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Genre: Dystopia Main characters: Melanie Stryder/Wanderer/Wanda Time and place: somewhere near a future Tucson, mostly First sentence: “The Healer’s name was Fords Deep Waters.” Summary: A new world order has arrived, as the humanity has been conquered by tiny, silvery aliens who call themselves souls. The vast majority of the population has been implanted with such a creature, but there are still some, very few, who would not give up the fight. One of them was Melanie, a twenty year-old who preferred taking her own life to being possessed by the enemy. Unfortunately for her, she did not die, and one of the creatures, a veteran one, calling itself Wanderer, was indeed attached to Mel’s brain, in order to access her memories and discover where other unaltered people are hiding. Wanderer is very confident in her abilities, so she is taken very much by surprise when she discovers a wall between the consciousness available to her, and the memories that she should be able to access, but isn’t. That’s a first sign that Melanie’s own self is still there, trapped in a corner of her former own mind, and it is thus that this strange conqueror/conquered relationship begins. Melanie fills their common mind with images of a man, the man she unconditionally loves and, unable to protect herself from this attack within, Wanderer too starts yearning for this man. In the end, there was only one course of action open to them both: to run away and search for him, in hopes he’s still alive, in hopes they will know where to find him.

General impression
After being as infatuated with Twilight as I was when I first discovered it (alas, before the first movie was made and before the notion of Twihard entered anyone’s mind), it is a wonder I waited so long to get to this book. Now that I did though, I can say I have thoroughly enjoyed the experience, a thing that has actually taken me by surprise since lately everyone’s been harping on and on about how bad Twilight is and how bad a writer Ms. Meyer happens to be. While of course I am not saying she is a master writer, or anything like that, I didn’t find this book badly written at all (although, unlike when reading Twilight, I was keeping an eye on these things). Perhaps I am really bad at detecting badly written prose, but either way I very much liked this book (and I actually think it’s better than Twilight :) )

Characters
Born on the Origin and a visitor on eight other planets, Wanderer is almost like royalty in soul circles. She is so experimented that she considers each new insertion a mere formality. Yet she is very little prepared for the things she is going to find here on Earth, living among humans. I very much loved looking at the humanity through Wanda’s eyes: she starts out believing them a despicable and terrifying species, prone to violence, but little by little, as she starts living among people, and actually gets to know some of them, she begins to feel sorry about the fact that her species has taken their planet from them.

The very same process happens with the human characters too: used to thinking to their invaders as parasites who must be mercilessly destroyed, they are surprised to get to know Wanda, and discover her fair and altruistic nature. Poor thing is badly mistreated at first, almost each important male character hitting her at least once, without thinking twice about it, as they all think her an “it” that does not deserve to live and all that. Speaking of which, my favorite character started out being Jared, because of the fact that at first we only get to see him in Melanie’s fond memories, and she remembers him as a guy who always has a smile on his face, despite the tough life they were leading. However, the real Jared is completely different (understandable the fact that he lost his beloved Melanie to the parasites, but still), quite on the brutal side at first and, while I sympathised with him, I started being quite wary of him also.

And Ian… Ian is an Edward without the glitter and the mind reading. By which I mean to say he has the same way of being intensely in love, so much so that he loses his head sometimes when it comes to protecting his loved one, and the same uncanny ability of always knowing the very right thing to say. So — could I not have liked him? Especially as he was the opposite of Jared whom I wasn’t fond of? :) (speaking of Ian = Edward, there’s also a similarity between Wanda and Bella, as they are both the same selfless to the very extreme; however it’s easier to understand when Wanda is involved as she is a soul, and the souls are peaceful and interested in the welfare of the rest of them like that :) ).

