This Week's Perv Pack Recommendation is...
Title: Never Sleep in a Strange Man's Bed
Author: WndrgY
Chapters: 22
Words: 94665
Reviews: 2405
Summary: Bella takes a vacation to Hilton Head Island in South Carolina to meet Alice's new boyfriend, Jasper. Rosalie and Emmett come along, too, just in case Bella didn't feel like enough of a fifth wheel. With Jasper's roommate out of town, Bella has his nice big bed all to herself. Until Edward comes home in the middle of the night...
Guest Reviewer: KrzyRiver
I’m sure it’ll be perfectly obvious by the time you reach the end of my review, but I feel the need to be straight with y’all from the get go. My love for WndrngY knows no bounds. No, seriously. I love this woman with a passion that I hope is making her blush somewhere right now. She’s an author I stumbled on in a moment of pure luck and have loyally followed ever since. I’ve laughed with her, I’ve cried with her. I’ve lovingly dubbed her Satan and I happily claimed myself as her spawn.
Why? Because she pwns me. Hard. In ways the good Lord never intended.
As addicted as I have become to all human fanfics, I must admit that at times I find myself wondering about this phenomenon that has taken over our fandom. Come on, didn’t we all have that moment where we stopped and asked ourselves, “How is this Twilight fanfiction?”
WndrngY is usually where I turn to when I find myself close to ignoring those ten bajillion AH alerts in my inbox. It’s always her who reminds me so effortlessly that it doesn’t matter if Edward is a vampire or if Bella is a klutz. It’s this damned epic love story that we all got swept up in and that motivated us to start writing fanfic in the first place. It doesn’t matter if Edward’s a douche or if Bella can properly match her colors, it’s the two of them together that makes it Twilight.
So is it any kind of a surprise that when NSiaSMB was first released onto the Interwebz, I jumped on it, hoping to get sucked right back into WndrngY’s writing? She didn’t disappoint. Because if nothing else could be said about Never Sleep, it’s this: it has, without a doubt, the most interesting meet cute I’ve ever seen Edward and Bella have. She gets major props from me for not only creating a unique fist encounter, but for making me giggle, getting me hot, making me sad, and hooking me in completely, all within the first 3,000 words.
And so we begin Never Sleep with our dear friend Bella, whom Alice has dragged down to South Carolina so she may visit with her new beau Jasper. Not exactly thrilled at the prospect of playing a “fifth wheel” on this little vacation, she finds herself unhappy and unable to sleep in Jasper’s roommate’s bed. And when Jasper’s roommate, one Edward Cullen, returns home unexpectedly, the two are forced to find a way to make the sleeping arrangements work. Cue steamy smut, puppy dog eyes, witty banter, and the irresistible romance that no story of Bella and Edward could be complete without.
WndrngY delivers on the romance and the smut perfectly. Revving us up beyond comprehension with Edward’s oh so sexy voice and making us fall in love all over again. So go ahead, try a little SoCoward on for size. I promise you won’t be able to resist his southern charm.
Emmy-I first caught whiff of this story on twitter where there was a murmour - a growing slightly shall we say heated or aroused murmur of a SugarWard... I remember being piqued by this and then distracted and my head forgot all about this mysterious SugarWard until Algie tweeted a round of ____Ward's in KFM and in one of the round's SugarWard was pitted against two other __Ward's.. & I remember tweeting who the hell is SugarWard - concerned it was the sugar addicted Edward crackfic certain ladies keep pimping ... Instead to my delight it was this story. .
I think the second half of this story is where it really gains momentum - once the action moves them apart from one another and the possibilities open up in terms of what their decisions will be - their choices and actions whilst apart have consequences for their possible futures. . . I particularly like where the story is poised at the moment. Bella has a HUGE decision to make - and as yet Edward has no whisper of what is in the wind. I also like that in relation to what is best for these two - I actually don't know.. . There are many probable and possible futures for this pair. With their friends and family in all sorts of different places and their careers in transition and on the up - anything is possible and I really could not say WHERE or how these two will end up. I like being kept on my toesies.
So SugarWard huh?! Well let me tell you about SugarWard... SugarWard is the pillar that this story rests upon for me.. Everytime, every single time he utters those two sweet syllables in his husky velvet dulcets I do a wee twitch of the girly kind! :) I have a VERY sweet tooth.. I am always a girl that j'adores the dirty talk.. throw in a southern suggestive charmer and SugarWard's dialogue really hits the spots other Ward's cannot reach......... Delicious, more sweeties for Emmy please.. (Candy to those of you not resiFour blue satin trimmed knick-knacks (or those edibly sugary knickers! - take your pick!) out of 5 from me... ding in Blighty)
Jo-The first thing that attracted me to this story was the title. It is perfection really. I immediately put this on alerts when I saw it first posted. Of course, being in true Jo fashion, I didn't read it right away. Much to my pleasure, I was surprised to see this story begins in South Carolina and our two favorite boys are both well bred, sexy, young Southern gentlemen. The title holds true to it's promise right in the first chapter and we are gifted with one of the hottest, most awkward-yet-steamy initial encounters between B & E that can be imagined.
