TLS Fics of the Week 11/17 - 11/23- Reviews are up!
Each week, you log on and tell us which poll nominees moved you the most and we deliver reviews on your favorites, faithfully. Please enjoy this week's TLS FICS OF THE WEEK and stop by the author profiles below, to give them some love. Tell them TLS sent you.
With love,
Ladies of TLS
Bonne Foi by Amethyst Jackson
http://www.fanfiction.net/s/4639011/1/Bonne_Foi
AU. Edward Masen was changed in 1918 and abandoned by his sire. He feeds on human blood, unaware of any other way…until he stumbles across college freshman Bella Swan for a night that will change everything. Twilight - Rated: M
Reviewed By: Troublefollows Edward
Bonne Foi by Amethyst Jackson starts out with a very dark, very menacing vampire named Edward Masen. He is enjoying a little hunting near a busy college campus. He believes he has everything figured out. He’s quite content with his system, way of existing.
Over the near century I'd lived as a vampire, I'd perfected my existence. At first it had been impossible to walk among human beings without tasting them. But over time, my thirst dulled, allowing me to feed every few weeks, once a month if necessary. If I lingered in more highly populated areas, the death toll went largely unnoticed. Not that anyone could catch me. I left no evidence, disguising my feedings as typical homicides, and no one ever guessed. Besides, I could charm the humans easily into believing my innocence. Especially when I could hear their thoughts, tell them exactly what they needed to be convinced.All that changes when he meets a sweet little freshman named Bella Swan. He can’t read her mind and that makes her the very first interesting human he has ever met. You know, met, cornered so he can eat them, it’s all the same to him. He doesn’t eat her though. She smart, she’s fascinating, she’s beautiful. He takes her to the meadow where they connect on a whole other level. Again, Edward is confused by his own internal struggle. He wants to consume her but he also wants to have her. This is not his usual way of doing things.
"Do you want this?" I asked. I wasn't sure why – did it matter what she wanted? But I didn't want to be like the men I used to kill, men who would hunt young girls and use them without even offering the mercy of death. She had to want it.
"Yes," she breathed, striking me with those eyes again.Yes, Bella wants it. He’s dangerous and mysterious and part of her probably knows he wants to kill her, but it doesn’t matter. Her wants outweigh her fear just like his want outweighs his hunger.
Once he decides to let her live and go home that night, he’s hooked. The quiet of her mind, the amazing sex, and her intellect have him completely at her mercy. I love that in this story. A vampire brought to his knees by a simple girl. So there some more hot lemony goodness, somebody’s sire comes to town, Bella finds out she’s known some vampires already. The Cullens are family friends. They introduce Edward to their vegetarian lifestyle. And let’s not forget about the Volturi. It’s a pretty canon take on things. Edward is protective, Bella is a little klutzy. But Amethyst Jackson gives us what Stephenie Meyer did not - hot, hot, hot vamp/human sex. This is The Lemonade Stand, right?
AJ’s writing is lovely and she gets into Edward’s mind perfectly. Another thing we all love - EPOV. The whole thing. Love it. Give Bonne Foi a chance, leave some love, and tell them Trouble sent you!
Everything I Thought I Knew by drotuno
http://www.fanfiction.net/s/7487341/1/Everything_I_Thought_I_KnewWhat if the one person you thought you could count on suddenly changed before your very eyes? Edward Masen is tired of being invisible and the shoulder to cry on. Bella is starting to feel something different for her best friend. What if it's too late? AH Twilight - Rated: M
Reviewed by: Mina Rivera
When I saw that this fic won the poll as one of the TOP FIVE, I grabbed the review like a wild hyena fighting for the last piece of meat.
Why?
Because I’m a HUGE fan of Drotuno’s, and whenever she answers my tweets, I swear I squeal like a fangirl at a Twilight event.
Even if you have never heard of her or her characters Angelward and Mercward, it’s a known fact that Drotuno writes the sweetest, most caring and lovable Edwards around, and she doesn’t stop there. Drotuno also gives ALL of her characters something special that makes you want to read more and more about them. You end up loving everything about her stories, and sometimes you literally cry when she hits that complete button.
This story is no exception.
It’s a short COMPLETE fic that captures your heart from the very first paragraph and promises a HEA, E/B all the way and no cheating what so ever!
