Reviews with content warning for Toxic relationship - New Moon

New Moon is my favorite in the series, mostly because Edward isn’t around which means Bella is a little less silly. Okay, and while I like Jacob more than Edward just because he’s less manipulative and Heathcliff-y, he also has a few warning bells going off around him. At least Jacob’s sweet, warm and cuddly and can turn into a big-ass wolf whenever he so chooses. Another thing that made me raise an eyebrow was a very simple little line: “Jacob hadn’t told me how to turn.” She’s on a motorbike and she has a crash because Jacob hasn’t told her how to turn. Has Bella never seen a bicycle before? How can you not know how to turn? It has handlebars, just like a normal bike. It has two wheels, just like a normal bike. You turn it, just like a normal bike! Anyways, the book is similar to the first one. High school life, excessive brooding, Bella being sad and sometimes mean, Bella swooning over vampires, Bella hearing voices (oh yes, she’s having full on aural hallucinations), Bella feeling sorry for herself, and so on. And shirtless, hunky werewolf boys – although they turn out better on screen, admittedly. Basically, New Moon is chewing gum for the eyes – and the brain. There were many references to Romeo and Juliet and they were blatantly obvious. (Feuding families, balcony, both commit suicide because their loved one has died, that's the general grasp of the plot.) New Moon is entertaining and oddly enticing.

Content Warnings

alyssapusateri's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Content Warnings

ecravens's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Content Warnings

magdi_thealien37's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

1.0

Content Warnings

unicorngirl's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

This book was good, but it felt like a lot of filler. I felt most of the book was just Bella complaining about how much pain she is in. Now, of course, breakups are hard, but it felt worse because Bella was so overdramatic. And I wish Jacob and Bella's relationship went further, I mean

Jacob did tell her that he liked her

but she didn't want the relationship to become something else, just in case Edward came back. She mentions multiple times that she doesn't want to lead him on, but she does just that, and whenever she says she going to do something about it, she doesn't! So I was annoyed by that. But an overall good book.

Content Warnings

nams's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

Content Warnings

Moderate: Toxic relationship

Minor: Suicidal thoughts and Suicide

The second book in the Twilight Saga has always been my least favorite even when I was teenager devouring the books. This opinion hasn't changed re-reading the book as an adult. The following review entails mild spoilers. No matter how many things I dislike about the book, I have to admit that the story still captivates me (assisted with some childhood nostalgia). However, re-reading it as an adult, you cannot close your eye to the fact that Bella is basically the worst role model for teenage girls (and boys) imagineable. She is not only unhealthly attached to Edward but also completely dependend on him and his opinion of her. She attaches all her self-worth, happiness and will to live to Edward's love for her. Although it might be understandable that Bella is sad and to some degree depressed when Edward leaves, it is not shown in a healthy way. As it was already the case in the first book, romantic love is portrayed in a toxic way. In her eagerness to convincingly showcase Edward and Bella's love and devotion for each other, the author completely goes overboard. Under the disguise of feeling profoundly, Bella makes terrible decisions and risks her life and health. It is harmful to trivialize her actions to hear Edward's voice by describing them as "reckless" and "stupid" when in reality they are borderline suicidal (or plain suicidal considering her cliff jumping). With Edward out of the picture for most of the books, one thing becomes apparent: Bella does not know how to build normal relationships. The void she feels without Edward, she fills with her "friendship" with Jacob (I use quotation marks as their relationship is also not a great example for a good friendship). I am still unclear why she feels so deeply about him but Bella definitely uses Jacob to feel better about herself. Again, she attaches herself to a guy and makes them responsible for her well-being. At the beginning, Jacob had potential to be a truly lovely character, however, over time he is so overcome with bitterness that he loses all his charm. My previous wish remains: Can someone please re-write the Twilight Saga but in healthy? Because the general plot is interesting and has so much potential but lacks depth.

symaira's review against another edition

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dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

3.25

The movie is my favorite out of all of them, but the book felt so slow and a tad boring. It dragged for me, and maybe that was the point to help aid the plot line of Bella being very depressed. The relationship between Bella and Jacob is explored a lot more in this book, and I feel bad for Jake. But at the same time, why does he not understand boundaries and people's decisions? Anywho this took me longer to read for some reason compared to the first book, but I still liked it. Just a little slow again.

Content Warnings

macliffe's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.5

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