Relationships
My favorite relationship in the book is the one that is formed between Melanie and Wanda: initially in completely opposite camps (Wanda even goes out of her way to do things that annoy Melanie, such as eating her chips dipped in milkshake), they get united by their common purpose (finding Jared and Jamie) and, little by little, not only they become friends but they also start influencing one another’s way of thinking quite a bit: Mel becomes a bit more peaceful, a bit less inclined to act rashly, whereas Wanda learns sarcasm and even gets a bit too fond of it :)

I very much liked what the author did with the main love story: Melanie’s, who loves Jared so much it almost overflows, invading Wanda’s own feelings too. This can turn into quite the philosophical debate: what makes us, us? How much in a person is the soul/self, how much the memories, how much becomes ingrained in the body itself? Some of the best moments of the book I think are those where Mel & her body yearn for Jared, while Wanda’s own mind is captured by someone else. The situation is hard on the male characters too, having to share the same body (there are some scenes that I found rather cute, where each guy holds one of Wanda’s hands), and yet everything is written as believable as can be, in the situation.

Plot
Leaving aside the Melanie/Wanda part, this is also a story of survival in front of adversity, as the people in the story are one of the last pockets of humanity in the world. Sure, this part is not as heavily stressed on as the Mel/Wanda part, but it’s still an interesting thread of the narrative.

Now, while I couldn’t call the plot fast-paced, I found it to be mostly captivating (some people complained that it started out slow, it didn’t feel like it to me as I was hooked by Mel/Wanda’s story from the very beginning). There are some suspenseful moments, and some intense ones too, the very kind I like, so it is probably obvious by now that I had nothing to complain about, plot-wise :)

Setting
One of my favorite parts of the book. The world is just as we know it, with very few changes. One: there’s no more need for money. Each soul has what they call a Calling, a job they’re good at, and he/she does it for free, in order to give something back to the society that feeds them and clothes them for free. Two: there’s no more need for medicine, as the soul society is so advanced that all the illnesses are cured. And three: there’s no more violence (the very reason why the souls started to take over our world was that they wanted to purify it from violence, and, being so many of them, they succeeded). To be honest I would have liked it very much in that world (provided they would have let me be myself, of course).

Thoughts on the title
A very simple one, marking the relationship between Mel and Wanda (one being the host body of the other). I for one think that almost any one of the chapter titles (always one, meaningful word) would perhaps have been a tad better.

Thoughts on the ending
show spoiler

What I liked most
show spoiler

What I liked least
I was a tad disappointed with the alien characters names. While I do get what the author’s been trying to do (I found Sunlight Passing Through the Ice a pretty image to be named after, and Petals Open to the Moon too), I am a bit surprised that everyone’s names actually do mean something, and they actually have aome sort of patterns that let one infer the name owner’s original planet simply after his name. But there’s so many of them (the idea that they conquered planets because of their sheer numbers appeared more than once in the book), so it doesn’t make that much sense of there being that many nice expressions to cover them all. Or perhaps I simply wasn’t fond of the idea and now I’m making up excuses for it :)

Recommend it to?
A tough one, since the author has as many detractors as she got fans, or even more. I’ll just say that if you happen to like dystopias you should at least give it a try, despite whatever you happen to think of Twilight. It is not a perfect book but I do think it’s well worth a read :)

Buy this from amazon.com | Buy this from bookdepository.co.uk | Stephenie Meyer’s official site | The Host RPG Boards

Written by the same author:
Twilight | New Moon | Eclipse | Breaking Dawn | Midnight Sun

The links to amazon.com and bookdepository.co.uk are affiliate links. If you click one of them and buy something, I receive a small percentage of the purchase price. This being said, rest assured that the few cents I might thus make will never influence what I say or do not say about any book reviewed on the site.

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I am writing this review now because a) I’ve just finished reading it b) the book is on hold so who knows if or when it’ll ever be available. This draft contains the first 12 chapters (right until Bella and Edward go on their “date” in the meadow where he’ll show her how vampires look in the sunlight), and can be found on the author’s official website.

