Couldn't Stand the Weather

Couldn't Stand the Weather by andee lee

Corinne's sworn enemy is still living across the street and is now driving the Mustang she lost her virginity in while his brother, her first love, is busy talking about cold fronts and thundershowers on the local news.
Banner Credit: Melissa

Melissa Thinks: Corrine returns home five years after she left her hometown of Portland, her family, and her high school boyfriend to make an acting career for herself in Hollywood. As the summary states, when she's forced to live with her brother in their childhood home, she's also forced to come face to face with her old boyfriend, Liam (now a weatherman with a baby on the way), and his annoying younger brother, Rhett (Cory's least favorite person, now an amazing mechanic and owner of his own shop).

I don't like love triangles, so I'm glad this turned out to not be one. Liam, the possible third point of the triangle, is one of the worst characters I've had the privilege of reading about. He's whiny, selfish, annoying, and a manipulative liar. His brother Rhett, however, is pretty amazing. He comes across as being very caring and loyal, not only towards his brother but towards Cory as well. He had flaws that made him likable without being too overpowering to the likability of the character, like we see with Liam. Liam definitely provides a great foil to Rhett's character.

"Couldn't Stand the Weather" captures the attention of its audience with a well structured style. The prose, made up of strong description, does an amazing job of showing the author's voice. The POV switches work to the advantage of the author, who is then able to really show us the character development of all three characters. I think the dialogue is funny, especially the Rhett/Cory interactions. You could feel the spark between them and I honestly wondered why Liam was even a choice for her when Rhett was so darn nice and cute.

Cinder Creek

Cinder Creek by SophieInPink
When the always-responsible, always-practical Sloane Lennox's father dies, the only way to keep her siblings together is to move in with an insufferable new guardian. Soon, Sloane must contend with a growing attraction to him, despite her better judgment. She fights hard not to care for him only to realize he is likewise battling feelings for her.
Banner Credit: Sarah

Melissa Thinks: I have waited a long while for this story to be long enough for me to review; I cannot say I’m disappointed with what I’ve found within “Cinder Creek”. It’s definitely reminiscent of a story I reviewed early on in my ADoR days by this same author, SophieInPink.

When her father dies, seventeen-year-old Sloane is left to care for her three younger siblings. This is nothing new considering she’s been doing it since she was twelve, their alcoholic father not willing to care for them properly. Of course, Sloane is still a minor and by law is not able to gain custody. On top of that, due to debt left behind by her deceased father, the Lennox’s childhood home is about to be repossessed.

Just as Sloane is about to lose all hope, John steps in. John is the stepbrother of Sloane’s long dead mother, Gracie. The only living relative of the children, John must either step up as their guardian or leave them to be split up by the foster system, despite the fact that he’s only twenty-three. The Lennox children weren’t expecting him to say yes, neither were they expecting him to invite them to live with him in his cramped two-bedroom home on the outskirts of town. This is where the story really begins, as Sloane has to learn how to work together with John to raise the kids.

SophieInPink has a way with words; her narration leaves little to be desired and her plot, though cliché, is mended by the reader’s love of her characters. Sloane is a mature and strong character. Both her willingness to do anything for her siblings and her hardened resolve give her substance. Even though the romance between Sloane and John is a slow build, I found each chapter enjoyable – every character interaction worth the time. Not all authors can say this, for I often see novels in which there is nothing natural about the way relationships progress.

Glances into the Minds of the Unfortunate

Glances into the Minds of the Unfortunate by DevonnyAuriel
I suddenly developed the ability of telepathy with men. But not charming men. No, I can only communication with nerds. And if that wasn't bad enough they've now deemed me their matchmaker. God, just smite me now.
Banner Credit: Melissa

Melissa Thinks: Before it's devastatingly long hiatus, Glances Into
the Minds of the Unfortunate was one of my favorite ongoing stories. Now that it's back and better than ever, I'm excited to say I can now throw this recommendation at you without feeling guilty.

