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cozy_blooms's review against another edition
5.0
WOW! Holy crap that was amazing. Most of the book completely confused me. I kept forgetting that it wasn't Edward and Bella. The story is almost the exact same but a few details are different which made me question things and I found myself flipping to the twilight half of the book to compare. What really pushed this over the edge though was the ending! I'm so amazed with the ending. I love that isn't the same as twilight! This probably would have only been a three star for me if it had ended the same way as the original twilight story.
bloodlover18's review against another edition
3.0
Very werid book with all the different names and gender-swapped characters. I listened to it on Audiobook.
anjanettew13's review against another edition
1.0
So she gives us this instead of Midnight Sun. So disappointed. I tried to go into this with an open mind but I just could not appreciate it. There are specific things that seem extra dumb with the gender swap like how Beau gets rescued by Edythe after the book store. Also, swapping the genders of all of the characters was superfluous since it did not add additional dimension to any of the storylines. I may be done with Stephenie Meyer altogether even if she does decide to do a sequel to The Host. Maybe if she finishes Midnight Sun she may be redeemed...
dominiqueisageek's review against another edition
3.0
I'm not going to lie. I actually kind of enjoyed this, but I have some problems with it - hence 3 stars.
1. I liked Beau. I found him to be an interesting character, and Meyer manages to make him believable. I was glad to see a distinct lack of fart jokes. Beau is very likeable, although he says some stupid stuff sometimes - which is acceptable for a teenager. I also like how he thought about Edythe (as weird as that sounds...) and his mental attitude towards her.
2. Not sure how I feel about Edythe. She's an interesting character, but I think that she may be filled with even more self-loathing than Edward. I didn't feel like I got to know her very well in this story at all.
3. The relationship. It felt a little insta-lovey to me. And I guess the same thing happened in the original Twilight, but this felt too fast. It was like Beau was thinking about her and BAM! they're willing to die for each other.
4. Everyone else. I liked that each character was new, and self-contained. It wasn't like each gender-bent character was the mirror copy of the original. They had their own stories and mannerisms and characteristics, which I really enjoyed. You can see the similarities and inspiration, but each character is new and unique. Eventually I stopped thinking Jeremy = Jessica and started embracing the characters for themselves.
5. The pace. This book went way too fast for the story that it was trying to tell. WAY TOO FAST. I may have raced through this in a day, but it did feel very rushed - especially after the halfway point. Meyer was trying to include all of the crucial stories that are introduced in the later stories in ONE chapter (such as Rosalie/Royal, Jasper/Jessamine and Alice/Archie).
6. THE ENDING. I didn't enjoy the ending at all. It kind of felt like a cop-out. I know that Meyer was playing around with what would have happened if Bella had been turned, but I don't feel like it works for these particular characters. It felt way too easy. Bella and Edward's love story works because it isn't perfect, especially because they manage to overcome werewolves, the Volturi, Victoria, and their own natures in order to reach their happily ever after. I feel like Beau and Edythe got their happily ever after too easily. (that sounds so bad... Don't judge me..) I also understand that she couldn't continue the story, especially because of the Jake/Jules situation. It wouldn't have really worked.
Over-all, I think that Meyer should have spent a little more time on this, and made it into its own book. That way she could have explored and clarified everything without worrying about time/space constraints of having two books in one. I'm glad that I read this on Kindle, because I can only imagine how heavy and bulky this must be in hard-cover or paper-back...
So - I'm glad that I read this, but it wasn't mind-blowing.
1. I liked Beau. I found him to be an interesting character, and Meyer manages to make him believable. I was glad to see a distinct lack of fart jokes. Beau is very likeable, although he says some stupid stuff sometimes - which is acceptable for a teenager. I also like how he thought about Edythe (as weird as that sounds...) and his mental attitude towards her.
2. Not sure how I feel about Edythe. She's an interesting character, but I think that she may be filled with even more self-loathing than Edward. I didn't feel like I got to know her very well in this story at all.
3. The relationship. It felt a little insta-lovey to me. And I guess the same thing happened in the original Twilight, but this felt too fast. It was like Beau was thinking about her and BAM! they're willing to die for each other.
4. Everyone else. I liked that each character was new, and self-contained. It wasn't like each gender-bent character was the mirror copy of the original. They had their own stories and mannerisms and characteristics, which I really enjoyed. You can see the similarities and inspiration, but each character is new and unique. Eventually I stopped thinking Jeremy = Jessica and started embracing the characters for themselves.
5. The pace. This book went way too fast for the story that it was trying to tell. WAY TOO FAST. I may have raced through this in a day, but it did feel very rushed - especially after the halfway point. Meyer was trying to include all of the crucial stories that are introduced in the later stories in ONE chapter (such as Rosalie/Royal, Jasper/Jessamine and Alice/Archie).
6. THE ENDING. I didn't enjoy the ending at all. It kind of felt like a cop-out. I know that Meyer was playing around with what would have happened if Bella had been turned, but I don't feel like it works for these particular characters. It felt way too easy. Bella and Edward's love story works because it isn't perfect, especially because they manage to overcome werewolves, the Volturi, Victoria, and their own natures in order to reach their happily ever after. I feel like Beau and Edythe got their happily ever after too easily. (that sounds so bad... Don't judge me..) I also understand that she couldn't continue the story, especially because of the Jake/Jules situation. It wouldn't have really worked.
Over-all, I think that Meyer should have spent a little more time on this, and made it into its own book. That way she could have explored and clarified everything without worrying about time/space constraints of having two books in one. I'm glad that I read this on Kindle, because I can only imagine how heavy and bulky this must be in hard-cover or paper-back...
