Friday's 'Review This' Rec of the Week: Officer Goodbody by Kambria Rain

All right, I'm back, albeit a little late, with A&I's second Friday rec! And here it is:

Officer Goodbody by Kambria Rain

Written as a companion piece to Kambria's other fic, Bella Swan: Kidnapper, Officer Goodbody is a very different take on Nessie/Jake fic.

For one, it's all-human, and for second - Jake and Nessie . . . well, let's just say they don't exactly hit it off right away.

It might depend on your definition of hitting it off - if you happen to consider being arrested three times in almost as many days and being not-so-affectionately termed 'Satan', then they hit it off real well.

Nessie's a reformed junkie who's only reformed the illegal habits that have to do with substance abuse (TPing, stealing cop cars, and streaking left firmly unreformed) and Jacob's a local cop who's been given an . . . interesting nickname by the girl he refers to as Satan.

But we all already know how that's going to work out, don't we?

It's meant to fill in the blanks of Jake and Nessie's relationship in Bella Swan: Kidnapper, the little scenes and conversations we missed since our beloved wolf (although he can't turn into one in this story) and imprint aren't exactly in the forefront but it can easily stand on its own.

The great thing Kambria Rain manages to do with Officer Goodbody, besides giving it an awesome title (can't help it, I'm a sucker for a good title), is that she completely flips the normal Jake/Nessie situation. She changes their general personalities and their entire universe but still manages to keep them completely them.

Besides the hilarity and the sexiness, there are some tender moments. As tender as you can get when you're full to burst with sarcasm and in love with someone you kinda hate and don't know what to do about it.

I'm proud to say that I'm a regular reviewer of this one - and at thirteen chapters, Officer Goodbody is already pretty popular with well over a thousand reviews. Of course, this could be due to a loyal fanbase who appreciates her awesome writing and has followed her two other, more popular stories (Bella Swan: Kidnapper, already mentioned above, and The Doll House).

Or it could be due to the simple fact that Officer Goodbody is just pretty kick-ass fic. I'll let you decide.

So I'll leave you here since I'm already hideously late at typing this up (I don't think it's technically even Friday anymore), but only if you promise to stop by and check it out. Jake and Ness lovers rejoice, for I have delivered something with originality that still rings true to our favorite couple.

It helps that you can laugh your butt off while enjoying it too. Make sure you drop a line to gush to Kambria Rain just how awesome she is when you're done.

EDIT: As of last night, this story is complete.

\*/

Here's all the info:

Officer Goodbody by Kambria Rain

Fresh out of rehab, Nessie decides to reconnect with her big sister Bella. Staying out of trouble isn’t so easy, especially with a cop living next door. Companion piece to Bella Swan: Kidnapper. The missing moments of Jake and Nessie.

Where you can find it all:

Officer Goodbody on FF.n (Rated M, but it definitely reads a little higher than that)

Kambria Rain's Profile (Where you can find Officer Goodbody's awesome banner than I have on good authority she made herself)

One-Shot Wednesdays: Quil's Guilt by Roses in May

Okay, so I've been toying with the idea of 'One-Shot Wednesdays' or something equally ridiculous sounding for a minute but have been put off so far by fear that I wouldn't be able to keep up with it.

But just recently I found a one-shot that was just begging to be recc'd, so I decided I'd try it out. I won't promise to post a new one-shot rec every week but if you do get them they'll come on Wednesdays.

Because it rhymes. I know, it's sad. I don't care.

So here's the story that inspired me to get over my procrastination and type up this little recommendation:

Quil's Guilt by Roses in May

Although I love all the wolves and their respective imprints, I generally stick with Jake/Nessie but today I was link-hopping and came across this little gem.

Roses in May takes a common concept in imprint-fanfic and expounds upon it. Claire, at the tender age of fourteen, is growing up and ready for Quil to be more than her best friend but he's just not feeling it.

Well, he is, and that as you'll see is the root of the problem. He's feeling it entirely too much for his comfort.

It's not uncommon in fanfic to see our beloved Jake and Quil, who have imprinted on children, struggle with themselves when their feelings start to change as their imprints grow and mature but few rarely explore it like Roses in May does in Quil's Guilt.

Claire, as most teenagers are, is convinced that she is completely right and completely grown and finds ways to tempt Quil more than he thought possible. Sometimes he slips up.

His inner-conscious and previous agreement with Claire's parents keeps telling him to wait until she's sixteen, but Claire and his hormones just won't take no for an answer.

Quil's Guilt is a one-part one-shot that is a part of a much longer story, with two multi-chaptered fics following. I have to admit, I consumed them all today so forgive me if they run together a little in my head.

Quil's guilt (as in the actual emotion and not the title) takes a physical and emotional toll on him as he just cannot seem to come to grips with things changing, so disgusted with himself that he even sends Claire away when she comes begging for his forgiveness after an incident where her teasing led Quil into a lapse of judgement.

I'm tempted to review the entire series, which defeats the point of One-Shot Wednesdays, so I'll try to keep talk of the other parts to a minimum.

We get some great Quil/Embry/Seth action (in the completely gen sense) with Jake and Nessie dropping in occasionally as background characters, not so much in the first part as in the latter two.

Roses in May writes pack-back-and-to as hilarious as I've ever seen it. The boys are firmly established as friends and you can feel it in their jabbing and joking - it doesn't get stiff. Very witty and not at all sitcom like; realistic to anyone whose friends thrive off a healthy dose of sarcasm in their daily lives.

