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directorpurry's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
CW: suicidal ideations, attempted rape/assault, (mentioned) rape, (mentioned) pedophilia, gore, surgery, discussion of blood + internal organs, stalking
A note: the star rating of this book has absolutely nothing to do with whatever quality of writing may or may not be found within its covers and literally everything to do with how I feel about finally reading this BOOK.
Also, this cover? Atrocious. But, like, in a very enjoyable way. Definitely makes me feel those nostalgic late-2000s vibe.
Strap in for a long review, kids...
I have literally been waiting for this book for 12 years. 1 2 y e a r s.
In 2008, I was, in fact, one of those rabid little Twilight fan girls. I was worse - I was one of those Midnight Sun crusaders.
For those who don't know, the short story is, SM wrote the first third-ish of Midnight Sun and then shared it with several alpha readers. One of them leaked the story and, after a struggle, SM eventually decided to post what she had online and leave the project alone for a while (or possibly forever, we thought).
I continued to read the draft long after I stopped being a Twilight fan (although this whole... adventure has perhaps reconverted me in a very interesting new way), even reading it most recently in spring 2019 - peep my 2019 Reading Challenge to see that OG draft! - months before the release announcement. So, coming in, I knew the first chunk of the story extraordinarily well. Well enough, in fact, that I know what was changed from first draft to publication, which says an awful lot about my middle school reading habits, unfortunately.
Lightning round critique before I get into my biggest commentary:
-Very unhealthy
-0/10 do not recommend this romantic relationship, 12/10 for angst level
-Edward is a Dumb Dumb Idiot Boy and Bella is obsessive
-Edward's emo phase could single-handedly keep Hot Topic in business
There's an attempted thematic metaphor about Persephone and pomegranates, but, honestly, it really didn't hit home in my opinion. It was a bit too forced and it felt quite repetitive after a while.
Also, that church scene towards the end? That ain't it, chief. It reminded me a little of some of those Christian murder mystery books you often find free on Kindle, where the main character just stops doing everything for five pages to pray to God. When your main character gets free ebook vibes, you know you're on the wrong track.
I have a feeling I'm going to be treating that the same way I treat all the God/Jesus bits in Jane Eyre... Just very gently skip over them and pretend they're not there, lol.
My feelings about most of the main cast remained the same in the transition from the original quartet to Midnight Sun.
Bella, as always, is fine. I've heard several people say they really disliked her after this book, but I thought she was fine. The relationship with both her parents is unhealthy to the extreme, but at least Edward is aware of that particular flaw.
I found it interesting that we absolutely learn more about Bella than we do in Twilight. The questions conversation that she breezes through in the original book is here almost in entirety. Unfortunately, Edward spends a lot of time making a list about Bella's personality, and he does a lot of telling, rather than letting her actions speak for herself. He tells us all sorts of things about her personality that are barely apparent to legitimately nonexistent in the original books.
Alice's characterization was unfortunately lacking, for being Edward's closest sibling. About halfway through the book, Edward describes their first meeting - Spoilerwhen he and Emmett come home, Alice throws herself into his arms and thinks about all the possible futures they have together. Rather than questioning this, getting to know her, he immediately accepts it. This interaction colors quite a bit of their interactions through the rest of the story. SM relies too heavily on the implication that Edward, and likely the reader, already loves or really likes Alice from pervious books, so she doesn't spend much time developing her. A big disappointment.
I also wish Emmett had gotten more characterization. To be fair, he's pretty straightforward, though, and I adore him. He is Best Boi™ hands down.
However, I was thrilled by all the Jasper page time. He got some awesome moments, and the much extended use of his powers was absolutely excellent. If you're a Jasper fan, honestly read this just for his page time. So good.
With Rosalie... I tried. I really did.
I've never particularly liked Rosalie - her personal beliefs diverge sharply from my own, but we'll get to that in a minute. But one of my friends tried really hard to convince me she wasn't that bad just as I started reading, so I tried really hard to have an open mind. But I, in fact, hated her even more than I did in Breaking Dawn which is really saying something. She's so antithetical to my own personal values - she's vain, she's jealous, she loves attention... she hates being a vampire.
I think she failed so spectacularly for me in this volume simply because SM does a terrible job of convincing me it's bad to be a vampire. Being a vampire sounds cool. You're smarter, faster, stronger... So what if you can't go out in sunlight? I barely do that already. Don't sleep? Time to read more books and watch every movie I've been meaning to watch! Can't have kids? Oh, thank God, now I won't have to make that choice later in life...
Going to Hell? Well, I was raised Jewish and am an agnostic, so SM and I have very different opinions on the concept of souls and Hell. I think I'll take my chances.
So, even if I despise Rosalie, she definitely inspires feelings.
Unfortunately, this brings me to Esme and Carlisle.
Esme is literally the most boring vampire ever. This woman is made of cardboard. Similarly to Alice, I feel like we're supposed to love her purely because we're supposed to love her. All she does is think things at Edward and ineffectually mother him and then look at Carlisle. When someone says the word "Help Meet," I think of Esme and that is not a compliment.
Carlisle's criminal lack of character exploration was not necessarily as personally offensive as it was about Alice. He's a father figure, so I suppose keeping him at arm's length can be appropriate at times. But I really felt he was underutilized throughout the series, so it wasn't that big of a change.
