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phouka's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Abandonment, Grief, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Animal cruelty, Medical content, Murder, Self harm, Stalking, Car accident, Death, Sexual content, Toxic friendship, War, and Violence
lizziaha's review against another edition
- Diverse cast of characters? No
2.5
Even when I was reading these books obsessively when I was younger, I disliked Edward’s controlling nature. Now that I’m older, I’m very concerned that this book in particular helped reinforce the normalcy of that manipulative and borderline abusive behavior. Although Jacob isn’t let off the hook either. The treatment of his assault of Bella (and the implication that she secretly wanted it) was handled incredibly poorly.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault, Violence, Toxic friendship, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual harassment, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Grief, Racism, Self harm, Death, and War
Minor: Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Infertility, Kidnapping, and Panic attacks/disorders
cyanr's review against another edition
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.5
This is my favorite of the Twilight saga books. It's the most plot-driven book in the entire series. Because of the events of the first book, Bella is in danger again from Victoria while a murderous rampage is happening just a few cities away in Seattle. The deaths of all these innocents has put the Cullens--and the pack--on edge.
Eventually, the werewolves and Cullen Coven are able to form a shaky alliance to bring down their common enemy. Vampires.
Of course, Victoria is playing with Edward and Alice's abilities and is able to remain undetected while she creates a newborn army to kill Bella. Edward eventually kills her in the end and Bella realizes she loves Jacob Black and Edward at the same time. Of course, she is never going to act on her desires for Jacob....except for this one time to save his life. It doesn't work out for the two of them.
I love this book. There's so much going on and so many connecting plot elements. This was originally meant to be the end of the saga, but Stephenie pushed for her original ending. Eclipse ties up all the loose ends, is plot heavy, and manages to get lots of romance in there.
Eventually, the werewolves and Cullen Coven are able to form a shaky alliance to bring down their common enemy. Vampires.
I love this book. There's so much going on and so many connecting plot elements. This was originally meant to be the end of the saga, but Stephenie pushed for her original ending. Eclipse ties up all the loose ends, is plot heavy, and manages to get lots of romance in there.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Self harm
Moderate: Blood
Minor: Pedophilia, Kidnapping, Violence, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, Domestic abuse, War, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Gaslighting, Emotional abuse, and Death
Bella cuts herself to distract the vampires. She also imagines herself as a heroine who sacrifices herself via suicide (ie stabbing herself with a knife).counciloffrogs's review against another edition
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Eclipse is a great example of what not to do when writing a book. It had plot holes, small loose ends never tied up, flat characters (ie. Bella is a clumsy pushover romantic and that’s it. I just described her whole character. It never develops further), and redundant beyond redundant writing. (Really, don’t need to hear about how large Jacob is every. Damn. Time. We see him.) Even goes as far as to use an actual slur in the epilogue.
As a sexual assault survivor, it’s a wonderful example of how once you’re in that situation it’s incredibly hard to leave because you want to excuse their actions against you and in some cases others around you are excusing their actions as well.
However, the part that is beyond triggering is how this whole series is treated as a love triangle. Bella is actively in danger and not only do the characters brush over it, the entire fan base does too. I mean honestly, at one point Jacob says about assaulting and coercing Bella, word for word, “I knew you’d forgive me and I’m glad I did it. I’d do it again.” WHAT THE FUCK. How does anyone get through this series rooting for him and not screaming at Bella to press charges!
Did I hate eclipse? Yes. Do I recommend it to anyone ever? No. Did I struggle to keep picking it up? Yes. But was I also hanging on every last word and struggling to put it down when I did pick it up? Absolutely.
As a sexual assault survivor, it’s a wonderful example of how once you’re in that situation it’s incredibly hard to leave because you want to excuse their actions against you and in some cases others around you are excusing their actions as well.
However, the part that is beyond triggering is how this whole series is treated as a love triangle. Bella is actively in danger and not only do the characters brush over it, the entire fan base does too.
Did I hate eclipse? Yes. Do I recommend it to anyone ever? No. Did I struggle to keep picking it up? Yes. But was I also hanging on every last word and struggling to put it down when I did pick it up? Absolutely.
