Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer | Book Review

SPOILER // SPOILER // SPOILER // SPOILER // SPOILER // SPOILER

Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer

The Twilight Saga #4

First Published: 2008

Paperback

Young Adult, Fantasy

Rating:

When you loved the one who was killing you, it left you no options. How could you run, how could you fight, when doing so would hurt that beloved one? If your life was all you had to give, how could you not give it? If it was someone you truly loved?
--
To be irrevocably in love with a vampire is both fantasy and nightmare woven into a dangerously heightened reality for Bella Swan. Pulled in one direction by her intense passion for Edward Cullen, and in another by her profound connection to werewolf Jacob Black, she has endured a tumultuous year of temptation, loss, and strife to reach the ultimate turning point. Her imminent choice to either join the dark but seductive world of immortals or to pursue a fully human life has become the thread from which the fates of two tribes hangs.
Now that Bella has made her decision, a startling chain of unprecedented events is about to unfold with potentially devastating and unfathomable, consequences. Just when the frayed strands of Bella's life - first discovered in Twilight, then scattered and torn in New Moon and Eclipse - seem ready to heal and knit together, could they be destroyed... forever?

TO READ THE SPOILERS - CLICK "READ MORE"

Breaking Dawn is my second favorite in the Twilight series. It's a return to form of sorts. When it comes to Twilight, I don't shy away from the fact I love the series. But loving something and having no issues with it is not the same thing, and books two and three in the series are actually kind of meh when you get down to it.

Breaking Dawn brought back the things I loved most about Twilight, and added its own little spin on things. 

The story is divided into three parts: the first is told from Bella's pov as we've come accustomed to. The second is actually told from Jacob's pov which was great for many reasons, and in the third we go back to Bella. But a better Bella.

Because what Breaking Dawn does is redeem Bella. Finally, after two books that made me despair of her, she's back and better than ever. She's active. She makes choices. She fights and protects what's important to her - first by proxy when she's too physically weak to do it, and then by sheer bad-ass-ness.

She is useful. She is important to the story and the action. For once, without her (actively) they won't even win the battle. Her relationship with Edward is still the reason those conflicts exist, but she is finally an active part of the solution.

Then there's Jacob. While I was still majorly pissed by him (and Bella's reaction to him) in the first part of the book, the second gave much needed insight into his head, making him a character I could like again - which hasn't been the case since he became a major one. So we got to see the depth of his feeling, his sadness, his sort-of loneliness, his inert leadership. Clever move, Meyer.

Another clever move was making Jacob so damned funny. Seriously, Jacob in this book has a sense of humor and I LOVE it! And pairing him up with Rosalie, even just as a comedic pair, is brilliant. Every time this unlikely due was together on page, I laughed. It added some levity to a somewhat dire situation, and gave us a new dynamic to observe, and it worked beautifully.

Speaking of Rosalie... She was not one of my favorite characters in the books, in fact she was the only Cullen I disliked, but this book did a fantastic job at endearing her to me.

Book Review: Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer

Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer

The Twilight Saga #3

First Published: 2007

Paperback

Young Adult, Fantasy

Rating:

"BELLA?"
Edward's soft voice came from behind me. I turned to see him spring lightly up the porch steps, his hair windblown from running. He pulled me into his arms at once, just like he had in the parking lot, and kissed me again.
This kiss frightened me. There was too much tension, too strong an edge to the way his lips crushed mine - like he was afraid we had only so much time left to us.
--
As Seattle is ravaged by a string of mysterious killings and a malicious vampire continues her quest for revenge, Bella once again finds herself surrounded by danger. In the midst of it all, she is forced to choose between her love for Edward and her friendship with Jacob - knowing that her decision has the potential to ignite the ageless struggle between vampire and werewolf. With her graduation quickly approaching, Bella has one more decision to make: life or death. But which is which?
Readers captivated by Twilight and New Moon will eagerly devour Eclipse, the much-anticipated third book in Stephenie Meyer's riveting vampire love saga.

Edward's back, Bella is still dependent on others but in a less pathetic manner and all is well with the world again! Well, except.... we still have that annoying love triangle. 

Eclipse was a lot better than New Moon plot-wise, no contest, but that doesn't mean I didn't wish Jacob was erased from the equation. At the very least on the love front. I detest love-triangles. 90% of the time, they ruin my enjoyment of the romance in a book.

And in Eclipse it's especially grating, because Twilight started off as basically the ultimate love story between Edward and Bella. I was behind these two as a couple 100% in book one. But now, how do you expect me to believe they share a pure and deep love if Bella herself doesn't seem so sure of that? In fact, she is so unsure she falls for another guy!

