Eclipse (The Twilight Saga, Book 3)
by Stephenie Meyer
|
List Price: Our Price: $3.99 You Save: $16.00 (80%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $0.01 (click here) Category: Book See more book details and other editions |
|---|
Book Reviews of Eclipse (The Twilight Saga, Book 3)
Book Review: A Little Misunderstood
Summary: 4 Stars
I was apprehensive about reading Eclipse after all the negative reviews. I can't help but think that some readers have misunderstood the book or didn't read it to the end. For me, after a lot of thinking, Eclipse was a necessary segway. How could we be so sure that Edward and Bella are meant to be if Bella never knows what else is out there? I firmly believe in true love but I also believe that teenagers make mistakes and can be confused, conflicted. At the end of the book, Bella makes her choice and I hope, beyond hope, that Meyer sticks with it in Book 4 otherwise the fourth book will just be too unreal and frankly boring. (Why do you think the great romantic novels are just one book and not a series?) Don't judge this book until the end. The last few pages (not counting the epilogue) are the reason I gave this book four stars and not three.
After finishing this book, I do not see how the fourth book could possibly involve any kind of love triangle. To do so would be contrived and would make the ending of Eclipse meaningless. I really want to see Bella as a vampire. That would be a compelling book to read. I just don't know if I could read any more about falling in love, or who do I choose, or do I want to be a vampire, or I am so weak. I say, let's have Bella bitten so she can have some muscle! I need some action.
***Possible Spoilers***
I also feel somewhat compelled (like so many others) to address some of the issues others have raised in this book. Many I do feel are legit concerns but some of them I just don't understand.
(1) I cannot for the life of me understand why so many of the same people who think Edward is controlling seem to love Jacob. I didn't mind Jacob in New Moon but in this book I could not stand him and could not understand why Bella was in love with him. (I know Meyer has said that Bella fell in love with Jacob in New Moon but I did not see it. The word "rebound" seemed to be all over that book.) Jacob forcing himself on her was unforgivable. Manipulating her into kissing him by threatening suicide was despicable. Edward, on the other hand, started out controlling. What else could you want? Would you really expect him to so willing send the love of his life to his competition? But then, he backs off and allows Bella breathing room. Allows her to make her own choice. For me, it was always Jacob trying to split Bella in two; Edward was allowing Bella time to make her choice.
Jacob was a good character but he was not right for Bella. He would have been "safe" for her but who wants to be safe. I want to be truly, madly in love.
(2) For those of you who thought Edward was flat, I just don't get that either. At first he was controlling and then he let go. His reactions to Jacob were...human. But, his patience to allow Bella to make her own choice, that patience stemmed from his own patience of waiting 100 years to find his soulmate. Beautiful...ahhhhh.
(3) I know so many are so upset with Bella being whiney, conflicted, selfish, dense, etc. I too was frustrated with her and as I approached the end of the book I thought a major let down was coming. And then it happened, Bella made a choice. She had conviction. She was ready to start her new life. She thought about others and how they would feel. And she put on the ring and was ready to proclaim to the rest of the world that she made her choice and that choice was Edward. She was strong and stronger because the choice was not thrust upon her. It was hers. Those last few pages (not the epilogue) are the reason why I gave the book 4 stars instead of three.
(4) I also know so many people found Bella's constant descriptions about Edward to be a bit much and found it a little overboard for her to say she could not live with out him. For me, these scenes just cemented their relationship that much more and showed the difference between her relationships with Edward and Jacob. I have been with my husband for eight years and I still find myself staring at him and thinking how wonderful he looks and how lucky I am to have found him. That's love. Jacob just didn't have that lasting impact on her. Sure there were times when she found him alluring but she was not captivated by him in the same way. He did not take her breath away.
As for not being able to live without him, I think some take that too literally. Could Bella survive without Edward? Sure. But could she really feel totally alive walking away from her one "true" love to take the safe road. No, she would be broken. Her strength is found in her choice...true love conquers all.
Book Review: Could have been better...
Summary: 3 Stars
***SPOILER ALERT***
I won't say this book is bad, I've read far worse, but somewhere along the line this story lost something.
It could be the storyline. I know this is a romance/drama but throughout the entire book we are given glipses of possible action to come and when it finally does it came and went with a whimper. The 'bad guy' for the book was Victoria....so where was she the whole time? When Victoria does finally get there we are given a few lines of dialogue and her almost immediate death, ending with Edward once again confirming Bellas love for him because she doesn't think he's a monster for ripping the head off of a PO'ed woman who wanted revenge for the death of her soul mate. Weak.
But the bad guy is nothing compared to the good guys. Let's start with Edward. I started off liking Edward but by the end of this book he had become completely unlikeable to me. Some people have been critisizing Jacobs character for being underhanded, manipulative, and immature but I found Edward to be all of those things and more.