I was one of those that had difficulty getting into the mindset of Edward with a southern accent, but once I got my mind in the right frame... holy hell. Wndrngy breaths new and true inspiration into a sexy as all hell twangin' Sugarward. One of my favorite things about this story is the realities of the problems our fair protagonists face in their long-distance relationship. The insecurities that both Bella and Edward face during their courtship create the perfect blend of drama, and facing those insecurities breathes heavily laiden UST into their meetings. Oh! To have Edward call me 'sugar'.... I can't get enough of it.
I do believe, aside from the fan-myself-hotness-of-southern-proportions, my favorite character in this story is... Bella. She's a successful sous chef under a very popular and famous chef. Her life, and cautionary nature, focused on her budding career, is thrown into upheaval for love, and her reluctance and fears of this change is part of what makes the story have so much realism. It's very refreshing, and add so of the most fuckhot sexing in the mix, and I'll have to give this story 4 out of my 5 sugarfied panties!
Kasey-Mmmm...Edward as a proper Southern gentleman (who's affectionately known as SugarWARD in the fandom). You know that a fic is well loved when its Edward gets a -WARD nickname, right? And this version of Edward is incredibly yummy (mind you, I have a thing for the accent and southern-boy ways). But, I digress. My point...I love the feel of this story right from the jump off. I loved how I was drawn in, not only because it felt real and plausible, but because it reminded me of a movie (don't ask me which one because I'm totally blanking on it right now, but it'll come to me).
Here we have a gorgeous setting in which WndrngY sets up the potential for romance after Bella lands herself (lucky bitch) in Edward's bed. And this Edward, mah gawd! (<--said in my best Southern drawl) so smooth, so charming, so sexy... think Rob P with Taylor Kitsch's accent. Mmmm. Anywhoodle, what I've enjoyed the most about his particular fic (outside of the UST factor and the sexin', of course) is its open avenues, and by that I mean the different possibilites for this story's progress. I like the fact that while I can guess which way the story will go (granted, I'm not in privy to the actual plot), there are still several open-ended directions that WndrngY can take it, which makes it unique and fresh. In short (because I've already over-extended myself here), I'm loving this story, and give it 4.5 out of 5 Scarlett O'Hara-print knickers (the lacey ones, of course) and a matching corset for good measure because even after I'm done reading it, I can hear Edward's sexy southern drawl in my head.
Nina-The title of this story is what drew me in, well that and the banner. This is one of those stories that can either live up to the great title or flounder and sink. WndrngY not only delivers a hot and yummy Edward and Jasper but also a great and realistic story. *gasp* fanfic that's realistic? Yes, on occasion it does happen.
SouthernComfortward, Sugarward, Iwannadohimontheouterbanksward, any of them are perfect descriptions of this Edward. The gist of the story is Alice has met yummy Jasper who lives on the East Coast, more specifically South Carolina's gorgeous beach. She drags her unwilling best friend Bella along to get her out of the dreary Pacific Northwest for a little sunny vacation. Truth is Bella needs it.
In one of the many great and interesting spins Sam is Bella's ex. I remember my review of that chapter and I was stunned that it wasn't the typical Jake as the dickhead ex boyfriend. Sam cheats, impregnates and marries all while under Bella's nose. I'd be pissed, and tear his nuts off ceasing any further progeny but Bella (for the most part) takes the high road. She's a workaholic, a loyal friend and a woman in need of a man to woo her. Cue sugarward.
So the vacation that sets in all in motion, lands Bella in Edward's bed. Accidentally of course. He wasn't supposed to be home but alas, he shows up and in a delicious twist they're in bed together and dream groping. *sigh* I'm booking my one-trip ticket to the South to try and find a sugarward.
The smut isn't overly abundant but it wouldn't fit within the story if it was in every chapter. There is sweet, there is spicy, there is beautifully written loving and hot and sexy fucking. There is goodbye sex when they've realized that the vacation had to end. They've got issues, 3,000 miles worth of issues but nothing can stop love if you want it badly enough.
I love this story, 4.5/5 sandy p*ant*es from me.