I have loved the very idea of this book ever since first reading about it: a chance to see the world through Edward’s eyes. While he couldn’t get any more perfect than he already was, it was interesting to see how he thought of Bella, how he saw her and why he had fallen in love with her of all people. I was very glad to read his thoughts on her as they were a mirror of how Bella really was (a bit subjective, I know, but better than anything so far), as opposed to how she saw herself (very ordinary). Practically all the people who have previously complained about the heroine of the book having no personality at all get to find out how wrong they were: she’s intuitive, she’s courageous, she’s smart and above all she’s a really good person (which sort of explains why I liked her so much in Twilight :P ).

The author has paid a lot of attention while writing this book, keeping all the spoken lines in Twilight, plus adding here and there in Edwards thoughts a hint about the family histories that were unveiled in the previous books (such as how Rosalie found him offensive at the very beginning, how Jasper had been a fighter, etc.). I have absolutely loved the part about keeping the lines (though it reasonably couldn’t have been any other way in order for the story to be credible), as it really made me re-live all the events again, this time knowing every thought each of the two had. Kinda cool and to say that I am looking forward to reading the whole book would be a very understatement, to say the least.

I think the author’s done a really great job with Edward’s thoughts — his conflict between his knowledge that he might very well hurt Bella and his impossibility of staying away from her was very well drawn. (“Run, Bella, run. Stay, Bella, stay.” is one of my favorites, corny as it may seem. I chose the shortest one, were I to quote all favorites I’d end up quoting half of the book :P ). I was also happy to actually meet in Edward’s thoughts his frustration at his inability of reading Bella’s mind (the frustration that I have guessed at and found so amusing in Twilight), so to be expected in the case of a mind reader who can prod into anyone’s minds with one exception :P

It made me sad to see the book end at the moment it did, as the next one would have been a very important chapter of Edward & Bella’s relationship: their outing together in the forest, the moment Edward finally takes a conscious decision not to kill Bella (as the possibility has always existed in Alice’s mind thus far, meaning he had not put a definite leash on the monster inside him as of yet). Did I mention I am looking forward to the rest of the book? :)

What I liked most: Alice’s impatience to get to know Bella, as she knew they were going to end up being best friends :)

What I liked least: It ended way too soon !!!!

Recommend it? The draft? I don’t know, it leaves you pretty frustrated when it ends so suddenly. The whole book? By all means, go for it!

This book is related to:
Twilight
New Moon
Eclipse
Breaking Dawn

Written by the same author:
The Host

The links to amazon.com and bookdepository.co.uk are affiliate links. If you click one of them and buy something, I receive a small percentage of the purchase price. This being said, rest assured that the few cents I might thus make will never influence what I say or do not say about any book reviewed on the site.

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Predictably enough, Edward is still Edward. Absolutely perfect. In an amazing non-tiring way. :) Bella is still as courageous as ever (yay Bella!), although there was rather hard to identify with her in the parts where she was enjoying the pros of being a vampire — very understandably, of course, but unrelated to anything in the reader’s experience, past or future. Renesmee is a golden child, I have liked her very much (sort of through extension as everyone else liked her very much so she must have been really likable, and, of course, because I really liked both her parents :P ). The absolute surprise of this book is Jacob. It’s the first book I did not disliked him a single bin (on the contrary, I have loved him). He seems to have matured a lot and to have lost the self-interest that had been so annoying for me at times. As such, he was very close to becoming as perfect as Edward himself :P

I almost didn’t start reading this book as, browsing through the Amazon reviews, I have noticed that there are a lot of people criticizing it very harshly (very very harshly actually). Luckily I figured that since I read all the other books it would be a pity not to know how it all ends — and I am mighty glad I did. I have no idea what bothered the people that wrote all the reviews I read — to me the book was simply glorious (understandably enough since I am a sucker for happy endings :P ). It’s my favorite book in the series (along Twilight, of course :D ).