Kaylehn Davies is, as she puts it, a bitch. She really only has a few friends, all of which barely can seem to put up with her most of the time, and her reputation with men seems to precedes her. After she passes out from getting her ears pierced, Kaylehn discovers she can hear people's thoughts. Of course, it's not as grand as it seems; she can only hear the thoughts of seemingly nerdy men. Why? She doesn't know. But she'll use her new found gift to help out a potential love interest and maybe fall in love along the way.

I know some people who find this story off-putting simply for the fact that they hate the main character - for me this was not true. I think Kaylehn, although annoying and rude at times, is constantly learning as a character. Through her relationship with Ray and his friends, her preformed "nerd" generalizations are dissolving. While she still isn't exactly a basket of roses, she's a funny character who deep deep deep down has a good heart.

Although, I'm notorious amongst my friends for loathing love triangles, this might be the first instance in which I truly had no preference as to which guy the main character ended up with. Both Ray and Ren compliment Kaylehn's personality in different ways and each interaction with the two brothers constantly challenge Kaylehn to be different.

More Than Anyone

More Than Anyone by templeton21

For some reason, the instant Ben and Olivia meet, they hate one another. Every time they're in the same room, all they seem to do is fight and trade insults. But according to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, hot hate is twin brother to hot love.
Banner Credit: Amy

Marta Thinks: Out of every single cliché possible, Hate/Love is the most difficult to write. How can someone go from extreme hatred to extreme love, and be realistic while doing so? It seems to be an impossible task, but apparently not for templeton21. Her story "More Than Anyone" is written with such freshness and clarity that it's obvious to see she's definitely written her cliché very well.

Ben and Olivia, the two main characters, do truly hate each other, but it's not an unrealistic, unfounded hatred, nor is it exaggerated. They're also mature, confronting their feelings when necessary and confessing if needed. Their two POVs make us feel for them, instead of detracting from the story.

I also have to mention the beautiful background of vivid and memorable side characters; without them the story wouldn’t be as funny and original as it is. Luckily, templeton21 had the foresight to include them, and she is definitely reaping results.

Take Two

Take Two by T76G

Devan's always been best friends with Eden and always at odds with his twin. When things become as clear as muck, she realizes that one she loves isn't who he seems, and finds herself falling for the one she thought she'd always hate. 
Banner Credit: Atramento

Marta Thinks: Take two seconds to read the summary and become extremely interested. Sure, it's a little cliche' and maybe you've read something like that before, but you somehow just know T76G's going to take an interesting outlook on it. How you know that you're not sure. But you just know it.

Take two minutes to read this review. It's not the best review ever, you know that much, but you also know Marta would have never chosen a story that isn't worth ADoR. And most of all, someone suggested – and this must mean that they liked it.

Take two hours to read the story (this includes breaks). Let Devan take you on her amazing journey. Let yourself be swayed towards Eden, and captivated by Devan and Eden's easy and charming interactions. Let yourself be pulled towards Eric who's honest and earnest and incredibly charismatic. Be appreciative of T76G's clear and neat writing, devoid of any typos and grammatical mistakes.

But most of all, sit back, read and enjoy the ride that is Take Two.

Tug of War

Tug of War by AMessofPickles
No Bennett boy could be so nice. No Bennett boy would flirt with a Grace girl. No Bennett boy could be so handsome. There was no possible way that he could belong to the enemy. I'd like to say that I regretted the day I ever flirted with him unknowingly, but I'd be lying.
Banner Credit: Ali

Melissa Thinks: Tug of War takes place in a fictional town in which there are two private schools - Grace Worthington's School for Girls and Bennett Preparatory School for Boys. For years the rivalry between the Bennett boys and the Grace girls has been somewhat legendary, despite the fact that no one really knows when or why it started. Things take a turn for the (seemingly) worse when both schools are conjoined for the first time (probably ever) in order to raise money for a selected charity. This means that all extracurricular teams must begin to practice and work together; this is where our two main characters, Jessa and Aaron, meet.

