REVIEW: High Fidelity by IReen H

Summary from ff. net: Edward is an unfeeling bastard. Bella gets caught up in his games. Language and lots of it. Lemons eventually. It's a slow burn, slow and painful. Mature. Lots of random pop culture references. AH, AU, ExB Romance/Angst

High Fidelity has kicked my lack of blog posting in the ass!

As the summary states, it's a slow burn and I'm fucking charred. This story is smartly written. The characters have depth and voice. The plot slowly, subtly unfolds. This is the best WIP I've started reading since There is a Light. High Fidelity has restored my faith in Twilight fanfiction as a source for high quality writing and undiscovered talent.

Bella, 27, works full-time at a realty office during the week and moonlights in catering on the weekends. She also takes a full load of credits at an online university. She is witty, bold, and at times self-deprecating. Edward thinks of her as, "Earthly and uncultured, lithe and whimsical." She is one of the strongest and most awe-inspiring Bella's in Twific.

Edward works in her building as an agent for Allstate Insurance. He's not your average insurance salesman. He's one cocky motherfucker, he's apparently loaded, and he is drop dead stunning.

I Google 'Edward Cullen, Allstate Insurance' and click on his agency page. I look at his picture. He isn't smiling. His hair is in its usual disarray. 

What is it about this guy? He looks like he wears Italian suits, his nails are clean and buffed and he smells expensive. He can't run a fucking brush through that shit? 

I bet he does it on purpose.

Though they have worked in the same building for five years, they don't formally meet until Allstate sends Bella a bill for an accident in which she wasn't involved. Allstate gives Bella the run-around and she's not enthused about having to deal with Allstate's or Edward's bullshit.

"Good Morning," he says to me. 

I feel like Curly Bill in Tombstone when I say "Hi," back. It sort of comes out sounding like FUCK OFF.

Edward explains that she's in this insurance clusterfuck because SHE never replied to their initial letter. She fumes in reply.

"I get a ton of junk mail. Sometimes I open it. Sometimes I don't. I have no reason to open anything from Allstate because I don't hold any policies with you guys. And I didn't hit anybody, YET, so I had no reason to anticipate that you would file a claim against me. I probably threw the first notices away, not knowing what they were." 

Is it just me or does he purposely skim my hand with his finger as I take the paper from him. Is this how Clarice Starling felt when Hannibal Lector touched her in the same manner?

Two days later Bella runs into Edward in the break room, she initiates conversation when she believes he's talking to her, then realizes he's speaking into an ear piece.

"I said hi. I thought you were being human for a moment and greeting me in a normal, human-like way. But I was wrong. Apologies." 

"Would you like me to greet you in a normal way?" 

"Really, Edward? I don't understand the game here. Is there an instruction manual... or something I could read?" 

He doesn't miss a beat. "Yes, it was mailed to you. You probably didn't open it." 

"No, I do vaguely remember something like that. I think I used it to clean up dog vomit."

I love the entertaining banter between these two.

Starting in chapter 4, IReen H feeds readers yummy snacks titled "EPOV." This is one guy you will love to hate.

I tend to gravitate towards the full of body, full of money types with highlights in their hair and flesh spilling out of the top of their shirts. Girls like Victoria Sutherland. Tanya Denali. Rosalie Hale. Chesty suggestive girls all of them, whose daddies have deep pockets.

I'm sweet on this Edward despite his asshattery. He's intelligent. He's honest with his thoughts and one minute he will leave you swooning...

Then her half smile blooms into a whole one, which adds a very alluring shimmer to her deep brown eyes. They twinkle under dark lashes. It's beautiful. She is beautiful.

And a minute later he will shock you with his crassness.

I wouldn't say I really like Victoria. She is shallow and vain. She has more shoes than Imelda Marcos. 

She has a dog that she carries in a purse. 

But she's easy. And the last thing I needed, when I met her, was a challenge. I just needed… a hole. And she has 3 of them. All willing.

*AHEM*

Edward's penchant for Barbie doll dates exacerbates Bella's insecurity, and this is a theme throughout the story thus far. Alice, Edward's sister, tells Bella that Edward's type is "plastic," with "lots of tits."

So, as much as I may want to, it's probably best not to think about what his mouth feels like. That only ends badly for me. 

In heartbreak, most likely.

Despite their differences - or perhaps because of them - Edward and Bella have simmering chemistry. They smolder; one spark and they are poised to ignite. Hell, they might spontaneously combust. Bella initially attempts to deny their intense attraction, but he embraces it. He wants her, almost desperately. Bella guards her heart having been burned before and Edward apparently buried his heart on the battlefield. These two are both survivors of different wars and their battle scars run deep.

I love the flow of this story, the slow burn, and the gradual reveal of the character's flaws and conflicts. The pop culture references are spot-on and help the reader identify with the characters.

Despite what I might have learned from 16 Candles, "I had a really bizarre dream last night and you were in it," is not a good opening line in any scenario. 

The ride up to Edward's condo feels otherworldly. Like, now I know how Katniss Everdeen felt being lifted into the arena. Unknown, infinite badness awaits me at the end of this upwards journey.

High Fidelity is a story that gets better with each update. Chapter 13, the last posted, was one of my favorite chapters ever… of all the stories I've ever read. While reading, I experienced a full spectrum of emotion. Hope. Resolve. Disappointment. Apprehension. Anger. Sadness. Disgust. Depression. Embarrassment. Humiliation. Determination. Rage. Heartbreak. Vindication. Upon finishing the update I wanted a martini. And a shoulder to cry on. And a girlfriend to share a fist bump. I felt like I ran a marathon. It was brutal and punishing, but oh how exhilarating!

