I am SO late to the Twilight party. But come on, who doesn't love a fun trashy romance with underlying Mormon values? ...
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I SAID, who doesn't love a fun trashy romance with underlying Mormon values?

WELL, okay, to be fair, love is a strong word. The writing style is fairly straightforward, basic, and it is easy to get into. It's shameless fun! And I have to admit, the more I read it, the more I liked it. I am, unfortunately, too nitpicky for my own good, and I have something to say about everything.

At 200 pages, my biggest qualms are instalove, Edward himself, and the SPARKLE.

The instalove on Edward's side makes sense: I don't think he loves Bella, per se- I think it's more of a fascination/obsession/lust that he doesn't understand. After so many years feeling complete and basically aromantic, is endlessly fascinated by this new sense of feelings that he thought didn't suit him. BELLA, however. Girl. I get having a crush on him, but they hang out like two times and she's like "I was unconditionally and irrevocably in love with him" HUH?????

I will be easy on the worldbuilding and the interpretation of vampires etc etc etc. It's fun. It's not supposed to make sense. Cool! But Edward is supposed to be sexy and alluring and appealing. Stephanie Meyer swung and she missed :( Edward was interesting and mysterious at first, and it even makes sense that Bella would cling to a crush in an unfamiliar place (I do that kind of stuff all the time in familiar places lol), but once they start getting to know each other, he is just so boring! He's like a rock! They never have fun together! It's always just her marvelling over his looks and vampire magic or him idealizing her. I want to see Edward have actual conversations with Bella that are fun to read! But unfortunately, he's just a cold rock that is very nice to look at (apparently)

And my final gripe thus far is probably my biggest. It is also probably the pettiest. Edward's SPARKLING scene was lackluster AF. Granted, I knew it was coming, STILL! It is admirable that she has a sense of humor about her book- it makes it more fun to read. THAT BEING SAID, I expected more. I thought the Edward sparkle scene would be a little overdramatic, and it would cover the length of a page. Even half of a page?! NOPE! It was, like, two sentences. And it was a lighthearted decision to make, but I wish that it would have been more whimsical! AND LONGER! They build up to this big reveal and then it's like the firework didn't light and we're just left with the smoke.

It was almost instantly after I started being bothered by Edward and Bella's relationship that it stopped being the focal point of the book- it was refreshing! The Big Bad tracker was fun, and I liked that there was an opportunity to meet more with Alice and Emmett. I thought the relapse from the romance aspect was nice, and I like how Bella took her fate into her own hands. I do wish, though, that we had spent more time learning about the tracker, Alice, and Emmet. This whole section felt too quick.

Overall, this was a fun teen romance with a rocky foundation. Will continue the saga. ( )

One of the worst books I've ever read in my life. Edward is incredibly hot (and a stalker). Bella is adorably clumsy (and so co-dependent it is sickening). ( )

Best teen romance I have ever read. Also, very original take on a vampire story. I'm obsessed with the sequel now. ( )

Okay okay OKAY. I read it. I didn't want to. I wasn't going to. I put it off as long as I could. The problem was I needed a fluff book to break up what I had been reading and this was coming up as a church bookclub read and my sister in law (yes you tiffany ;) ) was relentless about me giving it a try so I did.

It was a quick read, less than a day. It wasn't horrible. That's saying a lot because I went in with pretty low expectations. It wasn't great either, but I haven't heard anyone call it a work of art so I guess we are agreed upon there.

If I had to describe the book to someone who had never heard of it, I would say imagine Anne Rice begins to write for Sweet Valley High.

It kinda creeped me out to think of a 100 year old guy falling for a 17yr old and I have to admit I'm wondering why if the smell of her blood sends him into tortured fits why she doesn't have to hide out from him for about 5 days a month.

It was cute though and not painful to read. I'd read the other books but I feel no sense of urgency to do so.

A solid 3 stars. ( )

I liked it, well I liked the vampire part. More violence, less romance. Or maybe I shouldn't read teenager books.
I was really disappointed when Edward didn't kill the guys chasing Bella and even more disappointed with the end. MORE VIOLENCE! Come on, tey are vampires. ( )