This story differs from all the others that I've read and reviewed in the sense that I had no idea whether to accept or reject. At first, the sometimes sketchy grammar was a major turnoff for me. Then I took a closer look at the story: I was drawn in by the plot, I enjoyed the characters and how three dimensional the author has made them, and the dialogue was funny and, at times, adorable.

All in all, it was an unexpectedly enjoyable story and I would recommend it to anyone looking for something good to keep their eye on.

Cold Turkey

Cold Turkey by Zebbie
If there were groups for this, I know exactly what I’d say. “My name is Thom Oliver, and I’m addicted. It’s been six months, 3 days, 14 hours since my last one night stand. Please keep Evan Llewellyn away from me. I think I’m going to rape him.” 
Banner Credit: Helen

Rosie Thinks: Thom Oliver has a history of using people - he'd draw them in, sleep with them, then ditch them, all because he was lonely and wanted a connection to the world, as well as having a few lingering issues from a past boyfriend. The story takes place when he's up to the six month mark of not using anyone for a one night stand and he's beginning to struggle, all because of Evan Llewellyn's perfect body. He also sees himself in Evan - the loneliness and the preying on others.

Thom really can't stand Evan at the beginning while simultaneously being strongly attracted to him. Thom thinks that Evan is completely fake and utterly vain, making it his job to be as gay as possible and flaunt it in everybody's faces - something that Thom is firmly against. Thom is not your every day protagonist. He's rude, irritable, has a few issues, isn't a very reliable narrator, the list goes on. And yet somehow I still really liked him. He has a habit of over-analysing every single thing and I think Zebbie portrayed this really well. I am a bit bias, however, as I love all of Zebbie's stories and think she does an amazing job at characterisation.

This story was filled with drama that sent my emotions on a roller coaster. I found the plot and the characters to be utterly original and a refreshing change to some of the stereotypes you see in slash stories. It is very narrative heavy at times - what with all of Thom's over analysation - which can make it look intimidating but the monologue gives a great insight into his mind and the way he thinks. Plus, it's pretty funny. There were a lot of funny and witty one-liners, but my favourite has to be: "It's like Queer as Folk went to Candy Land via Japan and puked up his personality."

As for mistakes, there aren't many spelling/punctuation errors but I did find that there were some words omitted. However, it was rare and didn't break up the flow of the story too much. Other than that, it was incredibly well-written with some beautiful worded scenes. And I honestly really loved the ending. I've become fairly jaded with endings and always skim over them due to the extreme corniness of many of them. However, in 'Cold Turkey', there was drama right up until the finish and the ending was low-key and perfect for the characters.

The Red Carpet

Since the posting of this review, this story has been removed from FictionPress by the author.

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In the Shadow of the Obsidian Empire

In the Shadow of the Obsidian Empire by Katie-Maude

Entering her final year of high school, Kaitlyn Anderson has everything going for her, but it isn't easy being perfect. As her life starts to fall apart, she turns to the least likely person, Ash Stevens.

Banner Credit: Majordly Fantastic

Ali Thinks: The first time I read this story, I was thirteen, awful, and strange. When this appeared in my inbox a few weeks ago, I recognized the story, and I remembered really liking it. I was a bit nervous though, as there seemed to be a commonality between my thirteen year old self, the stories I wrote as my thirteen year old self, and the stories I read as my thirteen year old self: awfulness and strangeness. Not the case with In the Shadow of Obsidian Empire, I'm proud to report. In fact, liking this story may have been the one good thing I did in my "Dark Age."

At first, I wasn't really sure how I felt about Kaitlyn; she seemed kind of mean. At cheerleading tryouts, she was pretty callous, and no matter her justification for humiliating one of the girls, it wasn't cool, and it kind of pissed me off. I thought she'd be this horrid cheerleader creature, whose father just so happened to have been in a famous band. Then, she grew more complex, and I grew more interested. She kind of lives her life in the role everyone has assigned her: she's a delinquent at home, a great girlfriend to Chris, an upstanding student/cheerleader/class president to everyone else, and a self-centered (w)itch to Ash Stevens and company. I kind of felt bad that she had to live in this little preconceived notion box, and I was intrigued to see how she would try to break out of it.

