I decided to wait til I had read all the books in the series before doing a review. That was only because I had read them all one right after the other this last week.
I did however do separate reviews for Chapters Community as I finished each book, so here one by one is what I had to say about them on that profile.
TWILIGHT
It's Pride and Prejudice with vampires.
It was a hard time for me to get into this novel. It wasn't until the rival clan was introduced that it seemed to get interesting for me. And it was more then the nod to Jane Austen near the beginning of the story that had a continued underline throughout ; that never let me stop thinking of Edward as Darcy.
Granted the film was playing more on the Romeo and Juliet idea, but this is straight up Austen style love affairs.
I was hoping through the last few chapters that the characters of Alice and Jasper would be expanded on, but they weren't.
I hope the next one in the saga will be better.
NEW MOON
I have to say I was pleasantly surprised with this one. The fact it focuses on the werewolf story line was a nice turn, and it didn't seem as depressing as Twilight had. Maybe you just don't notice the rain as much in this one?
The idea that life continues after a heartbreak has always been a favourite theme of mine in stories, and the connection to the secondary characters from the first book made this a little fleshier a plot.
The only real upsetting factor for me was how the character of Laurent was handled. I would have written his part very differently myself. And the seen in Italy with the coven reminded me very much of Armand from the Vampire Chronicles.
Overall I found New Moon to be a much better read then Twilight.
ECLIPSE
I have to admit, I am shocked that I am liking this series.
I was very skeptical with it being geared for teens but books two and three have had me glued. I read Eclipse in a day and a half.
I liked this one for the simple fact it started to unravel the idea of first love. I have never been one for the sappy sweet idea of Romeo and Juliet and was always more interested in the "what if" factor of second love.
Given that Eclipse moves a lot slower but a lot deeper then Twilight or New Moon, you don't feel anything but anxious for the families of Bella, Edward and Jacob.
With insight into a few of the minor characters you are given a balance between the daydreams of a teenager in love and the grown up responses to that love.
The question remains is it right to ask so much of love ?
BREAKING DAWN
Long, very very long.
There has been one book ever in the past to may me cry and that was Vampire Lestat by Anne Rice. Well, the last two chapters of Breaking Dawn made me cry.
That said, a nice closing to the entire Twilight series.
The last half of this story is filled with more dialog then needed, getting every point of view from the many new characters added in this novel. Unlike the last two novels, the shift is once again back on Bella and the Cullen Family. Another full circle is found with reference to real folklore and myths that the author nods to in Twilight.
The subplot in this one seems to run with the theme of myth and the power a myth can hold.
What are my feelings about this set of books? It's refreshing to see a story that collectively is 2444pages that does not feel like it because you are so captivated by the weaving web between the 3 main characters. This is a love story more then anything else, but it does edge on the side of a western in the sense that there is always a showdown at noon. Edgy and witty, even when it was a depressing teen-us against -them love story that does what alot of the books in both vampire and werewolf genres are failing to do right now; which is be tempting without being explicit. Stephenie Meyer did what I didn't think anyone in the vampire genre could or wanted to do anymore, deliver a good solid vampire story without having to resort to cheap sexual ploys.
I haven't rated anything in a long while but I give Twilight Saga a 8out of 10 fangs.
Now I don't want to sound like a wishy washy assH**e, but the more I thought about these books the less I liked them.
ReplyDeleteYes, I have to still give them credit for handling vampires without the overly sexual content. That is really about the only good thing I have to say about the whole Twilight series. But on a second go round in reading them, I don't agree with the idea of Edward being so "overprotective" of Bella. It's down right creepy and stalkerish. That is a clear case of abusive boyfriend. What kind of message does that send out?
I could pick apart so much more but I am sick to death of Twilight and all the little Twilighters out there.