Courtenay's Reviews

Vampire Academy - Novel
Adrian's Love - Romance/Fantasy


Similar to twilight in terms of vampiric fluff, this is a fast paced plot line about Adrian and Rose Hathaway's relationship. At times the story seems jumbled and confusing at times with the mentioning of new characters every few chapters. The story leaps from event to event which i found distracting from an otherwise light-hearted, swooning tween piece about a girl trying to decide who her heart will belong to. What started out as a romance/fantasy genre, it abruptly turned into a disappointing lackluster action story thereby eliminating any interest in this writers story (well in my case anyway). In the end, I just didnt have the heart nor the motivation to finish the story.



Harry Potter
One Single Rose - Romance/Drama

This story focuses on Hermione Granger and her search for love with her best friend Ginny. Both have a non existent love life after Hermione walked in on Ron's cheating love romp whilst Ginny walked out on a marriage to Potter. As a result Harry is now regularly seen out and about with new girls on his arms. A work still in progress, this plot is driven by female emotion and the search for 'the one'. Although seemingly predictive at times, this is written with good intention and I found it interesting to depict Ron as a love-rat and Harry on the rebound. Overall this piece could use a little more originality but it is nice to see a story with Hermione as the protagonist.


Twilight - Novel
Last Kiss - Tragedy


Okay not gonna lie, this one got a tear out of me. (only one though :P). Last Kiss centers this tragic one-shot love story around Jasper and Bella as humans. Starting out as an 'awww' moment with Jaspers intention to marry Bella, the writer builds up the moment of proposal effectively without crossing into fluff territory. However instead of ending up with the normal gushy happily ever afters, Jasper swerves off the road and crashes foreshadowing a gloomy end for the couple. Taking advantage of the accident climax, Jasper whispers his proposal to Bella hearing her yes right before her untimely death which does seem a little cliche but still gets a pass from me.

Drop Dead Diva - TV Show
A Forbidden Love

Recent hit in television land, this Drop Dead Diva fic brings Jane/Deb and Fred together. Fred is Jane's human embodiment of a guardian angel and has fallen in love with her. The only problem is Jane is still in love with her past life's husband (Grayson) and it is also strictly forbidden for any servant of God to be involved with a human. This cute little one-shot allows Fred to take on a more dominant role unlike the tv series and also highlights Jane's slow transformation from a shallow socialite to a conscientious worker. Told from a 3rd person narrative, this short story does have the potential to be developed into a longer story but can be appropriately left in its adequate OS form.

Friends - TV Show
I Want You To Live - Tragedy

This is a songfic based off George Canyon - I Want You To Live in an AU setting for Friends. Chandler is enlisted and deployed in afghanistan, leaving Monica at home with their twin 4year old kids, Jack and Erica. Distraught with worry, Monica frequently watched the evening news with the hope that her husband was still unharmed until the story of a suicide bomber resulting in 2 soldiers deaths appear - one being Chandler. This fanfiction was extremely well written and I particularly enjoyed the recurring verse Monica used as a sort of mantra to get through. It is naturally sad but with a peaceful ending making this a memorable story.

Love Actually - Movie
Not Carol SIngers - Hurt/Comfort/Romance

An interesting idea and concept in following through the after moments when Juliet kisses Mark (her husband's, Peter, best friend). In the movie we just assume that Mark carries on admiring Juliet from afar and lets her live her life with Peter. The twist in this OS tale reveals the what-ifs in our mind. What if Peter knew it was Mark at the door and not carol singers? What if Peter saw Juliet kiss Mark? This is a great play on this idea and is effectively used to its advantage leaving the reader wanting more than what is written. Great story.


Lion King - Movie
What Started Out Good - Hurt/Comfort

Basically the authors take on what made Scar so evil in the Lion King. Here we see how the two cubs (Scar and Mufasa) grew up together yet were treated differently by their father Ahadi. From Scar's birth he was immediately neglected and abused despite the pleads of his queen Uru. Even the name given to Scar showed Ahadi's disdain - Taka meaning trash. A story still in progress, the writer gives a thoughtful insight into Scars background and how he came to have his hyena accomplices. Its a nice change from the usual hero POV you get in the movie and I cant wait to see how the rest of the story plans out.


Toy Story - Movie
Ferocious - Humour

Rex must decide once and for all if he's going to be a scary dinosaur or a nice dinosaur. With his numerous futile attempts at scaring the other toys, Jessie decides to persuade Rex into thinking that a scary dinosaur isnt all that great after all. Her solution? Watching Jurrasic Park. This is a cleverly written piece with suspense building through the whole story and amazing comedic timing which I think summed up Rex accurately as a character.

"You see? That's what scary dinosaurs are really like," she said. "Now do ya really wannabe like that?"

... Finally, Rex fixed his eyes on her instead of the screen. "That poor goat," he said in horror.

The Simpsons - Cartoon
The Way We Never Should - Romance/Drama

Its prom night, where the love between Homer and Marge first began. But what if Marge fell for Artie Ziff instead? What if Homer never got a chance to fix things between him and Marge? In this fic, both lead very different lives with Marge leaving with Artie and Homer leaving with Barney to work for Moe in a beach bar/restaurant. With many more chapters to come, we see the new life of Homer unravel with his desperate search for love. The writer seamlessly introduces new characters and allows each character to explore new traits whilst retaining hints of their normal persona we have come to know and love. I'm rather fond of the way Homer is portrayed here, we see more of his vulnerable goofy side which is far more endearing than his drunk, yet hilarious antics.

Hey Arnold - Cartoon
Blind Date - Romance/Drama

Arnold and Helga are set up on a blind date by their best friends in an attempt to get them out of their depression. After not speaking to each other for two years, old wounds are reopened and secrets are revealed on a night neither will forget. Despite being set in high school, not much is discussed about what they get up to there. There are frequent flashbacks tied into the plot line revealing why Helga and Arnold are torn, but their appearances are confusing and at times unsettling. I think their break down could have been explained better and appearances by a few more characters wouldn't have hurt. The highlight of this story I found, was Phoebe finally eradicating the creepy monobrow Helga groomed on her face.