So - I'm glad that I read this, but it wasn't mind-blowing.
bluebeereads's review against another edition
1.0
Istyria book blog ~ B's world of enchanted books
0.5 star
Warning: This is a negative, rant-y review and there are mean things about this book and series in it. Also, probably, curse words. If you're sensitive to people hating on a book you love and you're a fan of Twilight, do not keep reading. Not if it means that you'll be insulting me in the comments by saying my opinion is wrong. Thanks in advance.
*deep breath* *cracks knuckles* Okay, let's do this.
Let me start off by saying that I did love these books when I first read them. What can I say? I didn't know a lot of great books and pretty much read whatever was popular. Since then I've grown and I discovered this great community and so many amazing books. So when I re-read these old favorites of mine, I couldn't do it. I hated them. I saw everything that was wrong with these books. And I'm not saying that it's wrong for you to like these books. It's not. It's awesome if you love them. I know a lot of you started reading or discovered YA books because of these books and that is amazing! If anything, I'm happy that it got you reading and if you love these books, good for you. But I don't. And I never had a chance to review these books since I didn't really know that was a thing until I found Goodreads. Now I do and it's not going to be pretty.
First things first, this book is nothing new. Sorry if some of you hoped for something new and refreshing. It's not. This book came out already. Ten years ago. It's called Twilight. This version is exactly the same. Only about 5-10% is different. And it didn't improve anything. I had hoped that it would be better, but I knew what I was in for when I started this. I didn't expect any improvement. And I knew I was right after reading the first page. The writing is still just as cringe-worthy as it was ten years ago. The characters, though their genders are switched, are still the same, bland, stupid people they were ten years ago. And I was just as frustrated reading this as I was years ago.
Don't think for one second that swapping the genders changes a thing. It doesn't. Bella is stupid and boring as a girl and a boy. Edward is a creepy stalking discoball as a boy and a girl. Also, since all the genders were different, the names changed too and quite honestly, I didn't know who was who most of the time. And I didn't give two craps about it. The names were stupid and the characters just as forgettable as they always have been. I mean, honestly... Edythe? Jessamine, Royal,..? What kind of names are those? And yes, they're still glittering diamonds in the sunlight. I did hope that that would've changed, but no such luck. The romance hasn't changed either. It's, almost word for word, the same gagtastic insta-love.
Okay, one thing has changed. The ending is slightly different, but not original in the least. It's just a few moments from the other three books thrown together to make a "new" ending. Which is good cause it means there won't be any more of this craptacular gender-swapped Twilight in the future. Though, I did give this a half star for a reason. Because of the gender switch-up, the ridiculous miracle that was Renesmee doesn't happen. Hurray for that! But in the end, it all comes down to the same. It sucks. It's not good. It's not worth your time. And I was stupid to have any hope for improvement at all. I stopped reading every word about halfway through. From there on I just skimmed the rest. I just wanted to get it over with.
Stephenie Meyer is not a good author. And I'm not even talking about the writing. She hasn't published anything new since The Host came out in 2008. God knows why we're still waiting for the sequel to that, though I'm not really eager to read it anyways so whatever. But instead of proving the haters wrong and bring us something new and original and good, she writes this? The same stupid-ass book she published ten years ago, only slightly different? Doesn't she have any original ideas? Does she need to keep milking the same cow for the rest of her life? Cause if that's the case, she's not an author. She's someone who wrote a bad story and got insanely lucky. As a reader I'm pissed. As a writer myself, I'm raging. This is not fair and it's bullcrap.
There are so many talented writers out there, begging for a chance to get their work published by a professional publisher and they'd deserve it because they would bring something amazing to this world. There are so many self-published authors or authors from smaller publishers that don't get the spotlight they deserve. And this stupid fucking series gets so much attention and praise and I don't understand. I really don't get it. Why do these horrible books become so damn popular? Why does anyone encourage this person to keep rehashing and milking the same damn story? This book that's supposedly a reimagined version, costs $13 as an e-book. 13 fucking dollars! I don't care that we get the original twilight with bonus features with it. It's not worth it. It really isn't. I know so many authors that are worth all the attention Stephenie Meyer gets but they don't. And I couldn't for the life of me explain why that is. And I swear, if E.L. James once again copies Stephenie by writing a genderswapped Fifty Shades, my faith in humanity will be gone. Cause she is another example of an author that doesn't deserve the attention she gets. It boggles my mind and it makes me angry and frustrated. But hey, as long as people pay for their books, things won't change and those brilliant authors that actually deserve to be on top will stay in the shadows of these two and that breaks my heart.
If your instincts were to skip this one, they were right. Don't read this. Except maybe if you're a die hard twilight fan. Even then, just don't. I refuse to encourage anyone to read this. If you want a good book in this genre, just let me know and I'll have some great recommendations for you. But don't read this. Just don't. Though it is a very good opportunity to review Twilight if you've read it before your reviewing days.
readingmissfroggy's review against another edition
2.0
Basically this is just copy paste Twilight, change some names and tadaaaa Life and Death. I prefer Twilight the original version over this one because things happen a little differently and I felt like it was better and more logical in Twilight. The only thing that was really worth reading was the ending which I actually also enjoyed. One big "if" got answered and I really liked that. But I'm only recommending this to Twilight fans who have not outgrown it and loved it from the beginning. Otherwise, just look up the ending and you will not have missed a thing.
kellertson3's review against another edition
2.0
I hate giving a book a 2.... Because someone worked hard on it and it is theirs ya know. But because I love the original one I feel okay with this. I didn't mind the changes to the story line. I just had a hard time creating the characters in my head because I already had a picture of it.... Ya know.... Anyway it was hard to read.... I think I will stick with the original
jbaby's review against another edition
4.0
This rating is only for Life And Death. I’ll mark Twilight as currently reading so it will count as my second reread.
I liked this retelling.
I liked this retelling.