To appease the monster response we received to last week's Fic of the Week poll, we have decided to feature all seven stories that received a large percentage of the total vote count. Please enjoy the following Sexy Seven Fic Recs that TLS has put together just for you! We will resume our summer schedule of one review, next week. Thank you to all who participated in last week's poll and enjoy your week!
He assumed Isabella Swan was crazy, yet that very fact had intrigued him. He hadn't dealt with a compelling person, sane or crazy in quite a while. She just seemed ripe with possibilities to be anything but mundane. Rated: M
Review by: Lost Intimidation
I'm so honored to recommend Dodge and Burn, by Abstract way, for fic of the week. Abbie is one of my favorite writers, and this new story is already a favorite.
This is a story with great writing, first of all. I am talking about passages that you will re-read just because the words are so beautiful, the feelings are so pure, and you are envious that you didn't write it yourself. If you are delighted by vivid descriptions that bring you into the room with the characters, this is a story you will adore, just as I do.
When we first meet Edward, Bella appraises him thusly: "He's long and sturdy and wears his jeans exceptionally well. She guesses him to be around forty, for although his body looks much younger, the lines around his eyes reveal something else."
And Edward's first impression of Bella is similarly poetic: "Moments later the door swings open dramatically and at first all he sees is a swirl of color. His eyes land on one of those gauzy, flowing hippy skirts that contain every single color known to man. It makes his eyes hurt. It makes him wish he hadn't left his sunglasses in his car."
It is a delight to read about two adult characters who are complex, imperfect, and yet mature. Bella is a confident, kind person - a photographer who is very comfortable with herself and the somewhat ramshackle life she has created. Edward is a composer, musician and singer - but something has happened to him that has caused him to stall his life to the point of avoiding almost everything, draining away his vibrancy in the process. Bella hears Edward perform at a neighbor's party and decides to call him and ask him to play for her, and from their first conversation they engage in playful banter that is adorable to read. It is obvious to everyone, but Edward, that Bella is reigniting a spark in him.
The pair begin to meet weekly, with Edward playing concerts for Bella in her charming home, and Bella serving as a muse for Edward, as well as his perfect audience. The descriptions of the garden concerts are so finely detailed I felt like I was sitting cross-legged in the grass, watching long fingers strum steel strings and witnessing the first blush of attraction between them.
Yes, the two seem poised to fall in love until we remember, just as Bella does, that Edward is married. All is not as it seems though, and Edward conceals the true circumstances surrounding his marriage from Bella. After being confused and upset by their mutual attraction, they begin to rebuild their friendship with honesty and acts of kindness.
Bella is the colorful yin to Edward's yang and I can't wait until they resolve that sexual tension that is building between them...I predict fireworks!!~LostIntimidation
Frontline by MissAlex-rec'd by Nic/Kitty Vuitton
http://www.fanfiction.net/s/6020448/1/Frontline
Edward Cullen is a mysterious, wealthy CEO, who always gets what he wants. Isabella Swan is a headstrong nurse at Manhattan Memorial Hospital. Edward arrives at her ER one night and their steamy chance encounter changes both of their lives forever. Rated: Fiction M
Review by: FemmeMal
She's a straight-shooting, brutally candid ER nurse with a strong sense of justice who won't just give it up on a first date. He's a wealthy and demanding boy-wonder of the financial world whose life was changed by a humanitarian mission--and no experience with long-term relationships. An injury on a Friday night causes their two different worlds to collide; will their mutual desire fizzle or explode?
If you like a healthy dose of UST, you'll find it here in Frontline. Author MissAlex brings to bear her background and education in nursing as she tells the story of Bella Swan, a relatively new ER nurse working in a busy New York city hospital. You can feel the mounting pressure in the waiting room, smell the antiseptic, and cut the tension between staffers with a knife when financial wunderkind Edward Cullen arrives with a minor head wound. The reality of the hospital environment, combined with increasing UST, provides a great hook for this all-human fic.
<blockquote>Victoria sputters a protest but Harriet vanishes through the double doors without looking back. Dr. Cooper and Karen enter the nursing station, both frowning.
"Dr. Cooper," Victoria calls, "what's wrong? Why aren't the three of you treating Mr. Cullen?"
