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mtbc's review
4.0
Nice little short story but with sad overtones since I knew "the rest of the story".
vikingwolf's review
1.0
I didn't like this at all as I felt there were too many things wrong with it that didn't fit with the Harry Potter books. These are a couple of my issues.
Firstly, If at this point Snape had indeed turned spy for Dumbledore, secrecy is vital and he would NOT have hinted to his arch enemy James Potter that he was doing dangerous work to keep him and Lily safe. If word of his spying got back to Voldemort Snape would be dead, and Dumbledore already knew that there was a spy in the Order. Snape and Dumbledore would have kept that between themselves. I doubt Snape would have been following Lily all over the place is such an obvious manner or referring to her as Evans.
In the prisoner of Azkaban, Sirius admits that he and James chose to secretly change from Sirius to Wormtail as Secret Keeper because they suspected Remus of being the spy. In this book it indicates that Wormtail has been approached for the task already, so Remus must already be a suspect. So would you really let him babysit Harry while you go shopping? And would Sirius have gone for a run leaving the suspected traitor with Harry and only Wormtail for protection? Doubtful.
The scene where the Death Eaters catch Wormtail is highly unlikely. I think if Voldemort wanted to get him on side, he wouldn't be grabbing him with his friends so close by in animal form and able to sniff out their known enemies.
It also looks as if events aren't in the right timeline. If they know about the prophecy should they not already be in hiding instead of shopping in Diagon Alley where any wizard can see them? It says they are living in Godric's Hollow yet no Secret Keeper has yet been put into place so they can't be hiding yet. So does that mean Dumbledore lets them live there for a while then tells them to pick a Secret Keeper and then hide in Godric's Hollow again? If they are meant to be hiding they're not doing a very good job of it with Remus the alleged spy in their house, them out shopping and Snape able to follow them!
It was also billed as Harry's first Christmas yet we barely see him in it!
There are just too many plot holes here for me to have enjoyed this read. I get that this is fan fiction but it needs to fit in with the characters that JK Rowling wrote and I don't believe it delivers on that score.
Firstly, If at this point Snape had indeed turned spy for Dumbledore, secrecy is vital and he would NOT have hinted to his arch enemy James Potter that he was doing dangerous work to keep him and Lily safe. If word of his spying got back to Voldemort Snape would be dead, and Dumbledore already knew that there was a spy in the Order. Snape and Dumbledore would have kept that between themselves. I doubt Snape would have been following Lily all over the place is such an obvious manner or referring to her as Evans.
In the prisoner of Azkaban, Sirius admits that he and James chose to secretly change from Sirius to Wormtail as Secret Keeper because they suspected Remus of being the spy. In this book it indicates that Wormtail has been approached for the task already, so Remus must already be a suspect. So would you really let him babysit Harry while you go shopping? And would Sirius have gone for a run leaving the suspected traitor with Harry and only Wormtail for protection? Doubtful.
The scene where the Death Eaters catch Wormtail is highly unlikely. I think if Voldemort wanted to get him on side, he wouldn't be grabbing him with his friends so close by in animal form and able to sniff out their known enemies.
It also looks as if events aren't in the right timeline. If they know about the prophecy should they not already be in hiding instead of shopping in Diagon Alley where any wizard can see them? It says they are living in Godric's Hollow yet no Secret Keeper has yet been put into place so they can't be hiding yet. So does that mean Dumbledore lets them live there for a while then tells them to pick a Secret Keeper and then hide in Godric's Hollow again? If they are meant to be hiding they're not doing a very good job of it with Remus the alleged spy in their house, them out shopping and Snape able to follow them!
It was also billed as Harry's first Christmas yet we barely see him in it!
There are just too many plot holes here for me to have enjoyed this read. I get that this is fan fiction but it needs to fit in with the characters that JK Rowling wrote and I don't believe it delivers on that score.
greenapplesauce's review
3.0
Timeline is skewed, but it is a great way to keep the Harry stories alive. :)
ellelainey's review
4.0
Another brilliant short story that fits in greatly with the James Potter series.
meowreads_94's review
3.0
It should not be considered as a book. It's the short story story indeed. Being a die hard fan of J.K Rowling I am not suppose to tell any other writer 'well done' for writing a story about Harry or anything related to HP,still like this one because of giving a chance to see the other side of the mirror in a new way. Hating peter petregrew is fair enough, but the reasons behind his betrayal were no one's consent and GNL just brought the a glimpse of that side. Though there was not anything about Harry's first Xmas in details so the title got an 'O' from me, but I can give the writer a high five for writing a well build fan fic.
brindha's review
2.0
This 'novella' had some good points, but was mostly bad. The two stars are for the HP premise, which the author didn't mess up too badly.
No spoiler tags attached, because, frankly, we know where the story is heading if you've read the first three books. So, here goes:
First, Lily didn't seem like Lily at all. She was hurt and humiliated by Severus and his 'pureblood' agenda. But she begs James to invite him over for Christmas because Severus will be all alone? And she offers Severus a peek at Harry's green pyjamas(to convince him to protect Harry??????!!!!) while James is barely three feet away in the alley, obliviously reminiscing about Sirius' bike. What a load of Hippogriff dung.
I haven't read Lippert's James Potter books, because the reviews said he wanders into OOC-ness, and I think they're right.
He's trying too hard to spin new reasons for canon events.
The only redeeming part was the analysis of Pettigrew. The glimpse into his psyche and his twisted loneliness was interesting. If only for that, I wish there had been more chapters.
Otherwise, a definite no-no from me.
No spoiler tags attached, because, frankly, we know where the story is heading if you've read the first three books. So, here goes:
First, Lily didn't seem like Lily at all. She was hurt and humiliated by Severus and his 'pureblood' agenda. But she begs James to invite him over for Christmas because Severus will be all alone? And she offers Severus a peek at Harry's green pyjamas(to convince him to protect Harry??????!!!!) while James is barely three feet away in the alley, obliviously reminiscing about Sirius' bike. What a load of Hippogriff dung.
I haven't read Lippert's James Potter books, because the reviews said he wanders into OOC-ness, and I think they're right.
He's trying too hard to spin new reasons for canon events.
The only redeeming part was the analysis of Pettigrew. The glimpse into his psyche and his twisted loneliness was interesting. If only for that, I wish there had been more chapters.
Otherwise, a definite no-no from me.
mckenzierichardson's review
4.0
This story was actually surprisingly good. I really liked how Lippert got inside the heads of more minor characters to examine their motivations for the actions they committed in [a:J K Rowling|7855071|J K Rowling|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-d9f6a4a5badfda0f69e70cc94d962125.png]'s original Harry Potter series. A nice short read that is truly interesting and thought-provoking.