Official Description:
Life changes…just like the seasons. Bella finds herself coming out of an ending and into a beginning. Still hurt and emotionally withdrawn. Can someone new help her embrace the change in her life? Can her broken heart find love again? E/B Rated M.
I’m sure we can all agree that while many fics are silver, and several are gold, there are only a few that are platinum.
Solstice, by Cosmogirl7481, shines with that platinum distinction.
If you’re familiar with Cosmo’s stories, you’ll understand why I expected this new one to be a glorious cock party, but I was amazed (and delighted) to find that it was something even better:
Real.
That’s right, real, which is to say that if you’ve experienced heartbreak of any kind you’ll completely relate to Solstice’s story.
In chapter one we meet Bella who recently experienced the shattering pain of divorce and, at the suggestion of her counselor, reluctantly attends group therapy…
“A chill covers me, so I put on my grey knit sweater. It’s baggy and unattractive, but immediately I feel warmer…safer. I love the way it smells – a mixture of Downy and my perfume. I breathe in deeply, fucking thankful that he didn’t buy it for me. The sweater or the perfume. I shouldn’t have worn flip-flops because my feet are going to be cold. The thermostat in this place must be jacked down to sixty. They’re probably afraid that a warm environment will lead to the spreading of our illnesses.
Is bitterness even contagious?”
See? Real. And before you think you’ll drown in Angst Ocean, Cosmo makes sure you’ll laugh too, because every journey in life is peppered with humor. For instance, when Bella somehow finds herself sharing her tale to the group, she blurts out a whole lot of…
“I used to be normal.
… Now, it’s walking down the street and trying not to hurl pebbles I find on the sidewalk at happy couples that hold hands and kiss while they walk past me. Now, I’m bitter and find that I don’t want to watch a romantic comedy. I want to watch Fatal Attraction and wonder why I don’t have the balls to be like Glen Close in that movie. Ironic, I know. Except that I’d never do that to a bunny. I’m against it…you know…animal cruelty and all that. Like…I’m really fucking against it.”
Solstice is not only realistic and funny, but what I love most is that hope pours off the page. Edward, another attendee of the group, is slightly farther along in his journey. Over after-group coffee, he and Bella slowly become friends and then…there’s something more. A spark. Perhaps even a light at the end of the heartbreak tunnel…but it’s small steps, and Edward is no magic pill. Cosmo keeps the budding romance firmly planted in reality; a reality that’s complete with pulling away at the wrong moments, embarrassing bursts of tears, awesomely awkward phone messages, but, ultimately, hope for a future that might not always be stained with heartbreak.
With its shorter chapters, Solstice is a quick, yet thought-provoking read. Plus, it’s nearly complete! So, run to read this precious gem of a story that turns something as ugly and painful as divorce into a beautiful journey of self-discovery and hope.
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