The Lemon Drops: 9/23/2014

Yep. The Fall Equinox is here, but rather than being sad that we've got to start saying goodbye to the sun up here in the northern hemisphere I'm throwing a fic party. Grab your shades and enjoy the heat, ladies. And please leave your authors some lovin'. 

Xoxo,

Mel

A Summer of Dreams by Isannah
https://www.fanfiction.net/s/6403842/1/A-Summer-of-Dreams
Do you believe in love that transcends time and space? Madame Esme does and by the end of the summer, she'll have Bella believing too…maybe. My entry for the A Picture Says it All Contest.
 Fiction M - English - Romance/Drama - Bella, Edward - Words: 9,299

Fantastic contest entry that maaaaay be continued one day, but shouldn't be missed just because it remains a  one shot. 


Mo Chroi by SweetDucinea
https://www.fanfiction.net/s/5319855/1/Mo-Chroi
Summer of Smut Contest Judge's Pick - Summer camp romance is put on hold when Edward returns home to Ireland & ended altogether after a misunderstanding. Will the next summer be torture for Bella, or will she be able to forgive & move forward? AH Fiction M - Romance/Friendship - Bella, Edward - Words: 10,495

This one's sexy and sweet. And how can you argue a Summer of Smut endorsement, right? lol

The Prettiest Regret by The Fic Chic
https://www.fanfiction.net/s/10645823/1/The-Prettiest-Regret
He looks like summer. He looks like freedom. He looks like the best kind of bad idea.
Fiction M - Romance - Edward, Bella - Words: 6,264

Rebellion and recklessness never felt. so. good.  

Summer Lovin' by andymarx
https://www.fanfiction.net/s/10687541/1/Summer-Lovin
Bella believes there is no better way to spend a hot summer afternoon than floating on a pink raft. Edward has another idea. Edward/Bella. AH. Fiction M - Romance - Bella, Edward - Words: 5,527

This one sizzles from start to finish. Sensuality and swimming make for the perfect pair here. Damn. 

Summer of '88 by nobloodnofoul
https://www.fanfiction.net/s/5221428/1/Summer-of-88
Edward Cullen tells the story about how he woo’d his lady love in 1988. He got a little obsessed, became a little stalkerish, and developed a voyeur fetish. In the end though, he succeeded.Oneshot.AH. Age of Edward Contest. Rated M for language and secks. Fiction M - Humor/Romance - Edward, Bella - Words: 12,694

And lastly, we've got Edward talking voyeurism. Ummmhmmm. 

What we're reading in TLS this week:

Mondays can't be THAT bad when you have a fresh batch of new recs from The Lemonade Stand! Dive right in with some old faithful authors that always deliver or take a chance on someone new with a fresh idea.  Either way, they have a story to tell and TLS is buzzing about these 25 recs. Take a peek & let the author know where you saw them recommended!

♥ Nic & Six  

A Tiny Little Gift to Me by Thimbles-rec'd by Cappricorn75
https://www.fanfiction.net/s/10596909/1/A-Tiny-Little-Gift-to-Me
Soft hair and a velvet tongue/ I want to give you what you give to me/ And every breath that is in your lungs/ Is a tiny little gift to me. The puzzle pieces were already in place. I just didn't know what I was seeing. A Jack White-inspired ficlet for my friend, BelieveItOrNot. Rated M

Birthday Wishes by Edward's Eternal-rec'd by Midnight Cougar
https://www.fanfiction.net/s/10586787/1/Birthday-Wishes
Birthdays are special—especially when you're five. What special wishes does Teddy Cullen hope come true this year? And why do his wishes involve a certain dark-haired lady from the park? Rated M

Buried by Ericastwilight-rec'd by Sixdlb5
https://www.fanfiction.net/s/10317577/1/Buried
His reality was made of nightmares. She was plagued by them. Will she conquer her fears in time? Can he protect her? Rated M

Deep in the Heart of Me by Counselor-rec'd by Nic/Edmazing
https://www.fanfiction.net/s/10661218/1/Deep-in-the-Heart-of-Me
Opens in 1934. Tonio is oldest of nine, farmboy. Sobe is the new lawman's daughter. She shows up at Tonio's school. What seems inevitable quickly becomes impossible. Rated M

Deeper Discord by Ifyouweremine-rec'd by Nic
https://www.fanfiction.net/s/8022119/1/Deeper-Discord
Edward is a boxer with a dark past and secrets. When his best friend's little sister moves in, he finds himself in the biggest brawl of his life. A story of love and sacrifice and fighting for what matters most. Rated M

