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Book Reviews of Eclipse (The Twilight Saga, Book 3)Book Review: Once upon a time there was light in my life... Summary: 3 Stars
Now there's only love in the dark...
Yes, my friends, just like the song, we've reached a new level of cheese. The melodrama of this third installment of the Twilight series is over the top, outrageous, and at times difficult to stomach. But I'm not going to lie - I loved Twilight. New Moon made me sob. And I read Eclipse in a matter of days. Still on a high from Twilight, I was initially only mildly disappointed in Eclipse and overall pretty forgiving. But as time has passed, and particularly as I've picked up the book again to re-read it, my opinion is less favorable.
---WARNING SPOILERS---
Generally, I found the premise of the Seattle killings obvious and not all that interesting - a newborn vampire army is just cheeseball to me. I'd much rather read about the Volturi.
In terms of character development, I was disappointed all the way around. I found Edward's overly-controlling "protectiveness" disrespectful and hugely unattractive. While it may not have been out of character in the sense that he was always controlling, it was disappointing for this to be the side of him expounded upon. Gone was the Edward we loved - cool and sexy - instead, replaced by an icky control freak. Only to then be replaced by martyr-boy who lets his fiance make out with another guy and only complains with "I wish you hadn't asked him to kiss you." Hunh? I guess we can chalk this up to him being traumatized by the mess he created in New Moon and dealing with it in a myriad of stupid and dysfunctional ways. But waaaah! I miss the Edward of Twilight - snarky, cocky, arrogant, warm-hearted, vulnerable, loving.
As I re-read this book, I found Bella's tolerance of his condescension extremely frustrating. If any guy bribed his sister into kidnapping me, physically disabled my car so I couldn't go anywhere, and made constant snide remarks about my predisposition towards clumsiness and attracting danger, I'd get pissed. Maybe the teasing was cute in the beginning, way back in Twilight, but it goes beyond teasing in Eclipse and at some point any self-respecting girl would get mad.
Bella... well there's much to be said there. Mainly, what on earth is she doing? I grasp that she's a teenager and still learning/growing but rather than relating to her like I did in Twilight and somewhat in New Moon, I felt so aggravated with her this time around that I couldn't fathom what Edward even loved about her anymore. It didn't bother me in Twilight that her hobbies or outside interests weren't discussed - I assumed she had some and that we'd find out more about them in later books. Since Twilight was about her falling in love, it made sense to me that it was all about Edward. In New Moon she was devastated and nothing sounds good when you're that depressed so I was willing to overlook the fact that she was mourning and not interested in anything. But what the heck is her excuse this time? I realize that by making her as non-descript as possible, more readers can inject themselves into the character and vicariously makeout with a couple of hot guys, but is that really the only reason Bella is so bland? The only character points that even stood out in this book were her reluctance to get married, her inability to stand up to Edward (except by passive aggressive means) and her obsession with Jacob.
The marriage issue irritated me to no end. She's perfectly content to spend eternity with Edward but doesn't want to get married? I would think that her love for Edward, so sweeping and all-encompassing in Twilight, would supersede something as silly as her fear of appearing irresponsible to others. Since when does Bella care so much about what others think that she'd alienate the person she's willing to give up her life for? If you're willing to give up your humanity, family and friends, why balk at marriage? I realize that extending the series requires the creation of new complications, but I just don't find the reason for her reluctance to marry Edward a believable one.
And the love triangle... I could see a certain amount of sexual tension between Bella and Jacob in New Moon. Edward screwed things up by leaving and left her suffering. Jacob helped her heal and just happened to be good looking on top of it. I never got the impression that on Bella's end it was anything more than friendship love with a mild physical/emotional attraction. Not anywhere near the same ballpark as the aforementioned sweeping and all-encompassing love with Edward. If she had developed deeper feelings for Jacob, her internal dialog right before he was about to kiss her in New Moon would have been very different.
Yet this is the backdrop for the realization at the end of Eclipse that she's in love with Jacob too? I just didn't find enough of a draw between her and Jacob on her end. Jacob is obviously in love with her, but I don't see where she's in love with him. Her only reasons for seeking him out were because she missed her friend and hated to see him suffer; not because of romantic feelings. Maybe they would have gotten together if Edward never came back, but he did come back so there's no question of who she's going to be with. Therefore, what is she doing kissing Jacob and realizing she's "in love" with him? Especially after he manipulated her into this epiphany. And if she was willing to let him manipulate her, then how serious could her love and commitment be to Edward? While she was making out with Jacob she knew she loved Edward more, so what the heck was she doing? Exploring other possibilities? How is that justifiable when you're already in a relationship and engaged????
