Book 323: Eclipse (Twilight Saga #3) – Stephenie Meyer

I’m not sure what to think of the series at this point. It’s not as bad as I thought, but it’s still not as good as everyone makes it out to be. I’m still not happy with how helpless Bella is and I am very glad no one mentioned her obsession with Wuthering Heights before now or I would’ve been forced to read the series a lot sooner.

I did, however, gain a bit more respect for Meyer. (Shock! Horror!) At the end of the novel, there was included a preview of The Twilight Saga: The Official Illustrated Guide, which included an interview with Stephenie Meyer. In this she acknowledged one of the biggest faults I’ve seen in her writing: the lack of synonyms in her writing. I did notice in this novel that there weren’t as many issues and that either she’s progressed as a writer, or her editors became better at catching them, so that’s always a bonus.

I don’t know if Alie lied to me or not, but I was excited to learn more about the Werewolves AND the Vampires. Meyer has definitely created interesting back stories and histories for them. It would be great if she wanted to release a history book on either as I would probably read them. I’m getting ready to read The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner, before I read the finale Breaking Dawn.

I do still have concerns about whether she will wrap up the entire series in a satisfactory manner and time frame. The first three books end with 99% of the action happening in the last 50-75 pages and that’s incredibly frustrating when each of these books is 500+ pages! I’m still not sure where the next book will go, other than the few facts I know, but the major antagonist is no longer a problem after Eclipse. There are still definitely unresolved issues surrounding Bella, but knowing the ending, however, I’m not sure what else is going to happen. I’m fairly certain the Volturi will return again, but I’m not sure in what manner.

As I said above, I’m still incredibly not impressed with Bella. She did, however, gain a lot more self-awareness in this novel. When she says,

“I knew he would think it silly, but I was relieved. If he really wanted me, I could get through the rest… somehow. Selfish suddenly seemed like a beautiful word.” (loc.3211)

I had a temporary lapse of Bella-hatred, that I had to question my sanity. She did pull me back in, when she compared herself to Cathy from Wuthering Heights and as much as I hate to admit it, Meyer has done a great job of mirroring the struggle Cathy went through and Edward and Jacob make a great Heathcliff and Edwin.

Recommendation: Thankfully the novels have gotten better to read and the story is surprisingly engaging. I’m still not sure if I’d recommend it to everyone, but it’s been a decent journey so far. I’ll be glad to have finished it and honestly probably glad I read it. Definitely Team Jacob and it will never compare to Harry Potter 😀

Opening Line: “All our attempts at subterfuge had been in vain.”

Closing Line: “I pushed my legs faster, letting Jacob Black disappear behind me.” (Whited out.)

Additional Quotes from Eclipse
“The way he stared at her! It was like a blind man seeing the sun for the first time. Like a collector finding an undiscovered da Vinci, like a mother looked into the face of her newborn child.” (loc. 2840)

“Play your role first, Bella, then you can do what you want second. Part of being a Cullen is being meticulously responsible.” (loc. 6827)