He leaves for 6 months, leaving Bella heartbroken and lost (and Jacob to pick up the pieces and to be Bellas 'sun') but when he finally comes back (through no effort of his own) he demands Bella stops seeing Jacob, even going so far as to disable her car, keep a 24/7 watch on her, and manipulate her into flying across the country just to keep her away from her only friend for the past months. Anyone else find this to be a little...wierd?
That's when I stopped liking Edward so much but the real kicker was Bella who gave a few half-hearted huffs and puffs but 'just couldn't stay mad at him'. I know Bella isn't supposed to be an overly strong character but that just boggled my mind. She had absolutly no spine.
The whole relationship is becoming more and more unrealistic with the introduction of Jacob as a main character because with him as a comparison you begin to wonder why Bella really loves Edward so much. What has he really done to deserve her unconditional love? There was an instant attraction and suddenly she's willing to give up her friends, her family, her life just to be with him...oh, but she's not willing to marry him, go figure. I don't normally preach, but what sort of a role model is that for young girls? A hot vampire guy sweeps her off her feet and suddenly she's a total doormat. Nothing in their relationship rings true for me, there was the initial attraction but what motive is there to keep the relationship going beside "fate".
To be honest, I found more a intriguing chemistry between Edward and Jacob than either ever had with Bella. There was more character interaction, story and good dialogue in that tent scene with the two guys than in almost the whole of Eclipse.
I have to say, towards the end I was rooting for Jacob. I couldn't understand why Bella kept going back to Edward when Jacob had been there for her for six months, had some real interaction with her besides midnight cuddling, befriended her and gave some motive for falling in love. Unlike Edward, his character showed true feelings beyond "fate" and his desperate attempts to get Bella to love him back felt real.
Sadly, Bellas realization that she loved Jacob back was just as hollow as the rest of her character and in the end she runs back to Edward (again, for no good reason), seemingly, without much care or remorse for leaving Jacob in the dust despite all he had done for her.
It wasn't a truly bad book but the Bella/Edward romance had gotten stale, there has been little to nothing showing us why they continue to love each other besides the 'fate' aspect.
Jacobs character was good but I see little reason why he should be in love with Bella seeing as how she dropped him the second Edward came back and has done little for him since then, or ever.
Edward, besides the overly controlling behavior and cheesy diaglogue, he could be a good character again if only Meyer would give us some motive to like him besides the fact that he's a hot vampire.
Again, I stand by the fact that I found the most intriguing parts of the book to be the interactions between Edward and Jacob. The only course of action I see is to either give Bella a backbone and have her truly choose between Edward or Jacob and then back the relationship up, or throw Bella off a cliff and have the two guys hook up. Either way, just make it real, that's all I ask.
Book Review: Total Eclipse of the Heart!
Summary: 4 Stars
Eclipse to me in a nutshell is all about the Love Triangle between Bella, Edward & Jacob. It's more like an isoceles triangle though...Jacob...not sure if he really had a fighting chance. Jacob really tries to get Bella here and even gets to kiss her! (ooh la la)
The probably best part about this book (and all others) is that you can't put it down. As much as a lot of the little things irritated me, I couldn't stop. I love me some Edward, and here... I'm beginning to re-like Jacob as well. (There was a point I hated Jacob!)
But a few items did bug me:
Bugging Item #1: Edward is a Prude!
Even as I read Twilight, it was obvious to me that Edward was written as Meyer's perfect man. To me, yes, there's a lot of stuff I loved about the pureness of Edward's love, but come on! Bella's throwing herself at you, give in a little!!! Every time he stops a kiss or a move, I just want to slap him already.
Bugging Item #2: Bella is a whiner!
Wah! I love Jacob, but i'm not in love with him coz I love Edward! Wah, I can't believe Edward is making me stay away from Jacob because he is a warewolf! Wah, I'll get myself into trouble nevertheless! Wah, Jacob is in love with me! Wahhh!!!! Girlfriend, get a grip. Bella is the kind of person who invites drama. Because really, in the real world, if you know the person you don't love is madly in love with you and yet you go out of your way to give him hope (but say you don't give him hope) is CRUEL. Then, when Edward does not show jealousy, she can't believe it. *sigh* Also, she claims to love her parents to the point of dying for them but yet she wants to end her life now so that Edward won't out-young her when she does become a vampire. I know she gives some reasons - but they're not good enough reasons for me.
Bugging Item #3: Classic Novel "Theme"
In New Moon, it was so obvious that they were going to tie in the Romeo & Juliet to the plot of the story. The moment they mention Wuthering Heights, I roll my eyes (to no one in particular, maybe to my dog, but he didn't get it) coz I know that at the end, they're going to tie it into the story. Predictable!!! Come on, should I expect to see Catcher in the Rye to be mentioned in Breaking Dawn?
