It has some beautiful turns of phrase and this style would probably not bare the weight of a full story. Still I found it skimmed over things to its own detriment. The Venetian setting was a nice idea but it never really felt like the HP aspects had really been melded into it other than pureblood=noble. The world building was nonexistent past the setting and the style. The hints of backstory and the wider world never felt like it added up to a cohesive whole. Magic in general adds nothing at all to this story and could have been removed without anything much changing

I'm not sure what was the point setting up the pureblood/noble muggleborn/low class divide and of giving Draco his usual personality if they were going to have him do a 180 the second he lay eyes on Hermione. The only time it might have bearing on the plot. I'm all for stylistic depictions of love but that seemed deeply pointless in a story that is so spearing with its words and a waste of an easy character arc.

This story is all style, the substance is a poorly plotted romance/intrigue that has little tension or stakes or much of a character arc for anyone who is not Daphne (barely). Most of the side characters are little more than paper cutouts with HP names attached. However that being said, the style is very very pretty. You can feel yourself sinking into the prose as letting your eyes run across each line. Its a mesmerizing read and it doesn't overstay its welcome. It's worth reading and reading slowly.

4/5 Style over substance Isn't always a bad thing, though I can't help wish it had a little more of the latter.