Surprised by other reviewsJanuary 4, 2009 I have to say that I was very surprised when I read some of the other reviews for this. I thought this was a great book. I read that some people thought that the love triangle was not believable. I have to disagree. Unfortunately I've actually found myself in that particular predictament and I have to say that I felt a lot like her. And it's not always easy to see exactly what the right choice is, even if it seems obvious to everyone else. I thought it was a rather realistic depiction. I find it annoying that people review things like this, acting all holier than thou, even though I'm sure they've never written or tried to write a novel. I've read a great deal and there have been good books and bad books, but I always respect the attempt. I loved this book. It was completely fitting with the entire series and for those of you who didn't like it, that's your opinion, but I respectfully disagree. If you've never read this book and you're thinking about it, don't base your decision about whether to read it or not on those people who reviewed it badly. Read it and decide for yourself.
Perfect sequil making you want more!January 4, 2009 0 out of 1 found this review helpful
I found myself wanting more, and the book to never end. The bonds between the characters are so strong, and battle finally comes when it time for love to fight evil. Loved every page of this book, these books keep me turning pages, and wishing this was a never ending story, especially how this book ends, it makes you yearn for the next book.
wearing your heart on your sleeve........January 3, 2009 1 out of 1 found this review helpful
First off, I am absolutely thrilled that their are reviewers out there who feel exactly the same way I did upon reading Eclipse.
While reading it the first time, I was disgusted with Bella's character. The endless whining/selfishness and the "best friend" nonsense she still harbored for Jacob made me sick. I often wondered how in the hell Bella could still regard him as a "best friend??" His character turned into a nasty, relentless annoyance who time and time again pushed her buttons to the extreme. (I finally thought she was seeing the light when she punched him in the face, but of course not.) My other major issue with this book was Bella's lack of regard for Edward. Every time a problem arouse involving Jacob, she had to soothe it over to make sure his "pain" was eased while ending the issue with "love you." AHHHHH....! Where is the love for Edward? Why is her character so keen on making amends and salvaging the friendship with the dog? Why does she keep walking over Edward and easing his pain second to Jacob's? What was the point in painting the beautiful Bella/Edward relationship in Twilight, when you are going to have him trampled on in Eclipse? One can only sympathize with Edward's character. I was secretly wishing Edward (or even Alice) would grow some balls and lay it on the line for Bella.
I made myself read it again to gauge whether I could take on a different perspective. I realized the second time around that there really was never a choice between the two. Her love for Edward has run too deep into her veins to even consider a different life. This does not mean that the way Bella's character went about it was less angering the second time around. Besides from the twists of the love triangle, I enjoyed the background stories of Jasper and Rose. I love when Meyer gives us more information on her characters and how they came to be. I even enjoyed the werewolves background story. The fight scene with Edward/Victoria was exciting, but I do wish we could have heard about the other battle.
The book is worth the read if you are intent on finishing the series. But be warned, if you do NOT like love triangles and are determined to see the relationship between the star characters untouched, you may want to skip this one.
A Teen ReadJanuary 3, 2009 Why I liked it...
This book was much, much better than book two in this saga. It was almost as if a different person stepped in and help write this book. The stories flowed together better. Everything made sense. More complex situations call for more complex solutions that were well carried out for a teen read. I loved the developed realtionship between Bella, Edward and Jacob. Alice is a wonderful, light hearted character that was necessary to make this novel work. The emotional rollar coaster in this book is worth the read. Lots of action, lots of drama. I loved how this book finally tied the stories together from the first two. I look back and think that they should have all been published as one giant novel with a lot of editing from the second saga.
With the love triangle that has developed, I am eagarly anticipating the bitter outcome in the next volume.
Would I read this again? Yes probably. Why I didn't like it...
Sadly, this book I don't think could totally stand on it's own. If I knew nothing of the other two and picked this one up first to read I would definately be a bit lost in the story and lose some of those important emotional ties between characters. These books are their own world. Like Tolken's Lord of the Rings (a fantasy world so believable to the reader because of well developed characters and backgrounds), this is on the edge of being something big, but it doesn't quite make it. Eclipse is the closest it's come and I look forward to seeing this one tranlated to the silver screen.
PatheticJanuary 3, 2009 1 out of 1 found this review helpful
This is, in an essence, my favorite book and also my least favorite. I love it because there is a lot more characterization that was really lacking in the first book, but I hate it because of one person: BELLA. She was honestly, in my opinion, just a whiny, selfish brat who deserved neither Jacob nor Edward. She became comepletely dependant on SOMEONE, be it Edward, Alice, Jacob, etc... It seriously annoyed me how damn selfish she was. I mean, if she was willing to give up her humanity to be with Edward, how hard would something and trivial as getting married be? Come on. And, I know many Jacob-haters out there will also hate me for saying this, but I think Jacob's behavior was totally justified. I mean, the girl of his dreams has been stringing him along for, what? A year or so? And then at the end, she tells him she loves him, butat the same time she's saying no. It's just complicated and stupid