James drapes his stethoscope around his neck. "I completed my assessment," he explains. "He definitely needs stitches. But-"
"He wants you." Karen looks at me and the blood drains from my face.
The room stills.
I gulp. "Me?"
James steps forward, looking very unimpressed. "He dismissed us. He said he'll only let me stitch him up after he talks with you. Alone. I'm not surprised after the attitude you gave him earlier."
Victoria's stare looks vicious. "Fix this, Bella. Now."
Before I can run away, her hand lands against my lower back and vaults me down the corridor into Room Three. She slams the sliding door shut behind me.
Mr. Cullen stands on the other side of the room. With a graceful prowl, he approaches. I cast my gaze to the floor. I don't need to look at him to know that his eyes are smoldering as he inches ever closer. Sparks course through my body, igniting a deep, throbbing yearning. I finally lift my head and see that smirk again. He leans closer and I lick my lips in unconscious preparation, the corners of my mouth turning up into a sly smile. My resolve crumbles.
Mr. Cullen dips his head. The gap between us vanishes.
Frontline offers readers a rather traditional ramp-up toward a relationship, a la Elizabeth and Darcy in Pride and Prejudice. Bella, like Elizabeth, is direct, impertinent, and in her own head a lot; Edward, like Darcy, is rich and smart but far too chary on communication when it counts the most. It's the conflict between her second-guessing and his insufficient communication skills--combined with their explosive sexual chemistry--that frustrates their union. Will Bella get past her frustration with Edward to find the caring humanitarian beneath the hard-boiled sexy businessman? Will Edward clue in and acquire some much needed communication skills before he blows his chance with the one woman who won't roll over just because he's rich and famous?
Some readers in the Twilight fandom may find this fic familiar. This work-in-progress was first published in 2010, but has been re-posted after re-editing. MissAlex has now re-published the reworked first third of an anticipated 30 total chapters. It's going to be fun watching MissAlex flesh out these two characters in the next two-thirds of this fic. She's already done a fine job of teasing us in the hospital, and cockblocking us on their first date. Let's see how she delivers their eventual meeting-of-the-minds-and-more. Bring it on!
Bella once told me that there was nothing braver than a flower growing through a crack in the sidewalk. I laughed because she was always giving feelings to things that don't feel. If she was standing next to me, I'd tuck the dandelion behind her ear. Or she'd blow on it and make a wish. A hundred wishes. Or maybe just one. Rated: Fiction M
Review by: VampsHaveLaws and SusanQ
Honesty is complicated and unfair.
Honest Liar is exactly as its name suggests. It is an honest tale portraying the deceit that comes with not only addiction, but with loving someone so much you’d do anything to keep them, even if that means constantly lying to ensure they stay yours.
The story is told from Edward’s perspective, depicting his thoughts through various stages of his life, ranging from childhood to present day. Its sequence is almost puzzle-like, in which the timeline shifts between the before and after, based around the first chapter.
I pull a pill from my pocket and stare at it. Imagining the little old lady these are meant for. The little old lady whose body is wrecked with age and cancer. And then it hits me that she may die soon. I can feel it in my chest. Because what will I do then. But this is the last time. The last time.
We hit a point in Edward’s life that is not easy to read. He appears to be in the main stage of his addiction, lying to his wife, drowning in his guilt, living in his fear.
"Don't do it again." If only she knew what she was saying.
Don't hate me."I won't." That was the last time. The very last time.
"Don't lie to me."
"I'm not." I'm not.
But he does and he is, which is something he’s done from the start.
I am a boy from a nowhere town. It's not even a town. Not really. The people here call it the foothills. It's nothing but a bunch of houses and country farmland.
.
.
.
I've lived here my whole life, but one day I'll get out. And when I do, it will be forever.
.
.
.
There is nothing to keep me here, except maybe a girl who doesn't know me. A girl with the prettiest skin and the darkest eyes and long, shiny brown hair that I want to wrap around my finger.
We love young Edward. We also love him when he’s not so loveable. His love for Bella is something we all crave.
We love aWhiteBlankPage and her ability to tell a gritty story beautifully. We love the feeling behind her words and the pictures she paints.
She does that thing where she twirls around and the whole world spins with her.
