfffff. He's completely



of any crime in my book.

"But I found you, kitten." His easy smirk was back. "I found you and brought you here and you… you think you're going to leave, but you're not."

Why the moment when Draco finally has Hermione in his greedy paws after six fruitless, excruciating months of slaughtering his way across Great Britain to find her is the most romantic moment of my life?

Chaining her to his bed?


Turning his bed into a literal cage with bars that shoot up from the base of the bed on all sides???

He had his study for business and meetings while his bedroom stayed private. Even so, he had made it safe, replacing the locks with goblin wrought iron that was charmed to keep anyone but himself out. It had cost him of course, but it was worth it for her.
And she didn't fucking care.
What a selfish, ungrateful bitch.

Draco stands against the whole univers is halfway through burning the whole world to the ground for Hermione. 😩



He sacrifices so much for her. He lies, he betrays, he commits atrocities, he inflicts pain, he goes through agony and he bleeds his soul out, always with her name on his lips. Desperate to be loved by her. I'm starting to get emotional all over again, what kind of mental illness is that —

There's truly no one else for both of them. They are cut out for each other —

"Draco-"
"Right here, kitten," he breathed out into her ear, running his tongue along the shell of it. "Right fucking here."

Love is...

...turning into a war criminal for her.

Awwwwwwwwwww.

My comfort read. My shiny piece of coal. My toxic little diamond. My faithful, loyal, iconic couple of sick fucks who only have eyes for each other. 💔

(hi, i'm very basic)

P.S.

❥— Dramione reunite in the 8th chapter (sucks).

❥— the writing has style, has flavor, has richness.

❥— the author knows a thing or two about multidimensionality. There's almost no black or white characters in this story, everyone has their flaws and loveable features.

I admired that there were 2 sides to the coin, that Draco's personality wasn't painted strictly black. He had feelings, he experienced compassion and empathy, he had doubts and conflicting thoughts.

I loved Hermione for not immediately giving in to Draco. For staying strong and resilient despite her soft and submissive nature. This girl was so cute and sweet, I understand why Draco went batshit crazy over her. 🥰

❥— I have great expectations for this author in the future. Lord help her write about more and more toxic characters and feverish (but also inexplicably dreamlike) relationships.

Praise be.

Book one — On the Nature of Daylight — 3.99 stars

[Clarice · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 "I'm not going to be able to emotionally recover from this" stars.

The feeeels are real in this fic.

Honestly, my new top Dramione fic of all time!

Great songs picked out to accompany this fic, very much so fits all the dark angst. I've been blasting "I don't wanna be the one that let's you go" by Landon Tewers (and crying to it).

I don't want to say too much, but Draco MAKES this fic. Hermione is also best girl in this fic.

AHHHH maybe once I have mentally and emotionally recovered from this fic I'll write a longer review!

All's I have to say is READ this Fic!

[TJ ☾ · Rating 5 out of 5]

"What's in this?" Draco's voice stirred her from her heavy thoughts.
Hermione looked down at the bowl. "I think… beans?" she said thoughtfully as Draco took another bite. "I'm not sure. Ron made it."
Oh no. Why did she say that?
Draco opened his mouth, letting the lumpy soup simply fall out of it and splash back into the bowl.

this man is so extra 🤣🤣 i love him

He wished Blaise was here. Or Crookshanks. Someone to… talk to.
He wished he had a bottle to drown himself in.
But Granger didn't like him drunk and Blaise didn't like him at all and the cat was fucking dead so Draco just laid there and stared at the ceiling.

draco in his edgelord era:



"I know I don't treat you right. I don't treat you… like a person. But that's because you aren't to me. You aren't this person, you're… you're a part of me and I don't—fuck, Hermione… You're all of me. You're mine."

ROMANCEEEEEE. HIM AND HIS MUDBLOOD SLAVE WHO HAS ALL THE POWER

[Erin Popova · Rating 1 out of 5]

Wow so glad I started off the new year with this garbage. So not down with abuse. Draco has zero redeemable qualities and so does this fic.

Draco calling Hermione a whore or a slut every single smut scene is not enjoyable. I don’t really like any of the character portrayals in this except maybe Harry. He is the only one who actually respects and shows any semblance of care for Hermione. Draco and Ron think they know what is best for Hermione and treat her like shit in the name of protecting her. I hate Ron in this also, but to be honest he is kind of right about how Hermione must be totally crazy to be with this version of Draco.

