TLS Fics of the Week August 30 - September 5, 2011
The Slowest Burn by TypoKween
360 : He took my underwear, hung them from his back pocket, then said, "These are mine." - AH, E/B, Lemons. - Romance/Drama - Words: 69,595 - Bella & Edward - Rated: M
1st Review by PAWsPeaches
When Crooked Smile told me she was reading a fic that she thought I would like, I gave it a go. Ever since that day, this fic has been on my mind and had me hooked from the first chapter. If your brand of Ward is a badassWard and you enjoy a slow burn with a fantastic chase, then this is the fic for you. The Slowest Burn has taken me on a sweet journey back to highschool, filling my head with memories of good times and filling my heart with love for all of these characters. I won't go into detail about the story because the next review does but I will tell you that this story has me excited and addicted. I will go as far as to say that I've moved it to the very tip top of my favorite fics list. Yes, It's THAT good.
2nd Review by Bojidara Krumova
Finding your place in the world is hard. Finding your place in the world as a teenager is ever harder.
The Slowest Burn tells the tale of Bella Swan, a girl who has it all; position in a cheerleading squad, social status and more friends than she could name. However, in life nothing is ever as it seems. Her fellow cheerleaders don’t like her, her social status is supported by her best friend, Rosalie, and friends would invite her to a party, but not listen to her problems.
Bella tries to fit in so hard, she loses herself somewhere along the way. Unable to express her own opinion out of fear she’d screw up, she walks down the path she’s supposed to.
"Okay," suddenly Rosalie's mouth is at my ear as we near the athlete table, "there's Jasper at the end. Slip in beside him and play it cool. Do not mention anything about giving his jacket back or even the fact that you have it on. Just be casual and…" she pauses to look down at me because she's so tall, "shit, you're going to fuck this up, aren't you?" she frowns and shakes her head.
The life Bella lives, it’s nice. She makes no hard decisions, she just goes with the flow. Having her life mapped out in front of her is easy, but when she finally gives in to what her heart desires, her life turns into a rollercoaster.
It only took one party, one decision on her own and one hook up, before everything went to hell. Bella gave in to her desires once, and nothing was the same after that.Hooking up in high school is a regular occurrence, but when you hook up with Edward Cullen, the troubled rebel with anger management problems, things turn to the worse.
He grins and plays with the top elastic on my panties. "I've been waiting a very, very long time for this moment, Bella."
With each chapter we see the internal battle within Bella — the girl she’s supposed to be and the girl she wants to be. When you’ve been a puppet for so long you don’t even know how to deal with your own mistakes, you tend to screw up.
"What the fuck does it matter what they think or what they say? Transfer out; go to La Push with me." He rams his fingers through his hair. "I know you feel this, Bella," he says and motions between us. "You felt it that night, and you feel it now. So the fuck what if circumstances are against us? Are you seriously that shallow?"
TypoKween gives Bella a new problem to face on her own with each chapter. Slowly, our narrator gets more and more strength to deal with her own demons, without asking for help. She’s fixing her long lost friendship with Jacob Black, she deals with Rosalie’s pregnancy and tells people to fuck off, all while trying to understand her feelings toward Cullen.
Bella Swan is a physician assistant student trying to survive a grueling clinical year. Add Dr. Edward Cullen, a cocky, irresistible ob/gyn resident. Throw in some chocolate, sprinkle with a few of Bella's quirky theories about life, and see what happens. Twilight - Rated: M
Review by Holdme Ransom
Doing your medical rotation in a busy hospital can be rough on you. Long hours, temperamental patients, the smell of sterility permeating the air. High strung doctors that make your heart race for more than the adrenaline of Emergency surgery.What Bella Swan learns is that behind the medical mask, sexy Dr. Edward Cullen is more than he appears. Egotistical most days, over confident, and amazing talented, he has hands that can work your kinks by just being in the same room. And eyes and a face that should never hide behind a mask. Bella finds herself hot and bothered by Dr. F-Me as she works her rotation with him on overnights.
