Reviews with content warning for Blood - Sol da Meia-Noite

Okay, I get it. The Twilight Saga is not among the world's greatest literature, nor is it the most unproblematic of franchises. But I believe that people can enjoy things while recognizing their faults. I grew up on this series, first the movies, then the books, and it has become nostalgic for me. And sue me, I find them very entertaining to this day.

This retelling from Edward's POV was nowhere near as good as the original Twilight book. This is probably because I find Edward very boring as a character. I love Bella, Charlie, and the rest of the Cullens, and I don't dislike Edward, but he's a bit dull for me. Another minus for me is the ending. In Twilight, there is some semblance of a happy ending, even though things are uncertain, but this ends with Edward dreading the moment he plans to leave Bella in New Moon.

But there are some positives and for them, I'm glad I read this. I appreciated the extra insight into both the vampire lore and the Cullen family. Edward's mind-reading abilities allowed me to connect more with secondary characters. Charlie has become one of my favorite characters.

There are some little details here and there that change how creepy Edward's behavior is to me, most of them for the better in my opinion.

For example, Edward doesn't watch her sleep just because he's obsessed with her, but because he is anxious over her safety and wants to acclimate himself to being in her presence. It is confirmed that vampires' minds, as well as their bodies, are frozen at the time they were turned, making him still mentally her same age. He makes an effort not to intrude on people's thoughts in private moments, like if they are showering or changing clothes. On the other hand, it is also clear that he doesn't believe Bella is capable of making the best decisions for her own wellbeing, which sucks. He believes that he knows what is best for her better than she does about herself.

Content Warnings

refrejarator's review against another edition

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dark mysterious sad slow-paced

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

2.75

Edward is so boring and angsty, at first it was great because it was a much darker read than Twilight, but it got old very quickly. It was a very slow read up until the final few chapters, where a lot happens at once.

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anjae's review against another edition

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dark funny sad medium-paced

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

4.0

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I'm not sure how much of my pure enjoyment of the book is because of the nostalgic aspects of it, but does it matter?

The things I liked about this book:

Edward's inner monologue and the general tone of the book match his age. The long-winded sentences and em-dashes and the occasional use of words that have fallen out of fashion match the time period he grew up in, which was a very nice touch.
He's actually quite scary. Seeing Edward from inside his brain instead of from inside Bella's cotton-candy brain shows him as the monster he really is.
He's super stupid.
There was a lot more added lore and background for vampires and side characters (the Cullens, and also others).
Seeing Bella through his eyes made Bella have more of a personality than she ever did before.

The things I didn't like about this book:

It was a little too long. Towards the end I got a tiny bit bored.
Rosalie was fucked over. Just come right out and say you hate feminine women, smeyer.

Obviously, it's nowhere near a perfect book. Most of the ethical problems with the first books still apply, but to be honest I don't gaf. I didn't read this book to read high-class literature.

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emilyreadsthings's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Content Warnings

wallflovver's review against another edition

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reflective tense

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

3.0

i really enjoyed getting the extra lore, history and scenes missed out in bella's account.

edward's relationship with the olympic coven is by far the biggest seller on this book for me

the biggest drawback is the insanely slow pace, i don't see myself reading this a second time and im a big rereader! this book took so long to get through.

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