The book we are going to review today is Serendipity by wildflowersandink
Now first these are the basics.
Book Name: Serendipity
Author's account name: wildflowersandink
Main Characters: Eva Taylor, the Marauders, Lily Evans, Marlene McKinnon and a few others.
Description:
Eva Taylor. Sixth year. First female keeper for the Gryffindor Quidditch team. Paints to escape. Number one Beatles fan in all of Hogwarts. Can't walk down the stairs without tripping. Proud beyond belief of her Muggle-Born status. Unknowingly the subject of Sirius Black's affections.
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He leaned onto the counter and smirked, letting a bit of hair fall into his face and seductively watching her. "You think I have the charm to pull something like that off?"
She blushed unintentionally. "I- I think you could charm the socks off of Voldemort himself if you tried."
"Maybe that's how we win the war," he said jokingly. "We've been going about it all wrong. Dumbledore can just send me. I'll walk up to Voldemort's door, wink at him, and my smooth charisma and devastatingly good looks will have him dead on the ground by dawn."
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Chapter Count: 59 and Completed.
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Now let's get on with the review!
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1. The Title:
Serendipity is one of those beautiful words that sound melodious and not only does it sound good but it also fits the theme very well. And given the whimsical writing style of the author, I must say the title is great for the story.
2. The Cover:
For the cover, a collage style has been used. I think the font should be made slightly more visible and the cover on the whole can be improved by playing around with the brightness levels. But I am no expert on collage covers since I don't use the style myself so all I'm saying here is an opinion, whether or not to agree with it totally depends upon the author.
3. Concept:
The story is set in the Marauders era and focuses on their years at Hogwarts along with their friends. It is not a typical Fifth Marauder story since Eva Taylor is a mutual friend of Lily and the four troublemakers but is not a part of the Marauders group though she does end up in as much mischief as our lovely Marauders do.
4. Review (includes Summary too):
Eva Taylor, as we already mentioned, is Lily's friend and a Muggleborn. She is also friends with the Marauders and is a Keeper on the Gryffindor Quiddich team. The story starts from their sixth year and continues onward.
From the beginning of the story, we are shown Siri's conflict from his family and the effect his life at Grimmauld Place has had on him. And since Eva is a Muggleborn, he could not even write to her in the whole Summer Break because his parents scrutinized each letter he sent out and kept him under a tight watch.
This does not however dissuade him from continuing his friendship with Eva and other people who his parents would prefer him to stay away from. On the other hand, Eva and James are good friends and I really love their bond a lot. Eva's the sort of person who is a ray of sunshine even in the darkest days and lends a cheerful outlook to the whole story.
What I think:
First of all, that paragraph in the description made me laugh a lot and it seems like definitely something Sirius would say. Even in the fanfic, the author has grasped each Marauder's personality very well and written them accordingly. I appreciate how the OC's character has been presented too.
The one thing which I really appreciate is the accurate portrayal of the torment Sirius Black goes through due to what he had been taught by his parents and how he chooses to lead his life later on. That conflict between inbred teachings and the acceptance to change oneself is clearly visible and that is one of the best aspects of this story. I have read about eleven chapters until now and each chapter was intriguing, hilarious and kept me hooked.
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If you are looking for a story that has all the fun from the Marauders era, the cute romance feels and brilliantly hooking writing style, then this is the fanfic for you.
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wildflowersandink I am beyond impressed by this book and have definitely become a fan of your writing style. Not only is it light and captures the spirit of the Marauders perfectly, it also focuses on a lot of characters that people usually ignore while writing a Marauders Era fanfic, specifically Peter Pettigrew. I am really sad I could not continue reading the story due to the online classes which have dawned upon me like a constant terror, but I definitely recommend your story to all those who are reading this review. And soon as I get cut some slack by my teachers, I will definitely come back to the chapter where I left off. Keep writing in this wonderful way of yours and you deserve all the love and appreciate you get on this site and more!