In this story we meet a sweet, adorkable and self-conscious Geekward. He’s a brilliant architect and works with his two best friends, Emmett and Bella, at their own construction company. He is desperate to find someone to love, but unfortunately seeks it in the wrong person.
On the other side, we have a kind and fun Bella. She is the best friend that has always been there for her boys, especially her sweet Edward. She hasn’t been lucky when it comes to love, and she had her heart broken once, but her boys make it all better.
These two are so cute and too freaking blind, that they don’t see what is right in front of them.
"I just don't understand it, Edward," Kate sniffled, shaking her head. "I thought Brad leaving his wife was a good thing."
"Well, theoretically speaking," I said, clearing my throat, "if you can take someone away from their significant other, then it only goes to reason that they can be taken away from you." I shrugged when she gazed up at me, but it was only rational thinking. She was quiet for a moment, and I pointed behind her. "Looks like the game is over," I muttered, internally berating myself for basically telling her that dating a married man was cheating and stupid.
"Oh, good," she sighed, downing the rest of her beer quickly.
"Hey, um... Would you like to go... I mean, can I take you out some time?" I asked her, not wanting any of my friends to hear this shit.
"Oh, you're sweet, Edward," she crooned, getting up and kissing my cheek. "I'm going to take a break from the dating scene for a while. But we can still be friends, right?"
I wanted to grimace, wanted to tell her friends were for chumps, and I wanted to tell her that I wouldn't cheat on her, but none of it would come out. I wanted to tell her that she was sexy and deserved better than cheating assholes, but I was already deflated.
"Yeah, right... friends," I muttered, downing the rest of my beer. "Sure, that's great."
She gripped my hand, giving it a squeeze. "You're a great listener, honey. Thanks for letting me rant."
I stood up when she left me to join her cousin and my friends in the game room, pushing my glasses up my nose, and looked to Bella as she walked back to the table. "I'm heading home. Need a ride?" I asked, because she'd left her car at her apartment.
"Yeah, sure," she murmured, frowning up at me. "You okay, Edward?"
"I'm fine," I said as I held the door for her. Unfortunately, it came out more harshly than I'd meant it to.
"You don't sound fine," she muttered once we were in the car.
"I just..." I groaned, my head falling back to the headrest of the car. "I just got...humiliated."
"Oh," she sighed, grimacing just a bit, and her nose wrinkled in an adorable way. "Kate?" she verified, and I nodded. "What did she say?"
"That we could be...friends," I said, sneering on the last word.
"Well, then, she's blind, Edward," Bella stated simply, shrugging when I rolled my head to look at her. "If she can't see you for how awesome you are, then she's not worth the time, sweetie."
I pursed my lips at her and shook my head. "I guess, Bell."
"Don't guess. Believe it," she urged, shoving my shoulder a bit. "Now, let's celebrate the right way. Let's grab some terrible drive-thru and eat it watching Lord of the Rings."
I grinned, broke into a laugh, and nodded, because Bella knew me so well. "Okay, Sam," I chuckled.
"Drive, Frodo."Kate’s rejection cut deep into Edward, who suddenly seems to develop a hate against the word friend, which leads him through some changes, courtesy of his cousin. Meanwhile, Bella finds out the real reason why Kate rejected Edward, which pushes her to analyze her own feelings towards her best friend and realizes what has always been in her heart.
But, what happens when Bella sees the new Edward and discovers she has no idea what happened to her sweet adorkable best friend?
Will she give him the chance and finally confess her feelings for him, or would Edward’s new attitude be such a deterrent that she would chose to not let him know what’s in her heart?
That’s for you to find out as soon as you click on that link above. Drotuno will take you on a ride you would enjoy. There will be some smiles, tears, tantrums, facepalms, laughs, awwwws and a few HOT DAMNS! And let’s not forget, LET’S DO THAT AGAIN!
So what are you waiting for? CLICK NOW!