Desperately Out-manned with No Allies by Vupgirl-rec'd by Nic
https://www.fanfiction.net/s/9317502/1/Desperately-Out-manned-with-No-Allies
With Arizia in ruins, King Charles gives his daughter's hand to the prince of his country's biggest foe, Englasia, to unite the two countries under Englasia's flag and save his people. Crown Prince Edward of Englasia accepts, expecting an ignorant woman from a hated and fallen nation whose life he can make miserable while continuing his rakish ways. He wasn't prepared for Isabella. Rated M

Episode by BoydBlog-rec'd by Evilnat
https://www.fanfiction.net/s/5625982/1/Episode
Bella Swan is a writer that is on a trip of a lifetime. Edward Cullen is a famous actor, whose life is a blur of film-sets, hotels and screaming fans. A destined encounter and a battle of mind over matter erupt amongst sensual music and a shared longing. Rated M

Going Under by Sparklnfade-rec'd by Nic
https://www.fanfiction.net/s/7728698/1/Going-Under
It's been ten years since the summer Bella Swan's life changed. What will happen when she comes face to face with the reason for it? She went under once, will she go under again? Rated M

Hallett Hall by Jaxington-rec'd by AlliZ
https://www.fanfiction.net/s/6446703/1/Hallett-Hall
On our first night away at college, Bella Swan, thinking the room was her own, drunkenly stumbled into my bed. She was broken and I wanted to fix her. I loved her for four years before she left. Never did I expect her to come back, but she surprised me. Rated M

Here, In My Room by Nightcaller-rec'd by Nic
https://www.fanfiction.net/s/7647998/1/Here-In-My-Room
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. Rated M

I Belong With You by Twilightladies-rec'd by Nic
https://www.fanfiction.net/s/10117247/1/I-Belong-With-You
In those moments, I realize it's over. Planning to follow you to the same college is not an option. I can't be near you and watch you love another. With one last glance at my past, I turn and go back the way I came. I don't see you turning around or the smile that falls from your face when you see me. Rated M

Kimberley Diamond by Gingerandgreen-rec'd by Sixdlb5
https://www.fanfiction.net/s/8965166/1/Kimberley-Diamond
Historical fiction, but not what you expect. In Kimberley, a diamond mining town in the Northern Cape, South Africa, 1872, a frontier bride meets her very certain destiny. Rated M

My Angel by ObsessingOverEdward-rec'd by VampsHaveLaws
https://www.fanfiction.net/s/10586967/1/My-Angel
Edward's career, social life, and family life are exactly where he wanted them until a freak accident left him scarred and struggling to accept that his life was changing and not necessarily for the better. Battling with hallucinations he sometimes thinks are real, he struggles to straighten out his life and make the woman in his dreams fall in love with him. Rated M

Reign by Ruthlessly Yours-rec'd by Evilnat
https://www.fanfiction.net/s/10020142/1/Reign
Be gentle, be sweet, speak of womanly things, but above all else give your king everything he desires, Lady Isabella Swan of Devonshire does none of these things...#Kingward Rated M

Re-Shaping Hearts by GemmaH-rec'd by Cappricorn75/Nic
https://www.fanfiction.net/s/10650457/1/Re-shaping-Hearts
It's one thing to be infatuated with your almost brother-in-law, it's another altogether when he reaches out to you and offers to make your fantasies a reality. Hearts don't get broken in fantasies though. Rated M

Seventeen Minutes by Queenofthenile91-rec'd by Nic
https://www.fanfiction.net/s/8605893/1/Seventeen-Minutes
Seventeen minutes will now be forever known as the Forks High School Massacre. It only took seventeen minutes for a lone gunman to kill eleven students and two staff members as well as leave numerous others injured. It was only seventeen minutes, but its survivors have scars that will last a lifetime. Rated M

Shame by Belladonnacullen-rec'd by Dreamweaver94
https://www.fanfiction.net/s/9281621/1/Shame
She destroys him. He hides his disgrace. She manipulates. He dominates. She's driven by power. He's inspired by duty. Their corporate arrangement is motivated by shame. ExB, AH, Rated M.