At every turn, at every opportunity to make a good choice, Draco always, ALWAYS makes the worst possible choice with one single exception, but it doesn’t even explain that choice in a way that shows character growth. So, good job Draco I guess? But then he immediately goes back to being an abusive twat so no.

I wanted to like this because the first installment was entertaining enough and ended on a cliffhanger that seemed like there was potential for Draco’s character to grow. No. His character regresses if anything and becomes even worse, which I could maybe forgive if it was explained well or if it was related to war anxiety or if he had some sort of genuine remorse or new growth arc. There is nothing of the sort. When he finally reunited with her, he took her to Malfoy Manor - the literally place Voldemort and his cronies are currently residing - claiming that was where she would be safe. And he locks her in his room and chains her to the bed for months. Spoiler: she is not safe there.

I guess this fic reminded me that these characters are literal children and maybe I should not expect them to act with any sort of maturity.

[Brittney Andrews (beabookworm) · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars

the author should have aged up the characters. after nearly 1,000 pages, we were given an incredibly anticlimactic ending.

hermione was getting on my nerves and draco was a tad too toxic for my liking.

[Azet · Rating 5 out of 5]

rtc

[Meryem Koylu · Rating 2 out of 5]

This felt like it was written by a horny teenager boy

[Jeannie Ward · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was so good but so hard to get through. I love a toxic Draco, but the slut/whore was a little overused. Loved the first book and forced myself to finish this. Almost too toxic or too much fight to get to the happy ending. Not bad, wished it was just a tad different. That said, as a fanfic author creating this, I’m floored at the writing, care, world, and just complete brilliance it takes to create a real book that we’ve all been craving!

[Mae · Rating 5 out of 5]

“I wouldn’t blame you if you… if you didn’t want someone like me to love you.” I could not put this one down!! So. Much. Happened. And much like the prequel, the smut was next level. 🤌🏼🌶️

[Nelly Sundin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Holy Canoli. Epic.

[Jenna B · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ikorous, I love whatever is wrong with you.

[Madison McElheney]

did it drag on way too long? yes. did I never want it to end? also yes.

[agnes · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.25
I needed to read this sequel to realized how I feel about the first fic. I should warn you - probably many spoilers ahead...

The first fic is very toxic and not really my cup of tea, BUT it does make sense. The attraction between them, degrading sex (and why both of them want it) and the ending, though soul-crashing it was a logical overall.

Draco is not only toxic, but brain-washed by years of pureblood supremacy indoctrination, that he deeply believes in throughout most of the first fic. Honestly, he stoped calling her Mudblood only because he wanted to get laid, not out of any real affection (you can’t convince me otherwise). He desperately wants and doesn’t want to care for her at the same time, but in the end his cowardice and selfishness wins, and although it ruined sth in me, this should be a standalone fic, cause maybe it wouldn't be HEA, but it would make freaking SENSE.
---------
But here we are and there is only one question - what the hell was that?

It’s VERY repetitive, they keep making the same bad (the worst) decisions. Draco keeps thinking and treating Hermione as his possession and I would argue, that it’s worse than in the first fic, cause there he treated her as a lesser human being, but here he looks at her as his prize for so called „good actions” (highly questionable if you ask me). He isn’t remorseful at all and keep on doing heinous things, at the same time being sure that she will understand it - why does he thinks so? How delusional is he?

The answer is - about the same amount that she is, cause she also lost her fucking marbles and constantly underestimates what he had done and blames herself, cause he did all of this „for her” and "out of love" 🙄. How stupid are u Hermione? I can understand forgiving him for some of these things, but definitely not everything.

My main problem is that there is no growth in any of the characters. They only justify their actions with their love for each other. Plus it annoys me that side characters are being killed off or change their personality entirely just because they stand in the writer’s way.