Until next time,
~Mina
FAP by 107yearoldvirgin
http://www.fanfiction.net/s/7494855/1/FAPDirty talking Edward Masen convinces amateur novelist, Bella Swan, that all she needs to become a good writer is a little more 'research' on her subject matter. 11yrs of history won't make it weird. After all, it's For Authentication Purposes. AH/ExB/M Twilight - Rated: M
Reviewed by: Suebee Betafairy
FAP by 107yearoldvirgin is my go to fic when I’m having a crappy day. You can’t help but smile at the hot, sweet, and funny relationship that evolves between Wardo and Bunny (that would be Edward and Bella). Um, and did I say hot? The title should give you an inkling into just how smut filled this lovely fic is. To me, it is far beyond your typical PWP, though. You end up completely caring about the two of them, not to mention their wacky group of friends.
I really can’t put it any better than Virgy did in her author’s note at the end of Chapter 1. “There are no morals to the story, here. No one has anything wrong with them or a horrendous back story. No hurdles to get through except their own idiocy. This Edward is a dirty talking bad boy who wants the sex from Bella. In all reality, there isn't anything remotely related to Twilight in this fic. Just the names are the same. No sly winks or nods toward canon. I'm stepping out of my comfort zone and going balls to the wall with raunchy humor and gratuitous sex.” And does she ever deliver on that.
In FAP, we find a Bella who is a successful fan fiction writer trying to branch out into becoming a romance novelist, but has an astounding case of writers block. A major part of the problem, we learn, is her lack of experience with sex which, as you can imagine, makes smut writing a challenge at best. Her attempts are just ridiculously bad. We are lucky enough to get a glimpse and it is truly hilarious and cringe worthy. We’re talking pebbled love buttons, delicate flower, and turgid manhood bad. Who knew Virgy could write such bad smut so well?
Bella grew up with Edward, and he pretty much annoyed the hell out of her all the way through high school. Now they’ve ended up in a college course together. We get the perfect feel for their history from their first exchange.
"Bunny."
My shoulders stiffened and I pulled my laptop from its bag, placing it on the table instead of responding.
"Bunny. Bunneh…Bunneh…Bunnybunnybunnybunny…"
I shot a dirty look his way and glared. "Stop calling me that, you immature prick."
His eyes widened and he snapped his teeth together happily, his gum popping and crackling in his back teeth. "You love it."
"Never have, 'Wardo." I opened my laptop, shielding my face from his.
Edward Masen's long fingers appeared over the top of my screen and he folded it down from his side of the table. Green eyes twinkled with mischief as he popped another bubble. "I just wanted to borrow a pencil. You don't have to be such a bitch."
Rolling my eyes, I sighed and dug around in my book bag, pulling out a mechanical pencil and handing it to him without looking his way. "Sorry. I'm just going off of all of my other interactions with you for the past ten years. You're usually an asshole. Call it a Pavlovian response to your voice," I trailed off and put my attention to the professor as he droned on.
He sneaks a look at her writing and realizes that the reason her smut is so terrible is that she has no good experience to draw from. And so he makes her an offer she simply can’t refuse.
"You…have no damn idea what it's like to have a man inside of you." He stepped closer and I held my breath as his palms came to rest on my sides. His voice dropped to a low rumble as his nose moved my hair away from my ear and he leaned in to whisper. "If you really want to succeed with your novel," his fingers twitched and pressed into my tender flesh, "you need to feel what you want to write about. How it feels to have a man use his hands…" another twitch of his fingers.
"His mouth," a light brush of his lips against my cheek. "His cock inside of you…" He stepped closer and my eyes squeezed closed as the front of his jeans brushed across my own zipper.
I gasped when I felt his hands lower to the belt loop of my jeans.
"I can help you, Bunny Swan." His breath was warm in my ear and I pressed my lips together to stop myself from moaning as he pushed in closer to me, squishing my breasts against his chest firmly. "Do you want to know what it feels like to really, really come?"
My chest rose and fell in a rush of fear and excitement.
"Do you want to know what it's like to be so wet that you feel like you could die if you don't get fucked properly?"
Without any thought, my hands gripped his leather jacket tightly in my fists and pulled him closer. "Let me guess. You're offering your services?"
His chuckle caused the hair on my arms to stand up. "Anything to help you obtain your dreams of being a real," he exhaled softly in my ear, "honest to God," his tongue darted out quickly and made me gasp, "writer…"I mean, really… could you turn down an offer like that? And so their arrangement begins, just For Authentication Purposes, of course.
The lemons in FAP are, well, fap-worthy if I’m being completely honest. Hot doesn’t even begin to cover it. I tried to think of which one to copy and paste here, but I just couldn’t choose. Trust me… you aren’t going to go wrong with any of them.