Then there's the whole Jacob pushing himself on her. I get that he's young and a werewolf and his emotions/hormones are out of control, but having him physically force himself on her in the middle of the book and then emotionally manipulate her at the end is just not okay. I want to like Jacob - I want to sympathize with him - but I can't like or sympathize with a character who sexually assaults another character. (Yet Bella's own father was totally fine with it? Charlie was an idiot in this book.)
I think if SM really wanted to create a compelling love triangle, it should have been handled differently. We can clearly see who Bella's going to choose and the fact that Jacob hasn't imprinted on her is an obvious sign that they'll never be together. So there's really no mystery or lure to this triangle. It was just an aggravating side-bar that caused me to lose respect for all three characters - Jacob for forcing himself, Bella for tolerating it (and exploring other options while committed to Edward), and Edward for being such a martyr.
Overall, I found the characters frustrating in this book. I suppose my three-star rating is a result of it being the Twilight series. If this were a stand-alone book that I read without the previous two, I might have given it one or two stars.
I still credit SM with creating a story compelling enough that I'm taking the time to write this long of a review. She obviously did something right. But at this point the series is gliding on the magic wrought by Twilight and I'd love to see more depth and growth in these characters in the next book. I do enjoy her writing style - the flow of action, dialog and descriptions of setting (though I was less impressed with the dialog in this book). I am eagerly awaiting Midnight Sun and will gladly read Breaking Dawn and anything else she writes for this series because, aggravated as I was with this book, I still want to know what's going to happen.
Book Review: A bizzarre love triangle; or, Bella finds her groove Summary: 5 Stars
My favorite moment in Eclipse occurred on page 10. Charlie says to Bella, "For a teenager, you're amazingly non-whiney." Given that the majority of complaints people have about Twilight and New Moon revolve around Bella being whiney and possessed by an extraordinary amount of angst, I found Ms. Meyer's tongue-in-cheek reaction to her critics marvelous. If that's not a perfect example of someone who doesn't take themselves too seriously and can laugh at (perhaps) their own shortcomings, I don't know what is. Charlie's comment brought a smile to my face, and renewed the respect that I have for Ms. Meyer.
One thing that is very much appreciated is the conspicuous absence of Bella being a complete and utter clutz. While cute and endearing for a time, it grew old with even the staunchest fans. In this book she isn't falling all over herself and causing flash avalanches (to speak figuratively). That said, virtually everyone still growls and glowers. That should be addressed. Not every character is going to react the same way.
In Eclipse, we are brought back to Forks, and given the events of New Moon and the return of Edward, we know immediately that we're going to be in for some leg hiking and territory-marking. And, wouldn't you know, there's gobs of it.
In between the "spraying", we get a lot of back history. We learn about how Jasper turned, how Rosalie turned, how the werewolves came to be - and much more. For the first three hundred pages the book reads more like what I'll call "fun homework". Some setup occurs, with regard to the eventual plot and conflict, but the setup is mentioned almost in passing and in very soft hints. If what Ms. Meyers was telling us wasn't already information we were dying to know, we might have been bored (I assume that some people were). I wasn't, although I did find myself snapping my fingers, saying, "OK, point made...let's get going."
One plot line that begins to develop isn't so much a plot line as it is realization. Jacob is in love with Bella. We've known this since Twilight; it's no secret to us. It's also no secret to everyone in the books whose name isn't Bella. She has chosen to pretend that the Jacob she got to know in Twilight, and the one who was there to pick up her pieces in New Moon when Edward left her, is still the Jacob of Eclipse and that's not the case. Jacob has had time to ponder his emotions and feelings, and to probe their depths. He's also learned how to play dirty, and is very manipulative with Bella. We spend a disproportionate amount of time examining his feelings for her, as well as - gasp - her feelings for him!