Bugging Item #4: The I'm-Sorry Phenomenon
It seems to be everywhere in this book! Jacob time and time again does / says something to hurt Bella then calls a day later to apologize and says how much he really is in love with her. Bella does the same for Edward, she'll blatantly goes to La Push even though she knows that there are vampires looking for her and then apologize for it later. Edward apologizes for all the vampires that are now running after them. Bella apologizes to Jacob for all the bad things that were happening. Bella apologizes to Edward (and vice versa) for loving him too much. For a 600 page book, it was too much.
Bugging Item #5: No Character Development
A) I wish Bella was more developed and had more than these two sides: 1) I love Edward 2) I love Jacob. Why can't she be a character who was in love with a vampire but still aspire to be a doctor? Or hell, get accepted to Harvard? Won't it be a more compelling story if she has to find the right balance between loving a monster and still wanting a life / kids? Won't it be interesting to read about (let's say in book 6) for a 30 year old Bella remains to have a relationship with someone who wasn't aging? How about kids? The fact that she's just willing to die right now really bugs me - and her logic...There's none.
B) I wish Edward was more than just a handsome vampire that won't put out. I wish he had other things to say than "I love you Bella" and other things to do than protect her. We get it, he loves her - after that 2,879th time, it get's a little boring. The best part about the book for me was his interaction with Jacob but yet again, nothing seems to faze him. I love Edward and did not want him to be one-dimensional.
C) I wish Jacob didn't make a turn for the whiny wolf that he's become. He's a bit better now and I agree that objectively, he would be the better choice for Bella, but he was just annoying at times there. Again, other than his "coming out" that he loved Bella, there was really nothing else going for him.
My reviews of other Twilight-related stuff here:
http://mochablue.blogspot.com/
Book Review: ECLIPSE OF A GOOD SERIES
Summary: 2 Stars
Let me state right off, that I was jazzed by New Moon, I liked the middle of the book, with Bella and Jacob rekindling their friendship, and the twist about Jacob, but this book..uggg..it gets bogged down, just like Twilight in Bella's annoying inner thoughts about Edward and their beyond melodrama, dialogue with each other. I swear Miller cleared a forest in wasting paper going on and on and on about how HOT Bella finds Edward, I mean she even thinks his eyelashes are magnificent..if it's not his smell, his perfectly messed up hair(i mean bronze hair..what the f), his snickering(whatever the hell that means) or his beautiful eyes..on and on..it's so SHALLOW!! Jesus, we get it girl!..you find him SMOOKINNN HOT..let's move on!!!..she spends a good part of the middle of the book, either passing out because his kiss is so hot or bit*hing at him for not letting her help enough or not making her a vampire or arguing with him that they not get married, because hey Bella cant picture herself being one of those losers who gets married right out of high school..sure, she's become a homicidal vampire..but marriage, AS IF!!..i mean let me get this straight..your life ambition is for Edward to make you a vampire, and undead, a corpse, who drinks blood and doesnt sleep, but marrying this God like Magnificience is just a bridge to far!!!..uh ok...I loved how at the end, when he is about to give her exactly what she desires(as if everybody does not bend to her will) she stops him!!..look I get the metaphor, but get real, I was hoping Edward would finally grow some B@lls and devour her right there one and for all, I for one would have cheered him on, nobody in this world deserves a good devouring like our Bella...and another thing..Bella goes on about sleeping in this wayy cold climate with a stone cold vampire..I mean he's hard as marble..and cold as ice..he's corpse for f*ks sake, how hot can that be to sleep next to..and he's 100!!! years old, how creepy is that..your hot for a 100 year old corpse!!...and your's so stupid, you want to become one yourself..Bella makes Jennifer Aniston look like Einstein..oh and dont get me started on Edward buying his ..uh sister, a Porsche for watching Bella for a WEEK!! and its so lame how Miller explains Edwards moneybags status(he must be rico, you see because Romeo was rich and so was Prince Charming, we must fill in ALL the cliches to complete this utterly absurd fantasy)..you see his sister has the ability to read futures in the market so the can more or less steal money..really hot, dont you think,..oh and he obvious comes from money as well sense he give Bella a 5 carat diamond charm, to go next to poor Jacobs, hand carved one, and Bella being the genius she is, at first thinks the diamond is a prism??..i mean lord girl, i know your from Forks, but your an idiot..i mean what in the hellz do any of these guys see in this clumsy, selfish, dumbas* girl, who never does anything to her hair and wears sweats everywhere?..but i digress...I also dont like the pacing of this book, like I said it's slow..Throughout the series I root for poor love lorn Jacob, he is so in love with the colossely selfish Bella..she uses him for his friendship and allows him to save her..time and time again..normally bit*hing at him the whole time..he loves her, and she just sort of says..yeah, well, im in love