Hi, it's Nic~ There are certain times when I feel like reading one genre of story vs. another. There are times when I want intrigue and mystery, there are times when I want angst and sorrow, there are times when I need UST and I can ALWAYS do with an extra helping of smut! As I started to prepare my "TLS Admin Rec List", I decided I wanted to give you an eclectic peek into my list of MUST READS. Here are 13 personal recommendations in NO particular order, just for you on Friday the 13th! Please leave the authors reviews, and tell them Nic & TLS sent you! Enjoy!!
1. Boxing Out by Meilleur Cafe (WIP)
http://www.fanfiction.net/s/7534919/1/
Bella is a little lost while trying to make a new life in the Big Apple. Edward is a Manhattan police officer who knows it to the core. They meet at court. Will this new romance be a slam dunk? AH; Rated M
This story is by a sweet writer, who is thoroughly approachable, and every word she writes is pure genius. Edward is a police officer who wants to help others and live life to the fullest. Through friends, he meets Bella, a girl working on her self esteem and putting herself out there in the dating pool. The UST is thick and lovely, the dialogue is realistic and it works, and the story is on my personal favorites list, due to the dynamics of the relationship and sizzle factor.
2. Cracks In the Pavement by VampiresHaveLaws
http://www.fanfiction.net/s/6765479/1/
Life is never perfect, the cracks always appear. "My Polaroid would show the face of a girl who has forgotten how to truly smile." Even the strongest of dreams can fail to become enough. Rated M
The words within this story may very well put cracks in your heart. The writing is deep and beautiful, while being full of sorrow and tears. The writer is young, beautiful, irreverently funny & highly adored. This writing is light years beyond her age and place in life and I consider it a "Must Read" in every sense of the word. The story has you sitting on the knife's edge throughout, while navigating the pitfalls of a husband and wife (E/B) that have forgotten, due to daily life, what is important and how to communicate. It may kill you on the way to the end, but I promise you it is worth every single tear.
3. Departures by TheFicChick
http://theficchick.wordpress.com/complete-stories/departures/
Summary: Every day for the rest of my life, I will wonder how kissing a virtual stranger goodbye could have felt like a hello. Rating: Rated M (18+)
This story....ohmygosh this story!!! *flails* I can't even begin to tell you how hard I fell for this one shot when it came out. Now if you ask the writer, TheFicChick, she may recall I was the leader of her Stalker Army on Twitter lol. I begged and pleaded and pushed and prodded and bargained my way, until she got sick of the stalker army/or me and wrote us a full length story of amazing connection, UST, sizzle and LOVE. I can't emphasize enough how much chemistry and connection this Edward and Bella have and how important that is to me. You just KNOW they have to meet again. It's kismet, karma, fate. Her writing is legendary and impeccable and often featured on our site. THIS story is Top Ten material.
4. Here, In My Room by Nightcaller
http://www.fanfiction.net/s/7647998/1/
Bella is Jake's girl. Edward intends to change that. Sweaty back seats, stolen glances that cross the line and unrequited love that holds back no more. Edward & Bella AH.Rated M
*Waves innocently at Pawspeaches* This....THIS....it has sizzle and seduction and HOMG! It has a coke bottle cock....geezes! It's a forbidden love, but a love that can't be stopped....until, it is. The writing is smart, hip, cool. You wish you were cool enough to read it and just remember: Heed the rating, because it's forrealsies. But just so you know, this story is under-appreciated because the author *ahem* will never allow us to feature it. *blinks eyes innocently* I love it, beyond words, but prepare yourself for the BAM! ending and NO peeking, m'kay? And...the author...I love the author beyond the sentiment conveyed on this page.
5. My Sweet Variable by LifeInTheSnow
http://www.fanfiction.net/s/7762489/1/
He white-knuckles his pen, dragging a line of ink across the page. I can guess which passage he's marking: "All things truly wicked start from an innocence." Hemingway wouldn't have known about us. No one does. Teenage E/B, AH Rated M
Intelligent writing that sometimes leaves me wondering what clues I may have missed, a storyline that leaves you on the very edge of your seat wanting the next chapter, chanting "MORE MORE MORE". There's an interwoven, innocent romance that infiltrates throughout. The chemistry is sweet. The plot reads like a movie I would pay to watch. Amazing.
6. Pocket Change by A White Blank Page
http://www.fanfiction.net/s/7122044/1/
I know of three kinds of change: the kind that jangles around in your pocket, the kind that happens slowly, every moment of every day, and the kind that blows you away in an instant. Rated M
I stumbled upon this story early on, quite by accident, when the review count was in the 40's. The writing blew me away with just a couple posted chapters. I was literally begging the writer for more. I may or may not have had to swear I wouldn't give anyone her Twitter back then LOL! *pointed look at VampsHaveLaws* Anyway, I told anyone and everyone who would listen, that this was a MUST READ! I couldn't fathom what she would do next with this Bella and Edward, that had a complicated interwoven history. It's a story of loss, hardship and the love that came from it, and the changes it inspired. Gorgeous writing!