My criticism for this story would be that there were quite a bit of typos, which could have probably been fixed by a quick look through or two. Other than that, I really liked how everything came together. It's always fun to have musicians (let's be honest, once a guy picks up a musical instrument he's automatically 34% more attractive), and it's even more fun to have someone related to a famous musician said guy is obsessed with. The bad boy musician type story may be cliché, and Katie-Maude makes it clear as to why guys like Ash appear so often in stories: they're really freaking cool.

In three years time, my taste in books may change, and I may label my sixteen year old self as the "Dark Ages pt.2," but I have a pretty good feeling that if I stumble across In the Shadow of Obsidian Empire again, I'll love it just as much I did at thirteen and sixteen. Now, I know you all have those moments of "How did my parents let me walk outside when I was young and stupid," but I promise that if you read this story, something good will come out of those times, just like it did for me.

High and Dry

High and Dry by rosieroo

Kira planned to spend the summer sunning herself on the beach, not being dragged back home by her mother to work on the farm. The gorgeous farmhand, however, might make it all worth it, even if he does think she's a city brat.
Banner Credit: Melissa

Ali Thinks: Well, I may get accused of favoritism, and maybe I should, because High and Dry is one of my favorite stories. I will not be blamed for knowing the author, but I promise that we've never said a single nice thing to each other, much like Kira and Tristan in the beginning of their relationship (though I hardly doubt mine and Rosie's relationship will blossom like theirs. Sorry, Rosie).

Though Kira was raised on a farm in her younger years, she is probably the most city a girl can get. When she first gets yelled at by the hot farmhand for leaving the gate open, she's hardly phased by his anger and instead chooses to revel in how well he fits his jeans— very well, in case anyone was curious. In the midst of admiring all of Tristan's great physical features, she has to do all of this gross farm work, in which she doesn't try to hide the fact that she's far less than thrilled about it. To make matters worse, Tristan is probably even less happy about the arrangement than Kira is, seeing as he has to listen to her complain about every job they do.

High and Dry is a pretty short story, and usually hate/love stories need to be long in order to avoid having the characters hate each other one chapter and love each other the next, but Kira and Tristan's relationship unfolded steadily and not at all rushed. There was also a good mix of strong supporting characters, and they were just as loveable and just as real as the main characters, a great aspect to any story. And, to top it all off with a nice, red cherry— it's so funny.

It's always a weird thing, writing a review for one of the other judges, and it's always kind of scary because there's always a chance of being called out for nepotism. All I have to say on that issue is that when— not if— you read High and Dry, that notion will fly out the window because it's pretty obvious that this is a genuinely amazing story.

The Third Wheel

The Third Wheel by shadypalmtree

Fed up with his girlfriend's needy best friend intervening on their relationship, Luke calls in the help of his womanizing friend to charm her. Too bad nothing works on Miranda Miller.
Banner Credit: Alyssa

Melissa Thinks: When Luke started dating Carly, he had no idea what kind of struggles their future would hold. Six months later, he's just about at his breaking point. Not because of any problems he himself is causing, not because of something Carly is doing, but because of Carly's protective best friend Miranda. As the title suggests, Miranda becomes the "third wheel" to their relationship,. She constantly tags along on dates, makes rude comments, and is always telling Carly to break things off with Luke. Luke finally takes things into his own hands by getting his own third wheel - his womanizer of a friend Damien. Unlike Luke, Damien has nothing to lose in calling Miranda out on her weird behavior and of course, Miranda doesn't take too kindly to that.

