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A Game of High Stakes
Draco/Hermione
In theory, the task is simple: kill Draco Malfoy. In practice, putting a curse through the Dark Lord's favoured lieutenant will take everything Hermione has―especially since he's trying to kill her, too. Even more so when the lines between them start to blur. Sometimes, the only way out is through.
Words: WIP
In theory, the task is simple: kill Draco Malfoy. In practice, putting a curse through the Dark Lord's favoured lieutenant will take everything Hermione has―especially since he's trying to kill her, too. Even more so when the lines between them start to blur. Sometimes, the only way out is through.
Words: WIP
877 pages, ebook
Published June 14, 2022
128 people are currently reading
1614 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 149 reviews
June 25, 2023
This was written really well and I was fully immersed in the story. Lots of intrigue, machinations, violence. I enjoyed the story and writing overall.
However, I expected it to be a little darker, a little more sensual and dangerous. It was all of these things to a certain extent, but it was ultimately lacking.
There was lots of telling when I wanted showing. Definitely a downside in any story.
The stakes never felt high. Voldemort wasn't scary (he is one of the most powerful wizards ever with expertise in Legilimency. Why did he never use it? Why did he blindly follow D's words? Definitely not realistic). The other guy "villain" didn't even feel like a threat. We were just told he was. We were told Voldemort was cruel and ruthless. I never saw it. I also never saw the true dedication and love between certain friendships. The stakes during a certain scene between a couple characters never felt high, and I didn't fully believe in their convictions. The consequences of actions were never seen. It made me feel blah for the full 2nd half of the story.
When D and H finally got together, it was fireworks! Soon though, it was barely embers. The romance felt forced and too quick. I also felt the characterizations of all of the characters weren't true to canon. Yes, it's fanfic. You can do what you want with original characters and canon. There's a beauty and freedom in that. But I couldn't get a clear view of D and H, let alone the other characters. The author's choices for how they presented these characters was very vague. This isn't a spoiler, but for example, Ron isn't tagged in this story. For good reason as he was killed before the start of the story. But we never got to see any heartbreak or grief for him. He was largely replaced with a swearing, martyring Neville. I think Ron would have offered levity and, dare I say it, more depth to Harry and Hermione's characters in particular. It just felt like the author's ideas would have been better utilized in an original fic rather than a fanfic.
D was ambiguous. He's a villain, now he's not, now he's an antihero, now he's not. He felt contrived almost, not fully fleshed out. H was badass at first, but then I didn't recognize her. Her worth became irrevocably tied to D and her intelligence and skill weren't utilized ever, to be honest. She deferred to the guys, to D. She didn't have any of the verve or uniqueness of the original canon character. She became just another heroine in the story that I didn't feel anything for.
All of the heart-to-hearts and constant/repetitive conversations about the future and mulling over the hypothetical became really irritating. Every chapter for like 10-15 chapters had a convo like this and it was ultimately too much.
The strategies and planning didn't make much sense either. Things were a little too convenient and a little too convoluted.
I ended up skimming the 2nd half, unfortunately.
Potential was there. I'll probably read other works of the author though.
Happy reading, Goodreads fiends.
However, I expected it to be a little darker, a little more sensual and dangerous. It was all of these things to a certain extent, but it was ultimately lacking.
There was lots of telling when I wanted showing. Definitely a downside in any story.
The stakes never felt high. Voldemort wasn't scary (he is one of the most powerful wizards ever with expertise in Legilimency. Why did he never use it? Why did he blindly follow D's words? Definitely not realistic). The other guy "villain" didn't even feel like a threat. We were just told he was. We were told Voldemort was cruel and ruthless. I never saw it. I also never saw the true dedication and love between certain friendships. The stakes during a certain scene between a couple characters never felt high, and I didn't fully believe in their convictions. The consequences of actions were never seen. It made me feel blah for the full 2nd half of the story.