7. Quarterback Sneak by Jayhawkbb (WIP)
http://www.fanfiction.net/s/8483034/1/
As a Seattle sports talk radio host, it's my job to give my opinion on the Seahawks new quarterback, Edward Cullen. But maybe I shouldn't have said what I did...you know, about his butt. E/B Rated M
If there were actual football players like this Edward, I would probably watch sports! He is sweet, sexy, sinful, did I mention sweet? He is a new football player in town and Bella, a sports radio host, happens to make a snide comment about him on air. It leads to an interview and that leads to him pursuing her. She resists, but as you know with E/B, resistance is futile. This story has heart, soul, humor, sizzly chemistry and is written by one of the funniest ladies I know. Top Ten material.
8. The Give Away Girl by MrsSpaceCowboy
http://www.fanfiction.net/s/7206314/1/
Honor student Bella Swan has mastered the arts...of manipulating her divorced parents, rolling the perfect joint, and faking an orgasm. Who wouldn't want to keep a girl like her? An unconventional coming of age tale for Gen Xer Bella. Rated M.
If this doesn't say it all about this story, it is tied for number one on my personal Top Ten list, with a fic that is now a published book!! It has chemistry, UST and sizzle. It is a story of first love, a story of friendship that takes you on a personal journey of growth, loss, hope and change. It has everything I ask for in a story and no matter how many times I read it, I want to start back over at the very beginning. The first time I read this, I started it late at night and did not sleep ONE wink that night, reading til dawn! I do have to warn you wusspervs, there is some angst here that threatened to make me choke on my heart a bit. Be sure to read the EPOV outtakes called The B Sides, also listed on the author's profile. Amazing doesn't even cover it. I can't figure out why this wonderful lady hasn't been snatched up by a publishing company yet!!
9. There is a Light by Belladonnacullen
http://www.fanfiction.net/s/7015642/1/
This was 1987; before the Internet, before Twitter, before Facebook – this was back when it was still possible for people not to know about things: big things - like bands, and little things - like G-spots. AH, ExB Rated M
This story should be on the NY Times Best Seller List! The storyline could make her millions! Edward is a rock star, many years older than his young #1 fan, Bella. What starts out as a friendship, weaves into a love of a lifetime. You wonder if he did or he didn't. You wonder what and who and when. The story is intricate, haunting, and beautifully woven. I'm not even sure how I survived reading this as a WIP. It literally has no flaws. I obsessed about the clues constantly. The author is BEYOND brilliant in her writing AND in real life.
10. There's a Word For It by Eiluned price (WIP)
https://www.fanfiction.net/s/9051652/1/There-s-a-Word-for-It
I hadn't liked 17-year-old boys even when I was 17. So what is it about Edward Cullen that's so compelling? Whatever it is, I can't afford to find out. Rated M
It begins as a semblance of a reversal of roles of canon E/B. Bella is a new teacher who meets the Cullens. She is drawn to the mysterious, mature-for-his-age Edward. He is her forbidden fruit, who could cost her everything she's worked for in her life. He is a vampire who will NOT stay away from her. He is everything she never knew she wanted, or could have. When this story updates, I drop everything!
11.
Vanished by Brodeurgirl30 *Nic WARNING-EXTREME Angst*
http://www.fanfiction.net/s/8493942/1/Life
It can blind side you. Leave you breathless. Everything can be going your way; education, career, friends, the love of your life and in one moment, the flip of a simple switch can tear it all away. Anything. Everything. It can all vanish. Rated M
I found this story one day when I was feeling pretty brave. The author was unknown to me. The story was said to be based on a true one. I have to tell you that this story GUTTED ME. It's a short one at 6 chapters and is a tragic story based on someone's real life. It grabs your heart and puts it in the shredder. It could happen to anyone you know. A friend, a relative, or even a neighbor. I sobbed through the last couple chapters. It's on my YOU-MUST-READ-THIS List.
12.
Stay by FictionFreak95
http://www.thewriterscoffeeshop.com/library/viewstory.php?sid=9321&chapter=1
Sometimes a blast from your past is exactly what you need to ignite your future. AH, BxE. Rated M
Ha! You thought I was gonna say Blind Spot didn't you?!! Well, that goes without saying, because Blind Spot is amazing & by the same author! This little gem though, it might fly under your radar. Its got sizzle and chemistry and sex in a closet!! Win, Win, and WIN! I loved the minute nods to Pretty Woman in this story *points at Jo* and I loved the heart this Edward has and how this Bella helped him to uncover it again. The romance was amazing, the lemons were sizzly, the story had structure and it made me all smiley. Don't miss out on this author. She is pure GOLD. Read all her stuff, but start here!
13.
Beneath the Undertow by Aftrnoondlighthttps
//www.fanfiction.net/s/6968728/1/
Beneath-the-UndertowDreams past, circumstance and sacrifice... young Edward and Bella bravely smile through the tears on life's complicated path. A short journey of pure and true devotion... of choosing love above all else. EPOV Rated M
This is the very first story I read by Jaime & Phoebe and it made me cry. The story is beautiful and places you right in the middle of the moment the main characters (E/B) are living. I don't want to give too much away, but there is light angst referencing a tragedy that is truly heartbreaking, but it transcends into a hopeful, lovely future full of bright possibilities. I loved the story and it stuck with me. It's honestly one of the most under-appreciated stories these lovelies have written and I hope you will check it out and tell me and them what you think.