What we're reading in TLS this week:

Many of us spent the weekend reading through the Fandom for Mental Health compilation, which prompted a re-read of a few old favorites! Kudos to all involved for putting together such an amazing fundraiser. We hope you enjoy all of this week’s TLS approved selections and leave the authors some love in the form of a review.

♥ Nic & Six

Evergreen Loop by Vican-rec'd by LayAtHomeMom
https://www.fanfiction.net/s/11815724/1/
The downside of high school: cafeteria food sucks, and sometimes, you're cast as the weirdo. On the bright side, sometimes Edward Cullen is your best friend. Even if it is a secret. Rated M

Experiment Me This by Mortissues-rec'd by MariahajilE
https://www.fanfiction.net/s/11714401/1/Experiment-Me-This
Many people will tell you to grab life by the throat and experience it. You might even believe that to be true yourself, have even fabricated a frame of reference for it. But have you really thought it through. Rated M

Fridays With You by TheQueenWriter-rec'd by Sixdlb5
https://www.fanfiction.net/s/10600073/1/Fridays-With-You
Can two people fall in love in the laundromat? Rated M

If This, Then by Bled Dry-rec'd by Nic
https://www.fanfiction.net/s/11239974/1/If-This-Then
If you have chemistry, you only need one other thing: timing. But timing is a bitch. Rated M

Island Nights by Compass54-rec'd by Nic
https://www.fanfiction.net/s/11370259/1/Island-Nights
I would always remember him as a dangerously beautiful twenty-two-year-old, a sensual and affectionate lover who could put a gun to a man's head and pull the trigger. Why I couldn't forget him was no mystery. I was still in love with him. Rated M

Kill the Lights by Jadalulu-rec'd by Nic
https://www.fanfiction.net/s/9998141/1/Kill-The-Lights
How many f**k buddies does it take to screw up a good thing? Two. Or maybe just one of them. Bella's never been great at math. Rated M

One Summer by cynosure23-rec'd by Sixdlb5
https://www.fanfiction.net/s/11742933/1/One-Summer
One summer, we packed our bags and headed to Southampton. Meeting Edward Cullen was not in my plans, but it changed my life entirely. Rated M

Rescue to Release by Bower-of-Bliss-rec'd by Maplestyle
https://www.fanfiction.net/s/10228577/14/Rescue-To-Release
"As a cinematographer, I've given some thoughts to how I might die, but never in my wildest dreams did I think I'd die of dehydration, cut up and bleeding while perched in a tree in the middle of the Australian outback. As you can see, Sam is down below. He's an insane and perpetually randy, 7-foot tall, alpha-male kangaroo, and he belongs to that equally mental bloke, Cullen." Rated M

Rest My Soul by MrsSpaceCowboy-rec'd by Everfreakingbody!
https://www.fanfiction.net/s/9786923/1/Rest-My-Soul
On opposite corners of Third Street and Beale, two lonely people fight to stay that way. Her scars are on the surface, soft on her skin and in her eyes. His run bone-deep, seeped in bourbon and blues. EPOV. Rated M

The Cullen Legacy by pattyrose-rec’d by Sixdlb5
https://www.fanfiction.net/s/9069478/1/The-Cullen-Legacy
Legacy - A gift; sometimes unknowingly bestowed. Bella met Edward in a London pub, never imagining where each would be 7 years later: he a Congressman fueled by ever-growing political ambition, she the woman with an explosive secret that can end all his dreams. But Bella might soon find that revenge isn't all it's cracked up to be, and that Edward may harbor his own dark secrets. Rated M

The Front by Alwaystryingtodobetter-rec'd by MariahajilE
https://www.fanfiction.net/s/11745042/1/The-Front
Front: noun...the foremost part or surface of anything ; a facade ; verb...to meet face to face. It's all in the semantics, isn't it? Bella Marie works all hours to pay off her father's debts when she's thrown from the pot into the fire. Rated M

The Last Word by Ladylibre-rec’d by Sixdlb5
https://www.fanfiction.net/s/11620499/4/The-Last-Word
Edward enjoys his source of sustenance, and why not? He's providing a service to humanity. Right? Non-canon/OOC. Rated M

The Selkie Wife by Lissa Bryan-rec'd by Ed Mazin
http://www.fanfiction.net/s/7598322/1/The_Selkie_Wife
Set during the reign of "Bloody Mary" Tudor. Bella is captured by Edward to raise his daughter. He promises to release her one day, but will he? Court intrigues and danger around every corner. Can they, and their new-found love, survive? Rated M/OOC/AU Twilight - Rated: M

The Watcher by Tottteacher-rec'd by Sixdlb5
https://www.fanfiction.net/s/11848233/1/The-Watcher
The vampire world has changed now that the Vampires have realized things as they once knew them were wrong. It is only Edward's ability to read minds that allows him to be the watcher to uncover everyone's secrets. Rated M

Young Edward by Harperpitt-rec’d by Midnight Cougar
https://www.fanfiction.net/s/11924814/1/Young-Edward
American stage actress Isabella Swan only came to London to film a movie and forget about the past. Until she meets a certain, green-eyed, young acting student. Rated M

TLS Special SNEAK PEEK Feature

The Lemonade Stand has spent years bringing you the best the fandom has to offer, and we are very excited to have the chance to offer you MORE. We’ve watched stories grow and develop from first post through COMPLETE in The Nursery, and now we’re sharing previews of the stories that will soon be your new addiction.