It Begins Like This by Iambeagle-rec'd by VampsHaveLaws/Nic http://www.fanfiction.net/s/7895489/1/It_Begins_Like_This
The Twilight 25 Round Six. Multi-chapter fic based on twenty-five prompts. Twilight - Rated: M
Review by: Jaime Arkin
“You’re in my seat.”
And it begins like this … no really, It Begins Like This… starts just like that! With that one sentence iambeagle pulls us into a both sweet and wonderful, yet angsty and sad story of Edward and Bella. Alternating chapters of the then and now show us a story of long distance love and heartbreaking pain and it’s incredible.
Bella is flying into New York for her cousin’s wedding and she just happens to take Edward’s seat on the flight from Seattle and It Begins Like This is their story. I have to say that iambeagle writes some of the best dialogue in fanfic hands down. I often find myself smiling and laughing while reading and quite often I find that I want the characters to be my friends…that’s how much I like them.
“I do extremely well under pressure. In fact, you seem nice enough. I’d probably help you turn your seat into a flotation device,” he added, looking pleased with himself. “As long as you help me with my oxygen mask. This is a two-way street, Bella.”
“Is it?” I asked, focusing on the squareness of his jaw.
“Yes. Being seat partners is serious business.”
“Thanks for making me aware,” I replied dumbly, trying to pull my gaze from his so I could return to reading my book.
“No problem. I’ll even share my nuts with you, if you want.” His lips twitched and I choked out a strangled laugh. “Ah. She laughs.”
“Only when something is inappropriately funny.”
Here’s the thing… that whole first chapter and every odd chapter posted so far, the cute, the funny… savor it and bask in it, because when you click chapter two, and then all the even chapters, your heart will crack and it will break and you will hurt just as much as these two characters obviously do.
It was absurd, but he was in love with me, despite the fact that we had only been together for two months.
That’s why I was so caught off guard – so utterly blindsided – when he was the one who ended it.
“The distance is too hard,” he mumbled over the phone.
But not talking to him everyday, not being with him – not knowing what he is doing, who he is with, or if he’s happy – is harder.
The connection between the characters builds wonderfully, there is an instant attraction between the two and with Bella only in town for a week, they take advantage of it… getting in deeper than either imagined they would. I can’t wait to see what iambeagle has planned for these two. I hate to admit it, but as much as I love the sweet falling in love chapters, I equally love the angsty, break your heart chapters here. Though they are shorter, they still manage to make my heart skip a beat and put that uncomfortable feeling in the pit of my stomach.
Will the distance be what keeps them apart or will it be something else altogether? This story has only sixteen chapters posted so far, so go read it now if you aren’t already. You won’t be able to keep yourself from falling for these two and you’ll be begging iambeagle for more. (dear iambeagle consider this my official begging!!)
During a summer long stay in Hawaii, Bella meets Edward, letting her inhibitions go. With other options on the horizon, she eventually has to decide between her heart's desires and her head's logic. Lemons Angst Canon Lemons Happy Reading.Rated: Fiction M
Reviewed by: InkAddict89 (Jordan Christopher on fb)
Ever read a fic that you literally couldn’t put down? For me, Welcome to Paradise was that fic. It’s been months since I’ve read it, but I still remember the date(s) I read it. I started reading it on Sunday, March 1 and actually stayed up so late reading that I had to call in “sick” to work. I finished the rest of it that next day and immediately started reading Suzie55’s other stories. If you don’t know her, or haven’t talked to her on twitter or facebook, then you’re missing out; she is one of the nicest people you’ll meet in this fandom.
WtP starts out with Bella arriving at the airport in Hawaii, awaiting Alice to pick her up. As typically happens, fate intervenes and she meets Edward instead. Her first impression of him? Read and find out:
I walk through the crowded open air Oahu terminal towards baggage claim. I squeeze through the gathered sea of Hawaiian shirts, flip flops, and leis slowly making my way. As I pass through the secured area, I encounter kissing families, couples hugging, and hear lots of 'farewells'. But, what catches my attention is a young couple, probably around my age, passionately kissing. The wild locked boy with sun lightened brown hair could easily be an earth bound Hawaiian God. My stomach churns in envy, pissing off my brain for a lack of self esteem. I've never had a self esteem problem and yet here I am feeling what I can only describe as jealousy. 'Stupid, pretty, blonde, tan girl,' my inner voice shouts loudly, in my head, at her as I near. I can't seem to break my stare from the perfect looking couple. They are utterly entrancing, but he alone, is nothing less than physical perfection. As their lips part, I find my lips part as well. Then I hear him speak and my world shifts on its axis. "I'll call you," he says, stroking her shoulders.
