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I expect two reactions from this title: You’ll either be very excited or condone me for being a heathen. For those of you who have been in this black hole of fanfics with me, welcome, and for the other siders – please hear me out.
I was once one of you. I thought nothing should ruin the original books. But then I kept seeing Manacled by SenLinYu on Booktalk. People were freaking out about it, hand-binding the books themselves just to own a copy. I got very curious. I am a human, after all, so after months of resisting, I gave in.
This was followed by me endangering my job for the next three days because I couldn’t put the book down, and it was so goddamn long! Then, I was finally done, but I couldn’t get the story out of my head. I ended up re-reading it FOR FOUR TIMES.
Enough was enough, so I decided to try one more fanfic. How can it hurt? I thought it would help me get over it.
Today, I’ve already read 20 Dramione fanfics and two Tom Riddle X Hermione fanfics (This is a whole another level of problem; don’t go there, THERE IS NO COMING BACK)
So this is how I got into this mess. Those of you who know, you know, but if I still haven’t convinced the other half to join the wonderful community of AO3 and you still want to stick to traditionally published books, well, I have the best of two worlds for you!
Three of the most famous fiction authors signed book deals. The books will be released this year! In this article, I will introduce you to these books. (Disclaimer: all of these books will probably be as awesome as the fics they were based on, so do yourselves a favor and read them on the weekend or a vacation.)
Alchemised by SenLinYu (Previously known as Manacled)
Rease date: September 20, 2025
This is the one I’ve already mentioned before and the one that started it all. It is probably the most famous and the best Dramione fic, with millions of views on AO3. It was translated into multiple languages and blew the whole Booktalk up. People either love or hate it, but everyone agrees it is devastating.
Alchemised will be a standalone dark fantasy set in a war-torn world. When the publishing house says it will be dark, believe them!
SenLinYu writes war as ugly as it gets. She vividly describes brutality on the battlefield and another fight, not less important, the ones that healers wage to save lives and send them back to the battlefield to rist their lives again. The snake eating its own tale. A neverending cycle of violence. We can see how it transforms a person and sucks away at their humanity.
“You’re like a rose in a graveyard. I wonder what you could have turned into without the war” – SenLinYu
I can’t put it together better than the author herself, so here are some excerpts from an article on her website announcing the release of Alchemised.
“Alchemised is a standalone dark fantasy set in a war-torn world of necromancy and alchemy, in which a healer with amnesia is taken as a prisoner of war and must fight to protect her lost memories and the secrets hidden among them. It will grapple with themes of trauma and survival, legacy, and the way that love can drive one to extreme darkness, and it is, as you may be able to tell, a reimagined version of Manacled…
…I suddenly had this idea of alchemy, which was peculiarly appropriate: an academic world filled with unique transmutational abilities and a necromantic war against people who had discovered the secrets of immortality, and I could see a path to reimagining the story while still holding on to as much of the original spirit of Manacled as possible. “
The first half of Manacled was based on Harry Potter and also Handmaiden’s tale. Strange combination, right? The healer has created a subconscious barrier around her memories that protects something, but no one can get through it, not even herself. The second half of the book is a re-discovery of locked memories, and we will finally find out what was the character so desperately trying to hide.
Draco Malfoy and Hermione Granger will be replaced with new characters, Helena Marino and Kaine Ferron, and I honestly can’t wait to dive into this new world.
SPOILER:
Mortal enemies fighting on opposite sides will meet as a spy and a handler in the most unexpected circumstances. They don’t trust each other. Both are lonely and have given everything to the war to the point that nothing is left to give. They understand each other in a way no one else does, making a romance between them brutal but inevitable.
“You’re like a rose in a graveyard. I wonder what you could have turned into without the war”―
This is a sad story that will probably induce anxiety. It’s utterly miserable and emotionally challenging to read, but that makes tiny moments of joy so much better, and the whole story – a masterpiece.
The cover art you see here and multiple other amazing pieces from this fic were created by AVENDELL. Avendell will also create art that will be featured in Alchemised, deluxe edition.
The Irresistible Urge to Fall For Your Enemy -Dearly Beloathed Series (Previously known as Draco Malfoy and the Mortifying Ordeal of Being in Love)
Rease date: July 25, 2025
To lighten the mood a little, here is a light-hearted rom-com-style romance that will bring a smile to your face!
“The first in a slow burn, enemies-to-lovers romantasy duology featuring a scholarly healer and a gentleman assassin, set in an exquisite fantasy world, perfect for fans of The Love Hypothesis and Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries.”
Osric Mordaunt, a member of the Fyren Order of Assassins, desperately needs healing. Naturally – such is the grim comedy of fate – the only healer who can help is Aurienne Fairhrim, preeminent scientist, bastion of moral good, and member of an enemy Order.