Speaking of Bells, I hoped this book would redeem her to me. It doesn't. For a girl who gave up living when her boyfriend left she is very... fickle. Also, Eclipse emphasizes Bella's most defining feature - she is useless. In the first book, I admired her courage despite this. By the third book, I'm mostly exasperated that her only course of action is sacrifice.

Moving on to Edward. He's better than he was in New Moon, granted, but at this point I feel like I love him more out of loyalty than anything else. He's just so apathetic about this whole thing. His excuse is that he brought it on himself - which, yes, he did - but that doesn't mean you need to appear as if you don't care!

Despite Eclipse being one of my least favorite of the series, it contains one scene that never fails to give me such strong feels. I shall call it the Rejection Scene. Feel free to ask in the comment for explanation, but the bottom line is that it gets me in every way, and I just think that's magical. Even if it's hella painful.

Aside for this scene, my favorite parts of this novel were Rose and Jasper's background. Here are two characters that were always on the sideline, but they get the spotlight for a while and it's cool and it's awesome and it makes you love them so much more and understand them. Especially in the context of the next book ;)

New Moon by Stephenie Meyer | Book Review

SPOILER // SPOILER // SPOILER // SPOILER // SPOILER // SPOILER 

New Moon by Stephenie Meyer

The Twilight Saga #2

First Published: 2006

Paperback

Young Adult, Fantasy

Rating:

I knew we were both in mortal danger. Still, in that instant, I felt well. Whole. I could feel my heart racing in my chest, the blood pulsing hot and fast through my veins again. My lungs filled deep with the sweet scent that came off his skin. It was like there had never been any hole in my chest. I was perfect - not healed, but as if there had never been a wound in the first place.

THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS. TRIED TO WRITE IT WITHOUT IT BUT IT JUST DIDN'T WORK

I've previously mentioned the Twilight Saga is one of my favorite series, so this rating might come as a shock. To be completely honest, I really enjoyed New Moon the first... three times I read it or so. It wasn't until I was more versed with reading that all the issues I had with it sprang at me all of the sudden.

And once I realized all those things, I couldn't unknow it.

Because in terms of plot, this book would now make me throw it against the wall in a raging fit. Like, I'll be the first to protect the Twilight Saga - I still proudly admit to loving it, even when people scoff at me. But this book... This book...

Twilight by Stephenie Meyer | Book Review

Twilight by Stephenie Meyer

The Twilight Saga #1

First Published: 2006

Paperback

Young Adult, Fantasy

Rating:

About three things I was absolutely positive.
First, Edward was a vampire.
Second, there was a part of him—and I didn't know how dominant that part might be—that thirsted for my blood.
And third, I was unconditionally and irrevocably in love with him.
In the first book of the Twilight Saga, internationally bestselling author Stephenie Meyer introduces Bella Swan and Edward Cullen, a pair of star-crossed lovers whose forbidden relationship ripens against the backdrop of small-town suspicion and a mysterious coven of vampires. This is a love story with bite.

Yes, I consider Twilight a five-star read. In fact, it's one of my favorite series. I read all the books in five days, re-read them countless times in the following couple of years after and they share an honor with HP - they got me into reading. While Harry Potter did start it all, Twilight rekindled that love. 

The first book in the saga is my favorite by far; It was before we encountered SERIES SPOILER annoying love-triangles and abandoning boyfriends. Before unplanned pregnancies and imprinting on babies END SPOILER. It was the simplest and purest of the four.

If you don't know the heroine of the Twilight Saga, you've been living under a rock. Her name is Bella Swan, and in this book she is very likable; she's smart, active, knows what she wants and pretty much goes after it. Even if it's a hundred years old sparkling vampire.

Her love interest is Cedric Diggory I mean, Edward Cullen. I think he's pretty swoon-worthy in Twilight. Definitely one of my earliest book boyfriends. He is sweet and caring, always putting Bella's safety first - even if the biggest danger to her is he himself.

The romance between these two is pretty sweet - it really does feel like they're meant for one another. And every turn, they chose each other. She chose to sit with him after she had a good idea of what he were. He chose to stay with her even when he knew things will never be easy. And nothing is too big a sacrifice to help each other.

All those are surrounded by colorful supporting characters from the bitchy friend to the cool sister, who add volume to the story. Which was, admittedly, a pretty simple one. It's not meant to be serious or anything like that - it's a book that's fun to read. A book that's there when you need a break from life and just want to read about two people finding each other.

Anything else is just decoration, and in this particular story I couldn't help but love it #sorrynotsorry