Speaking of Twilight, I was amused to find the two books sort of have the very same structure: the first two thirds are dedicated to establishing the connections, powerful bonds between the characters (Bella and Edward in Twilight; Bella, Edward and Renesmee in this one), while the third part is dedicated to someone’s threatening the aforementioned bonds (James wants to kill Bella, the Volturi want to kill everyone including Renesmee). While it is a big strange to read books with more than half spent lacking an actual plot, I have enjoyed both Twilight and Breaking Dawn tremendously.

This is the fourth book where the Volturi are being mentioned and only somewhere around the end I realized I’ve been reading their name all wrong: I read it stressing the U, however if the name is read with the stress on the O it becomes an actual word (and I cannot believe I didn’t see it sooner): Volturi is the Italian word for Eagles. Sort of a well chosen name given the way they keep watch over everything in their world, isn’t it? :)

The book also had two Romanian characters (that were not very liked by anyone around them): Vladimir (a Russian name actually — the Romanian version is Vlad, as the name of the poor guy that has remained in history dubbed Dracula), and Stefan (very close to a Romanian name this one, only the first letter is different — the English equivalent of the name is Stephen). I have found those names a very savoring detail: the real Vlad had a cousin named Stefan (and both of them were rulers of lands and both of them have remained in our history through their heroic deeds — but that’s a whole other story). I was glad to see those names rather than any other random ones — no idea why as, while poor Vlad has remained in people’s minds as a (possible) vampire, no such things were ever said of Stephen. I still find their being mentioned in the book quite cool :)

One of the ideas I have liked most was Jacob’s imprinting on the little Renesmee. I have no idea whatsoever why some people were so horrified by it: it’s not like there was any hint of sexuality involved, on the contrary it is mentioned more than once that Jacob only wanted to see Renesmee happy for the time being. Why I have liked it so much myself? Because it was like everything was falling perfectly into place: not only Jacob ceased bothering Bella but they also became sort of related, one big happy family (I know, I know, I told you I liked happy endings :D ).

Speaking of endings, I have seen at least one person comparing this book to the last one in the Harry Potter series. Leaving aside the fact that I have utterly disliked that book (unlike the rest of the books in the HP series), I myself find the solution Stephenie Meyer resorted to — the one of a mind war, a war with no actual casualties among the characters we have grown to love all those hundreds of pages — a LOT better than that of mindless massacre, with the collateral casualties implied. Not in the least the author of HP had lots and lost of characters to choose from, a few killed more or less, although shocking, would not have made that much of a difference (not to mention the ties between them! they were friends but in most cases they were not family, they didn’t have the strong bonds the Cullens have). The situation is a lot different in Breaking Dawn: only about 8 characters and each very special to the reader and to each other — killing even one of them would have really detracted from the absolute joy the ending was supposed to be.

What I liked most: The titles of the chapters told in Jacob’s voice (that match his personality 100% :P ), such as “Waiting For The Damn Fight To Start Already” and “Sure As Hell Didn’t See That One Coming” (my very favorites of them all being “Why Didn’t I Just Walk Away? Oh Right, Because I’m An Idiot.” and “What Do I Look Like? The Wizard Of Oz? You Need A Brain? You Need A Heart? Go Ahead. Take Mine. Take Everything I Have.”. :)

What I liked least: Didn’t Charlie accepted kinda too easily all the revelations? (not that I care too much about it, truth is I was happy to see him and Bella back together :D )

Recommend it? I have absolutely loved it so yes, I do recommend it :)

This book is a sequel to:
Twilight / Midnight Sun (partial draft)
New Moon
Eclipse

Written by the same author:
The Host

The links to amazon.com and bookdepository.co.uk are affiliate links. If you click one of them and buy something, I receive a small percentage of the purchase price. This being said, rest assured that the few cents I might thus make will never influence what I say or do not say about any book reviewed on the site.

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There are no major changes in the way I’ve seen the main characters before and the way I see them after. Bella is… Bella (though yet again I found her less impressive than in the first book, she just… is, does not act in any actually out of the ordinary way at all), Jacob is… Jacob (most of the time acting like a really annoying teenager) and Edward is… obviously, Edward (still my favorite character, still oh so perfect).

