Posted by Lindsay

 (banner made by Bethany)

Alice manages to drag her best friend Bella out to a bar that is often frequented by men from the Navy. While she has always had a thing for them, Bella only sees them as nothing but womanizers. Yet even though she is less than thrilled to tag along, she does to pacify Alice. As her "wingman", Bella suddenly finds herself walking up to two handsome men. After Alice takes off with one of the men, a Navy Seal called Jasper, Bella is stuck in an ackward yet also strangely comfortable conversation with the other, Edward. She learns that the guys will leave in a week for a six-months trip and has no idea how the next seven days will change her life. Because the girls both develop very intense but different kinds of relationship witht the Navy Seals: while Alice falls head over heels in love with Jasper and experiences a whirlwind of a romance during that week, Bella and Edward start a close friendship - undeniable chemistry included.

When the time eventually comes for the men to leave, Bella is absolutely heartbroken. Over the following six months she has nothing but emails to stay in contact with Edward. And those emails make them become even closer than before. And once Edward returns, neither of them can deny their feelings for the other any more. They fall fast and hard and thoroughly enjoy every moment of their time together. But when Edward receives orders that will take him away for at least another month, he has no idea what to do next. How will Bella take this? Would there relationship be able to endure another long time apart?

Who doesn't love a Navyward, right!? A World Away is swoonworthy and will have you sailing a sea of romance. It's a quick burn and the story is really about Edward and Bella's growth in their relationship vs. it being about actually getting there in the first place. Furthermore, Edward is very broken with a sad past and when Bella comes along his way, she brings along a group of (guy) friends who make Edward more than nervous. I can only say I absolutely loved this story and couldn't wait to recommend it! It's sweet, romantic, and steamy! Author, wandb did a superb job in making the reader fall in love with her Edward and Bella, while also adding enough humor to make you giggle as well as just the right amount of drama to keep you reading. Get your life vests ladies! ;-) 

A World Away consists of 19 chapters and 82,115 words. It is rated M for language, adult situations and sinkworthy lemons.

COMPLETE

Posted by Anonymous

When young and aspiring chef Bella Swan realizes that she is more than unhappy with her current life in New York she decides that it's time for some changes. She moves to Napa Valley and opens her own first class restaurant, Confidential. Along with the help of her sous-chef Alice and sommelier Rosalie, Bella works hard and tries to make a name for herself. When she meets cold and reclusive winery owner Edward Cullen, however, she is more than distracted.

Edward seems to absolutely hate Bella. He hardly ever speaks to her, looks at her with coldness in his eyes, and is convinced she only wants to be part of the new who-is-who in Napa Valley. Though Bella is hurt by Edward's words (and immensely angry) she can't keep him out of her head. Every night she is haunted by dreams of green eyes and a bronze mop of hair. Too bad, that Bella has a boyfriend waiting at home and Edward is seen with a new supermodel like woman at his side almost every day...

Whenever I stumble upon a story in which Bella is a chef I'm both intrigued and skeptical at the same time. So far, I have found only a few good fanfics that portray the life of a first class chef convincingly. In Confidential Bella and Edward are both experts in their respective fields and that is shown throughout the whole story. Whether Edward shows Bella around his wine cellar or Bella prepares a dinner for the Cullen family everything seems authentic without being too much. Additionally, Edward's character is very mysterious. It is obvious that Bella is on his mind, yet he seems to avoid her at the same time. Only step by step wandb reveals Edward's past and the reasons for his unusual and cold behavior. It's an amazing story that I read in two sittings because I just couldn't put it away!

Confidential consists of 29 chapters and a total of 115,924 words. The story was rated M for mature content.

COMPLETE