To sum up, it's really worth the read. There are some issues that really end up coming down to opinion (how you feel about outside relationships post-imprinting, your opinions on age vs. maturity, etc.), that could be awesome for one reader or a turn-off for the next. This doesn't change the fact that good reader who's able to overlook a few personal-opinion peeves will be able to appreciate the really great story they'll get out of it.

With well-developed characters and a Quil who actually has a psychological process, Quil's Guilt really is a win. You get a caught between adult-and-teenage Quil and a teenage Claire who actually acts like a teenager and get to see how a relationship would begin to form between them.

To refrain from spoiling more than I already have, I'll leave you here.

Now go forth and read!

\*/

Here's all the info:

Quil's Guilt by Roses in May

When Claire pushes the boundaries of their relationship too far, Quil struggles with what everyone will think of him, and what he thinks of himself.

Where you can find it all:

Quil's Guilt on FF.n (It's rated T, but reads more like a light M to me.)

Oh, and on an ending note, sense it seems I must always have one: I found this fic link-hopping earlier today, like I mentioned but as I was typing it occurred to me the title might have been recommended to me by one of my readers. I tried to find the PM but couldn't, so I'm very sorry if it was indeed recommended to me by someone. Let me know who you are and I'll give you credit.

A&I's First Friday Rec: In Pursuit of Normalcy by KariAnn

The very first Friday rec from Alphas and Imprints is . . . drum roll, please?

In Pursuit of Normalcy by KariAnn.

I'm sure, as Jake and Nessie fans, you've already read this story up and down and sideways and are still on the edge of your seat, waiting for updates but it's still definitely worth mentioning.

KariAnn takes a different, less-traditional approach to Nessie and her reaction about imprinting, having her rebel against it and resent it once she finds out that Jacob was "forced" into loving her.

She flees to Hawaii to live on her own and . . . well, pursue normalcy. But things are just never quite right.

The writing is phenomenal, the plot is seamless and that's probably why it's one of the few J/N fics that have crossed over into the "mainstream". IPoN, as it is abbreviated, recently garnered some pretty awesome recognition from the Indie Twific Awards where it won Best Non-E/B WIP Story Line!

If I do say so myself, that's a pretty awesome leap for J/N fics. It's in a league of its own, not only in within its main pairing's fandom, but in fanfiction in general. I admit I am an avid reader, and a little more shamefully, that I have never reviewed.

But I will, though - I'm turning over a new leaf and trying to find a little redemption by reccing her. Even though no one's probably reading this yet. Oh, well.

At present, In Pursuit of Normalcy is seventeen chapters in on her livejournal and sixteen in at Twilighted. A warning, this story is NC-17, and though KariAnn does what she does well, it is graphic.

But lucky for those of you who don't enjoy that kind of thing, KariAnn is very awesomely posting an edited M version at Fanfiction. net which is currently seventeen chapters in. Fully caught up - so you're lucky!

So to sum up, besides having an awesome title, there is much more to In Pursuit of Normalcy than that. KariAnn handles complex emotions well and is very good at writing a torn, confused Nessie. One who is in love but much more noble than the rest of us, and doesn't want to force herself on someone she feels was enslaved to love her.

Though we all know that's not the case.

So I won't spoil anything, I'll just stop here and let you all run off and read and scream at Nessie to get over it already. It's not her fault, but that doesn't change that we're impatient.

And don't be like me - drop a line and tell her how amazing it is.

- Nad.

\*/

Here's all the info:

In Pursuit of Normalcy by KariAnn

Two years after reaching full maturity, Nessie Cullen is living on the island of Oahu, where she escaped to avoid the unpleasant truths surrounding her very existence. What will happen when the only man she’s ever loved makes a sudden reappearance in her life?

Where you can find it all:

KariAnn's Livejournal

IPoN on Twilighted

M-Rated version on FF.n

And would you believe I almost forgot to mention how absolutely gorgeous the banner for his fic is? It's insane - one of the best I've ever seen. Honestly. Just beautiful. Check it out on her author page on Twilighted or her blog.

Welcome to Alphas and Imprints!

Okay, everyone - hey! I'm independenceindividuality from over at FF.n and I don't really know what I'm doing. All I know is that I have searched high and low and could not find one website/blog devoted to Jake and Nessie. Even wolf-fics - and frankly, it's sad.

Now, I know Jake and his half-vamp adoration aren't as loved in the fandom as E/B. We all know that. You could even go so far to say Jacob and Nessie are the most hated characters and I've yet to hear one good explanation why!

Wolf-fics are sorely underecognized (is that a word?) in the fandom, not garnering anywhere near as much recognition or reviews (which we all know authors live for, even if they say they don't) and I want to change that. So, here it goes: Alphas and Imprints. A blog for Jacob, Nessie and all their wolfy friends and the imprints in love with them.

Here's where it gets sketchy: I really don't know what to do with this. Yes, yes, I know - good idea, poorly executed. Story of my life. I'm starting slow - every Friday I'll post a weekly recommendation of a good wolf/imprint-fic.

It can be from Jake's POV or Nessie's, Jared or Kim's, Quil or Claire's. You get the idea. As long as one of our beloved wolves or imprints is front and center. ;)

If anyone at all has any ideas or wants to help out, has any fics they'd like to recommend or an interest in writing articles or pieces or anything, please feel free to contact me. Through here or my Fanfiction.net account.

So come on, wolf girls, back me up!