"You promised to write too," she says, a tear slipping down her cheek.
He swipes his hand gently across her face wiping away the tear. But, just as she leans into him wrapping her arms tightly around his back his eyes flick up to meet mine. He embraces her while arrogantly and flirtatiously smiling at me. He says, "I'll write…everyday."
While leaning over her shoulder, his eyes still locked with mine, he feeds her another line as my axis shifts back onto its normal rotation with disgust, settling in. What a jerk!
To sum it up, you’ll fall in love with this story and it will hold you captive until the end. I dare you to read it and NOT like it…I don’t think it’s physically possible.
Dusty by Yellowbella
http://www.fanfiction.net/s/7659651/1/Dusty
She loves him. He loves her crazy. She's a hopeless romantic. He's just hopeless. She's afraid to let go. He won't let her. A story about a silly girl in love with a foolish boy. Here, forever is a lie. TeamBella23 - the realist and YellowGlue - the poet Twilight - Rated: M
Reviewed by: VampsHaveLaws and aWhiteBlankPage
Love is Dusty.
We have to start off by saying we have never read a prologue as many times as we have with Dusty. Or been as emotionally invested in a story and its characters. Every last one of them.
We get butterflies in our tummies and our hearts beat in quick anticipation. And Thursdays are now referred to as Dusty Day. Our favourite day of the week.
From the onset, there is the potential, or the promise rather, that this story will be gut wrenching.
"When did you get back?" I run my fingers through my mother's willow tree, keeping my voice low and my head down as I walk through its branches.
"Today," he says, following me. "I came here first. I haven't been by my home yet."
I smile to myself, sickly satisfied with his confession. I take a chance and look, glimpsing over my bare shoulder. Edward walks behind me, following my lead. His eyes are tired and his skin is unwell. Edward's hair is dirty, but his clothes are brand new.
Those are sometimes the perks of a sinner who has money: they look disgustingly beautiful.
Dusty is a story about first love—real love—the kind that leads to bad decisions, shared secrets and excuse, excuse, excuse.
The kind that makes you feel like a grown up even though you’re still a child.
The kind that makes you a little crazy.
The kind you get up for in the morning.
The best of the best.
And the worst of the worst.
I know he loves me. I never doubt his love. I doubt his intentions and respect. I distrust his motives and allegiance.
Love?
I smother in his imperceptible, dictating love.
He's loves traitor.
With these words alone, you know that the two authors that make up YellowBella—YellowGlue and TeamBella23—are going to both kiss your heart and grind it to pulp beneath a dirty shoe. While the storyline and characters are captivating and unique, ultimately it’s the gorgeous, simple words that draw you in and leave you breathless. And when the authors tell you that this story is going to be catastrophic, you believe them.
When the story begins, Bella is an innocent eleven year old: a child. Edward is thirteen, troubled, and instantly takes notice of her.
And Alice... she rolls into Bella’s life on four wheels, almost knocking her down in the process. They become the kind of inseparable you know can’t last.
The girl just looks at me, tucking her board underneath her arm. Then she smiles, and so do I. "Are you eating a yellow popsicle for breakfast?" she asks, wiping her forehead with the back of her hand.
I look down at my popsicle and nod. "Yes."
"That's so cool. I wanted to eat cake for breakfast today, because it was my dad's birthday yesterday and we had chocolate cake last night, but Mom said no, so then I had to eat Frosted Flakes. Your mom is probably waaayyy cooler than my mom. Lucky. You're so lucky. I'm Alice Cullen."
She's a capsule of energy. I can hardly keep up. "I'm Bella Swan."
It’s here she also first meets Edward. He compliments her hair colour; she compliments his hair back. He teases; she takes it. He stares a lot; she pulls a funny face.
Bella is naive in so many ways. She’s temptingly innocent, and sometimes, without meaning to be, and definitely in the head of a teenage boy, teasingly sexual.
