Official Description:Running a thriving tavern should make Edward Masen happy. But happiness only arrives in his life along with the ship that carries the precious spices that are the key to his success, and his heart could cause everything he has worked for to fall into ruin
Word Count: 8,637

If you are a slash person, particularly a Edward/Jasper slash person, or hell, if you read anything at all, you NEED to read this one-shot. It’s amazing. It is in my Top 5 favorites, and I dare say it is Numero Uno on that list.

Did I mention that I love it?

So what’s the deal? What does bookbag do that makes this story stand out so boldly in my mind? Simply put, the concept is brilliant.

This isn’t just slash, my darlings, it is historical fiction. There are a few good historical fiction out there in the Twi fandom, but let’s be honest – they’re few and far between, and I’ve never seen any others that are slash. Even if you’ve only ever read non-Twilight-related historical romances, you’ll understand that there is just a certain quality about the good ones that sets them apart and makes you really feel like you’re a part of the story, even if you have absolutely no prior knowledge of the time period or lifestyles.

Spice of Life drops readers into Portsmouth with wealthy Englishman Edward who chooses to maintain his dank and dirty tavern, serving deliciously spiced foods and copious amounts of alcohol to sailors and other riffraff who pass through. Why does he stay, though?

Three more days.

I prayed a squall hadn’t delayed the ship. I remembered the fortnight delay of a few years ago, when there had been reports of severe weather in the Cape of Good Hope and it had been agony. I had grown pale and waxen, my body gradually began to fade. The meals prepared below in the steaming kitchen grew blander as they eked out the precious powders and reused the cardamom pods. I stopped eating. The regulars stopped buying meals and only drank, until the air reeked of desperation and discontent; mine and theirs. There was no flavour to my life without the arrival of spices.

We’re not just talking about seasonings here. The “flavour” he yearns for is someone very special – someone he has had this ongoing, difficult relationship with for many years – his merchant sailor and provider of spices, Jasper (who also happens to be the keeper of his heart).

But their stations in life and the danger they would both face if exposed keep them from having what they ultimately desire. Not to mention the longing for one another that seems to compete with fear that something will have changed when they meet again, nearly half a year from their last reunion. Gah! Definitely tugging on the heart strings!

This story is simply wracked with emotions and unfulfilled need. Don’t misunderstand – there is a lemon, and it is effing brilliant and hot, but what they both seem to crave is so much more…ideally, more time together.

Oh, god. This was even better than I had remembered. Nothing could compare to this feeling. I felt a flash of pain as I thought of life without Jasper, before my brain shied away. I couldn’t bear to consider it.

If that doesn’t make you ::heartclench:: and run off to read, how about this:

“Sometimes I just want to get off the ship on some tropical island, and vanish completely. Somewhere where no one knew me, and I could be myself, living in the sun, and never coming back.” His tone was wistful.

I chided myself for my selfishness even as I flinched in pain at the thought of the spice ship coming into harbour without Jasper on it. I knew I would not be able to continue to live here, watching it come and go, but with all meaning removed from its movements. What good would spices be to me without Jasper?

Do it! Take Edward with you!

Is that realistic, though?

In the end, bookbag does a lovely, wonderful job of creating a resolution for these two beautiful men that allows them to be together, fulfill their goals in life, and provide the hope for a future neither had ever anticipated. You will squee and “aww” over it – that’s a promise!