Author IReen H on twitter:  @ajapersuasia

Author blog:  http://ireenh.blogspot.com/

High Fidelity Facebook group:  https://www.facebook.com/groups/357616267625752/

REVIEW: Love is the End by phoebes.promise

Summary from ff.net:
If he had only spoken the right words at the right time she would be his forever. Instead, they ache, love and long for each other in silence. A bittersweet love story desperately searching for a happily ever after. E/B, AH, M.


Every now and again I read a story that grips my heart and doesn't let go. This happened to me with this story. My Twi Posse pals @RTP4ME and @livindol recommended this fic that I'm obsessing over like I did for Dead on my Feet. I crave updates like a hooker craves a feminine wipe.

This story tells the history of Bella and Edward's love from primarily Edward's POV in a series of nonchronological flashbacks interwoven into the present day narrative starting with a prologue that's painful to read.

"Do you make love to her, Edward?" She whispered in the darkness.

I stilled my fingers that were stroking the smooth, delicate skin on her naked back as she lay across my chest.

"Answer me. Do you make love to your…wife?" Her voice trailed off at the last word.

Bella and Edward are lovers desperately in love. Widow Bella and married Edward are brought together once again at Hale House to remember their mutual friend Angela, who has died tragically. Because their lives have revolved around the same band of friends, their clandestine couplings take place around significant life events that bring the crew together.

I knew we were already vacillating between mourning and loving. It was a complicated conflict that only we understood. We'd mastered our reunions around the guise of funerals, weddings, christenings, and holidays.

Whether intentional or not, this story pays homage to the movie The Big Chill, and I highly recommend watching said movie- perhaps the best casting in a ensemble movie ever.

Wusspervs BEWARE! I have teared up or downright wept during each chapter just like I do reading Expectations and Other Moving Pieces. The following passage takes place while Bella is holding Angela's baby girl:

I rocked and soothed Leah in her moonlit nursery. I traced her tiny features and watched her rapid breaths. "If your mommy was here, she'd guide my heart… She was very good at that. She'd remind me how much Edward loves me, how much he always loved me… How we'll be okay." My whispers were met with peace and slumber. I dusted a goodnight kiss over her forehead and laid her down. "But your mommy's not here… anymore, beautiful girl."

This is not a secretive infidelity, nearly everyone knows that Edward and Bella are in love and having an affair. All their friends and families know. Bella's deceased husband knew before he died. Even Lauren, Edward's ex-beauty queen wife, suspects Edward has someone on the side, though she hasn't figured out who it is. Some are supportive and some are not, and this creates additional stress on this couple trying to find a way to be together when all the cards are stacked against them.

The characterizations here are rich. From Renee's drinking problem, to Lauren's vapid personality, you will get these people; they are real. And speaking of Lauren, I find myself truly feeling very sorry for this character. She has done nothing to deserve Edward's betrayal.

If I started quoting my favorite passages from this fic I would be here all day. This is one that I can't get out of my head.

"You make love to your beautiful wife, in your beautiful home, in your beautiful life… You know what I do, Edward?" She whispered away from me. "I lay in the guest room, in the dark… touching myself, thinking about you… remembering you... missing you." Her tears fell, her words penetrated.

"My life is not beautiful, Bella." I said quietly, wiping my mouth with the back of my hand.

"Do you love her?" She faced me, eyes seeking truth.

The following line had me realizing for the 2,543,907th time what separates people who write from writers:

"Talk to me…" She pulled away to see my face. Gently, her fingers traced along my cheekbones, down my jaw and covered my mouth, again. She shook her head, no. Denial was a dangerous evil easily mistaken for survival.

The author admits that there will be more torture before the promised HEA. I understand many of you will want to wait until it's complete to read. I will tweet when it's complete so you won't have to live in agony for updates like myself...Now where's that feminine wipe?

 If you like angst please give this story a read and tell phoebes.promise I sent you.

REVIEW: The Art Teacher by spanglemaker9

 FF.net summary: He gave me art and words and passion and life, but all I wanted was him.

Isabella Dwyer is a high school senior at the elite Spencer Academy, a private school for the Upper East Siders in NYC. Her mother Renee, "...a little nobody from the sticks..." has married well, giving Isabella a rich step-daddy and all the goodies his life has to offer. Renee enrolls Isabella in an Art Appreciation class as another way for Renee to fit in with her snooty upper crust friends. These women define the word 'cougar.' The instructor is fuckhawt artistward Edward Cullen:

The poser rich boys at Spencer can't hold a candle to this guy, and it's obvious. Even with all their money, they can't touch what he has; this natural magnetism that radiates off his skin ... He is, without a doubt, the most amazing man I've ever laid eyes on in real life.

Isabella has everything in life and nothing at the same time. Her mother's social climbing disgusts her and she feels trapped living life as a Dwyer. After meeting a few times outside of class, Bella and Edward's attraction for each other sends the UST meter all the way to the right. Of course their relationship appears doomed from the start. There's the student/teacher thing, there's the she's rich/he's not thing, and then there's the Edward lives in wealthy women's apartment buildings and gets a break on the rent IYKWIM thing.

I was sucked into this story right away. It moves along quickly yet is never rushed. I get all tingly when I read good fanfiction and this is a 9/10 on my tingly scale. The Art Teacher is more about Bella's search for her independence and ultimate happiness with herself than it is about her relationship with Edward. Though their initial contact is brief, his influence on her life is profound.

If there's someone that you carry a torch for or never 'got over' you must read this.

A WIP at 11 chapters, The Art Teacher is a quick read. Spanglemaker9 states in an A/N that there are 14 chapters total thus its nearing completion. I encourage all you romance/hurt/angst lovers to read this amazing fic, you won't be disappointed.