To be truthful, there were good moments or sweet lines between the two of them, but apart from that I disliked both of MC the more I read. You can’t really feel love between them, maybe it’s just me, but the way sex is described here doesn’t work anymore (like in the 1st fic), cause it’s still degrading, but not in a sexy way anymore. Although sex scenes are similar in the 1st and 2nd fic, the background behind MC actions are not the same. In the first fic Hermione wanted someone to take control plus she had really low self-worth in context of romantic relationships. Nobody ever wanted her like Draco did, so it made sense that she would enjoy being submissive. However, here she is not the same as she was at the beginning - she was betrayed by someone she loved, she has to be the brain of the world-saving operation and she knows that she is much stronger than she thought. She realized she doesn't deserve to be only someone's toy, but Draco still treats her like this. He claims he doesn't see her this way, but his actions speaks louder than his empty words. Through degrading sex he kinda controls her and reassure himself, that she cannot go one without him. And this scene after Lucius death was borderline disgusting and unfortunately shown that deep down Draco feels that she owes him herself, just because he loves her and sacrificed "everything" for her, which for me is clear description that for him love is transactional and I really don’t like it. It's simply not love, no matter how many times they say to each other otherwise...

Also the last 25% is awfully unnecessary, very anticlimactic and I only skimmed through it.

The verdict is - the first fic was unhinged but I liked it very much and I should've stopped right there.

PS. My argument about them being too young still stands. They are 25.

[Megan · Rating 4 out of 5]

The sequel to On the Nature of Daylight



While I enjoyed this installment, I did think it dragged on a little too long. And the happy parts & HEA wasn't balanced with how much drama, angst, pain, and suffering we endured as a reader during this fic. Maybe with the author posts Draco & Hermione's 5-year update we can feel more healed and complete.

[Leah E. · Rating 5 out of 5]

The longest, most emotional roller coaster of my life that I will absolutely never recover from (in the best way possible).
I will (probably) write more details once I get my emotions in order. For now, I am just going to say that this duology was god-tier Dramione for me.

[Starlitz328 · Rating 4 out of 5]

loved the first installment. i’m 12 chapters into the sequel and I feel like it’s going in circles and is quite repetitive

update, okay I didn’t like the first half but the second half is good! waiting for the author to complete!

[tuhseen · Rating 3 out of 5]

The writing is good, the characterization is solid, and the plot is ok. Ultimately, however, it fell short of my (admittedly high) expectations.

It might grow on me later, but for now, my experience has been totally ruined by the imprisonment phase of this novel. I have nothing against the captive trope in novels, I just didn't like how this one was written like an angsty Wattpad fic. It really turned me off and I almost stopped reading the book.

The rest of this novel was much better and I like how we see Draco's perspectives and explore his relationships with his family members (particularly with his parents) and his torn loyalties (his upbringing vs his personal beliefs). Draco has always been an interesting person with a morally-grey background, and fanfiction has really helped give him a bigger spotlight, which I appreciate.

This Bitter Earth portrays Draco as a horny, possessive teenage boy in his relationship with Hermione (the alpha-male vibes weren't convincing to me), whereas in other novels, like Manacled, the author convinced me that he was in fact a terrifying Death Eater and an incredibly possessive yet loving partner to Hermione.

Manacled was my first Dramione fic, and it was one of the best books I have ever read (yes, I'm comparing to traditionally published books, too) in every department. This Bitter Earth , and I suspect most other Dramione fics, will fall short in comparison. Maybe I shouldn't have expected too much, but still...I was hoping.

I guess I wasn't into the dirty talk, or the humiliation aspects of this novel (the dom/sub relationship kind of reminds me of BDSM?), because I personally love it when Hermione is treated as an equal partner in-and-out of bed in other stories. That being said, Draco and Hermione are still teenagers in the midst on ongoing war, and are still really young, whereas Manacled shows them in their early twenties (near the end of the war and after it too, when they have matured considerably), so that's worth considering. Other people seemed to love the dom/sub relationship and the imprisonment phase, so it's up to the reader.

The end is heart-breaking. Draco doesn't get his redemption or his happy ending here. I prefer the bittersweet ending in Manacled to the one here, but I do think this story has its own appeal. I recommend this book to people who are really into Dramione fic, or just in the mood for something angsty, horny, and heart-breaking. If you're really into Harry Potter generally and you'd like to try out Dramione fic, I'd recommend Manacled (which has a much better plot, and still keeps the sex scenes lol).