Aurienne is desperate for funding to heal the sick – so desperate that, when Osric bribes her to help him, she accepts, even if she detests him and everything he stands for.
A forced collaboration ensues: the brilliant Woman in STEM is coerced into working with the PhD in Murders, much to Aurienne’s disgust. As Osric and Aurienne work together to heal his illness and investigate the mysterious reoccurrence of a deadly pox, they find themselves ardently denying their attraction, which only fuels the heat between them.
Reading this fic was indeed an experience. Sometimes, I even forgot that it was fanfiction because of how unique and engaging the plot was. Legends and mythology should heavily inspire the book because, in the fanfic, Hermione and Draco travel all around the world to find ingredients for a mysterious potion that Hermione is working on.
Hermione is conducting secret research and needs to acquire very specific ingredients at a specific time. This results in the story taking a quest like nature. Draco accidentally tags along with the first quest, but he finds it so enjoyable and adventurous that he keeps finding reasons to join Hermione on all of them.
Some quests are calm and wonderful, some so wild and funny, but in the end, it all comes together in a beautiful story.
Between quests, we have glimpses of their everyday lives, which are equally adventurous. Hermione has many enemies who don’t want her to work on a project, and Draco is an auror who gets sent on dangerous missions.
The romance is a painfully slow burn, and the anticipation will kill you by the end. It’s not too spicy. The author said that only two chapters will have some action in the first book, but it’s ok. More spice wouldn’t have suited the story anyway.
Overall, the author convinced me about her incredible talent as a writer with a warm, funny story that still explored emotional trauma, uncertainty, and love tenderness in a light-hearted, engaging story. I can’t wait to read her first published book!
Rose in Chains – The Evermore Trilogy (Previously known as The Auction)
Rease date: July 8, 2025
Morality has left through the front door. We are back to a sad, miserable and painful, but in a good way.
“You’re gonna suffer…but you’re gonna be happy about it”
So here goes our last but not least Dramione fanfic turned into a published book.
Captured as her castle is overrun by the enemy, Briony Rosewood knows that the world as she knows it is changed forever. The dark forces of Bomard have won and her people, the Eversuns, face imminent servitude, imprisonment or death. Her brother, fated to be heir twice over and unite the warring kingdoms, is dead.
Stripped of her Mind Magic and her freedom, Briony and the other survivors are quickly auctioned off to the highest bidders in an auction – and as the heir-apparent’s sister, she fetches the highest price.
After a fierce bidding war, she’s sold to none other than Toven a high ranking Bomardsun – and her long-time and ill-fated infatuation. Scion of a family known for their cruel control of Heart Magic, the Hearsts are ruthlessly ambitious, and Briony knows they will use her however they can to further their own interests.
Yet despite the horrors of her new world and the role she must learn to play within it, all is not lost. Help – and hope – may yet arise in the most unlikely of places…
The Rose in Chains will be the first book in The Evermore trilogy. If the author keeps the same trajectory as in the fic, I expect a lot of spice and action.
This fic is very dark and often compared to Manacled, both exploring a post-war scenario where Voldemort and the enemy side win. In this AU, survived captives are distributed amongst Death Eaters through an Auction. They sell these people like livestock, men and women—the more critical the prisoner, the higher the bid.
The bid for Hermione is the most intense. Ultimately, she is sold to the highest bidder to one other than Draco Malfoy.
The pacing is amazing, and the romance–all-consuming. Forced proximity causes a lot of banter between characters, which is inevitable in the scenario of enemies to lovers turning to forbidden lovers.
Hermione is distrustful, and rightfully so. She saw all her friends deal with the worst fate and expect the same for herself. She is steadfast in her convictions but is forced to confront her biases as she gets to spend more time with Draco.
What makes their dynamic enjoyable is that in this version of Draco, he still keeps his humor and wit, but you can also see the trauma that the war left.
What I especially love about Draco’s character in all the fics that we’ve covered so far, including this one, is Draco’s relationship with his mother. This powerful wizard and strong man always has humility towards his mother and never undermines her wishes. I was once told that men who respect their mothers will become good lovers. It’s a very Freudian theory, but it has some sense.
It’s not just his mother. Here, the whole Malfoy family presents a united front, even Lucius, helping Draco protect the woman he loves.
Side characters truly shine in this work. Other captives never stop fighting. The schemes they are trying to pull and the rebellion still left in their spirit are admirable. You can’t help but hold your breath when their plan sets in motion.
The Auction explores the complexity of human relationships and the possibility of change. It’s a must-read for Dramione fans who enjoy slow-burn romance, morally complex narratives, and an unflinching look at the aftermath of war. This work will have you on the edge of your seat the whole time.