When D and H finally got together, it was fireworks! Soon though, it was barely embers. The romance felt forced and too quick. I also felt the characterizations of all of the characters weren't true to canon. Yes, it's fanfic. You can do what you want with original characters and canon. There's a beauty and freedom in that. But I couldn't get a clear view of D and H, let alone the other characters. The author's choices for how they presented these characters was very vague. This isn't a spoiler, but for example, Ron isn't tagged in this story. For good reason as he was killed before the start of the story. But we never got to see any heartbreak or grief for him. He was largely replaced with a swearing, martyring Neville. I think Ron would have offered levity and, dare I say it, more depth to Harry and Hermione's characters in particular. It just felt like the author's ideas would have been better utilized in an original fic rather than a fanfic.
D was ambiguous. He's a villain, now he's not, now he's an antihero, now he's not. He felt contrived almost, not fully fleshed out. H was badass at first, but then I didn't recognize her. Her worth became irrevocably tied to D and her intelligence and skill weren't utilized ever, to be honest. She deferred to the guys, to D. She didn't have any of the verve or uniqueness of the original canon character. She became just another heroine in the story that I didn't feel anything for.
All of the heart-to-hearts and constant/repetitive conversations about the future and mulling over the hypothetical became really irritating. Every chapter for like 10-15 chapters had a convo like this and it was ultimately too much.
The strategies and planning didn't make much sense either. Things were a little too convenient and a little too convoluted.
I ended up skimming the 2nd half, unfortunately.
Potential was there. I'll probably read other works of the author though.
Happy reading, Goodreads fiends.
November 28, 2023
A solid war time fic.
Dueling assassins
Marriage of convenience
Double agents
Really solid first half.
Slowed quite a bit after that.
4 stars
2.5 on the spice scale
Dueling assassins
Marriage of convenience
Double agents
Really solid first half.
Slowed quite a bit after that.
4 stars
2.5 on the spice scale
August 7, 2022
It’s still a WIP but the first eight chapters are INSANELY good and positively addictive!!! I can’t wait for the next updates.
June 19, 2023
Started out strong: good plot, good character building. But fizzled out somewhere in the middle.
December 12, 2023
This was really over the top long, when it could've been twice as short and still good.
But since it's a fan made work and not professionally written, I can't very well critique it too harshly. The author put a lot of thought into this, plus the way they've written this is good 👍
But since it's a fan made work and not professionally written, I can't very well critique it too harshly. The author put a lot of thought into this, plus the way they've written this is good 👍
July 21, 2023
DNF at 90%.... insane, right? But I've been phoning it in since around the 60% mark. This needs to be a lot darker and a lot shorter.
Also, holy fuck, "drawls" is used 185 times. 185 times!
Also, holy fuck, "drawls" is used 185 times. 185 times!
January 28, 2024
2.5 ⭒ make it make sense, cause i can’t find the slightest bit of logic in this story. It starts quite well but the rest felt just meh
July 6, 2024
see my rants to safa for all my thoughts 😍🤌✨
dnf
June 16, 2024DNF at 10%.
February 21, 2025
someone please tell me why this was so bad😒
April 12, 2024
DNF
overhyped fic IMO, it felt like random ass people named "Draco and Hermione"
overhyped fic IMO, it felt like random ass people named "Draco and Hermione"
February 23, 2024
What a shame… this fic was really well written and for the first 40% I was highly invested in this book. The hopelessness of both sides of the war was palpable and the dissociation from any feelings or hope for the future, in order to survive and do the things necessary is very believable. When D and H start changing their tactics and become involved with each other it’s a truly smart move. Also that they start to feel for each other and become more hopeful of the future, suddenly having more to lose and more to fight for, seems like a natural development. So far, so good.
For me everything went down hill from there…
Unfortunately Hermione became almost unrecocnizable. Neither her cunning, intelligence, thirst for knowledge, nor her judgmental, impulsive, pedantic side of the canon were existent. Suddenly she’s this pliant woman with nothing to say, or do, except for being an arm piece, going shopping, decorating, drinking tea, asking her husband for their opinion and soothing her man’s nerves. Uugh… where the hell did this powerful woman go?! I almost grieved for this version of her.