That's where I ran into trouble. I read Twilight (more like devoured), and sped through New Moon. Like everyone else, I knew what Jacob felt. What I didn't know - and what I still am having difficulty believing - is that Bella loved Jacob back. The Jacob in this book was a sad shadow of the immensely lovable teen we met in Twilight. The wolf has wound its tendrils into his soul, and he is changed. It's not for the better. I'm not sure what this says about the werewolf in general, and for as much backstory that we received about how they came to be, I still felt (as I did in New Moon) that I didn't "see" the werewolves as clearly as I did the vampires. When that occurs in fiction, it's often the result of the author feeling much more in tune with one or the other. The vampires we know. Everything about them, from their impossible beauty (is everyone that's bitten/turned truly model material?) to their individual talents and idiosyncrasies. Since we spent so much time with the wolves in New Moon, and again here in Eclipse, something more than their pack mentality and the different colors of their fur would have been helpful.
Realize, please, that I'm not saying that the werewolves were a failure. I'm saying that they're not as fully realized as the vampires, and I wish they were. They come across to me as two-dimensional, whereas the vampires are multi-dimensional.
Ms. Meyer tells a terrific story here. It's a carryover from New Moon with a fascinating twist that gives further depth to the vampires: someone is creating *new* vampires in Seattle, and they are going on a killing spree to rival the Green River Killer. Bella plays an interesting role, although it leads to expressions of angst that some may find off-putting. (I didn't.) Eventually the realization is made that in order to quell the problem in Seattle before the Volturi become involved, the Cullens need to take action. But they won't be enough. They'll need the help of the wolves.
That's where the true genius of this story lies. Vampires and werewolves are often (if not always) depicted as blood enemies, so to force them to work together, even if it is against a common enemy, takes quite a bit of doing. Thankfully, Bella is able to supply the motivation. Seems that everybody wants a piece of her. Figuratively and literally. The resultant action sequences are tense and well told.
And during this action, there's quite the love triangle. Imagine Bella sleeping in a tent with Edward and Jacob, and in this tent is a sleeping bag. Put Jacob and Bella in that sleeping bag. Put Edward outside of it. Something he does willingly. Tricky stuff, yet deftly and well handled by Ms. Meyer. Frankly, I can't say enough good about how she handled the varied love interests (even if I don't buy the reasoning behind it).
So, what's wrong with Bella loving Jacob? Well, she loves Edward. And that's pretty much all we've heard for the last two books. Edward is her heart, her soul, her eternity - and I have a hard time buying into the belief that there would be room for anyone else inside of her heart, other than a very good friend. But, that's just my opinion.
Bella's angst in the later chapters have to deal with her decision to become a vampire. I think that Ms. Meyer is handling this extremely well. Other writers, impatient to move their story in a direction that perhaps it isn't ready to go in yet, would have had Bella turned in the first 300 pages. Ms. Meyer proved to be a true storyteller, true and honest to her craft.
I can't WAIT to see what she has for us next.
The Epilogue was a brave departure from a series that so far has been told from the inside of Bella's head. I'll leave it at that, though I will note that there are some serious issues that could arise from what happens there. (EDIT: After having read Breaking Dawn, this wasn't so much brave as it was ill-advised. I wish she hadn't of done it.)
Book Review: Farther from being perfect than the first.... Summary: 4 Stars
I like the way freefallingstar wrote her review, so I will use the same format. My views are a bit different from hers.
First off, I'd like to say that I love the Twilight series. OK, so I'm kind of obsessed with the books. The first one, Twilight, was extremely close to being absolutely perfect on my rating scale. New Moon was just a little off. Eclipse was much farther. However, I look forward to reading the fourth book very soon, especially since one particular person is out of the way (read below). So, I will write about the parts of this book that I loved, and the parts I, let's just say, rather disliked.
I LOVE....
1. The descriptions and back stories of the characters were very interesting. I was glad to finally read about Jasper's past. Rosalie was one of my favorite characters in Eclipse. Her story really made sense. I understand now why she doesn't want Bella to "change". I'm really glad she finally came around. And, as always, Alice was awesome. All of the Cullens were wonderful. Next I hope to hear more about Esme and Emmett.