I have part of a Twinkie (courtesy of Alice) in my mouth, and I'm taken off guard by the question, so I don't bite down just yet. Edward stuck around by the gate with Alice and waited for me before class started today; his friend Petey is with him. I don't particularly like the way Peter looks at me, but then again, I don't think I like the way any boy looks at me. Even Edward, because sometimes he stares at me with those abnormal blue eyes and it's just scary.
Now Alice, Edward, and Petey are all waiting for my answer, and I don't want to tell them. So I chew my Twinkie slow, slow, slow. When the first bite is finished, I take another.
Edward smiles; his eyes are set on at my mouth. Then Petey says something like, "She's a fifth grader?" And Edward looks at him instead.
I'm still chewing, doing all I can to procrastinate this conversation. Alice becomes bored with my slow eating and starts riding her board around the parking lot. Edward waits for my answer after he kind of mumbles a little something to Petey, and Petey sort of rolls his eyes before crossing his arms over his chest and loud-sighing.
Boys are a new concept to Bliss. She’s too young to fully understand the impact of the friendship she begins with Edward. Too young to grasp what is about to happen before it’s all too late. Too young to control the events that follow: the sneaking around, the sweetest secrets, the heartbreaking emotional connection. The purest love and the ugliest betrayal.
Edward is simply lost. His addiction to Bliss comes second to other, more illicit addictions. His often contentious relationship with his parents, who pretend to give him boundaries, fuels the majority of his rebellious escapades. Lying. Drinking. Drug use. Causal sex. He’s on a downward spiral. Essentially, Edward is a monster. And he knows it. Admits to it. He knows he’s going to end up hurting her—it’s inevitable. And yet he can’t stop himself. He wants to keep her. And in doing so, will take her down with him.
Bella loves me no matter what. She's too naïve to know any better, and I'm reckless enough to let her, because I love her, too.
She's my softer-side, and I'm her motherfucking monster.
But he’s also just a boy. A boy who fell in love with a girl. A girl who is the better part of him—his heart.
Who really knows, but it was like Bliss came into our lives at just the right moment. I guess you can call it fate, if you believe in that shit. She's the friend my sister needed, the daughter my mom wanted, a child my dad doesn't feel guilty about, and the fucking reason my heart beats.
Isabella Bliss is the pièce de résistance. She's our saving fucking grace. She is my pulse and my nervousness and my … everything. She is my everything.
Despite his actions—his “relationships” with other girls—his love for Bliss is so strong. His inner war rages, simultaneously trying to push her away and pull her closer, all at the same time. His need to protect her will always be overshadowed by his need to consumer her. And in the end, how do you stay away from the very reason your heart beats?
The answer is: You don’t.
"I love you, though." I say with a smile, but she's not happy.
I wasn't supposed to fall in love with her. Before this happened, I didn't even know I was capable of loving another person like I love B. My idea of love is distorted and screwed. The only example I had was my parents, and they spent the first ten years of my life cheating, yelling, crying, and raging. They used my sister and I as leverage in their battles, and used their supposed love as a weapon to one-up each other. Until recently, I was under the impression that was how you love someone. Until Bella.
It's different now. My parents are passionate and not afraid to show how in love they are. They're always touching or looking at each other. My mom and dad move together, and they're considerate of one another. They're a team. It's them against the entire fucking world. And I want that with Bliss some day, I guess. But it's complicated. More complicated than I can wrap my mind around. It's been hard for me to forget how they were in the beginning. My parents stained my mind and wrecked me emotionally. But not only that. She's so protected, and I'm not. I should shield her from that, right?
I won't, though.
Their love is a secret. From everyone. It’s an unspoken understanding that nobody can know that she sneaks into his bed after Alice goes to sleep. Nobody can know the truth of who they are to each other. The unspoken lies are endless, but it’s the way Bliss justifies his actions, his indiscretions, that is heartbreaking.
And nothing is going to stop Edward.
I know this.
I know all of this.
I exhale slow, slow, slowly. I open my eyes and look up, and press my hands together over my chest.
I also know the sounds Edward's heart makes.
I know what his voice sounds like wrapped around I love you.
I know what the word forever feels like right over my heart.
I know that his eyes are brightest blue when they're barely open in the too-early-to-separate-ourselves morning, and I know the taste of the soft, soft, softest kisses.