The picture in this book expands a bit from the one in the previous books: we get to know Rosalie’s past, Jasper’s past, their human lives, their changing, and we also get to know the story of how the werewolves actually came into being. Some of the stories were interesting, some were less so (especially as their telling kept actual things from happening), but I sort of liked the fact that the author added them as they added new dimensions to the existing characters (Rosalie for example has been nothing but a prop so far, now we get a glimpse of how she feels, how she’s actually like).

It was really cute seeing Edward so attached to his… virtue ( :P ). Understandable enough since he was born at the beginning of the 20th century, when the morals were different, but still, the way he convinced Bella to marry him before anything physical might pass between them was cute (and at the same time amusing, the way the “traditional” roles were switched — he pleading to her to marry him, asking her to wait ’til afterward, and she only reluctantly agreeing :P ).

Another thing I have liked were the mixed thoughts Bella had about becoming a vampire herself. She wanted that more than anything in the world, and as soon as possible too — but she was also afraid of it, afraid of the change, afraid of the new way she might feel, afraid of losing her human side. I think it’s a really good thing the author pointed out both the good and the bad — Bella loves Edward and she wants to be with him forever but she’s smart enough to know that there is a price she’ll have to pay for that, it’s not all sunshine and games. Had it been the other way around (Bella oblivious of everything but being able to be by Edward’s side forever) I think her character would have lost some depth.

I have to say that only on reading this book I payed closer attention to Alice’s talent, and I found it way cooler than I had before. The way she sees the current state of things (how things will be if no one will radically change his/her mind from then on) and the way that she’s incapable of seeing what will happen if nothing’s decided as of yet (or if a werewolf is involved). For some reason I think that’s interesting and it sort of amuses me too at times (as when she thanks Bella for a present she (Bella) has yet to buy or when she gets annoyed that Bella wants to run away to Las Vegas and get married in secret without having the lavish wedding Alice would have liked :P )
Speaking of which, I was thrilled of the fact that the author has answered in this book a question I had since the last one: how come Bella could be influenced by Jasper and “seen” by Alice but Edward couldn’t read her mind and Jane could do nothing to her? The answer is really simple and I’m sort of disappointed I didn’t think of it first: what Alice and Jasper do are physical stuff, while what Edward and Jane do is play with the mind — and Bella’s mind seems somehow impenetrable by vampire intrusion.

I think the title of the novel comes from the fact that Bella’s love for Edward is so strong that completely obscures any other thing (up to and including the possible future she might have with Jacob):

” “He’s like a drug for you, Bella.” [Jacob's] voice was still gentle, not at all critical. “I see that you can’t live without him now. It’s too late. But I would have been healthier for you. Not a drug; I would have been the air, the sun.”

The corner of my mouth turned up in a wistful half-smile. “I used to think of you that way, you know. Like the sun. My personal sun. You balanced out the clouds nicely for me.”

He sighed. “The clouds I can handle. But I can’t fight with an eclipse.””

What I liked most: Pretty much everything Edward says, or does, especially when it’s somehow related to Jacob. I know he acts way way too perfect which sort of detracts from his authenticity (a vampire I can believe in, but a vampire that perfect?), but still I cannot help liking him a lot.

What I liked least: Argh. SPOILER to follow:
****************************************************
Why oh why did Bella have to actually fall in love with Jacob Black?? The moments when she was aching for him were making me almost wanting to shake her up. I know what Edward had said (“[...]when I left you, Bella, I left you bleeding. Jacob was the one to stitch you back up again. That was bound to leave its mark — on both of you.“) was true, and okay, Jacob did help Bella a lot when she was having a hard time — but still, falling in love with him??
****************************************************
End spoiler

Recommend it? YES. It’s even better than the previous one.