2. The style of writing was breath-taking and moving. I loved the analogy with Bella and the magnets.
5. We knew, finally, once and for all, that Bella was going to be turned into an immortal at some point. No more confusion on that part! However, it was made very clear that Bella wasn't quite as enthusiastic about being a vampire as she was before. Of course she still wanted to become one, but she was thinking more maturely about things like losing her family and friends, and being wild and blood thirsty.
6. The romance was a bit more risque. Bella's growing up, so certain things were mentioned (cough cough). I'd been waiting for this moment since book one, and was glad to see that the author took a risk in discussing you-know-what.
Rather disliked....
1. JACOB! I really really really rather disliked him in this book. He has every right to rather dislike Edward, but he was really immature about it. Plus, he guilted Bella into "realizing" that she loved him. He threatened to kill himself if she didn't kiss him! I almost threw the book into the corner when I came to that part. I have no sympathy for Jacob whatsoever. He's sixteen, for crying out loud! He has his whole life to fall in love! What he had with Bella was a crush. What Bella has with Edward is love - REAL love. If Jake really loved Bella, then he'd let her go. Sexually harrassing and abusing her (yes, when you force someone to kiss you, that is sexual harrassment) is not something that you do to some one you LOVE. Stephanie Meyer was sending a very wrong message during the two sequences in which Jacob forced himself upon Bella. A very large portion of her audience are young girls, and she should have made it clear that what he did to her was not OK. I do not believe for one second that Bella and Jacob ever really loved each other. How could you love such an @$$, for lack of a better word? The whole Jacob - Edward - Bella love triangle was a huge distraction. It never should have been a "love" triangle to begin with. I'm sorry, but no, you can't be in love with two people at the same time when one of them is so enchantingly perfect - a prince straight out of a fairy tale - and the other so....oh, is there even a word to describe my hatred for Jacob? I think not, at least not one suitable for this website. No girl deserves a boyfriend as rude and controlling as Jake. He's the guy your dad warns you about when you go on your first date. The whole love triange concept was a huge mistake, Stephanie Meyer, and a major dissapointment. It was, quite honestly, a nightmare.
2. I've been noticing a trend with these books. The action is always squeezed in at the very end. The book almost seems uneven. I wish the action was more evenly distributed throughout the book, rather than thrown in at the very last minute to tie things up. It's not a huge problem, just a pet peeve of mine.
3. Bella....annoyed me. I don't know how else to say it. She acted like a brat almost the entire time. I just wish (I've been doing a lot of wishing here) that there was something else about her that made her seem, I don't know, deserving of Edward's love. I do love Bella's character, and the fact that she's really just a normal girl, but it seems like she should be just a little better than the rest of us in some small way, enough so that the difference between her and Edward isn't so astounding. I mean, why did he fall in love with her in the first place? I sort of like to picture Bella as Belle from Beauty and the Beast: book-smart and pretty. I'm glad that the author didn't make her perfect - truly, I am - but if there was something about her that would make it more believable for all of these guys to fall head over heels for her besides her looks....then I would be completely satisfied. She's not the same person as in the first book. I read another review, which described her as being like an "old soul". I completely agree. In Twilight, she was like Elizabeth Bennet from Pride & Prejudice. Now she's more like a character from a teeny bopper movie - shallow and immature. I understand that she's a teenager, but she was different in the beginning. She reminded me of myself. Now I don't know who she is, but she sure isn't like me.
4. I actually agree with Bella now: she doesn't deserve Edward. I wanted to slap her across the face when she grimaced at the thought of marrying him. If I were her, or in other words, if she were the old Bella, she would wear that ring proudly. She wouldn't care what people thought. Shouldn't Stephanie Meyer be sending a message about not caving in to peer pressure? Oh, I just can't take it anymore! Where was my Bella?! Please bring her back! Edward deserves better than this!
In conclusion, if Eclipse was a single book and not attached to one of my favorite series, it would merit a two...or a three at best. But, because I love the characters so much, I cannot bring myself to give it this grade. My hopes for the next book?
1. That Jacob will go away and never, ever return.
2. That Bella will regain her old sense of self and become the girl Edward fell in love with again.
3. A better story line with more action.
These are simply wishes, but I will give the next book a chance to see if they will come true.
~Samantha
Book Review: The Worst of the Three Summary: 3 Stars
Hundreds of thousands of readers were captivated by Twilight. Several were captivated by New Moon as well. Meyer's eagerly anticipated third book is going to have fans rushing out to buy it. Whether you liked New Moon or not, you'll probably get your hands on Eclipse for the simple fact that there are so many plot points New Moon doesn't tie up.
