Title: Salmon Fishing in the Olympics
Author: GhostofBambi
Rating: T
Genre: Romance
Status: Complete, 12kwords
Library Category: Romance
Pairings: James Potter/Lily Evans
Summary:

Modern Era AU: When Lily Evans seeks assistance from James Potter to avoid the attentions of a suitor who just won't take no for an answer, she accidentally lands them both on the front page of every gossip magazine in Britain. She should have thought about that before pretending to be the girlfriend of a famous athlete.


Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11393601

It's a sweet and well written romance story. 4.5/5 rounded up.

 

Harry Potter without magic isn't Harry Potter.

 

Gonna have to agree with that. I really don’t see why the author didn’t just pick their own names. It wouldn’t have cost the story anything.

Not to mention, “modern AU” is a little ridiculous. It isn’t as if the seventies and eighties is exactly far removed. Oh no! Smartphones!

In any case, fluffy, well written, entertaining; this gets a 4/5, but it really isn’t fanfic in the slightest.

 

It absolutely would have cost the story something - when James first appears we wouldn't have knowledge of him pining for Lily through their school years to add context to the scene. The offhand mentions of Remus and Sirius would be a waste or words without the friendship dynamics we know, and taking the piss out of Vernon and Petunia would have greatly lessened impact without us knowing what shitty people they are.

 

I agree with TWT. There’s something in it for both the author and the audience that it’s HP characters in this story.

The author doesn’t (have to) describe anyone’s looks beyond a phrase here or there because already knows what the HP cast looks like. There’s an established audience for your fic.

The audience are more invested in the characters. There’s also moments where Remus or whoever pops up where we go ‘ha, appropriate’ or the opposite. Or puns or whatever that just wouldn’t work if it’s all new characters.

It makes sense for this to a fanfic rather than original work, and I like it better for it.

All that said, it didn’t blow me away. You know exactly what you’re going to get from reading this up front. It does deliver on the feel good fluff though, and it is well written.

I’ll go 3.5/5 rounded down.

(Copied most of this from NaAR Thread.)

 

I like it, it's a decent story.

But as said previously here, and by myself in the NaAR, it doesn't feel like HP. Certainly we gain the background knowledge of the characters, their feelings, and then then cameos are amusing. But the author could have put those in anyway, and nobody seems to downgrade other fanfiction purely because we get descriptions of the characters we already know, unless it happens every chapter or mention (a certain bushy-haired bookworm).

3/5, because I don't think it should be in the HP library, despite being good.

 

I'll have to agree with what Thaumologist and some others have pointed out. The fic doesn't reel remotely HP, especially since there's no magic involved. Utter blasphemy, I tell you!

Oh wait I lied:

:hahaa:

I'll admit, the back-and-forth between James and Lily was enjoyable to read. The writing was decent and grammar/spelling mistake-free at a first glance. But in the end, I read Harry Potter fanfiction for Harry Potter and the magical universe that feeds my escapism. 3/5 for me.

 

An enjoyable little trip. Easily 3.5/5 material. Would have rated it higher had it been a HP fanfiction which it is only in name.

 

I mean, I think most everyone so far has been unfair.

True, there's no magic, but Harry Potter is more than just magic; there's good reason the magic system was never given much depth or exploration. It's a device for telling a story.

This story, for a romantic comedy, is brilliant, the writing is solid, character voices consistent and there was no dragging on. The Harry Potter tag and the names were not just thrown in for no reason, as TWT said they help set the scene, characters and establish a background parallel.

This fic is not a magic-exploring epic, and it shouldn't have to be. We're supposed to appreciate good writing in most (if not all) its forms, and this is damn good writing doing what it set out to do perfectly.

5/5

Edit: We have fics that treat magic as an afterthought and respect them for what they are, but this one that does away with it entirely but keeps the characters consistent is so much worse? Please.

 

Look, the writing is good, prose-wise.
The characters are a little too perfect, and it's a little too wish-fulfillment-y.

Also, I could rename the characters ScarlettBooger and Nosepicker and have the exact same story.
Call them James and Lily.
Just don't call this Harry Potter fanfiction if literally nothing is the same as HPverse. No magic and no attempt to make this even vaguely a part of that universe.

2/5.