Also, how is it that as a so called ‘mudblood’ she’s allowed to stay in the manor with the worst wizard of all times and his inner circle of death eaters?! Surely, somebody would have something to say or do, even when the war by this time is more about power than blood. And even when they are afraid of their lieutenant… Draco can do and say whatever he pleases. Ok, he’s being tortured, but in the canon Voldemort was this wizard with eyes and ears everywhere, almost impossible to outmanouver, because of his intelligence, capabilities and ruthlessness. Here he’s just some dumb placeholder for the big bad, that I couldn’t see. Just like any other bland side character (Harry, Theo, Neville, Narcissa, Cassius).
And Draco… how can somebody so scared and angry as a boy and so emotionally detached and traumatized as an adult suddenly turn into this emotionally mature, understanding and empathic person when he's in love?! This character development just didn’t make any sense whatsoever. No person ever makes such a drastic change overnight even if they’re in love. It’s just wishful thinking from the author.
And speaking about being in love. Their love story is just so cringey and unrealistic to me. The second half of the book mainly consists of a lot of pondering about the past and worrying about the future, while the characters are repeatedly 'surprised' by a sudden burst of rolling tears, hopelessness or hopefulness, shame and so on. I'm all for human emotions and love books where I get to know all about the human psyche, but it's just suddenly so out of character and therefore just doesn't seem authentic. It's like two people playing house and being an adult, but in real life they are just Ken and Barbie. It's also annoyingly, abundantly, very highly, massively repetitive...
I did finish the book, but toward the end skipped a lot of redundant passages, which is very unlike me.
It could have been really good, but the author lost momentum along the way.
For me everything went down hill from there…
Unfortunately Hermione became almost unrecocnizable. Neither her cunning, intelligence, thirst for knowledge, nor her judgmental, impulsive, pedantic side of the canon were existent. Suddenly she’s this pliant woman with nothing to say, or do, except for being an arm piece, going shopping, decorating, drinking tea, asking her husband for their opinion and soothing her man’s nerves. Uugh… where the hell did this powerful woman go?! I almost grieved for this version of her.
Also, how is it that as a so called ‘mudblood’ she’s allowed to stay in the manor with the worst wizard of all times and his inner circle of death eaters?! Surely, somebody would have something to say or do, even when the war by this time is more about power than blood. And even when they are afraid of their lieutenant… Draco can do and say whatever he pleases. Ok, he’s being tortured, but in the canon Voldemort was this wizard with eyes and ears everywhere, almost impossible to outmanouver, because of his intelligence, capabilities and ruthlessness. Here he’s just some dumb placeholder for the big bad, that I couldn’t see. Just like any other bland side character (Harry, Theo, Neville, Narcissa, Cassius).
And Draco… how can somebody so scared and angry as a boy and so emotionally detached and traumatized as an adult suddenly turn into this emotionally mature, understanding and empathic person when he's in love?! This character development just didn’t make any sense whatsoever. No person ever makes such a drastic change overnight even if they’re in love. It’s just wishful thinking from the author.
And speaking about being in love. Their love story is just so cringey and unrealistic to me. The second half of the book mainly consists of a lot of pondering about the past and worrying about the future, while the characters are repeatedly 'surprised' by a sudden burst of rolling tears, hopelessness or hopefulness, shame and so on. I'm all for human emotions and love books where I get to know all about the human psyche, but it's just suddenly so out of character and therefore just doesn't seem authentic. It's like two people playing house and being an adult, but in real life they are just Ken and Barbie. It's also annoyingly, abundantly, very highly, massively repetitive...
I did finish the book, but toward the end skipped a lot of redundant passages, which is very unlike me.
It could have been really good, but the author lost momentum along the way.
May 5, 2025
A really great story, if only slightly repetitive
November 12, 2023
this started so well and then i found myself skimming from about the 50% mark. i loved the ambiguous dynamic between the characters at the beginning but the instant switch in marriage made little sense to me. i think if you had cut about 10% of the middle where they just think about and discuss what's to come you would have a much stronger story!
September 10, 2024
“To love in the midst of war”
I really enjoyed this one. What more can you ask for? Death eater Draco, enemies to lovers, marriage of convenience,… and of course, Theo. It was a little drawn out at the end, but I enjoyed a wartime fic that wasn’t terribly dark and played heavily on strategy and plot. And as always, Who loves anyone the way Draco loves Hermione?
