Book Review: Manacled

i’ve had Manacled by SenLinYu on my tbr for probably over a year. I finally read it over the past week and it definitely lives up to the hype in my opinion!

If you’re unfamiliar with the book, it is a Dramione (Draco Malfo and Hermione Granger) fanfic. The fanfic became so popular that the author’s story is going to be published. However, it is being reworked since it can’t stay a fanfic because it would be copyright infringement. Months ago when I heard that the deadline to get Manacled before it’s going to be taken down from AO3 is January 1st I immediately went to download it.

This Dramione fanfic imagines the wizarding world if Harry Potter and the Order lost the war and Voldemort prevailed. The first half of the book takes place in the present, Hermione is one of the last surviving members of the Order and has been captured and put into the surrogate program. Under orders from Voldemort, female captives are assigned to prominent Death Eaters to bring more little Death Eaters into the world. Hermione is given to Draco Malfoy. There are gaps in her memory and things that don’t make sense.

The second half of the book is flashbacks of the years leading up to Hermione becoming Draco’s surrogate. We see Hermione, Harry, Ron, and the other faces we all remember from Harry Potter all trying to survive and put a dent in the Death Eater forces. Hermione is a healer and potions master and after seeing so much death she believes the Order needs to consider using some dark arts against the Death Eaters because it’s not a fair fight and they can’t win by always being about good and light. But the others disagree. In the midst of all this, Hermione and Draco form a top secret alliance known to a select few to try to bring an end to the war. Over time, the enemies begin to understand each other more, care for one another, and more. But when things start to go south, all of Hermione’s memories of her relationship with Draco have to be hidden in her mind to protect them both. Will the two be able to bring down Voldemort? Can her memories of her relationship with Draco ever be uncovered again?

I loved the book and am totally invested in Dramione now. The deep love that develops between the two is so good. I loved watching their relationship evolve from enemies to lovers. The ending was bittersweet, but I appreciated all of the epilogues because I love epilogues. I have one spoiler-y comment about the ending though so skip this part if you don’t want to see it. Spoiler Alert: How realistic is the ending that after all Hermione did in the war, she’s only a footnote in all the books?! Ugh I want justice for her!

My only critique of the book is that it is so long so at times I felt like the story was dragging and could have moved along quicker. Other than that, I loved the story and loved Draco and Hermione together. Now I need to read more Dramione fanfic!