Steph-If a man that looked like that and sounded like that, called me "sugar" when I was laying in his bed, he'd have had me at hello. Cause, seriously? Edward as a southern gentleman, full of the good manners his mama taught him and calling me "sugar"? I would be died ded.
Sadly, Bella is the lucky bitch who ends up in his bed, not me. "Accidental" meeting at night, in his bed, when he's not supposed to be there. A shared bed, some hot dreams and fevered groping that turns just a wee bit awkward later, and we have the beginnings of a delightful, rompy romance. All of which never would have happened if she hadn't let Alice drag her along on vacation to meet her boyfriend Jasper.
We have the usual supporting cast and I think I love all of them. We get nice little bits of backstory and none of them are cliched. Southern Carlisle and Esme are just delightful. And I love that Charlie and Renee are still married. I won't give away Sam and James, but I must say these are in my top 10 favorite uses of these two.
Bella has some issues to overcome, and really, Edward does too. But you see them working hard to work through their separation, living on opposite coasts. I love how Bella always teases Edward about knowing the perfect thing to say. He does, and he could give men a lesson or five.
The sex? Oh, you want to know about that? Um, yeah. It's fuckhot and realistic and leaves you wanting more. It's liberally sprinkled but not at all overdone. Each time, I find myself longing for more from these two. 5/5 little blue bikini bottoms from me
Stephie-I love a southern gentleman. And I love Edward. Put the two together and what do you get? Sugarward from NSiaSMB. I'm late to the party, as usual, but having a really great time reading and catching up. I like how their fling is fast and just all about feeling instead of thinking. But their whirlwind vacation romance turns into more and they need to work through the miles that separate them. I love the realistic way in which they are somewhat shy and unknowing about what is really going on. I can't say much more than this, because I'm still reading, but I wanted to include my .02 because the sex is hot and the characters are believable and likeable. 4/5 panties
In addition to our Round Table Review above, we've also asked the author to share a bit about herself...
Hi. I’m Paige, also known as WndrngY, and I’m a practicing fanfic addict. I tried not to be. I told myself I was too old/dignified/boring for it, but nothing worked. Apparently I am not too old, even if I ought to be. I am definitely not too dignified—that one was a stretch anyway. And even if I am a little boring these days with two little kids and a husband, I still have all the memories and impulses from the days when I wasn’t so boring to draw on.
I’ve been writing all my life. I even got a degree in creative writing which I have mostly used in my professional life to do marketing and PR work. But I never stopped writing fiction in my free time and I’m currently in the process of trying to get my first novel published. In the meantime, I found fan fiction and it has been an incredible way to connect with other writers and readers, not to mention all the loud and proud pervs that don’t mind a lot of lemon with their main course.
I actually started by writing a fanfic on another site for Veronica Mars. It was a show I loved that got yanked off the air with no real ending and I had to get some closure so I could let it go. Then I started reading other people’s work, and then I found the Twilight section and I was done for. I read I Hate Myself for Loving You and Irritable Grizzly Adams and The Bella Swan Diaries and Scotch, Gin and the New Girl. I read Closer to God and The List and Snowed In and Hiding in Plain Sight. I know I’m forgetting some major ones, but my memory is pretty hit and miss. As soon as I finish this and send it off, another dozen titles will occur to me. As you can tell, I gravitate toward the AH. But I’m open to anything. Creature of Habit and Last Rites are two of my current favorites along with Son of a Preacher Man.
My first attempt at Twilight fanfic was Something Stupid, a teenage AH take on Bella and Edward’s love story that I loved writing and really loved finishing! Then, somewhere along the line, I realized I didn’t have to freeze them at 17 since I wasn’t using much else from the original story besides the characters. Then came Never Sleep in a Strange Man’s Bed. It started with one of those long ago memories I was speaking of earlier: When I was very young and very single, I went to Hilton Head Island with a friend to meet her new boyfriend, and his roommate came home unexpectedly in the middle of the night. That’s all I’m saying. There are little fictionalized bits and pieces of me and real incidents and other people (like naming Bella’s boss Chef Tyler. I dated Tyler Florence briefly when he was still a scrawny teenager—and no, he never cooked for me), but mostly it’s just my idea of Bella and Edward’s romance if they were grown-up human beings.
I wanted to write my take on that instant, but very real connection between them, only with Bella having a fully formed backbone and a life of her own and Edward being a modern human male, still with a great family and no real reason to brood. And, of course, with lots and lots of sex.
So that’s about it. I’m unbelievably happy to be featured on the PPSS and I think I have to thank Nina for that and for inspiring me to become a mainstream perv instead of hiding in the shadows.
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