Title: How to Charm a Witch
Author: ChatterChick
Rating: Fiction T
Genre: Romance/Humour
Chapters: 8
Words: 20,446
Updated: January 19, 2016
Published: April 23, 2015
Status: Completed
Library Category: Humour
Pairings: Lily Luna Potter/OC
Summary: Colin Longbottom wants nothing more than to impress Lily Luna Potter. Unfortunately he has all the charm of your typical Longbottom male.
Link: https://www.fanfiction.net/s/11203193/1/How-to-Charm-a-Witch

I don't normally read next-gen fics, but this one caught my eye. The OC mentioned in the pairing is Colin Longbottom, the son of Neville and Hannah Longbottom. The poor fellow has a crush on Lily Luna Potter, but the travails of teenagers are rarely easy enough that things just click. Of course, the fic has a happy ending, but I suppose that's quite obvious from the pairing itself.

The technical writing is sound. Let's get that out of the way. I'm not very fastidious about things being perfect writing-wise as a bunch of us are, but nothing obvious jumped out at me. The words used are crisp, I think there aren't many Americanisms used, and there is no case of incessant verbiage. All-in-all, I don't think the writing itself would put many people off.

The characterisation of both the next-gen and the current gen is pretty good. Neville is quite believable as the Head of Gryffindor: he's more confident than he was, but at heart he's still the same Neville Longbottom we met in first year who forgot the sorting hat on his head and had to run back and hand it to McGonagall. Ron feels like Ron. Grown up, of course, but at heart still the same guy we met in the books. Hermione's characterisation is also quite well-done. It's slightly over-done, in my opinion, but not to the point of distastefulness. At the end of the day the fic is tagged humour, so it doesn't feel jarring. Harry and Ginny have very little screen time, but even they seem to be true to their canonical characters.

The next-gen kids read like teenagers. I've found that very few authors really get teenagers down pat, and I'm glad to have found one who does it quite well. The interactions between the kids are believable and funny. Colin Longbottom is earnest and dorky, Lily Luna is a fun tomboy who's starting to grow up, and Hugo Weasley is definitely a mix of Ron and Hermione Weasley.

The plot is nothing new. However, the execution is very well-done. It's a fun, entertaining read if you're free for fifteen or so minutes. There wasn't any laugh-out-loud moment in the fic, but I found myself smiling throughout. 4.5/5 from me, and I'll round the rating up.

 

This fic was so much fun to read. I’m not sure how it’ll be received on DLP because it very much reads like a YA novel, but the writing IMO is of professional quality. The story did what so much of fanfiction often fails to do — it drew me in. Pretty much as soon as I started the story, I wanted to find out where it was going and what would happen to its characters. Not because it opened with an intense moment with high stakes. It was just interesting in a everyday way.

The pacing is also well done. The author tells a full, complete story in 20,000 words, and by the end of it, I feel like I know all the characters really well.

4.5/5

 

The characters in this story are relatable in that they’re mostly normal teenagers. This is a good story for what it is. It isn’t pretentious, and while I never thought I would see a purely romance fanfic that wasn’t terrible... This was pretty good.

Like Halt said this isn’t the best of the best, but it is a library worthy entry. 4/5

 

Very well-written and the characterization is excellent.

It does read like a YA novel, though--one for very young teens. It's sweet, but there aren't any real stakes involved except for teenage drama like 'who's going to kiss who.' If these characters had an adventure together similar to those of the trio, it would be probably be a very popular story.

I honestly don't know how to rate it. It's a 5/5 for its genre, and it definitely belongs in somebody's library, but DLPs?

4/5, I guess. It will appeal to someone looking for a quick fix of gentle next-gen escapism.

 

This is one of the better new romance fics out there; interesting, three dimensional characterizations and fluid dialogue make this story incredibly easy to read and the plot flows naturally.

It lacks some of the "magic" which is what I love Harry Potter for, but captures the essence of the "humanity despite magic" trope, which can be endearing when done well.

There isn't much more to say about this, I think. It's well written, sweet and fun. It's a light read, leaves you feeling slightly happier than when you started off, and not much else. I'm glad I read it, though I don't feel like I've come away from it with anything more.

4.5/5 from me.

 

Not a bad story at all in terms of plot or writing, both of those were very well done...but as Zombie said it was a tad boring. I would have liked to see a bit more action in it than a slice of life fic. Though I know that's not necessarily what the author was going for.

4/5 from me for being well written and accomplishing the author's goal, but minus 1 star because it doesn't really fit the epicness DLP is known for in our preferred stories.