Something about how much I hate this book is so irresistibly, irritatingly good. Like somehow in writing like an absolute buffoon who’s never been in a healthy relationship, Meyer stumbled into writing the one YA series that doesn’t read like it infantilizes it’s audience. Did I have to skim passages because it was too detailed and too much actual assault being brushed off as boys being boys? Yes, but I never once had to skim as I cringed at a grown adult misunderstanding the dynamics and dialogue of a teenage relationship as badly as most of the writers in this entire genre. It’s awful and I can’t stand it but god I want to read more.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Sexual assault, Self harm, and Murder
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, and Body horror
Minor: Blood and Ableism
Dear god if you’re a s/a survivor don’t do this to yourselfashleylowry's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault, Panic attacks/disorders, and Grief
Moderate: Murder, Violence, Blood, Death, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, and Toxic friendship
Minor: Suicidal thoughts and Self harm
directorpurry's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
CW: discussion of rape, child grooming, nonconsensual touching/kissing, suicide as a threat
Note: Basically all of my update notes are geared towards the reader I was in middle school. I know I took a lot of things to heart that I shouldn't have, and I'm glad I've grown out of most of them, but I wish she could have read some of these thoughts just the same...
Despite everything Edward has ever done wrong, by Eclipse he's really stopped being too manipulative and he never touches Bella without her permission.
JACOB, meanwhile...
I really dislike Jacob in this book. He makes quite cruel choices and on multiple occasions he kisses Bella without consent. He manipulates her with the threat of suicide, so even saying she wanted to kiss him was not exactly freely-given consent... (Maybe SM should watch that mandatory sexual assault video series I had to watch before starting grad school - I feel like there are a couple of loose concepts she missed.)
Edit Aug 2021: But even if Bella DOES love him, she doesn't owe him a relationship! Like, Edward aside, that's kind of the worst part - this expectation that she WILL act on her feelings.
I think I take so much of this to heart because I've been in a weird situation before where the heart/brain connection wasn't quite there yet for me and I was kissed when I wasn't expecting it. Even though we dated for a while shortly after that, I still feel extremely uncomfortable and sometimes even upset remembering that evening. It doesn't matter if you love someone, being kissed without consent is bad, bad, bad.
I keep trying to see Rosalie as something other than a mouthpiece, but I really can't. Aside from her wicked, badass revenge, she's so... gross. She's perfectly aware how vain she is, but she doesn't do anything to curb it. Most of her energy goes into being upset over her lack of a baby. It's very uncomfortable and I genuinely see myself as a far opposite of Rosalie.
Edit Aug 2021: There's also such conflagration between romantic and familial love. Like, a romantic, loving relationship that doesn't result in children isn't "half" - it's a whole thing in itself. While you, personally, may feel unfulfilled without children, that in no way lessens the legitimacy of your relationship.
(mostly joking but) Honestly, it's SUCH an insult to Emmett, he doesn't deserve this kind of treatment!!!
Leah is extremely poorly treated by both the cast and SM. It's worse in Breaking Dawn, but she's just kind of thrown into this to make more points about having kids...
Edit Aug 2021: There's just so much girl-on-girl hate there, it makes me so sad....
And don't even get me started on Imprinting! It's literally the grossest thing I've ever heard of and I hate it! Borrowing my friend's words: "It's normalizing grooming." These grown-ass men should in no way be allowed to look at a literal child and say, "Yep, that's the one. I'm going to wait for her to grow up and then I will marry her." It's such a horrific imbalance of power; this man you've known for your entire life saying to you one day that he's been madly in love with you for almost two decades, please marry him.
Definitely showing some Mormon bias out here... SpoilerIt did make me wonder, though - there's a bit in Midnight Sun where Edward chomps down on a pedophile - called by name. I'm curious if this is in response to arguments against the Imprinting concept? Obviously I know she still full-heartedly supports her weird story choices, but...
I'd be lying, though, if I didn't say I enjoy this book, lol. Mostly for Edward. I love Edward in this; now that he's finally not trying to leave Bella, now that he understands what a dumbass move that is, he's very fun. His personality grows more in this book than the rest of the series (Midnight Sun aside, obviously.)
Note: Basically all of my update notes are geared towards the reader I was in middle school. I know I took a lot of things to heart that I shouldn't have, and I'm glad I've grown out of most of them, but I wish she could have read some of these thoughts just the same...
Despite everything Edward has ever done wrong, by Eclipse he's really stopped being too manipulative and he never touches Bella without her permission.
JACOB, meanwhile...
I really dislike Jacob in this book. He makes quite cruel choices and on multiple occasions he kisses Bella without consent. He manipulates her with the threat of suicide, so even saying she wanted to kiss him was not exactly freely-given consent... (Maybe SM should watch that mandatory sexual assault video series I had to watch before starting grad school - I feel like there are a couple of loose concepts she missed.)
Edit Aug 2021: But even if Bella DOES love him, she doesn't owe him a relationship! Like, Edward aside, that's kind of the worst part - this expectation that she WILL act on her feelings.
