| Review: | patronus_charm says:
I have to admit I read the prequel to this back in the day when I didn’t see the point in reviewing and was also too scared too. I never actually realised that there was a sequel to this until I was about half-way through This Longing and I thought it made more sense to finish that first and then go onto this. Plus, this is completely different to This Longing so it will be nice to have a change. Ok that was enough rambling and on with the review!
Wow, I think that’s the first chapter image I’ve seen with animation, that’s really cool! First of all I really loved all the observations Rose made about all the people who lived near her, that really added something to the story and made it real. Plus, they were witty observations too and I couldn’t help but crack up at them.
I think one of things which I really loved in the prequel and it’s here again, is Rose’s witty nature. She was quite cynical about the tourists, and I really loved that as it gave her some not so nice traits which writers tend to stray away from with her. If anything, I would have thought that the next gen characters would have more of them than their predecessors given the amount of fame they had to live when growing up.
Another thing I really liked in the prequel and I’m really happy to see back here is the use of flashbacks. You wove them into the present with ease and I didn’t get confused at all. They’re acting almost as if they’re hidden moments to the story, and I really love that. I mean, having an entire scene with Rose and Teddy flat shopping would be boring, but that little snippet was really sweet.
A minor point, but ‘Twenty-five, that was it. What a disconcerting age. One whole quarter century. It seemed like an eternity.‘ I get what Rose means. Whenever it’s my birthday, I’m like woah have I really been alive for x amount of years.
I ♥ this line ‘"Dom" of course being short for "domestic goddess."’ I’ve never ever seen her be a domestic goddess before, as she’s usually the one who’s always with the boys in next gen stories but I really loved that, and it’s always great to see someone give the next gen characters an original portrayal once in a while.
I really love the complicated dynamics you’ve created in the story. It’s interesting that Rose is fretting a lot about what Victoire will be like at the dinner due to her being with Teddy, yet she barely mentions anything about Lily and Scorpius, and you would have thought she would have been Victoire in that position. I’m really intrigued to see how that happens, as the original Weasley family all got along well, but you’ve made the next generation more fractured than the previous.
I really liked Rose’s encounter with the woman in the shop. For some reason I’ve always held a love for those obscure characters that only make a very minor appearance in one chapter, and as this woman fitted the bill it was great to have her there.
I’m so glad that I decided to pick this, as it really shows what an amazing author you because Welcome to Mars and This Longing really aren’t that similar yet you’ve made me love both!
-Kiana
Author's Response: This is different from This Longing in style and mood, but it does share a number of the same themes. Where Grimm and Minerva were forced into adulthood by the end of TL, Rose has fallen into adulthood and doesn't quite know what to do with it. :P She and Grimm are oddly similar, and sadly Teddy is too - there's no Minerva to keep them in line!
Okay, enough comparisons. They're probably clearer in my head because all of my stories have clumped together up there - sometimes I wonder how I manage to tell them apart. The one major thing that this story and its prequel do is contain a lot more thinking - Rose spends much of time contemplating and worrying, largely because she lacks the impetuous to push forward. She has nothing to fight for, which is a problem I can see happening with the next-generation if there wasn't another war. At one point, I thought Rose's "problem" was that she had no ambitions, but she does - she went all the way to China to learn a trade. That was something she had to work for, even to fight for. But now, back in England, she has the kind of life she wanted, only she finds it a little too quiet, too comfortable.
I'm glad that you like Rose's witty nature. I couldn't resist having a lead character with snark, though sadly her cynicism toward tourists is less hers and more mine. XD It comes from living too close to a tourist destination. It's something less than pleasant, though, as you said, and it's good to hear that it enhances her character and suits the next-generation in general. It's something I've written into a number of next-generation characters, but I've never thought of it as a result of their childhoods in the spotlight. It would definitely make them see the world in a tainted light, and maybe it is another reason why Rose saw it necessary to leave England for a time.
You know, I've actually written Lily and Scorpius out of this story. It was a good way of avoiding the problems they'd bring along, and from the way that WTA ended, I doubt that either of them want to go near the Weasley family for a long while. They've moved abroad - I can't decide whether it's the Riviera or the South Pacific. To include them in this story would only create more drama, and there's more than enough already on Rose's plate. ;)
Thank you for reading and reviewing this story! It's fantastic to hear that you've enjoyed the first chapter, and that you also enjoyed WTA. :D
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