with the HOT vampire, sorry padfoot but your S.O.L...she never gives him a chance, its all Edward all the time, eventhought she has more chemistry with Jacob, she does not have to become an walking corpse to be with him, she does not have to give up Charlie or her mother, or anybody, but hey, how can he compete with the magnificent Cullens, Bella is so impressed with their hottness and money and inate coolness, i mean as he states time and time again THEY are her family..not Charlie or her mother or Jacob..talk about selling your sole the devil..having said all of this..im sure ill read Breaking Dawn..and probably be as disappointed as I was in this book..blah blah blah...oh and get real, Edward is one of the biggest closet cases in recent memory.he hasn't met a woman his interested in in 100 years, he give Bella his jewlery that was his Mothers, im guessing Bella must remind him of his mother...inadvertently the colossely clueless SW has as her fantasy her "ideal man", conjured up a total gay sterotype...how ironic that she is a practicing Morman..actually it's quite appropriate.Book Review: Complete Disappointment
Summary: 1 Stars
I wasn't really sure how to rate this book, because in terms of story line and Bella being so confused on life it is certainly one star. I started reading the Twilight series based on a friend's recommendation but I rather take a nap then read the rest of this book. I was in love with Bella and Edward through the first two book but now this just plain cheesy. Bella my dear, "You cannot have your cake and eat it too!" When I started reading Eclipse I was excited to see what was going to happen with Edward and Bella but this is just painful to read. Please why could we not see Edward rip Jacob's throat out and get it over with, it would have solved the whole love triangle and called it a day.
But really folks these books are absolutely ridiculous. The characters' motivations and reactions defy any sort of real world logic. These books just don't make any sense. Like here's my main problem with the series: What in the world do all of these people see in Bella? And I'm not just talking about Edward and Jacob. That also includes Mike Newton, the entire Cullen family, Angela, and even Victoria and James from the first book. The entire Twilight universe revolves around Bella. Everyone is obsessed with this girl. Why? She's whiny, hypocritical, self-obsessed, co-dependent, moody, childish, sulky, spoiled, and selfish. She has no goals, ambitions, hobbies, dreams, or talents. She shows no interest in the world around her unless she is the center of it and it is her way or no other way. She basically shows disdain and/or contempt for anyone in her life who isn't impossibly beautiful or superpowered--including her own parents. Her one goal in life is to become a vampire so she can live forever, be impossibly beautiful and strong, and never age. Yes, this is our heroine, people. Was I the only one rooting for Victoria to knock the hell out of her?
Then of course there's Edward. I believe I've read in SM's own words that Edward is her idea of the perfect man. I guess we'll just have to agree to disagree on that one. And let me just say that I don't care how beautiful and gorgeous and perfect and wonderful a character is--NO ONE deserves to have 300 pages telling us these things. If a character is supposed to be beautiful then I only need to be told that once, and then I'm looking for their more interesting aspects. If their beauty is brought up more than once than I'm going to assume that it's signficant to the story somehow...it relates to the plot, it's an ironic contrast to their not so beautiful inside, it serves as commentary for cultural perspectives on beauty. I don't want to get the idea that I'm reading about Edward's crooked smile, or bronze hair, or perfect chiseled features, or muscular chest over and over again because the author is imagining herself as the object of his affection and likes reminding everyone of how gorgeous he is.
And Jacob...how did he go from a sweet kid to a rapist-in-training? And why is SM so convinced that we're all going to adore this twerp as much as she does? That said, as a character, he's still 1000 times more believable and better developed than Edward.
Basically this book had so many unintentionally hilarious moments that I was imagining it as an episode of Mystery Science Theater 3000. There was Charlie's utterly bizarre reaction to Bella's breaking her hand...(What's that? You tried to sexually assault my daughter? And she injured herself? Way to go tiger!) Bella's stupidity after Rosalie's backstory (Hmm...I think she's trying to tell me something about life and humanity and family, but all I can really focus on is that some hot vampire chick once came onto Edward..WAAAHHHH Edward!) Edward's rather psycho definition of love( He basically says "I don't care about anyone else. I only care about you. Only you matter.") And the vampires' reactions (or rather non reaction) to the murder of the new vampire Bree disturbed me. They basically do nothing and have no reaction when a teenage girl is ripped to pieces right in front of them. Six months ago she was probably a normal teenager and now she's a pile of ashes and not one of the saintly "good" vampires even bothers to say "Poor girl. I wonder if her family is looking for her?" And these are the people that Bella wants to hang with for eternity? Oh yea she wants to live with these people because she is a very vain girl.