"The Third Wheel" is written by Shadypalmtree, whom many of you may remember as being the author of "The Exploration of the Male Anatomy". The grammar didn't really thrill me, as it was a little rough, but despite that I found myself really enjoying the story. It had a mysterious quality to it - the characters start out 2D because you know basically nothing about them. As feelings change and relationships grow, our four main leads flesh themselves out. The storyline, although simple, is actually something I've never read about before and so instead of feeling like I knew exactly what was going to happen next, I felt excited because I had no idea where Shadypalmtree would take us next. At times I wanted to throttle the characters (and maybe the author for making me so invested in the story), but it really was an enjoyable read. Definitely going on my favorites list.

Bollinger High

Bollinger High by justmaybe

Jess Evans moved to Bollinger at the start of her junior year of high school. As the new girl in a town of the wealthy and the elite, she just wants to fit in. But that might prove to be impossible once she catches the eye of the enigmatic Nolan Barnes.
Banner Credit: Casey

Ali Thinks: Let's be completely honest here, I picked a suggestion to read at random and consequently groaned when this one was picked. I'm not really a fan of the poor-girl-in-rich-school-who-catches-hot-guy's-attention stories. Lucky for me, Bollinger High wasn't that story, well, not really. For those of you who are like me and would rather evade the poor-girl-in-rich-school-who-catches-hot-guy's-attention tales in search of basically anything else, listen close because I'm here to blow your mind.

Not really, but "you should really read this story!" doesn't exactly have the same ring to it.

Though I didn't realize it at first, I was approaching this story the same way our protagonist, Jessica ("Jess" only to family and friends, meaning not Nolan Barnes), was approaching Bollinger High. She expected to be surrounded by stereotypes, and through the story as she get to know people there better, she realizes that's not the case.

First off, Alaina Brandon, is probably my favorite thing in the world other than getting the charger into my phone on the first try. She runs the school "like a puppet show," according to Nolan, and she does it well. But she's not your average bitchy/rich/pretty queen bee. True, she has all of those qualities, but the way justmaybe characterizes her makes her a very complex, very likable character, with only a few instances wanting to punch her in the face.

Second off, Nolan Barnes. Insert cat-calls, girlish shrieks, fainting, etc. here. From the second he "curled his mouth" at her not ten minutes after she entered Bollinger, Jess didn't like him. He's hot, but he looks like he has no cares in the world and he was pretty sure he was too rich to function. But, then they come biology partners. (I promise I was telling the truth when I said this wasn't the poor-girl-in-rich-school-who-catches-hot-guy's-attention story.)

In essence, the same way Alaina and Nolan and everyone else in Bollinger weren't the stereotypes Jess made them out to be, Bollinger High wasn't the boring cliché I thought it was. It made me laugh, the characters were fun to read about, and it's just an all around good story that I feel everyone — especially the cynics like me— should read.

Super Rescue

Super Rescue by Lenah.C

"He's called Superman, and only a toy (he's an action figure) of the vainest kind would have a superlative as part of his name. He insulted my existence; I insulted his fashion sense. It was an unspoken oath of war."
Banner Credit: Brenda

Marta Thinks: Lenah. C's response to a SKoW prompt is a fun read. Though the plot might initially seem a little bit like Toy Story's, you'll soon find that Lenah. C manages to spin a new tale of her own. I think this was mostly thanks to the strong narrative voice.

Red, a rag doll, is Kerrie's favorite doll. They play together and live together, until Andrew moves in with his action figure, Superman. Both Kerrie and Andrew begin a hate/love relationship and so do their dolls. This allowed a double romance story to take place. Also, Kerrie and Andrew's relationship is typically the one read in stories; therefore, it was nice to see it shift into the background and to have the focus on something more original.

The relationship between both doll and owners was nice, and it was cute to see how the dolls would reflect each character's personality. For example, Andrew starts hanging out with Laura, who owns a Barbie. This says a lot about the Barbie's owner.

All in all, this was a good read. The piece was devoid of any spelling or grammar mistakes, and it was nicely paced. The ending was cute and the last line was beyond suitable.

Through Me

Through Me by Maeven

So his friend was the one who got the crossdressing girl in the all boys school. Like Tristan Harland is ever the type to lose out, especially not to some girl who stalked him all the way from China. Problem is, she isn't exactly the type to lose either.