[Rae · Rating 3 out of 5]

The thing about completed WIPs.... as a reader: you tend to have to read the same formula plot over and over, chapter after chapter. After chapter. And if it's a long fic, lots of the same chapters over and over. Just with a different problem confronted and resolved. That's how this felt for me. But ass-shat Draco is always a fun one to read and he had some great quips. And the Ron redemption was the one time I teared up!

And if you're new to reading this, play the "take a drink every time you read 'goodness' or "cinnamon' or 'fuck'" in the fic! lol

annotations:
-"Traditions must be respected, Draco," Lucius muttered as he moved past his son.
Draco let his face fall into its practiced position of indifference. "I'll be sure to remember that at your funeral."

-With one at his mercy, he had them both.
Love was funny that way.

-Because the only thing worse than having Draco live in her head, was living her life without him.

-She had thought he had come back to her, but no. Draco hadn't come back to her, he had come back for her.

-She should have known or recognized who he looked like. She had know him longer, after all.
This wasn't Draco.
This was Malfoy.

-"I don't want-"
"Yes, you do. You want me, you want this. If you didn't, you wouldn't be asking about it. You're trying to find a way to make this work, just like me."

-"I'm sorry. I'm sorry I'm like this, but I can't stop. I don't have a choice, so you don't get one either."

-He'd prefer it if everyone else spontaneously combusted and set the rest of the planet on fire in the panicked attempts to put themselves out. The thought was almost enough to make him smile, but Draco only let a small smirk grace his face instead.

-"Well no one is getting tortured in the middle of the room so I am sure it's a change of pace for you," Ron said as his ears flushed red again.
Draco placed his black boots on the table and crossed his legs. "We actually kept that in the corner. More of a sideshow attraction than the main event."

-Draco blinked and looked up at the ceiling. "Shit, we are all going to die."

-Draco watched Potter's expression change from guarded to almost... Gross-almost fucking friendly.

-"Useless boy," Lucius hissed. "The best part of you was left running down your mother's legs!"

-"I know what you're going to do with that wand and I know what it will mean. As much as I want Malfoy rotting away for all eternity, I don't want...I don't want you to."

-"I don't want to make you any more promises," Draco paused and Granger's eyes darted between his, trying to get a read on him. "I want to make you happy."

[Karina *kari_reads* · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fuck my life, this book put me through hell and I loved it. 🥵😍🫠🫠🫠

Goddamn it, what kind of mental illness is that to love this batshit crazy, toxic Draco so much?! 🤣🙈🙈 Hermione, girl, I absolutely feel you! One just can't stop loving that obsessed, possessive, toxicity in love man. 😍💚😍💚

This book was amazing! It's painful, it's dark, it's KINKY as hell 🥵🌶🌶🌶🌶🌶 and it's full of toxic Dramione love.

Also Hermione is phenomenal. I only wish she would give Draco more hell for his stupid choices. This lioness can definitely bring him to his knees in more ways than one. 😏🌶😏🌶

BUT THIS ENDING IS CRUSHING!! 😭😭 THANK GOD THER WILL BE MORE CHAPTERS. Because I can't live with this painful ending of Chapter 25.😭😭 I can't wait to see Hermione show her dark side and bring that damn prison down for Draco. 😍🥹

LET'S GO, GIRL! Go get your man and the world be damned. You both sacrificed enough. My Dramione babies deserve their HEA!! 💚❤️

[Patrícia B · Rating 3 out of 5]

I prefer the first one, this one could be shortened by half and still be good. While I love some toxic Draco, he was absolutely infuriating most of the time, and Hermione forgave him waaaay too many times. Again, if shorter, it would make more sense. But still, the writing is really good and I enjoyed most of it

[Zeynep · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not a big fan of the fan fics having Draco trials/ Azkaban trope for the last 20%… other than that, this book had one of the best draco character arcs ever! Overall, this series was so good I loved it

[Deyell Moore · Rating 4 out of 5]

I can't believe how fast I read this WIP, still a bit to go but can't wait to see how it ends!! Love love.