And in addition to those lemons (have I used the word hot???), you get to see a lovely relationship unfold as you (and they) learn that all was not as it seemed between Wardo and Bunny in high school. You also get some of my favorite supporting characters I’ve read in a fic – Jasper’s fascination with fruit flies alone made me snort with laughter. And Virgy’s little love letter to fic readers in Chapter 13 makes me smile every damn time I read it.
Virgy recently reposted FAP on FFN, so grab your shamwow and give it a read. No, really, I’m not kidding… you will need that shamwow.
Grand Jeté by stella luna sky
http://www.fanfiction.net/s/6108070/1/Grand_Jete
Bella's life is full of certainty and boredom. A dance instructor without passion, she has no idea that the handsome man in her night class will teach her how every moment could be her big moment, and how every breath could be the last. AH/M. COMPLETE.
Twilight - Rated: M
Reviewed by: Onebravelamb
When I review a story, I do so for the author to see and hopefully make them feel good and loved and appreciated. But this story, it touched me so deeply that I felt the need to do more. I felt I had to share it with as many people as I possibly could because it's just that good. Everyone needs to read this story and see what I'm talking about on their own.
I read Grand Jeté by stella luna sky and I couldn't stop until the very last word:
I’m going into this review knowing that anything I say will be so sorely lacking that it isn't even funny. But still, I'll give it my very best shot.
This story - stella luna sky’s words - I can't describe it, how it made me feel and laugh and smile along with the characters. It was so deeply personal, layered with emotions that read way too easily for it to not be something the author knew inside and out.
The bravery Bella shows? I wish I could be like that. God, how I wish I was like that.
The love? It was just...all encompassing. I can only hope that every person alive finds that kind of joy, at some point, in their journey on this Earth.I just, I can't express how good this was. Good doesn't even come close. This story, it just reached right inside of me and squeezed, pulled and rolled me all around. That probably sounds incredibly stupid, but it's the most accurate description I can give.
The writing is amazingly beautiful. Of course, I expected as much. I read Bare forever ago and stella luna sky’s words enchanted me then, so I knew coming into this that Grand Jeté would be incredibly well written. And, of course, I expected there to be emotion like she had in Bare.
But this? It just blew me away.
I rarely ever review anymore. I just can't ever find the time to adequately do so and I'm a firm believer in 'If you can't say exactly what you mean, then don't say anything at all.' But I had to, I simply had to make time and tell you how incredible this piece of literature is. This isn't just fanfiction and that is not an empty statement. This story, the heart the author had to have put into it...well, it's just so much more than any title I can give.
And I'm sure, at least I hope with every fiber of my being, that stella luna sky knows this already. Even if she doesn’t, dear reader, please, please believe me when I tell you that it’s true.
I've been moved to tears by many stories. I've laughed and cried along with the characters and walked away feeling rejuvenated or crushed too many times to count. But this? Grand Jeté? I don't know, it just feels like more somehow.
It's an amazing look at life and living - the difference between the two.
To love blindly and completely; leap with your eyes wide open and just know that no matter where you end up you'll be exactly where you want to be? That's truly beautiful and so, so moving.
I can't thank stella luna sky enough for writing this. I really just can't and God, how I hope everyone reads this. This is not just a fangirl platitude, truly. I really feel like everyone needs to read this and just feel it.
One last thing, before I let you go. I can't imagine someone writing something this personal and deep and just totally inspiring without that person being just as brave, beautiful and amazing as Bella is in this story. So, right now, stella luna sky is kind of my hero - because I just know that there has to be an incredible person sitting somewhere in front of a screen and reading these words and she deserves to smile in accomplishment and feel so good about herself and her talent.
Because that talent is a gift she was nice enough to share with the world, and to me, that's pretty fucking brave all in itself.
No, I'm not just having a squealing, rabid, OMG U GUISE fangirl moment. This story is incredible. It's just so much. And then it's so much more. I'm begging you, go read it if you haven't done so already. Really. It's the only way you're going to understand what I'm talking about.
What I’ll leave you with in parting is my favorite passage from the story and let you decide for yourself whether or not this story doesn’t deserve every single compliment I’ve given it.
"You are thinking of your Edward," Esme continues, brushing the now still powder over Bella's eyelids.
