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After the unexpected death of her fiance Jared Black, Bella decides to escape from Forks and leaves the town in order to start her life over. Her grief for the loss of her best friend was far greater than for a fiance, because she had never been in love with Jared; they had always been good friends and it seemed like the next step to continue what their families expected for her in the future. But his sudden death definitely put a stop to things, and so she decides to go to a place no one would think she would go to: Chicago, in order to start her life anew. There, she meets Esme Cullen, the owner of a fabulous flower shop called Just Blooms right across from her apartment and discovers that this is something that she would love to do. Esme too, is extremely taken with her and her capability to form flower arrangements, and hires her immediately to work alongside her and a co-worker Angela at the store. But when a certain, and extremely handsome, son of Esme walks right in with a foul mouth and an order of "not so fresh" roses for a skank, Bella discovers that the life she had been living was not true at all...  

Edward is a broody, whorish, dark man that spouts multiple curses and does dozens of women - none of whom he repeats more than once. But his dark past combined with his profession in the mafia is what leads up to his exterior personality. So when he actually sees Bella, a woman who was naturally beautiful and so oblivious to it, he finds himself cracking his brain to find a way to pursue her. Esme is the first to notice his hard edges smoothing out because of this girl, but she also knows that her son has a long way to go if he wants to build a serious long-term relationship with her. Will Edward be able to get the courage and guts to tell Bella who he really is? And more importantly, will Bella be able to accept his profession as well as the fact that he is somehow connected with Jared's death?

This story will have you hooked from the very first chapter because of its amazing plot-line! mathisson creates two beautiful characters, both broken in their own way, who come together in a world that is not as simple as either of them think. What I absolutely adored in this fanfiction was that Edward's character had a marginal improvement within him, from the moment he first lays eyes on Bella to the very end when he discovers that his connection with him lies deeper than just the physical aspect; in fact, it was much closer to her life than he would like. But in the end, their love story does have a HEA, so please be patient when things get slightly jumbled in the middle; the story truly is worth the read and not to be missed out on!!

The Secrets We Keep consists of 47 chapters and a total of 92,649 words. The story is rated M for language, violence, and sexual content.

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Posted by Anonymous

Bella Swan is helping organize the wedding and subsequent wedding reception of Rosalie Hale and Emmett McCarthy. No big deal really. Okay, maybe a small deal - after all, more than 400 guests need to be entertained and taken care of. What Bella doesn't know is that the brief and silent eye contact she has with a handsome stranger later that night, would change her life  forever... Because the man whose attention she caught is no other than Edward Cullen, son of Carlisle Cullen, and currently the most influential and powerful man in the whole of Chicago. Only a couple of years ago, Edward has taken over the mafia business from his father and is now involved in more or less legal activities. Yet, the Cullens are far from ruthless and brutal as they make it a habit to regularly donate money to a variety of charities in and around Chicago. And as Esme Cullen's brother died because of drugs, the clan vehemently refuses to have anything to do with drug-trafficking and/or dealing. That said, every member of the family (even Esme) carries a gun at all times and has no problem making quick work of people getting in their way...

Furthermore, what a Cullen wants, a Cullen gets. So when Edward decides to pursue the beautiful wedding planer Bella Swan he intents not to stop until she is his. Bella is informed by her father, police officer Charles Swan, that Edward has an interest in her and wants to invite her on a date. Surprisingly, despite the fact that Charlie and the Cullens stay on different sides of the law, they get along more than well (due to an old friendship between Bella's father and Carlisle). Charlie convinces his daughter to give Edward a chance and once Bella agress to go on a date, she realizes that Edward is far from being the bad guy: she meets a romantic, charminging, protective, family-loving man, who is deeply in love with her. But is Bella willing to become the wife of a mob boss?

Shamrocks and Shenanigans is written exceptionally well and mostly from Bella's point of view. Nevertheless, at the beginning of  almost every chapter we get a glimpse into Edwards mind as the incredibly funny author mathisson engages him a in a lively conversation about the latest events. In fact, it was one of these entertaining talks that were the reason for mathisson to begin writing the story in the first place. Just like our very dear Stephenie Meyer she met Edward in a dream and the rest, as they say, is history... Edward is absolutely wonderful, just like we want him. He is fiercely protective and is willing to break the nose of every guy even remotely staring at Bella. He basically worships the ground Bella is walking on and doesn't hide the fact that he wants her to be his wife and the mother of his children *sigh*. Of course, the latter is a guarantee for great lemons! Shamrocks & Shenanigans is a wonderful story that has it all, humor, great new characters, suspense, and an Edward to drool over!

Shamrocks and Shenanigans consists of 30 chapters and a total of 107,001 words. The story is rated MA for violence, foul language and lemons. mathisson also published a sequel, Claddagh and Chaos.

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For fans of: There Will Be Blood

Note: The Edward manip used in this banner was made by femmecullen.