POTENTIAL SPOILERS

The fourth and final installment of the Twilight series, I felt it tied up all the loose ends, however maybe a bit too perfectly. While the book came to a satisfying ending and answered all the questions that seemed to need to be answered, nothing seemed to happen to merit the huge following it has. I'm not sure I'd want to read it again, right now it just seems to be taking up space on my bookcase. ( )

This final book of the Twilight series opens with Bella and Edward's wedding and subsequent honeymoon, and covers the first six months or so of their life together. There's a bit of drama here and there, but by and large it's not nearly as suspenseful as the earlier books - and those were pretty tame. As I'd expected, imprinting was used as a convenient solution to the love triangle. The idea is that when a werewolf meets his soulmate, he "imprints" on them and suddenly has eyes for no one else. Bella can't be with Edward without breaking Jacob's heart? Simple: Jacob imprints on somebody else and ceases being interested in Bella all together. Problem solved. Pretty cheap, if you ask me, but hardly unexpected. It's not like I ever thought Jacob ever had a chance with Bella, even when Edward was out of the picture in New Moon.

And you know, I was okay with the invulnerability to sunlight and the extra-sensory powers and even the sparkling, but vampire pregnancy is something I can't quite wrap my head around. I mean, they're supposed to be physically dead - or at least permanently unchanging - right? Your body - male and female alike - has to be doing something inside there if you're going to be able to make babies. That said, I still have to give props to Meyer for the hilarious dichotomy between the teen romance and the graphic horror. I just could not stop laughing at the ridiculousness of it all. I also enjoyed Jacob as a temporary narrator; even when he's being angstful he's amusing. Oh, and for the record: Renesmee is a terrible name, and Nessie is a really unintuitive nickname.

The ending is happy, of course, and thorough to the point of absurdity. Everyone finds love, peace, and joy, untainted by regret or danger or even, in most cases, mortality. It's also a fanfiction gold mine: loads of new characters (and creatures) introduced with only the barest of backstories. A talented fanfic writer could really go to town here. As for me, I felt a profound and somewhat embarrassing sense of freedom as I finished this book. The Twilight universe has devoured my brain for the past few months, but now it's done, and I am free at last. It's a very sudden, very weird sensation. I don't even feel a desire to reread any of the books. I'll see the movies, though I'm not in any particular hurry anymore. I enjoyed the story, laughed more than was probably appropriate (oh come on, these books are silly), and now I'm on to the next one. Rock on. ( )

I LOVED this book. I know there are a ton of people out there who think Stephenie Meyer’s writing is bad and these book are stupid, but there are probably more people who agree with me and say her writing is captivating (I’d like to see her critics write something better) and her books are amazing. Ahhh, I loved this book.

**SPOILER ALERT**

If you haven’t read Breaking Dawn and you don’t want to know any details, stop reading right now. I usually try not to give anything away when I’m reviewing, but I’d like to open this book up for discussion and that’s pretty hard to do without discussing any details.

Did anyone else think it was weird (or bad) that there was no huge battle scene at the end? All that build-up and then . . . peaceful conclusion. Not what I was expecting, but what I wanted to happen. Then again, I’m used to Harry Potter where there’s always a huge battle scene and someone has to die. So let me go ahead and say that while the Twilight saga has been dubbed the next Harry Potter (complete with obsessive fan base), these two series are nothing alike. I’ll re-read Harry’s adventures when I want something thrilling, and I’ll re-read Twilight when I want love and romance (which, at the moment, I do, so I’m going to take my time and savor every moment of re-reading the entire series). In fact, I’m going to go ahead and classify Twilight as “teen romance fiction.” They’re not really romance novels, but only because they’re aimed at teenagers and many, many people would complain (more than they already have) if certain moral values were not upheld.