Sinful Desires by Leighjj256-rec'd by Nic
https://www.fanfiction.net/s/10140126/1/Sinful-Desires
Sometimes the line between right and wrong is very blurry. Rated M

Sky Full Of Stars by Lellabeth-rec'd by Cappricorn75
https://www.fanfiction.net/s/10662418/1/Sky-Full-Of-Stars
Wounded by life and war, Garrett's looking for solace in the arms of someone who'll help him make sense of the world he's returned to. Edward's been living on the fringes for years, but the scarred man he meets makes him want to step back into the open. Rated M

The Suitor by Melton.cecilia-rec'd by Nic
https://www.fanfiction.net/s/10396002/1/The-Suitor
Purchasing his own land is the one thing Edward Cullen wanted most in this world, until he met the neighbor's daughter. Rated M

This Girl's Life by Staceleo-rec'd by Edmazing
https://www.fanfiction.net/s/10652651/1/This-Girl-s-Life
Flannels, candy necklaces, Nirvana and a desire for independence for a girl on the cusp of adulthood. He was the mystery that drew her in and the possibility of happiness or sorrow depending on his whims. Inspired by My So-Called Life. Rated M

Trouble by Breyzie1478-rec'd by Midnight Cougar
https://www.fanfiction.net/s/10651309/1/Trouble
A sassy single mother, the little boy that rules her world, and a tattooed bartender that gets blindsided by them both. Bella/Edward. Good times, not-so good times, and everything in between. Tattward and Momella. Rated M

Two Blue Lines by Payton79-rec'd by Nic
https://www.fanfiction.net/s/10462777/1/Two-Blue-Lines
Bella, a good girl, was dumped by her long-time boyfriend. Edward, a young doctor, is feeling suffocated by his father's plans. Waking up next to a stranger is a shock for a good girl. Seeing the girl of your dreams run out on you the morning after sucks for a nice guy. What if two blue lines will bind the two together for life? What if they can't even remember how they came to be? Rated M

Virulent by Perpetually-rec'd by LayAtHomeMom
https://www.fanfiction.net/s/10655037/1/Virulent
"When there's no more room in hell, the dead shall walk the earth." Friends with benefits. But caught in an apocalypse. 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 lovely planetblue, author of the standout stories Deviant and Badlands, shares some info on her upcoming story Artful Maneuvers with us.

Hi everybody! I’m so happy to be bringing you a sneak peek of my new story, posting next week! When TLS honored me by asking me to do this, I was told to “have fun with it”. So my awesome beta, Carrie ZM, and I thought, how about an interview? Well, as things normally do with us, our Facebook chat took on a life of its own, and I decided to share it with you word for word, incorrect text-speak and all. Enjoy, and thank you! 

Carrie ZM: Good morning, pretty girl :) Are you ready to talk a little Artful?

Planetblue: Morning, love!! Ready as I'll ever be...

CZM: lol - I'm so excited for this fic to post

PB: I'm glad one of us is lol

CZM: Staphit. It’s a breath of fresh air - a break from the heavy

PB: I hope so, after Badlands, I really needed to just do something lighter

CZM: Nods. I can imagine. Was it difficult switching gears? I know we talked about this fic for awhile

PB: It was harder than I thought. You know how I struggled. I was back and forth, picking up stories I’d started a while ago, starting what, 3 others? I couldn't find anything that clicked. Nothing seemed... good enough after Badlands.

CZM: *stares at you* I remember lol. Funny thing is - ALL of them were good enough ;) I'm glad you continued this one though. It's more than just a romance/fluff. 

CZM: I sound like Diane Sawyer gone bad

PB: lol as long as you're not Barbara Walters, trying to make me cry

CZM: lol - I wanna be Katie Couric

PB: You're as cheery as Katie

CZM: nods - but I can sting like a bee bahaha

PB: Oh I know!

CZM: omg – lol. Well… okay then - maybe sometimes! So you wrote quite a few things and ended up choosing Artful. Any particular reason why? Aside from writing me a fabulous Edward lol

PB: Well this definitely came about from something you said, lol. I think you really encouraged that one to continue. That was a big part of it. I trust you completely, and LayAtHomeMom seemed to agree, and I trust her as well.

CZM: ah yes - I did have some requests. btw - I still do lol

PB: Oh I know you do! This one though, I think fits your bill quite a bit, debonair, mysterious, a little older, worldly.

CZM: And Bella?

PB: Well honestly, you never request certain Bellas...you seem focused on Edwards lol. But Bella is a strong character in this one, I don't like mousy Bella.

CZM: What do you mean by strong?

PB: She’s independent, confident, and witty - I hope.

CZM: So you have this strong Bella and a debonair/mysteriousward... care to share more?

PB: Hmm. Well you know I have an evil rep for not giving anything away

CZM: True that!  

PB: I will say that this is a bit of a cat and mouse; nothing is as it seems at first.