This book is a sequel to:
Twilight / Midnight Sun
New Moon

This book is followed by:
Breaking Dawn

Written by the same author:
The Host

The links to amazon.com and bookdepository.co.uk are affiliate links. If you click one of them and buy something, I receive a small percentage of the purchase price. This being said, rest assured that the few cents I might thus make will never influence what I say or do not say about any book reviewed on the site.

Popularity: 13% [?]

I have to say I didn’t quite liked Jacob at all in the first book. A bit too much of a meddler for me to like him (especially as he was trying to take Edward’s place :P ). In this book I have come to like him after a while, because he was so good to Bella and so patient with her and her wounded heart. He seemed such a good friend to her and I mentally thanked him for that. Unfortunately he changes a lot upon turning into the werewolf he was meant to be — he loses his patience and his easygoing attitude (precisely what made him special), and becomes just another guy, angry and at times jealous too. Bella is sort of less special, less brave in this book than she was in the first one (I don’t know why I’m saying this as she faces just as many dangers in this book, if not some more, but this is the feeling I had). Edward… poor Edward would probably have been just as perfect in this book as in the last one, had he more scenes to express himself. As things stand I sort of missed him throughout half the book.

This book has been a slight disappointment after reading the first one (although the scenes with Edward at the end sort of make up for it :P ), because the action was a bit dragging at times, what with Edward gone missing and Jacob (a character that I most of the time did not like) always trying to take his place (and I half afraid to read further for fear I’ll find that Bella actually will in the end give up her memories of Edward and allow Jacob to replace him — which would have been a very justified thing to do, of course, I just didn’t want it to happen).

I was a bit amused by the werewolves being hot to touch (hotter than humans), as opposed to their arch-enemies, the vampires, that are cold as marble. It sort of underlines the fact that well, they might both be mythical creatures with superhuman strength, but that’s about the only thing they have in common — all else radically differs (werewolves are hot, vampires are cold, werewolves sleep, vampires do not, werewolves eat normal food, vampires drink blood, werewolves are born to be so, vampires are made, presumably the sun has no effect on werewolves, whereupon it makes the vampires’ skin shine, etc.).

What I liked most: This:

Instead of moving, I thought about Juliet some more.

I wondered what she would have done if Romeo had left her, not because he was banished, but because he lost interest. What if Rosalind had given him the time of day, and he’d changed his mind? What if, instead of marrying Juliet, he’d just disappeared?

I thought I knew how Juliet would feel.

She wouldn’t go back to her old life, not really. She wouldn’t ever have moved on, I was sure of that. Even if she’d lived until she was old and gray, every time she closed her eyes, it would have been Romeo’s face she saw behind her lids. She would have accepted that, eventually.

I wondered if she would have married Paris in the end, just to please her parents, to keep the peace. No, probably not, I decided. But then, the story didn’t say much about Paris . He was just a stick figure—a placeholder, a threat, a deadline to force her hand.

What if there were more to Paris ?

What if Paris had been Juliet’s friend? Her very best friend? What if he was the only one she could confide in about the whole devastating thing with Romeo? The one person who really understood her and made her feel halfway human again? What if he was patient and kind? What if he took care of her? What if Juliet knew she couldn’t survive without him? What if he really loved her, and wanted her to be happy?

And… what if she loved Paris ? Not like Romeo. Nothing like that, of course. But enough that she wanted him to be happy, too?

An interesting approach, isn’t it? :)

What I liked least: Meh. The warnings voiced by Edward Bella could hear in her head when she was in trouble. Not that I did not like them, especially as they were the only Edward the reader got for about half a book — but I don’t find them plausible enough (especially as they happened once or twice when Bella was not consciously aware of any danger). It is an interesting touch though :)

Recommend it? Yes. It’s not every bit as captivating as the first one but it’s a nice read nevertheless (especially if you, like me, are curious about what more happened with Edward and Bella :) )

This book is a sequel to:
Twilight / Midnight Sun

This book is followed by:
Eclipse
Breaking Dawn

Written by the same author:
The Host

The links to amazon.com and bookdepository.co.uk are affiliate links. If you click one of them and buy something, I receive a small percentage of the purchase price. This being said, rest assured that the few cents I might thus make will never influence what I say or do not say about any book reviewed on the site.