But he’s a moody doc. Full of himself and likes to make his physician assistant work hard for him.
What can curb Dr. Sexy? Like every other man: through his stomach.
Good thing Bella can find time to cook in between her long shifts. She tempts him with her food, warming him up to help her on her rotation.
A friendship of sorts begins, aided by Bella’s need to carry chocolate, like little Doctor treats for the doctor. She’ll start him on the lower level chocolates, reserving the good stuff for those that deserve it. He’s still trying.
Dr. Cullen can feel the attraction to her, but his past could make things difficult. He learns early that Bella’s dear old dad is Police Chief back home, where Edward was not the golden boy.
But can they have a relationship? He is by all accounts her mentor. Can she concentrate when his hands make magic on the operating table, or elsewhere? Can they behave themselves when there is nothing much to do in between traumas? Is it true what happens in those dark exam rooms when no one is around?
This story is so delightfully fresh and fun, with an amazing amount of UST to keep our hearts racing. Bella has quite the sharp wit, calling Dr. Cullen’s snark on several occasions, denying him when mere simple women might cave. This is of course intriguing to Dr. Sex God. How on Earth could he be denied? And by such an amazing creature as Bella Swan.
If you like ER, if you love the banter between a feisty Physician’s assistant and an over confident doctor, give this story a go. The banter and inner dialogue will leave you in stitches, and the ode to chocolate and food will make you hungry for more. The medical jargon is well thought out for the novice reader, without seeming too simple. I love it for the adult wit without the need to be dirty, although there is enough perving by our characters to get you hot and bothered. A strong Bella who knows where she wants to be in life makes this story win win. This is definitely one of my go to reads when it updates!
Gypsies Tramps and Theives by 107yearoldvirgin
The world as we know it no longer exists. New social classes have formed. Monsters roam free. And Mankind's survival is not what it seems. AU/BxE/ Postapocalyptic Vampfic Twilight - Rated: M
Review by Suebee0619
While this is a post-apocalyptic AU, that description barely does it justice. This is the world after the end of days, where humans are divided into two distinct classes. The frightening thing to me is just how believable it really is. The separation between the two classes is described perfectly by Bella.
Because truthfully…there was no Garden of Eden here. No Adam. No Eve.
There was simply: Them.
And: Us.
The men and women who looked down on us for the lifestyle they had forced us into. The women who scorned us in their marketplaces, speaking ill of our clothing, our tents, our way of survival. And their men who pretended to despise us, yet secretly snuck out of their own candle lit homes to watch us in the dark of night as we gave them what they lacked and had to pay for now.
They may have had all of the money and status, but we had the power.
The gypsy women dance for the upper class men and many of them are whores as well to
earn some extra gold. But not Bella. Bella is kept pure and we discover why later in the story. The first clue we get that something is amiss comes from Edward, who saves her from a man after one of her performances. As he leaves her, the following exchange takes place:
"They've chosen wisely," he called to me in the darkness.
"Who?" My own voice sounded unfamiliar and harsh against the sweet quiet of his.
The man stood to his feet and glanced over his shoulder towards the tent city. "Isabella?"
"How did you know my name?"
His face never turned back towards me before he began to walk away. "The first chance you get…"
"Yes?"
"Run."
Edward’s protectiveness of Bella is a mission not only to save her, but to save him and the rest of the vampires in his family.
She was the apple in our Garden on Eden. And I needed to make sure she survived, in order for us all to remain in our Utopia.
He sees this world as a vampire’s Garden of Eden, where she sees almost no redeeming quality in the world as it now exists and this dichotomy is a fascinating undercurrent to the bigger plot. You may have noticed I’m not giving away much in the way of details here. One of the wonderful experiences reading this are the small reveals of what exactly is going on. Slowly, you start to have enough pieces of the puzzle to begin to see the bigger picture.