Banner Credit: MajordlyFantastic

Marta Thinks: "Through Me" is the sequel to well-known "False Facades". Usually, sequels tend to be a problem: they're either unnecessary or they're boring when they focus on a different character. I found neither of these two issues in this sequel. The story focuses on Tristan, a slightly minor character in “False Facades” and Adel, an entirely new character. They met in China, didn't get along too well and then meet up again in Wrenfield. Drama ensues and well…stuff happens. I won't spoil it for you. But definitely check it out if you want strongly individual characters, an amazing sense of humor, and a un-cliche plot line.

His Captive

His Captive by rosieroo
When Vin is captured by a notorious criminal, her life is thrown into chaos. But what happens when she discovers that everything is not as it seems, with him and her country? And he would just have to be her Mate, wouldn't he.
Banner Credit: Jacky

Ariana Thinks:   As the sequel to rosieroo's amazing story "His Queen," I expected "His Captive" to be just as gripping and enthralling. Luckily, I was not disappointed. With a fast paced plot and an incredibly romantic story line, "His Queen" kept me engaged from beginning to end. Vin and Faolan's relationship went many twists and turns, but at the heart of their relationship was undeniable passion and love. Furthermore, "His Queen" had a creative plot line that blended wonderfully with character development. Many times, I find myself distracted by complex plot lines and the appearance of multiple side characters. However, apart from one instance, I had no such problem with "His Captive." In fact, the plot only served to enhance my reading experience! I would definitely recommend "His Captive" to anyone searching for a strong female protagonist who doesn't wait around to be saved, a gripping plot, and a steamy romance. The only real catch? In order to fully understand "His Captive," it may be necessary to read the prequel. Don't worry though- the story is well-worth the extra time.

Little Miss Perfect

Little Miss Perfect by candii-apple

“How about a movie? Saturday night? Just you and me.” I scowled. “How about you get the hell off my desk before I kick your fat ass off it?” He grinned at me, unfazed. “You just can’t get enough of my ass, can you?” 
Banner Credit: Anita Darling

Melissa Thinks: If you’re looking for a stunningly written one shot with an equally stunningly written love/hate relationship, then your search is over. “Little Miss Perfect” by candii-apple is a classic among one shots. It’s one of those crazy “he-loves-me-but-I’m-too-stubborn-to-realize-it” plots that we never tire of (except when badly written, which is not the case in this instance).

Bronwyn has hated Lucas since the beginning of time - or so she says - and even though he’s attractive, funny, and obviously into her, she will never admit that she has feelings for him. Not only does she find him incredibly annoying, but she also seems to take every single chance she gets to push him farther and farther away from her. With a pushy best friend, and an even pushier love interest, there’s no way Bronwyn can ignore her feelings any longer.

It’s cute, classy, funny, heartwarming, and just the right amount of fluff to fill your daily requirement. It’s so easy to get into this one shot and so easy to love it. In terms of grammar and syntax, it was practically perfect in every way. There were no awkward sentences, no instances of stiff dialogue, and nothing so cliche that it was unbelievable. After finishing this one shot, my mood was immediately lifted, and that's my favorite thing about it.

Isis

Since the posting of this review, this story has been removed from FictionPress by the author.

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Ma Mademoiselle Bizarre

Ma Mademoiselle Bizarre by Danielle Night

Regency. Glen Carlisle never wanted nor expected to inherit his paternal family's earldom. When he does, he's resigned to do his duty as quickly as possible and go home. A certain hoyden, however, complicates things.
Banner Credit: marta

Melissa Thinks: “Ma Mademoiselle Bizarre” was not a story that I expected to like. Reading the summary, I was unsure of what kind of

First we have Glen Carlisle, a true gentleman who never imagined himself to be part of high society, until his cousin dies and the title of the “Earl of Broadbent” goes to him. And then we’ve got Lorraine, a wild child who has one rule and one rule only: she will never marry. When these two meet, there’s an instant attraction, but can Lorraine open herself up to Glen? And just what happened when she was seventeen that changed her?

