Fic Rec Fridays 2019 - part 45

Oak and Mistletoe (55643 words) by HildyJ
Chapters: 9/9
Fandom: The Hobbit - All Media Types, The Hobbit - J. R. R. Tolkien, The Hobbit (Jackson Movies)
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Bilbo Baggins/Thorin Oakenshield
Characters: Bilbo Baggins, Thorin Oakenshield, Hamfast Gamgee, Various Hobbits, Gandalf, Dís, Fíli, Kíli
Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Middle Earth Setting, Alternate Universe - Erebor Never Fell, Shire AU, Romance, Fluff, Supernatural Elements, Fairy Tale Elements, First Meetings, First Kiss, Falling In Love, Angst
Series: Part 1 of Oak and Mistletoe

Summary:

After a life dominated by a strange form of sickness, Thorin is sent to the Shire to seek a cure only Bilbo Baggins can offer.

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A perennial favourite I reread regularly, of the variety I call "comfort reading."

The lasting charm is a sum of many parts: to begin with, this is a fairytale with a delightfully original premise, but that’s not all. It’s also a Romance writ large, the kind of lovestory that kindles slow but burns oh-so-very-hot once caught. Yet it’s not overly sweet, for both Bilbo and Thorin are grown people, and the past has not always been kind, nor is the present without its troubles.

And true love, to be worth the name, is no easy gift of the fates. You have to want it, and choose it. But then it’s all the more precious. Then, it is sweet as strawberries, vast as the summer’s blue sky, soft as a lover’s voice, and warm as firelight on bare skin.

A final, special mention goes to the prose for vivid imagery and description that caters to all of the five senses, quite literally. To return to it feels like coming home.

(Also be sure to check the outtakes, if you like a peek at the steamier side of things.) I know I certainly do.