Addiction. Obsession. All-consuming, drowning love. She’s his Isabella Bliss, Princess Pie, baby, baby, baby. He’s her tears, her heart, her forever—her never. Together they are love and destruction.
What resonates most about this story is how real it is. So many of us have been here, lived this, been completely consumed with a love that is not always healthy. It’s altogether the best feeling in the world and earth-shattering of moments.
This story will make you feel. It will make you want to scream. It will make you love, love, love. Read it. Fucking do it. Make Thursday Dusty Day. We’ll hold your hand.
I know Edward. Like nobody else, I know him. Just like he knows me. I don't know what to do, but I'll learn. I'll figure out how to deal, because I have to ... because even though it hurts, I can't imagine giving this up. He's so much to me. He's everything.
Exhaling steadily, I open the bathroom door and leave my helplessness behind. I trade it for knowledge, because I know we're a living, breathing, aching, love-twisting contradiction.
We're meant to be and can't even be.
We're impossibly necessary.
We're irreconcilably perfect.
We're absurd.
We're made for heaven, but we're doomed, and we can't even stop.
Love is banana popsicles.
Love is baseball sweaters that smell like Edward.
Love is jellies and cream soda floats.
Love is rule number two.
Love is pain.
Love is a traitor.
Love is Thursday.
Love is Dusty.
Edward had a good life, and he thought he had it all figured out. But then a certain vampire crosses his path and, suddenly, everything changes. Sometimes, you just can't fight fate. Rated: Fiction M
Review By: HollettLA
I came across About Last Night in an effort to bring attention to under-reviewed fics. When I read the then five posted chapters, it had an unbelievably low 16 reviews! Well-written, intriguing, and most of all, UNIQUE, this story deserves the recognition of being selected for Fic of the Week!
It starts off on a mysterious note…
--
Since you are reading this story, you're probably automatically assuming that I'm alive. It would be a hasty conclusion. I don't necessarily have to be living to tell my tale; there are other means.
I was a regular guy, doing regular things, enjoying all the promise of being twenty-one years old. I had great friends, a loving girlfriend, and an amazing family. Life was good. But then…
Then, I saw her. And, in that moment, I knew. Nothing would ever be the same again.
My name is Edward A. M. Cullen. This is my story.
--
Edward is a college student in a band. He’s a normal guy with a normal family: Mom, Dad, older sister, younger brother. One night, after his band’s set at the local bar, he catches sight of a girl he could have sworn he’d seen watching him before. He’s intrigued by her, despite having a girlfriend, but she vanishes. However, it’s not long before he’s approached by a menacing man in a dark alley, and she comes to his rescue.
I hate to give away plot spoilers…so let me just say the roles are a bit reversed in this story.
--
Crossing my arms, I asked her, "So, who are you?"
"My name is Bella," was all she said.
"Just Bella?" I retorted, sneering a little more forcefully than I had intended.
"Bella Cullen," she clarified.
I waited. She remained silent.
--
Edward is haunted by his attraction for Bella, and the possibility of pursuing something with her is enough to call a halt to his relationship with Tanya. But Bella remains elusive and out of sight. Were it not for his brother Jasper’s burgeoning relationship with Bella’s sister, Alice, Edward would have no clue where to even find the object of his affection. After doing a little bit of digging, he finds himself at the girls’ apartment, where Bella starts to tell him her story. And we, as the readers, get the first glimpses at what we’ve started to suspect.
--
"For you to fully understand what I'm about to tell you, I suppose I need to start at the very beginning," she said, holding out the first piece of paper from the stack she was holding.
It was a very old black and white photograph, yellowed and frayed with age. It showed a little girl of no more than five years of age wearing a plaid, antiquated dress, a long, single braid dangling over her shoulder. She held hands with a woman I presumed to be her mother. The woman's attire was formal and equally dated.
I ran my fingers over the little girl's smiling face, and wondered aloud, "Who is this?"
"That, Edward," she informed me, vacillating before continuing, "is me."
--
I can’t tell you how thrilled I am to have discovered this hidden gem of a story. Juliet has done an excellent job of taking canon characters and repositioning them in a way that at the same time both keeps them familiar and also keeps the reader guessing. I feel like I’ve gotten in on the ground floor of something amazing, and I can’t wait to read what happens next.