Twilight was Edward's story. New Moon was Jacob's. If that's the case, Eclipse is most certainly more centered on Bella and the rivalry the two boys have for her affection.
A series of murders is haunting Seattle. To the point where everyone is in a scare. When Edward sees this, he knows what's behind it. The work of vampires. But not just any vampires. These are newborns. Savage vampires that are completely out of control. And for some reason they eventually thirst for Bella. In addition to that, Bella has been accepted into the Cullen family. After graduation, Bella will no longer be human. On one condition: She must marry Edward. A step in life she is not yet prepared for. But with the Newborns running wild, their plans to marry and to change Bella are put on hold. In addition to all that, there's also the obvious affection that Jacob and Edward have for Bella. And the two spend a bit of time competing for her throughout. Jacob and Edward are rivals in more than just their affections for Bella. They are also mortal enemies. How is Bella supposed to cope? Her best friend is a werewolf that hates her boyfriend who happens to be a vampire. A compromise isn't entirely possible until they realize that they share a common enemy. Before a war can break out, they'll have to find a way to take care of the situation, and that'll mean that two mortal rivalries will have to work together.
Eclipse has a strong idea going for it. It is definitely a bit more mature in its subject matter than New Moon and Twilight, but it fails to surpass either book by the style of writing. It's the same as the former two books, but she's still making the same mistakes she's been making since Twilight, which makes the book a little harder to read.
The first being that Eclipse, like the two before it, is overly dramatic. More so than the first two books. The dialog is cheesier. The soap opera more over the top and the characters flatter than they were before. Where as the first two books took you away, despite their flaws, it is much harder to look past the ones rampant through Eclipse. They present themselves much more.
The first is the same flaw that plagued the first two books. The characters are not very well developed at all. We learn more about some of the Cullens, but hardly anymore about the Werewolf pack. Aside from Jacob Black. Once again, however, Edward is too perfect for his own good. The guy that can do no wrong. Always there to catch Bella when she falls. Except here it is far more annoying. In Twilight the mystery of his character distracted you from this. In New Moon he wasn't in enough of the book to realize it. But in Eclipse it comes out full force. The character of Edward is too unbelievable. He serves as a great fantasy. However, as far as being an actual character in a novel, it's hard to get past the fact that he has few (if any) imperfections at all. Almost no flaws. Edward is easily the boy every girl wish they had, and that every boy wish they could be.
And Jacob is entirely the opposite. If Edward is too perfect for his own good, Meyer's did everything she could to make Jacob too imperfect and flawed. In every instance where Edward and Jacob are together, Edward almost always has the upper hand. Jacob does nothing but screw up in trying win Bella over while Edward can almost do no wrong. It makes what could've been a good rivalry boring and predictable. It's almost as if Meyer's really wants the reader to hate Jacob in every way and adore Edward. There's little balance. It all favors Edward. It's very aggravating to read fiction that's populated by unbelievable characters.
Once more, we're also treated to Bella being the poor damsel in distress. By now, there is so much going bad for Bella it is nearly impossible to feel sorry for her or care anymore. There are far too many obstacles stacked up against her. In real fashion, however, she does little for herself, and lets her Knights in shining armor take care of everything. At the very least she tries. Even worse may be her father, Charlie who is portrayed as a pretty stupid guy.
The over dramatic soap opera also continues. Especially in the dialog. In terms of Cheesy, Eclipse is almost as cheesy as you can get. It's not a horrible book by any means, but much of the dialog is, like the characters, unbelievable at times. Much of it even laughable.
The final thing that really causes this book to lose out is how bad some of the writing is. There are many areas where words are missing or where the wrong word is used. I can be a good sport about bad grammar. I'm not perfect either. However, these are mistakes a copy editor should've found.
Eclipse is not a bad book by any stretch of the imagination. The world which Meyer has created is a memorable one. The story isn't bad, but the unbelievable characters, mundane dialog and over dramatic atmosphere make it harder to plow through than the other books in the series.