It’s hard to not like this story, with it’s flowing elegance and interesting historical details, it charms you almost instantaneously. The flares of love/hate and astounding wit that echo throughout give the characters dimension and make them incredibly likable - even the minor characters. I really love the simple yet provocative plot because not only is it easy to follow, but it’s also so lighthearted and you finish the story feeling a bit more cheerful than when you started.

At it’s core, “Ma Mademoiselle Bizarre” is a story of true romance and how it can triumph over all. It’s witty, well written (aside from a handful of little mistakes that could easily be fixed by a quick run-through by the author), and engaging. Overall, an awesome read.
story I was getting myself into. After I considered the fact that it was only 12 chapters long, I figured it wouldn’t hurt to take a peak. My longstanding grudge against historical stories was set aside soon after I finished the first chapter of this enchanting story.

Magnetism

Magnetism by xoxoluurve

So she was the lowest in a film’s hierarchy. He was at the top. See, they kind of were in love... and then they kind of destroyed each other. Six years ago. Still, players don't easily forget that one girl who changed them.
Banner Credit: marta

Rosie Thinks: I love how xoxluurve always manages to take a cliche that's been done numerous times before and make it completely original and her own. In this case, it's the high school hate/love one. During school, Leo was the unrepentant player and Arianna was the girl who stood up to him - they fell in love, of course, but grew to hate each other due to circumstances that the author is vague upon until the end. This story takes place six years later, when the two meet again in the workplace, both deeply resenting the other.

This one shot was written for a challenge, wherein some of the criteria was that they must genuinely dislike each other for a good reason, then eventually fall in love. I find it's hard to find a story that truly portrays the transition from true hate to love well, but 'Magnetism' is it. The way that Arianna and Leo's relationship evolved was realistic and true to their characters.

This one shot may be lengthy, but it's well worth the read. It's like a full length story packed into a one shot that isn't rushed. Plus, the background of the characters and the setting wasn't brushed over - I didn't find any aspect of this story lacking in any way.

Koibito no Ryu

Koibito no Ryu by paws-bells

Sarea had led a fairly normal life until that arrogant, pompous snake chose to drop in on her. Literally. Then she learns that she is his lifemate and that dragons actually exist. No, they really do. And he just happens to be their crown prince.
Banner Credit: Amy

Melissa Thinks: Koibito No Ryu was a story that I had heard much about. I'd even read it a few years ago when it was incomplete, but then promptly forgot about it. It was an absolute treat to go back and reread this exquisite story. With 1,000+ reviews, it dominates over many in the fantasy category; it's definitely one of the most popular out there.

paws-bells gets right into the action, beginning with our leading male and female character's first confrontation. Tentei falls (literally) into Sarea's life within the first couple hundred words. Being a dragon has it's various perks, one of them being the fact that they each have Life Mates (somewhat akin to our version of "soul mates"). The problem is, Sarea doesn't want to be Tentei's Life Mate. Even if he is the crown prince in his world. However, their obviously bad first impressions of each other don't matter - fate has tied them together whether they like it or not.

In a perfect mix of fantasy and love/hate, Koibito No Ryu can leave you in a state of permanent fangirl. The characters maintain a high level of believability throughout the entire story, which is an extremely hard thing to do in a fantasy story. Sarea is an amazing character. She takes the whole situation in stride and keeps an incredibly sensible perspective considering the strange circumstances she's been pulled into. And, of course, there's Tentei: arrogant, protective, demanding, but sweet, loyal, and sexy all at the same time. As for the plot, just wow. I've never seen a dragon story before, despite my love for fantasy stories. You can tell just from the A/N's that paws-bells writes that she knows exactly what's going on in this world she has created. It's as if it's real. She/he truly has a talent for descriptive and imaginative writing with amazing emotional themes. Is it wrong for me to hope for a sequel? It would be spectacular.