"Always," Bella answers quietly.
"You do not think he will come?"
"I know he will if he can. But no, I don't think he'll come."
Esme cups Bella's face in a way she hasn't done in years. "Ma cherie, I have seen you come alive in these past months. Before, you were a beautiful shell. Now, you are a woman with passion and faith. Don't betray yourself before your big moment."
"My big moment?"
"What is faith if it hasn't been tested? What have you been telling Edward for the past seven, eight months – to never fear, never give up, to always fight. If you can't muster up enough spitfire to trust your feet to move you, you might as well lie in bed and let life cover you."
Bella dabs at her eyes, resolute to not let the tears spill. Esme is working so hard to make her beautiful, and she doesn't want her sadness to muddy it up. "What if he doesn't – "
"Non, mademoiselle. What if he does?"Such an amazing message, no? Have faith, live life and love with every bit of you. I, quite literally, heave a happy sigh each time I think of it. So good, so, so good.
Are you reading yet?
What Speaks in Darkness by Cosmogirl7481
http://www.fanfiction.net/s/6252131/1/What_Speaks_in_Darkness"It should have scared me, but it didn't. I shouldn't have wanted it, but I did." Dark and empty. Lonely and unfulfilled. Can two broken souls find connection in spite of their differences? E/B OOC Rated M because there will be sex and it will be hot. Twilight - Rated: M
Reviewed By: Marvar29
If you haven't read What Speaks in Darkness by Cosmogirl7481, let me warn you that it may send you running out to buy a Ouija board. Yes, Ouija board. I don't want to ruin anything, but let's just say that the board provides better results than Match dot com. Well, hotter anyway.
Bella is a lonely young woman with a tragedy in her past, and Edward is living a solitary life as a vampire. We find out that Edward has been stalking Bella...because he can (you know vamp powers and whatnot). He's been watching her for a while, and finally he can't resist the pull she has on him.
I had to touch her…to know what she felt like. Her soft skin, her womanly curves. She was sleeping so soundly and I could just…I had to just…
Pulling myself up, I laid on the bed, careful not to move her. It was then that she shifted her body closer to mine – almost as if she were pulled to me like a magnet. I panicked for a moment, terrified that I had taken this too far…but even then, it didn't stop me.
Softly, and so, so gently…I wrapped my arms around her. She came willingly into my embrace. The heat of her body burning me even through the blanket and the layers of my clothes.
She was soft, and I was hard.
It was wrong – but she – she was so fucking right.
I didn't deserve her warmth. I didn't deserve her sleeping trust. But holding her there in my arms was perfect. It was the most beautiful thing that I could ever remember experiencing.
It was everything I imagined happiness to feel like.Needless to say, Bella isn't too upset to find this strange, gorgeous man in her bed. Who would be? Problem is, she thinks he's a dream. Oh Bella, if I woke up and saw that face, I'd think I was dreaming too. Lucky for us, Bella just goes for it, and we get to read some sexy times.
My hands caressed her body and I watched, enraptured as her nipples hardened and her flesh reacted from the cool of my touch. She was panting beneath me the rhythm of her pulse filled the quiet room and to my listening ears, it was the most seductive song I'd ever heard.
Her body was a symphony.
But I wanted to make her sing.
Carefully…so fucking carefully, I pulled her to the edge of the bed and I fell on my knees before her. Her open eyes danced with dark excitement and I knew she understood what I wanted to do…what I fucking needed to do. My hands trembled with the anticipation of it. I kissed the inside of her knee before repeating the same process on the other side.
Kiss.
Lick.
Suck.
Kiss.Their relationship develops quickly, and the heat and passion between the two sizzles - especially against a tree. Yeah, you need to read that chapter. Twice. The poor tree should've caught on fire.
Edward and Bella each have back stories that cause some drama and conflict until the story reaches its exciting conclusion. Edward has issues about being you know, undead and whatever, and Bella has issues about being...well, Bella. The other Twi characters show up - though not exactly as their canon selves (Alice and Jasper - gasp!) - though this is primarily an E/B story.
Cosmogirl7481, author of several fics such as Conversations over Coffee and Solstice, has a way of making the characters interact with an honesty and intensity that draws in the reader. And she writes some pretty hot sex. Both of those reasons are why you should read What Speaks in Darkness.