CZM: It's hard talking Artful without giving too much away

PB: dfdlk

‘/mjbv,.cbvxdsr

PB: sorry Squiggy just sat on the keyboard

CZM: aww - Squiggy wants in on the talk. 

PB: He does!!! He's jealous of the attention I give you

CZM: lol – My Rose could give two bits - she's sleeping. Squiggy needs a cameo in a story

PB: I need to write an Edward that owns a pug. Swoooon. I'll put Rose in there too. 

CZM: yes - Bella could own Rose - HA! 

PB: Their own love story

CZM: yes yes - maybe he could have piercings ;) ;)

PB: The pug or Edward? LOL

CZM: Edward lol

PB: Done and done!

CZM: I’m liking this idea a lot - I think you need to write an Edward with a piercing below - if you know what I mean - I think I've requested this before - we could research

PB: I would do that, lol. Dog lovers would be sweet... but after this one I may have to return to the dark side

CZM: oh bb - the dark side? How dark?

PB: Cannibalism.

CZM: lmao - Jasper eats Alice? That would make Lay happy bahahha

PB: LOL Maybe E and B enjoy cooking Alice and Jasper, serving them at dinner parties

CZM: omg O_O for real though - I know you're itching to go down some dark, angsty road. *holds your hand*. 

PB: I am, I have some thoughts, but Artful needed to come out first.

CZM: So aside from my wild requests - how do you come up with ideas? Like do you know the ending before the beginning? Do you see scenes?

PB: How do I come up with ideas...well they just kind of come to me? I write things I want to read, or see in a movie. I like certain moods and vibes and want to convey them somehow. It's hard to come up with stuff that hasn't been done a million ways though. That's the trickiest part. As for scenes, I see those clearly and wrap the rest of the story around it. Artful came from one scene I had in my head, the rest came after.

CZM: I remember you describing that scene to me *goosebumps* How about giving everyone a little peek at these new characters?

PB: Eeek okay I’ll try. How's this:

“Excuse me,” his deep voice startles me, as I hadn’t realized he’d turned my way. He walks towards me slowly, almost lazily, and I can’t help but skim his appearance as he approaches, taking in the burgundy-striped tie that matches the silk square in his breast pocket perfectly. My eyes finally lift to his face, and I inhale silently. 

His stare holds a hint of impatience as he concentrates on me, waiting for me to answer, but I can’t help but hesitate when I take in the striking, unusual nature of his eyes. The art lover in me quickly equates the color in the left with the blue of the sky in Monet’s Garden at Sainte-Adresse, while the right is the exact shade of green in Monet’s Water Lilies.

“I’m sorry, I was…” Ogling. I realize I’m still moving my fingers up and down my throat, so I just trail off and quickly clasp my hands together in front of me, his eyes following the path they make. “Welcome to the Hale Gallery. What can I help you with, sir?” 

CZM: oh damn the eyes! That’s a good tease.

PB: It is beta'd beautifully!

CZM: oh geez lol - I’m all red-cheeked

PB: I can picture your face right now lol

CZM: hot mess - I'm eating honey nut Cheerios and drinking a diet Pepsi ;)

PB: I haven't showered yet and I’m watching Bachelor in Paradise.

CZM: girl - you've fallen down the rabbit hole

PB: I still have standards. I won't watch the actual Bachelor shows. Okay okay, let's end this before we give these poor readers TMI

CZM: I think we're already there. So Artful Maneuvers - it's hot and fun... come join us! 

PB: Yay!! 

CZM: ftr - Katie Couric I am not ;) *blows a kiss*

PB: Awww ILY

CZM: ily2. Oh Aim - is this sneak peek any good?

PB: we suck :)

Thanks so much to the lovely girls at TLS for giving us the chance to embarrass ourselves and I hope to see you all with chapter 1!!  xoxo PB

.

Don't forget to pop planetblue on alert so you don't miss out!

♥ Kim

REVIEW: Goodbye Peter Pan by Bled Dry

Some stories have such a big following that it’s hard to remember where you first heard about them because every-freaking-body you know is reading them.  They're the stories that are recognized by initials or stand-apart details and are immediately connected to an author's name. They get you talking, screaming, and swooning about fic, and often become the standard by which other stories are compared. These are those stories.