This week, the exquisite Pattyrose, author of many great stories like The Cullen Legacy and Indecent Proposal, shares some details about her upcoming story Begin Again.

banner by Lolypop82

Begin Again

by pattyrose

Summary: When your nineteen-year-old boyfriend breaks your heart, you move on and build a life without him. When he pops up in your world almost a quarter of a century later, you wade through the time and misunderstandings to see what, if anything, remains. When you’re done going through it all, if you’re lucky, you might be ready to begin again.

~~~~~

Jesus Christ, it’s Bella Swan - or I suppose these days she’s better known as Bella Laurent: Widow. She looks…well yes, older. After a quarter of a century, there are bound to be changes. The round youthfulness of her features have narrowed and matured into an elegantly attractive face. There are a few laugh lines around her eyes. Her figure is curvier than that of the slim seventeen-year-old girl of my memories. The dress and heels she’s wearing are unlike anything the grunge-loving, Seattle-dwelling Bella of my youth would’ve worn. 

Yet so much of her is still the same: that smile, Jesus, I should’ve recognized that off the bat. Her eyes…even in this dimly-lit restaurant, her dark eyes still stand out against her creamy skin. And her hair – it used to fall in curls to her bottom; now the soft waves end at her shoulders. She used to be a pretty girl; that was never a question. 

 Now she’s an absolutely gorgeous woman. 

“Bella.” 

Her eyes sweep over to me, and I’m equal parts thrilled and surprised by the easy grin she graces me with.  

“Edward.”  She says my name in that pleasant way in which you’d greet a friend you haven’t seen in over two decades, not the way you’d greet an old boyfriend who…who stupidly cheated on you. 

Right around here begins the story of Edward Masen and Isabella Swan Laurent, a couple whose romance ended almost twenty-five years earlier when a then nineteen-year-old Edward made a disastrous decision. But how many of us can cast our memory back a couple of decades, when we were just beginning to learn about life and love, and not cringe at some of the choices we made?

A lifetime has passed since Edward and Bella last saw one another. Both have gone on to lead full lives with experiences that have shaped them into the individuals they are now. Edward has a failed marriage under his belt, while Bella, after almost twenty years of marriage, now finds herself a widow.

Yet it’s never as easy as meet again, fall in love again, and live happily ever after. The years have reshaped the world around them, piled on responsibilities, and introduced into their lives priorities which take precedence over all else – even over the one they once thought they’d love above everything.

Add onto those difficulties the complications that arise from events of the past, and you’ve got a road ahead with twists, bumps, and a few turns.

But Edward and Bella haven’t spent the past couple of decades stuck in the past. They live every day, normal, and sometimes humorous lives. Some of the situations they deal with while trying to find each other and themselves may sound familiarly like our own lives. So too may their reliance on close friends to keep them sane during some of their more irrational moments.

“Number one: men, in my humble opinion, are like cuts of steak: they must already be of some quality to age well. A piece of chop meat won’t ever morph into a filet mignon. Number two: don’t start with your self-deprecating bullshit, Bella. You look great.”

“For someone my age.”  

“For someone any age. Don’t fucking start!

“Alright, Alice. Alright!” I raise a hand in equal parts surrender and a plea to halt her tirade. 

“Number three…” She grins. “What you’re saying without actually saying is that he’s hot.” 

“He was always good-looking, and he knew it; consequently, he couldn’t keep his dick in his pants.” 

So although there might be some soul-searching up ahead, there will also be laughs and friends with whom to share both the highs and lows. We’re dealing with an Edward and Bella who are past the games of immature youth and are ready to explore the possibility of doing more than starting over.  

“Edward, it may just be a cosmic fluke or the universe playing with us. Nothing more and nothing less. After all, actually starting over after so many years…if you knew me, you’d know that’s not part of my belief system anymore. When you fuck up a batch, you fuck up a batch.” 

“The problem is you’re seeing it wrong. It’s not starting over, Bella.” He whispers the words close to my ear, and the strength and tenacity in them make my entire body shudder. “If you fuck up the batch, you go ahead and gather up all the ingredients that worked the first time around…leave out the ones that didn’t…and you begin again.” 

Begin Again will begin posting May 30, 2016. It will be approximately 30 chapters and will post three times a week: Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. Rated M because we’re not kids any more.