The two of them are drawn to each other beyond the role of protector and protected and they are slowly figuring things out as they go. How can he save her without bringing the world crashing down and carefully navigate their way through the tangled web set by the vampire royalty? This is what I’m waiting, breathlessly, to find out.
After Edward is struck with a serious illness, Bella offers to give him a ride to school every day. His musings on life are priceless and unique. Based in its entirety on a true story. Twilight - Rated: M
Review by Mina Rivera
The first thing that I look for in a fic before I start reading is its summary, then I go check if there is anyone else reading it and ask for their opinion.
There are rare stories that catch my eye and simply suck me in without stopping to think about it.
This story is one of them.
And it only took me one line.
“Based in its entirety on a true story and dedicated to Grant.”
Just from that line, I knew that I was about to be part of something unique and true.
What I didn’t expect was to feel so connected to the characters and the story itself on such a level that I read the story in only two hours, and then re-read it in only one hour.
And then re-re-read it in another hour.
Yeah, this is one of those stories that you just HAVE to read more than once. Not because of the hot lemons or the amazing action and mystery.
No.
This story is so compelling in its simplicity and vulnerability that it draws you in.
The characters are REAL, in every sense of the word. You can identify their evolution with a part of yourself that you had once lived back in school.
Their growth is something you have experienced in your youth.
Their friendship is something you have found once or twice around.
Their attraction is something you have felt curious about more than once.
Their love is something you have felt or aspire to feel in your life.
Their story is something you are now part of, because you read it.
And it all starts with an email…
FWD: Edward's Schedule
To: Bella Swan, Angela Weber
Monday, April 4, 6:45 AM
Hi Girls,
I know this is a random email, but I thought you might be able to help. Edward Cullen had another seizure last week and is not allowed to drive for six months. I know he goes to school with you girls and he can't drive himself there now. Below is his schedule and I thought that there had to be kids from the area that he could catch a ride with. If you or someone you know that goes to FHS would be able to give him a lift; that would be a huge help. I'm sure they would offer to pay gas money.
I'm not trying to put you two on the spot, I just figured you'd be a good place to start looking for help.
Hope you're both doing well.
Cathleen Stanley
From a helping hand, to a partner, to a friend, to a lover and to forever.
All changes for this Edward when a small favor from a girl with a big heart shows him how life can be for him.
"I don't want to be…a burden for you, Bella. I…I have issues. I know that. You know that. I thought that maybe this thing could work out and so I tried, I really did try yesterday, to be optimistic. But, as soon as we took off, I felt sick and it was like..." he laughed a little, darkly, "I don't know, it was like an omen or something." He paused in thought for a few moments. "I just don't want anyone going out of their way for me."
It was the most I had ever heard him say at one time. I was equally happy that it wasn't because he was embarrassed and infuriated because he thought of himself as 'a burden'.
I wanted to tell him that I was different from other people. I was meant to take care of people and I had known this since I was a little girl. He didn't want to be taken care of or coddled in any way; I could understand and respect that, but I wasn't donating organs or cutting off limbs for him. I was driving him to the school and he was going to accept it, damnit.
"Edward…it's a ride to school." Somewhat sarcastically, I continued, "I accepted the challenge of taking you to school and everything else that may come with it," implying yesterday's vomit incident slyly, "so suck it up and be ready at 6:35 every week day, got it?"
Edward was looking at me incredulously, believe me, with my sailor's mouth, I knew what incredulous looked like by now. He stared for a few moments before shaking his head and then nodding, a small, but beautiful smile on his face.
"Yeah." He smiled wider, one side of his lips going higher than the other. "Yeah, okay."
"Good." Now, I was smiling.
Both characters are flawed and uncertain, but as the story progresses, so do they.
I urge you to read this story; you’ll be part of something so unique that you will want to read more from this author, even though she doesn’t have any other stories in her profile.
So, go read and review, and maybe even do a little begging for another story.
Oh! And before you read the epilogue, stock up on Kleenex, it was such a beautiful surprise!
Until next time,
~Mina