We've invited three guest reviewers to share their thoughts on some of our recent ‘we can’t stop talking about them’ favorites.

banner by Jaime Arkins

Goodbye Peter Pan by Bled Dry

https://www.fanfiction.net/s/10212570/1/Goodbye-Peter-Pan

Prompted by a feeling, Alice leads the Cullens back to Forks, but ten years is a long time in a brief human life. Edward's wish for Bella to have a nice human life seems to have been fulfilled. Bella believes that once she loved a remarkable boy, but in the end he didn't love her. Can Edward convince her she is wrong?

JoFicFreak~

Edward tried to stay away. He really did.

That’s the first line of Bled’s story.  It’s also the line that made me keep reading.

It’s been a while since I’ve read any fanfiction (other than some of my favorite authors whom I try to keep up with).  It seems the past year has proven quite crazy in more ways than one. However, on one fated day, when I was lurking on FB, I happened to see a post by the lovely edmazin (Mel), alerting everyone that this little story, Goodbye Peter Pan, had updated.

I thought to myself, okay, that sounds kinda cool. I like Peter Pan. And hell, if Mel likes it . . . so I open it up, and like I said, I read the first line, and kept reading.  I liked it from the very start.

Now, let me tell you why I still like it.

This is a post New Moon story.  But with a grown Bella, who has, not only matured and “moved on” (I won’t go in to details) and an Edward who is, as Bella put it, different.  I don’t get the weeping girl who is falling apart or the vampire who forgets his manners when he sees other men around her. Instead I see a guarded heart, and a lesson learned. The hard way.

Edward has a lot of hurdles to jump over before he can even attempt to woo the woman he’s made the horrendous mistake of leaving but also, I love love love watching this Edward grow as an individual too.

When the story started getting some attention, I won’t lie, I thought to myself, rut roh. For reasons. But when more and more people started to read Peter Pan, and Bled started getting more reviews per chapter, and she began to see how anxious people are for Edward and Bella to “get together”, she could have very easily turned this into a sex fest. 

To her credit, she didn’t.

She’s simply writing her story the way she believes it needs to be told. In the time it takes to tell it.

We’re on chapter thirty two now (as of the time of this review) and there has been no Bella / Edward sex yet.

Random reader: Um, Jo. What?

That’s right. I said it. No sex.

That’s not to say there haven’t been any tender moments, some stolen somethings.  And it’s certainly not to say Bled hasn’t caught some shit for it either. (Yes, I trolled your reviews Bled. Sorry not sorry and SMH. We should talk.).

She’s not writing for the readers, though.  Which, okay, we all like our readers to like what we put out there but at the root of that, we like our readers to like what WE LIKE TO WRITE.

There are issues to be solved. Relationships to be mended. Hearts that need healing. That doesn’t happen over night ya’ll.  Not in a well thought out story.

So why am I still reading?

It’s not just for the story that I’m kinda sorta really adoring now. Although that’s half of it.  But the other half is Bled.  Because I respect this woman. And I’m sticking it out to see where all these people she’s gotten me invested in wind up at the end.  I’ll probably even read her next one.

I hope you do too.

Dolly Reader~

I’ll admit it, I have an absolute soft-spot for vamp fic. There’s something about the otherworldliness that is like a siren song to me and I always become ridiculously excited when I find a quality vamp story.

Goodbye Peter Pan by Bled Dry is quality. It has a complicated situation with no easy answers and a slow delicious, tension filled burn that leaves you at the edge of your seat, waiting for more.

As the story opens, we find Bella in Forks, 10 years after Edward left her behind. Bella has done her best to live her life, she’s gone to college, has a career, and a husband.

“It just seemed pointless to keep trying. I loved an immortal boy vampire. I tried to love an immortal boy werewolf. After a while it became ridiculous. I had to say goodbye to my Peter Pan fetish and grow up. I couldn't spend my life pining after seventeen year old boys."

And though Bella and Mike are the town’s perfect couple on the outside, we learn that they are not without their own troubles. When an unexpected request from Mike stuns Bella, she finds herself beginning to question whether or not she has made the right choice in her life. Facing pressure not just from Mike, but from her best friend Angela, Bella must come to terms with whether her conviction is worth the ramifications.

"What are you saying?" Bella broke first. "If I don't agree to this, we're done?"

"No. Is that what you're saying, though? If I don't agree to give up on this, then we're over?"

"No! But I'm not the one who's changed their mind here!" Bella raised her voice again.

But the brain and the heart don’t always want the same things and with Edward returning to her life when the Cullens donate a children’s library to the town, the two of them begin a delicate balancing act of repairing old wounds and establishing a friendship.  A friendship that leaves Bella carefully navigating through a current of want and Edward struggling with his need to finally claim his mate.