Book Review: A unique book in the trilogy -- in all a Mix between vasting dissapointing and tragicly romantic Summary: 2 Stars
Let me make myself clear that I am an avid reader and a HUGE fan of the Twilight series. I found the first novel, Twilight, to be a beautiful love story so inspiring and unusual that it blew me off my feet. The relationship between Bella and Edward seemed very different, and I found one chapter in particular in the first book allowed me to become entranced by the two lovers. Bella Swan comes to Forks leaving sunny Arizona to find herself on an alien green planet where it rains every day. At her new High School she finds herself perplexed by the Cullen family, which we then discover to be Vampires. Edward Cullen and Bella Swan fall madly in love. A love so passionate it could put Romeo and Juliet to the test.
Eclipse is the third novel in the series. After looking at a few reviews and acknowledging the rating of the novel I began to have my doubts. Many people found the book to be the best of the series or found it entrancing. While some reviewers were immensely disappointed. It is very difficult for an author to create a third novel that will live up to the first novel's expectations and in my opinion Stephanie Meyer did not truly deliver. This is understandable since many authors cannot even write a decent sequel, which Meyer managed to do. The second novel New Moon was almost as good as the first. The middle part, to be quite honest was a little boring, but none the less kept me going. But Stephanie Meyer had so many expectations to live up to it is understandable that it wouldn't be easy.
The third book begins with Bella and Edward discussing college with Charlie , who has just released Bella from the house. The novel continues to mention Bella's choice to join Edward forever and her relationship with Jacob Black. Stephanie Meyer has mentioned many times that she found Jacob to be her favorite character and after reading this novel I found myself disliking him more then I did in the second novel. The Edward-Jacob-Bella love triangle continues to play out through all the 626 pages in which the reader will want to throw the book on the floor because they are so annoyed with how stupid Bella truly is.
I have never personally liked how Bella is always portrayed as the damsel in distress and I found that part of her character a bad influence for young women who might otherwise look up to her. Many feminists would be appalled at how Bella reacts. She makes herself vulnerable and at one point in the book she even says, "IF YOU LEAVE ME I'LL DIE." Which I found to be silly and very sexist. I understand that the traditional love story is that the damsel is rescued by the man but at least one love story should not have that stupid shallow idea. This book was by far the most inappropriate in that sense since Bella is manipulated heavily by Jacob in such I cruel way I wanted to grab Stephanie Meyer and ask her why she took pleasure in writing such a sexist book.
The book is the poorest written of the three books. I have never considered Stephanie Meyer an excellent writer but she does tell a great story that makes the reader want to turn the page to see what is coming next in the story. The whole story seems rushed even though the novel is indeed 626 pages. It seems the publisher may have hurried her to write so it is a little sloppy. I also noticed many typos throughout the novel.
The characters are extremely one dimensional. Even Edward seemed too dramatic and fake with his passion for Bella. I cannot recall a single sentence he spoke to her that didn't have the word love, honey,sweet, darling or something sappy like that. Edward also lost his cocky sexy arrogance that I loved. He was obsessed with Bella in an unnatural way that disturbed me. His character was completely different. Jacob became such a nasty manipulator I was surprised that Edward didn't sink his teeth right into his neck. All Edward ever said was "If you're happy Bella, I'm happy." - please give me a break! Bella became a shallow even more selfish girl. She became so confused with her emotions I almost pitied her because Meyer had robbed Bella of the strength that made her such an interesting character in the first book. Rosalie, Alice, Emmett and Jasper were also turned into different characters all of which seemed out of character from the first two books.
The first two books were amazing and inspiring. The true love that possessed Bella and Edward left after book two. I feel this new book is incomplete. I do not think I will buy the fourth book. I'll borrow it from the library, and if I could I would go return this book. This book is no longer a love affair so deeply passionate between a Vampire and a human. It is now about having to make choices when you should already know what the right answer is.
I started this review with mixed opinions but now as I conclude I find myself so disappointed I shall try to remember the Edward and Bella I know from the first novel, Twilight, keeping those characters who are so deeply in love nothing could tear them apart.
Stephanie Meyer I'm afraid you disappointed a true Twilight fan till the very end. My only hope is that you can rekindle the beautiful story you had with Edward and Bella in Twilight. Good luck on the next book, I hope it's an improvement! If a movie is ever to be made may it only be the movie of Twilight.
Goodbye Edward and Bella. I'll miss you!
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