 :)  PattyRose

Be sure to pop Pattyrose on alert so you don’t miss out!  

~Nic

What we're reading in TLS this week:

This week we have a variety of fic choices to improve your Monday!  Some are just getting started and showing great promise. Others are old favorites we’ve enjoyed revisiting. We hope you enjoy these as much as we have. Don’t forget to let the authors know where you saw them featured and leave them some love. Happy reading!

♥ Nic & Six

A Kingdom Reborn by AmmNIwriter-rec'd by Nic
https://www.fanfiction.net/s/7262835/1/A-Kingdom-Reborn
King Edward is without an heir and his wife has miscarried yet another baby. Once rid of his 'barren queen' his eye roves for a new wife. Duty, loyalty and threats will bring England a queen who will change their king.Rated M

A Willow in Fall by TheQueenWriter-rec'd by Midnight Cougar
https://www.fanfiction.net/s/11884074/1/A-Willow-in-Fall
Doesn't matter how old you are, growing up is hard to do. Rated M

Break My Silence by Kitty T's Keyboard-rec'd by Maplestyle
https://www.fanfiction.net/s/11823555/1/Break-My-Silence
Forks was a polar opposite of Arizona, and it was perfect. I just wanted to figure out how to live again. Mom was dead, which meant I was safe now. They didn't have any use for me anymore. I just wanted to be alone, it was easier… but Edward Cullen didn't do easy. I don't know why he kept torturing himself by trying to be my friend. Rated M

Bus Stop by Edwards Eternal-rec'd by Midnight Cougar
https://www.fanfiction.net/s/11923603/1/Bus-Stop
It's Bella's birthday. A badly fitted skirt, a cocky passenger and some unwanted help make this a bus ride, and a day she never expected. Rated M

Crazy Like That by planetblue-rec'd by CarrieZM
https://www.fanfiction.net/s/11233370/1/Crazy-Like-That
Cause she is fire. The hottest, deadliest kind of fire. Rated M

Eight Days by windchymes-rec'd by Midnight Cougar
https://www.fanfiction.net/s/11885557/1/Eight-Days
A lot can happen in eight days... Rated M

He Came Along by HopeSparkles-rec'd by Sixdlb5
https://www.fanfiction.net/s/9894117/1/He-Came-Along
This was going to be a fresh start; a new beginning, in a far off place. But what happened that night, on a dark road near Maxwell changed everything for Bella. Rated M

Hello Beautiful by Soapy Mayhem-rec’d by CarrieZM
https://www.fanfiction.net/s/8268907/1/Hello-Beautiful
COMPLETE - Bella Swan-Cullen has always thought her stepfather was a handsome man. What happens when that small spark of attraction ignites? It's not just Bella that stands to get burned. Her secret attraction could tear her family apart! - Bella/Edward Drabble See Disclaimer Inside. Rated M

Hollywood by Allihavetodoisdream-rec'd by CarrieZM
https://www.fanfiction.net/s/10319066/1/Hollywood
"She's Audrey Hepburn, and he's Cary Grant. She's Marilyn, and he's James Dean. She's timeless elegance, and he's old grace. She's searching, and he's already found, already taken. She's sixteen. And he's twenty-seven. But that doesn't matter. Not to a girl in love. Nothing matters, then." Edward & Bella in the definition of a forbidden relationship. Rated M

Marked Complete by LyricalKris-rec'd by Sixdlb5
https://www.fanfiction.net/s/11921819/1/Marked-Complete
Falling in love is effortless. Falling into a life together is harder. Love is a many splendored thing. Love lifts us up where we belong. But eventually, we all have to come down to reality. When love is a whirlwind, is there such thing as balance? A sequel to Marked. Rated M

She tames the beast within by deJean Smith-rec'd by Midnight Cougar
https://www.fanfiction.net/s/11166253/1/She-tames-the-beast-within
She only knows of a day-to-day existence. He only knows of life on a silver platter. She only knows contentment with what she has. He only knows the lust for more, and he has her in his sights. An expansion of my Twilight 25, round 9, exploration of the prompt, 'innocence.' Rated M

The Affair by Johnnyboy7-rec'd by CarrieZM/Nic
http://www.fanfiction.net/s/8343731/1/The-Affair
After the death of her father, Isabella Swan moves to the East coast where she meets dentist Edward Cullen. He's older, a father, and married. Sometimes, you can't tell your heart who to love. Rated M

The Art Teacher by Spanglemaker9-rec'd by Nic
http://www.fanfiction.net/s/6460434/1/The_Art_Teacher
He gave me art and words and passion and life, but all I wanted was him. Rated M

The Red String of Fate by Gemini13me-rec'd by Midnight Cougar
https://www.fanfiction.net/s/11925925/1/The-Red-String-of-Fate
The two people connected by the red string of fate are destined lovers, regardless of time, place, or circumstances. The string may stretch or tangle, but never break. Rated M

When in France by Ninkita-rec'd by LayAtHomeMom
https://www.fanfiction.net/s/11041713/1/When-In-France
Bella had spent the last 26 years waiting for her life to begin. And now, in this tiny French village, she saw her life staring back at her through the eyes of a stranger. Rated M