Official Description:
Hot-headed seminary student, Edward Masen meets just widowed bride Bella Swan. EPOV: AU/AH Entry for the 2010 Cherry Exchange/First Time Author Award
Starting this fic a few chapters back I couldn’t remember why it had caught my eye. But, I’m so glad it did – I can’t tell you how much this beauty warms my heart and why it should go to the top of your list.
Edward and Bella meet on the day Bella is married and widowed. Edward is a seminary student (hmm, right) assigned to look after Bella in the aftermath of the accident in which her husband is killed and best friend injured. I expected angst by the bucketload, I imagined an update of the Thornbirds, I expected something gothic and well, heavy. However, it’s clear from the very start that this story is something else entirely. It’s tender, funny, clever, devoid of cliché and full of heart and soul. The writing is just perfection, the dialogue witty and sweet and the characterization enthralling. Bella rocks. She’s strong and fearless and despite all she has to contend with, the Bella revealed by Edward’s tender loving care is a breath of fresh air. Edward’s mentor Carlisle is a honey, Alice is the best I’ve read and even the shop girls on Edward’s trip to find the perfect handkerchief (and Gucci suit) are beautifully drawn in a recent, hilarious out-take. I’m dazzled by the care and skill that’s gone into every aspect of this fic.
Edward – wow- is just darling. He talks to God all the time and it’s gorgeous: sassy, funny, sometimes poignant, always cute as a button. I love him. His religious faith is key, the source of his goodness and purity and played out in his love for Bella. It’s a love which is immediate, without reservation or condition and it takes your breath away from the start. He is so kind, caring and solicitous of her every need, in a positive twist on the controlling canon Edward. Your heart will melt. That’s not to say it’s all romance and no lemons. Edward is in lust alright and struggles with his feelings and the need to do the best thing, always, around Bella. The story started out as a one-shot , winner of the 2010 Cherry Exchange: Best 1st Time Author, so you know from the start that the smut’s a-coming it’s just a matter of how and when, and Liz_Lemon_ Bennett pops those twin cherries with a deft hand. After a looooooooong first chapter of UST the pay-off is well worth the wait as Bella takes control and Edward employs sex and courtship tips from his well-thumbed secret stash of Maxim and FHM.
This lovely story is a joy for so many reasons but there’s another dimension to this fic, which is the challenge to the reader to reflect on how to be good and what it means to have personal moral code and have it tested. It’s a fascinating subject and totally unexpected.
Nine chapters in and there are a couple of shadows lurking. It’s going to be interesting to see how Ms Bennett sustains the momentum in the story and preserves the innocence and lightness of Edward and Bella’s affair. It’s gem. Now go read.
I agree with everything Honorella said. To begin with, it’s got such an interesting premise–this story is unlike anything I’ve ever read. Add to that the amazing characters that Liz Lemon Bennett has written, and you’ve got an amazing story.
“Well, Isabella…” I say, emphasizing each syllable. “I’m not sure if you’ve noticed,” I say, pulling off each boot, “fucking sexy boots, by the way…” and throw them over my shoulder.
“Thanks… I’ll tell Alice, they’re hers,” she laughs and I crawl up onto the bed, between her legs, “noticed what?”
I begin to unbutton and unzip her jeans, “Each time we’ve been together, you have been the instigator…”
“Yes, thank you for mentioning it… I’m painfully aware of that little pattern.”
“No worries,” I crawl back down off the bed, “I thought tonight I could wear the pants, while you Isabella Swan,” I hold onto the cuffs at the bottom of her jeans, “wear none,” and pull them off in one swift move, and she squeals once more. Fuck yeah, I’ve been thinking about that move all day.
“Oh, my.”
Oh my, indeed. Seriously, check it out–you won’t be disappointed!
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this story is exactly as honorella and kassiah say: sweet, tender, snarky and an edward to die for. thanks for reviewing it!