I think this Twilight book is my favorite. Or maybe Eclipse…

I don’t think I’m contradicting myself by giving the book 3 stars and saying it was a lot of crap. The story had its moments, and I was enjoying it from time to time but seriously, the plot was no good at all.

I lost my interest in the Twilight saga when it came so repulsively popular and that’s why it took me this long to read the last book, I couldn’t stand all the hype, and the first Twilight film just added more to this by being such an unbelievable failure.

All the enthusiasm I remembered having after finishing the first book was gone now, and I wasn’t as smitten with the characters as I had been. Now there was just pure interest towards the different characters, especially those who didn’t belong to the core of the story. Bella had started to annoy me already in the earlier books, so that was nothing new, but I also discovered that Edward had the same effect on me – sometimes it was hard to believe he had lived almost a 100 years, so helpless and out of reason he sometimes was.

Two things I mostly enjoyed about the book: the middle part that was told from Jacob’s perspective and the confrontation with the Volturi near the end. The rest of the book… okay, but it did feel like Meyer had ran out of ideas and had to conjure up something this far-fetched to have something to write about. I must admit, she did fairly well, coming up with enough material for a 700-page novel. But that’s about it, this time quantity won over quality hands down.

This gets my “worth consuming” with the huge caveat that it’s only worth consumption for those already hooked. At this point in the series, Meyer’s editor has let her foot off the brake entirely. Here’s a self-indulgent book that makes it a stranger to the first book in the series. From artfully constructed literary parallels in books one and two, we now have a sort of pet plot and pet characters. That’s okay with me – I’ll be honest – because I wanted to see everything gel. It’s just not a literary accomplishment at this point.

I’ve been thinking hard about this series and why it’s uncomfortable in its way. I think it has to do with Bella as the gothic romance heroine. The problem here is simple: gothic heroine’s have little to no agency, and there’s not much room for that doormat female character in contemporary literature. I have to say there’s something backwards-ly brave of Meyer for creating a main character who’s a complete dishrag, but it’s the same kind of backwards step that makes Sarah Palin a self-proclaimed Maverick. The more I think about it, even Bella’s favorite literary characters (Jane Eyre, etc) had more spine than she did. That’s saying something.

Ah well. I enjoyed it. A good ride while it lasted, with a fairly satisfying end.

While most people who read this book adored it, I thought it was a bit of a let down. It seemed that although Bella and Edward’s love was forbidden since the start that things ran a little too smoothly for the couple. It just seemed like they got happily ever after with no real consequences, so in that aspect it was disappointing.

This was a worthwhile finale to the Twilight series.

In the final installment of the series, Stephanie Meyer weaves the love of Bella and Edward to the next stage of their relationship, marriage. Though Bella Swan complained the length of “Eclipse” about being young and getting married, she falls into her role easily and without hesitation once it is official that she is now Mrs. Cullen.

The tale follows the normal cycle of any marriage in the beginning stages with the added drama of Jacob, the werewolf, returning after his long journey through heartbreak, nightmares of the Volturi and other unexpected twists.

The story unfolds in 3 books. Book 1 focusing on the wedding. Book 2 focusing on Jacob. And Book 3 focusing on Bella’s transformation and what that means to the Cullen family and the secrecy of the Vampires.

It is a pretty fast-paced and engrossing read (I finished 700+ pages in 2 nights). I actually could not put it down unlike the first 3 books of the series. I did not enjoy the 3rd book, mainly, because Bella annoyed me with her complaining and torture (call me a mean heartless person but oy! I can’t even stand that behavior in my friends and my self, let alone a fictional character). Bella is certainly redeemed in book 4. I would recommend this definitely as one to pick up if you want a little romance, danger, vampires and werewolves and all other things that come with being deeply in love and finally achieving it no matter what the challenges are.

The first three books were amazing. So I was worried that the fourth and last in the series wouldn’t be able to hold up against the others. But my worries were pointless. Stephenie Meyer delivered, she really did. From the first pages I couldn’t put it down. And I was most definitly NOT dissapointed. It wasn’t at all predictable, I was on edge the entire book. To anyone who hasn’t read the series here is my advice to you: Go to the closest library/book store and get the books. You’re missing out. You really, really are.

There are no words to describe how absolutely incredible this book is. If you put together all the amazing things from Twilight, New Moon and Eclipse and multiply that by 48, it STILL wouldn’t add up to Breaking Dawn. I had so many different theories about what could happen in this book, and as it turns out, I wasn’t right about ANY of them. Definitely the best book I’ve ever read.