“All I can give you, is too many broken edges”
“And he doesn’t care what it takes or what it costs him. He’ll give her the world, even if he has to tear it from the sky himself”
I really enjoyed this one. What more can you ask for? Death eater Draco, enemies to lovers, marriage of convenience,… and of course, Theo. It was a little drawn out at the end, but I enjoyed a wartime fic that wasn’t terribly dark and played heavily on strategy and plot. And as always, Who loves anyone the way Draco loves Hermione?
“All I can give you, is too many broken edges”
“And he doesn’t care what it takes or what it costs him. He’ll give her the world, even if he has to tear it from the sky himself”
January 2, 2025
3.5 stars! I really enjoyed the first 40ish% of this book! The romantic build up was excellent, but once we were past that I have to admit I got a bit bored. I don’t think that’s a result of the writing though; I truly think I was just looking for more of a romance, and once the romance was established it felt like it became more just about the war. Which if you are looking for something with more of a mix I’d definitely recommend!
August 5, 2023
3.5 stars… this started off SO strong and i couldn’t put it down but the last 30% just didn’t meet my expectations😭 the finale seemed so bland compared to the angst and horror it was built up to be. like a couple others have said, the stakes just weren’t that high and the story wasn’t as dark as i was expecting.
January 19, 2024
4-4.5- - LOVED this one. Loved Dracooooo of course- and loved the premise. Very unique. Only thing that I didn’t like was the length- it got a little redundant in the last few hundred pages and they had the same convos over and over😂 but loved nonetheless. One of my fav Dracos so far! I love the evolution of enemies to lovers and this one was done really well in that aspect.
January 30, 2025
I loved this Draco and this Hermione. I thought the timing was great as well… didn’t have to wait forever for them to get together and once they were together it was realistic rather than this forever waiting game that can wear you down.
July 21, 2023
The beginning of this book was so good! I was super excited and couldn’t put it down. But halfway through it started to get less exciting. The moment Draco and Hermoine got together it was no longer that exciting for me. They got together too soon imo. That killed the story for me.
Also it was no game of high stakes imo, because Voldemort wasn’t even that powerful and dangerous. It just got a bit flat after the first half of the book, sadly.
However, I did enjoy reading it so that’s why I am giving it 3 stars.
Also it was no game of high stakes imo, because Voldemort wasn’t even that powerful and dangerous. It just got a bit flat after the first half of the book, sadly.
However, I did enjoy reading it so that’s why I am giving it 3 stars.
January 20, 2024
3⭐️. This had SOO much potential, but sadly I was dissapointed. It was, okay.. but not great.
February 2, 2024
Death eater Draco hits every time 😫🔥
July 17, 2024
Pretty good wartime fic. We love a good enemies to lovers 😈 I really enjoyed how all the characters were portrayed in this one. Could have done without the repetitive internal dialogue at times, but the ending was very sweet :)
November 3, 2024
4.5 good plot. Read it fast! Yay!
Read
April 26, 2025DNF @ 58% so not going to rate it but will say it had a lot of potential in the beginning but unfortunately fizzled out
November 11, 2023
"I can't regret the path that brought us here, because otherwise I may never have known the value in this." ~ D.L.M.
March 3, 2025
EEEEKKKK this was perfect. the perfect enemies to lovers. the perfect redemption arc. the perfect war and healing story. PERFECT. i sobbed, laughed everything.
October 28, 2025
Why was I drowning in plot and why did this take so long I was beyond bored I stopped caring about everyone and just wanted it to actually end.
December 9, 2023
Solid war time fic. I think it could have done with going a bit darker.
February 12, 2024
This one started out really well but then it just felt like I was drowning in quicksand, the more I trudged through chapter after chapter the more I felt like I was suffocating in nothingness. It felt like the author, when given the option to move the plot forward or continue to circle around the same thing over and over again, consistently chose to circle the same thing they had been circling for 30+ chapters. It was so boring at the end I honestly just skipped from 85% to the end, I just couldn’t make myself care anymore.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 149 reviews