[Victoria]

Disclaimer: I have the deepest respect for fanfiction writers! None of this is meant to belittle their craft at all. I also think this way about this fic. The writing is amazing and to have the ability to write such intricate stories is beyond me 🫶 This is all just very subjective to me and my tastes.
NOW, HERE GOES MY RANT
I fucking did it 😭 I decided to not rate this because it is: first very difficult for me, I feel like any rating I could give would not relay my opinion rightly and second I don't want to seem unappreciative of the craft.
I liked the whole story and premise a lot. I think Dracos character was believable and made sense. He was extremely toxic and crazy obsessed with Hermione and how he was justifying his actions and thoughts was wild, partnered with him being a literal horny teenager, was quite the combination. However, it was fitting and I can see him being this way, it felt in character. There was an insane amount of sex to the point where in the first chapters you are not able to discern a single thing other than their horniness that would pull them towards each other. And it made me want to give up many times. I could get over this though as it was only the first few chapters, plus the smut was very hot and well written.

BUT I FUCKING COULD NOT WITH HERMIONE. How can anyone be so infuriating?? Always bending over backwards for Draco and being a fucking push over. She is losing every sense of herself and every own thought as soon as it comes to Draco. This made me so unbelievably angry, which on the other side is a testament to the writing to make someone hate a fictional character so much 😂
Then he goes and says it's her fault he did all these horrible things and she thinks "yeah he's probably right. He is actually such a good guy"??? SOMEBODY SEDATE ME. She does not give a real shit for her friends, only thinks about Draco ALL THE FUCKING TIME. It's giving stockholm, it's giving delulu, it's giving brain washed. He is literally talking about killing her best friend and she thinks "I know who he is, he is not really a bad Death Eater". LORD help me. Please get some fucking self worth Hermione. And sincerely, I never thought I'd say this, but GET FUCKED DRACO.
There is really no love lost between me and codependent realtionships.

Also I think if I was more of a dark romance girly I would have enjoyed this much more.

Some song choices for the imprisonment chapters:
Hell to the no, to the no no no.
and
What the hell? What the helly?

[Barb · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a tough one for me to review.

I was so looking forward to the sequel of "On the Nature of Daylight", but I feel like it was a continuation of a story that didn't have the same vibe or feel to the first. It continued on, but it didn't feel like part of the same atmosphere, world, unit- I am having trouble describing it. It was the next part of the story with a completely different theme and focus.

The first one was lighter; a solid balance between angst, good, evil, and balancing between it all. The story was engaging. At points it was heartbreaking, and other points were exhilarating and full of hope and love.

This one? This one was just despair. And it was overdone, in my opinion. Others would argue this point, and I concede that this may be a more personal preference verse objective review. But, if you're looking for a sequel to a story written by this author that you enjoyed, do not expect this one to give you the same thing. It won't.

There was so much despair, and nearly no solid points to build the reader back up. Even by the end, with the HOA, I just kind of felt flat. The author spent hundreds of pages detailing out brutal despair and terrible things that happen to the characters- which is fine, but she spent hardly any time at all on the parts where they come back together or portions that offer hope of any kind. The balance wasn't there. It tipped too far into trauma, without bringing them back up enough.

The writing was great, the world was a remarkable parallel to the original HP story. The characters are engaging. But this one did not hit like the first. I was pretty let down by the seeming deep dive and devotion to the horrible things that happen and by contrast, the absolute lack of effort, care or description to any of positive, happy or hope-centered parts.

[Grace · Rating 3 out of 5]

This earth is bitter indeed.

This sequel has focused a lot more to characterisation and plot compared to the previous entry. And I tell you it is a nuclear wasteland. The mains never really have much significant growth, which is a shame because the writing was actually quite fine. Maybe that's what the fic attempts to do, to write a story where someone is both (kind of) unredeemable and loveable. They won't change and they will still love each other, and that is OK. There won't be much character arcs, and a lot of events felt like it is served to torture our lovely couple instead of important events. Again, a good fic will turn out a lot better if the side characters aren't too one dimensional.

Another shame is that the last 20% of the story lost its steam. There are not many natural conclusions to the story other than this if all characters get their come uppance. I also remember thinking how is it at this point you guys still don't understand each other? But I suppose being 17-18 years old you're kind of stuck being kinda of obtuse even if you went through a whole war.

It's kind of HEA I suppose, but I feel the ending is not satisfying. The ending of previous entry had a lot of room to grow but alas I still respect the author's intention.

I love how shit Ron is tho, lmao. Best part. I want to punch him all the time.