I think I take so much of this to heart because I've been in a weird situation before where the heart/brain connection wasn't quite there yet for me and I was kissed when I wasn't expecting it. Even though we dated for a while shortly after that, I still feel extremely uncomfortable and sometimes even upset remembering that evening. It doesn't matter if you love someone, being kissed without consent is bad, bad, bad.
I keep trying to see Rosalie as something other than a mouthpiece, but I really can't. Aside from her wicked, badass revenge, she's so... gross. She's perfectly aware how vain she is, but she doesn't do anything to curb it. Most of her energy goes into being upset over her lack of a baby. It's very uncomfortable and I genuinely see myself as a far opposite of Rosalie.
Edit Aug 2021: There's also such conflagration between romantic and familial love. Like, a romantic, loving relationship that doesn't result in children isn't "half" - it's a whole thing in itself. While you, personally, may feel unfulfilled without children, that in no way lessens the legitimacy of your relationship.
(mostly joking but) Honestly, it's SUCH an insult to Emmett, he doesn't deserve this kind of treatment!!!
Leah is extremely poorly treated by both the cast and SM. It's worse in Breaking Dawn, but she's just kind of thrown into this to make more points about having kids...
Edit Aug 2021: There's just so much girl-on-girl hate there, it makes me so sad....
And don't even get me started on Imprinting! It's literally the grossest thing I've ever heard of and I hate it! Borrowing my friend's words: "It's normalizing grooming." These grown-ass men should in no way be allowed to look at a literal child and say, "Yep, that's the one. I'm going to wait for her to grow up and then I will marry her." It's such a horrific imbalance of power; this man you've known for your entire life saying to you one day that he's been madly in love with you for almost two decades, please marry him.
Definitely showing some Mormon bias out here... SpoilerIt did make me wonder, though - there's a bit in Midnight Sun where Edward chomps down on a pedophile - called by name. I'm curious if this is in response to arguments against the Imprinting concept? Obviously I know she still full-heartedly supports her weird story choices, but...
I'd be lying, though, if I didn't say I enjoy this book, lol. Mostly for Edward. I love Edward in this; now that he's finally not trying to leave Bella, now that he understands what a dumbass move that is, he's very fun. His personality grows more in this book than the rest of the series (Midnight Sun aside, obviously.)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Violence, Suicidal thoughts, Self harm, Sexism, Racism, and Death
Moderate: Suicide, Infertility, Sexual violence, Rape, and War
merah's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Death, War, Violence, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Infidelity and Self harm
Minor: Rape, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, and Murder
elysh_kaye's review against another edition
challenging
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
This book contains some of the most toxic men I have ever read, I guess that's largely down to me largely reading women but still!!
Edward: codependency, manipulative, you know the vibes
Jacob: (TW) assaults Bella twice, and she still feels guilty?
Also, I had this problem with New Moon, and I know I should expect the best writing from Twilight. But the referencing and "foreshadowing" is so heavy handed it really irritates me. Why does Stephanie have to remind us every few pages that there is parallels to Wuthering Heights (and previously Romeo and Juliet), I'm not that dumb I can understand what you're trying to do!!
This is the same with the legend of the third-wife. I think it would have been so much better if we didn't have Bella telling us every five seconds that she was going to try and do what the third-wife had done. I think it should have been just the legend being told to her and then reference it after Bella does it, or as/immediately before.
But hey, it's just Twilight.
Edward: codependency, manipulative, you know the vibes
Jacob: (TW) assaults Bella twice, and she still feels guilty?
Also, I had this problem with New Moon, and I know I should expect the best writing from Twilight. But the referencing and "foreshadowing" is so heavy handed it really irritates me. Why does Stephanie have to remind us every few pages that there is parallels to Wuthering Heights (and previously Romeo and Juliet), I'm not that dumb I can understand what you're trying to do!!
This is the same with the legend of the third-wife. I think it would have been so much better if we didn't have Bella telling us every five seconds that she was going to try and do what the third-wife had done. I think it should have been just the legend being told to her and then reference it after Bella does it, or as/immediately before.
But hey, it's just Twilight.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Self harm, Sexual assault, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Gaslighting
tori214's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Ngl I had absolutely no critical thoughts while reading this so idk if can give it a star rating lmao
Actually wait I’m gonna give it three stars bc I gave the other two four and I didn’t like this one as much bc Jacob was super manipulative and toxic to Bella and she knew that but she just... went with it
Actually wait I’m gonna give it three stars bc I gave the other two four and I didn’t like this one as much bc
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence, Animal cruelty, Child death, Emotional abuse, Medical content, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Ableism, Pedophilia, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide
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