As for the book itself, I was skeptical when I heard that it would be broken up into three parts, one of which would be narrated by Jacob Black. However, I was very pleasantly surprised. Jacob’s book wasn’t my favorite, although I’ve heard it is for many readers, but it was definitely interesting and nice to get another viewpoint when you know Bella’s side of the story would have been all about sleeping and feeling ill. Meyer really stepped it up a notch when she wrote Jacob’s story, and it was a cool way to understand what was going on from different angles.

Did anyone see any of the plot twists coming? I’ll be honest: I really didn’t even try to imagine what would happen in this book. I really wanted to be surprised. Of course I guessed that Bella would become a vampire (seriously, four books and she doesn’t get her wish? please.) but I didn’t know if that would include the whole marriage thing and if she was going to be in danger before or after the transformation. To my delighted surprise, she was in danger for both, and that made for a more exciting conclusion (ahem, middle of Deathly Hallows).

However, I was not expecting a baby, and I have a little bone to pick with Ms. Meyer about which bodily fluids stay with you when you become a vampire and which don’t. But I digress. The baby was definitely an interesting angle and I certainly wasn’t expecting it. I think I liked it, though. And there had to be some way to get Jacob to stop loving Bella (although I think her being a vampire still would have done the trick – maybe. Thoughts?).

I was truly sad when the book ended. I can’t believe the series is over. I know, I know, Midnight Sun will be out eventually, but that’s just another angle of Twilight, so it’s really not the same (not to say that I’m not extremely excited about its release). This has been a series that I fell in love with unexpectedly and continue to love through the twists and unpredictable turns it has taken. I really am planning on reading all four novels again just for the cozy, nostalgic feel of it, and I know I’m going to enjoy them just as much as, if not more than, the first time I picked each of them up. I still think Edward is perfect and it’s no wonder every girl (maybe a slight exaggeration, but not by much) who reads these books falls in love with him just a little bit (or a lot, probably depending on your age – have you seen the ridiculous amount of Facebook flair dedicated to Edward?). I still relate to Bella, and think I would have made many of the same decisions she did throughout the books (maybe minus the whole Jacob fiasco in the second and third books). I love all of the characters, and I think Meyer has really brought them to life throughout the series. While I know writing another series as long as Harry Potter is not only ridiculous, but unneccessary as well, I still kind of wish she would. Just so I could hold on to their stories a little longer.

4 out of 5 stars because, without reading the other three books recently, I want to go ahead and say this is my second favorite in the series, after Twilight. ( )

ME Enculo!! xD por asi decir que me facino, muy bueno el libro de JAcob :S no me hubiese imaginado por todo lo que el pasaria para estar con su amiga, los libros de Bella :O en serio q me facinaron aun mas, muy bien detallado al sentimiento de madre, y sobre todo al amor de la pareja ;) [ aunque me viene a sorprender lo ninfomana que se vuelve Bella ] debo admitir que toda la Saga me puso de lo mas Gay :[ con todo el buen sentido de la palabra :'( .. Excelente dudo mucho volverme a enamorar tanto de una saga como me sucedio con esta. ( )

** spoiler alert ** Although I enjoyed the rest of the Twilight series, this book left me a little frustrated and feeling let down. Bella's pregnancy was only a short time in the book, but it seemed so long and drawn out. I think it was more painful to read about than it was for Bella! I was thrilled that Edward got all he wished for, but the child should have been sainted for as perfect as Meyers had created her (oh please!). Jacob's imprinting was predictable from earlier on in the series. There were no surprises...more Although I enjoyed the rest of the Twilight series, this book left me a little frustrated and feeling let down. Bella's pregnancy was only a short time in the book, but it seemed so long and drawn out. I think it was more painful to read about than it was for Bella! I was thrilled that Edward got all he wished for, but the child should have been sainted for as perfect as Meyers had created her (oh please!). Jacob's imprinting was predictable from earlier on in the series. There were no surprises and a blah ending. All in all, the title should have been "Twilight According to Disney". ( )