"Why are you still here?"

"You." He didn't hesitate.

"But why? To have sex with me and leave?" She thought about her fears, that his innocent virgin act had been just a rouse to get girls into his bed.

"Do you really think I'd leave?" He stepped toward her. "It's the only lie I've told you since I've been back. Why do you keep believing the lie?"

"I don't know what to believe when you keep lying." She turned and walked away from him.

He nearly let her get to the car before he went after her. He leaned his hip against her door, blocking her until he'd said what he needed to. "Look, I'm a fucking idiot. I know this. What I don't know is what I'm doing here with you. I don't know how to act, what to say. I'm probably going to keep fucking this up. But I'm not going anywhere." He tilted her chin up to look her in the eyes. "Unless you tell me to."

She thought of her dream.

She nearly told him she couldn't. Instead, she whispered, "I won't."

Edward dropped his hand and walked away. "Just so you know," he called out as she opened her car door. "The only reason I'm heading into that house right now is to stop myself from kissing you."

Goodbye Peter Pan has 34 chapters waiting for you to dive into. Take a chance. Delve into the complicated life of Bella and we’ll all find out together if Edward was worth the wait. I’m betting that he is.

Mariahajile~

I’m not a reader of vamp fics. There. I said it. I used to be, but once AH Edward rested those baby green eyes on me, I never looked back. I blame @roglows, by the way. So when Nic, my very own fic (read: crack) dealer came to me and asked if I was reading Goodbye Peter Pan by Bled Dry, I gave her the resting bitch face. But because it was Nic, someone who doesn’t read many vamp fics herself, I trusted the rec.  And GREAT ODIN’S RAVEN, I’m so thankful I did!

Goodbye Peter Pan takes place ten years after Edward and the Cullens left Forks. Our beloved Bella is now married… to Mike Newton. She helps run Newton’s and works at the library, is best friends with Angela, and leads a normal life ‒ the normal life Edward wanted for her. While her marriage isn’t full of passion, it’s easy, stable, and full of sex in the back office. But all of that goes out the window when the library receives a large donation one day, which she’s told is from the Cullens. What’s the donation about? Why are they suddenly back in Forks? Will Alice ever stop cheating the stock market?

This story drives me bananas. B-a-n-a-n-a-s, Gwen Stefani. My emotions are rocked from one end of the spectrum to the other, before I even have time to fully process them. I want Bella with Edward, but I also don’t. I want Edward to sweep her off her feet, but then I want him to take his lying, abandoning tushy elsewhere. He says and does all the rights things once he’s back in Bella’s life, but they turn out to be the wrong ones, as well, because Bella’s married, an important plot point the both of them sometimes forget. Not only do they fall back into their comfort zone, they also have this crazy chemistry they can’t help but act on.

Making matters worse is the fact that Mike is now infected with baby fever. Despite knowing that Bella doesn’t want children, he thinks he can simply change her mind and even goes behind her back to enlist the help of Angela and Ben. What Mike doesn’t know, though, is that Bella’s “encounter” with James in the ballet studio, left her unable to have tiny humans. Not only that – because what fun would that be – but her inability to have kids may be part of a bigger picture regarding her human-to-vamp capabilities.

At the heart of this story is Bella’s conflict, and Bled Dry’s ability to portray it in such a realistic manner is what makes me want to punch a wall. I get it. I feel it in my chest as I read. My head and my heart hate each other whenever a new chapter arrives in my inbox. Bled Dry has weaved this spectacular plot and infused it with a kick in the emotional ass. I’m absolutely invested in Bella’s decisions. It’s not just about wanting Bella and Edward together; it’s about Bella doing what’s right for her and whether it’s what she really wants.

“You left, your family left, your brother left. You all left me alone with this huge secret and an even bigger heartbreak. You all left me to deal with it on my own. And I did. It took me a long time, but I put you all behind me. I moved forward, and I created a new life. I was as happy as I could get. And then he came back. I let him into my life. I started to let him in here.” – Chapter 33

See? So if you’re not already reading it, get started on that ASAP. It’s a beautiful read and gives you all the feels… whether you like them or not.

~~~♥~~~

We’d like to thank our nine guest reviewers for sharing their thoughts with us on these three amazing stories.  ShearEnvy, Nat (evilnat), VampiresHaveLaws, Rochelle Allison, Becca/Gothic Temptress, JennyKate, JoFicFreak, Dolly Reader and Mariahajile.   Also a special thanks to banner makers Time Lights, Lolypop82, and Jaime Arkin for the awesome banners!