Popularity: 5% [?]

I don’t even know how to begin. I have fallen in love with the characters (both Bella and Edward) and as such I am afraid that whatever I say I might end up not doing them justice. The reason I liked Bella so much is that I could totally see myself in her shoes (not that I am as young, as clumsy, as attractive or as courageous :) ). She’s shy and clumsy (both endearing qualities) but she’s also very bright and very courageous. I have absolutely loved her way of thinking things up until reaching a decision, and then follow that decision no matter what (I try to do that myself in real life only unlike Bella I do get sidetracked every now and then). Another thing I really loved about Bella is her courage — see for example the near-rape scene, where she instead of simply getting scared, she keeps looking for solutions to get out of her scrape. It’s these kinds of reactions that make her an interesting character, that make the reader care about her — she’s so much more than the average chick. Edward… well, Edward is simply perfect and his love for Bella is the kind that would turn every woman green with envy (me included). I have liked very much the contrast between his cold, marble body and his fiercely intense passion for Bella. Also, the idea of that much power in a seemingly normal body, so many things he could do (including playing the piano so fast it seemed there were more than a pair of hands playing :P ), coupled with, ok, I’ll say it, so much physical beauty, it’s, well … something really interesting to read about :P

Now that I think about it, this is definitely not a book for guys. It’s a book about a love story. Less ordinary and involving drinking blood, but still a passionate love story and not much more (not much more in the way of action, I’m beyond captivated with the love story in itself, a thing which doesn’t happen to me that often — I never once thought the book boring, I couldn’t even put it down).

It’s very interesting how the author chose to deal with the physical stuff. Bella is warm to the touch, Edward is cold. Bella is also very tempting for Edward (as prey) so he has to be really in control of himself around her. This being said, the two touch longingly but in a restrained sort of way, so as not to make it harder for Edward than needs be. I sort of liked this idea, of longing and at the same time restraint, it’s like the touches, when they do happen, really bring the two closer to each other, really increase the intimacy. I have had my share of romance books and of steamy love scenes — but very few of them had me actually interested, actually feeling for the characters, actually wanting them to discover one another even more, like this book does.

I have liked the open ending very much — keeping the reader wondering, will Bella become a vampire too in the future, will she live her life and grow old beside the always seventeen Edward? We don’t know as of yet, and thus everybody is free to imagine whatever version he or she likes best. I absolutely love the fact the author did that, rather than choose the way more predictable (and as such not very likable) version, that of Bella being turned vampire almost by mistake, by the guy who wanted to kill her and who bit her hand.

I’m looking forward to seeing the movie, especially as I think they cast Bella very well (and the bad guy too). Edward doesn’t look as godly beautiful as he should (but then again, does anybody?), but other than that he seems a good match too, and I am fairly certain the movie will do justice to the book and be very captivating as well.

Speaking of which, I was happy to find out that the author is planning to also write a book detailing the very same events but from Edward’s point of view. That must be truly interesting and I am looking forward to it (although it’s indeterminately on hold now). You can read the draft of the first chapter here.

What I liked most: The way Edward was frustrated at the fact that he could not read Bella’s mind (as he could others’), so he kept asking her what she was thinking about. I can only imagine how strange it must have been for him, after all the years spent freely “probing” people’s minds, to meet such a “closed book” and to be so kept guessing.

What I liked least: Um, I’ve never attended an American school, but I do think there are quite slight chances for them to have precisely the same classes every day (Biology, Trigonometry, Spanish, P.E., maybe one or two more).

Recommend it? I cannot say how much. I have read it in half a night, literally without putting it down once.

Alternate version of this book: Midnight Sun

This book is followed by:
New Moon
Eclipse
Breaking Dawn

Written by the same author:
The Host

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