I still prefer the previous entry way more than this. The author said there's extras after this but I can't seem to find it.

[Kate Childers · Rating 4 out of 5]

I just started and I already like this more than the first book. The angst, the pain, so good. Draco pisses me off, I hate him 90% of the time, but I doubt his brain is all there from all the crucios. And I know it's tragic how he got it, but his high pain tolerance is hot ngl. . . Okay Hermione falling back into Dracos arms every time was fine last book because he was just like a childhood bully or whatever. But like he's now a fucking mentally ill psychopath who wants all your friends to die, keeps you chained up, and doesn't respect anything you say. And still all she wants to do is have sex with him. . . What the actual fuck. Draco isn't even insane hot in this. He's just insane. Like this dynamic is just abusive. Okay character development, you're small but I see you. Why did Draco brushing his teeth almost make me cry. Ron pisses me the fuck off. It's just like Draco said, he puts his pride above the people he's trying to save. Can't take a single order, and his idiocy ruins every damn plan. Blaise Zabini the man that you are, I squealed when he appeared at the battle. Omg the ending, I hope this gets finished, I need the last 2 chapters asap 😭

[Grayson Upton · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lot slower than the first and very repetitive. I skimmed through lots of chapters without missing anything I didn’t already know and the writing suffered some compared to the first.

Narcissa was a bit of a let down especially bc of her and Draco’s relationship in books/movies. I felt so bad she really just abandoned him twice. I was surprised to see her portrayed that way.
The final war scenes really shocked me and it felt far fetched. So crazy that in the midst of the war there were multiple paragraphs dedicated to hermione lost in thought abt D or her just clutching him. If this was actually real, you’d already be dead. What I mean abt writing taking a hit.

Overall great HEA and I loved seeing D’s development in finally becoming someone he is proud of and accepting his past. H really came into herself too; she became the bad bitch. Even though I couldn’t stand to read another “then her lion came out” again

[Sam Lue · Rating 3 out of 5]

I waited so long for this fic to be finished! On the nature of daylight is one of my favorite Dramione fics. It's angsty and toxic. I wasn't the biggest fan of the last 10% of the fic. I rate it a 3.5/5 stars.

SPOILERS

This sequel spends a good chunk of time showing Draco and Hermione separated. He is looking for her no matter what it takes. Once he gets a hold of her Hermione finds herself chained to his bed. I like how the author changed the fact that Bellatrix doesn't get to fully carve into Hermione's arm.

The time the couple spends at Shell cottage is my favorite of this fic.

The battle scene was drawn out, and I thought a lot was happening at once. Harry dies and Draco gets taken to Azkaban where he just about dies. Hermione breaks him out and becomes a fugitive. They end up on an ice island. Draco doesn't do much magic. The ending was more bitter than sweet. I guess the title of the fic says it all.

[ilaria · Rating 4 out of 5]

it's very hard to write a review right now, because i read the first part of the book back in july and i don't exactly remember everything. i chose to dnf it because i wanted to read something different but i never didn't like it yk.
sooo the review: it was full of plot twists and if i had thought that draco was unhinged in the first one, this draco literally proved me wrong he's so much worse ehjwjwjwjwhwh (i loved it). i mean he chained her to his bed so she would stay with him GUYS id like to say i'm not romanticizing this because in real life it's very problematic but in the book ☺️☺️☺️ hihi
anyway the only thing i didn't like was the ending. i was really starting to question myself like it's hea RIGHT?? it was so tragic and i kinda skipped the whole draco in prison part cause i'm too sensitive for this shit ok
but whatever AMAZING books (the first one is still the best tho) and go read them!!!!

[Just Alex · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 only because the first 50% was actually pretty good and way better than the first book, the writing had definitely improved. But the last 50%, holy shit it dragged and dragged and dragged. It’s like we fell back into the same pattern as before and just kept repeating the same thoughts and sentences. There was a good balance between plot and spice I’d say and the spice didn’t take away from the plot. There were definitely some plot twists which I didn’t see coming so that’s always good (except that the plot twists were actually sad deaths 😭)
Just for my future reference I will not be reading these again! Though I pushed through and thought they were alright, I do feel like hermiones character wasn’t true to who her original character was, she became very helpless and needy and codependent and pretty much just a reduced character- I literally don’t know how else to describe it