Hands down, I thought the use of vampire powers was the best part of this book. Not only did it explore Edward more fully, there were some genuinely fantastic scenes about Alice's future-telling. (Especially towards the end. I feel like in the driving scene in Phoenix might be off-putting to some readers, but I was completely enraptured.)
And don't even get me started on how cool Jasper's powers are.
But I'm a slut for magic systems, so this exploration was completely welcomed.
Having written this plot once before, SM was able to really dig deep and explain all the little parts we missed originally. Whether she knew what happened at the time or thought it up later, I don't think it really matters, because it genuinely worked for me. From all the little vampire moments and thought conversations to the choreography of the chase and the fight with James, they finally fit together. SpoilerAnd we finally got an explanation for whether Edward's eyes turned red or not! I was literally discussing that two days ago, so I'm glad I got my answer.
SM and I disagree on several extremely significant issues that come up in Twilight, but mostly child-bearing and fertility. It frustrates me to no end that both Esme and Rosalie see the ability to bear a child as the pinnacle of femininity, the peak of their entire lives. That they want to foist their own insecurities on Bella, who is 17-years-old and still in high school, is particularly appalling to me. While motherhood is obviously important to many women, it is not and should never be the end-all-be-all of your life as a woman. Although it wasn't really touched on here, previously in these books, SM has made some unpleasant commentary about being infertile making a specific character feel like "less" of a woman and I still think about that a lot...
It's difficult to call something like this a "flaw" when it's really just an expression of her sincerely held beliefs. But they run opposite to my own, and many other people's, so it's important to question the role this mentality plays throughout the series.
Despite ALL (or any) of that, I love this book. I had the absolute best time reading this. I've started rereading the rest of the series, too. Even with all my griping and moaning, I adore this. I know what's wrong with Edward but I don't care. I love him and I love how stupid he is, and this is the most fun I've had in months.
I am absolutely overjoyed to own a copy of this book and I guarantee you will see me rereading it within the next 12 months.
A note: the star rating of this book has absolutely nothing to do with whatever quality of writing may or may not be found within its covers and literally everything to do with how I feel about finally reading this BOOK.
Also, this cover? Atrocious. But, like, in a very enjoyable way. Definitely makes me feel those nostalgic late-2000s vibe.
Strap in for a long review, kids...
I have literally been waiting for this book for 12 years. 1 2 y e a r s.
In 2008, I was, in fact, one of those rabid little Twilight fan girls. I was worse - I was one of those Midnight Sun crusaders.
For those who don't know, the short story is, SM wrote the first third-ish of Midnight Sun and then shared it with several alpha readers. One of them leaked the story and, after a struggle, SM eventually decided to post what she had online and leave the project alone for a while (or possibly forever, we thought).
I continued to read the draft long after I stopped being a Twilight fan (although this whole... adventure has perhaps reconverted me in a very interesting new way), even reading it most recently in spring 2019 - peep my 2019 Reading Challenge to see that OG draft! - months before the release announcement. So, coming in, I knew the first chunk of the story extraordinarily well. Well enough, in fact, that I know what was changed from first draft to publication, which says an awful lot about my middle school reading habits, unfortunately.
Lightning round critique before I get into my biggest commentary:
-Very unhealthy
-0/10 do not recommend this romantic relationship, 12/10 for angst level
-Edward is a Dumb Dumb Idiot Boy and Bella is obsessive
-Edward's emo phase could single-handedly keep Hot Topic in business
There's an attempted thematic metaphor about Persephone and pomegranates, but, honestly, it really didn't hit home in my opinion. It was a bit too forced and it felt quite repetitive after a while.
Also, that church scene towards the end? That ain't it, chief. It reminded me a little of some of those Christian murder mystery books you often find free on Kindle, where the main character just stops doing everything for five pages to pray to God. When your main character gets free ebook vibes, you know you're on the wrong track.
I have a feeling I'm going to be treating that the same way I treat all the God/Jesus bits in Jane Eyre... Just very gently skip over them and pretend they're not there, lol.
My feelings about most of the main cast remained the same in the transition from the original quartet to Midnight Sun.
Bella, as always, is fine. I've heard several people say they really disliked her after this book, but I thought she was fine. The relationship with both her parents is unhealthy to the extreme, but at least Edward is aware of that particular flaw.
I found it interesting that we absolutely learn more about Bella than we do in Twilight. The questions conversation that she breezes through in the original book is here almost in entirety. Unfortunately, Edward spends a lot of time making a list about Bella's personality, and he does a lot of telling, rather than letting her actions speak for herself. He tells us all sorts of things about her personality that are barely apparent to legitimately nonexistent in the original books.
Alice's characterization was unfortunately lacking, for being Edward's closest sibling. About halfway through the book, Edward describes their first meeting - Spoilerwhen he and Emmett come home, Alice throws herself into his arms and thinks about all the possible futures they have together. Rather than questioning this, getting to know her, he immediately accepts it. This interaction colors quite a bit of their interactions through the rest of the story. SM relies too heavily on the implication that Edward, and likely the reader, already loves or really likes Alice from pervious books, so she doesn't spend much time developing her. A big disappointment.
I also wish Emmett had gotten more characterization. To be fair, he's pretty straightforward, though, and I adore him. He is Best Boi™ hands down.
However, I was thrilled by all the Jasper page time. He got some awesome moments, and the much extended use of his powers was absolutely excellent. If you're a Jasper fan, honestly read this just for his page time. So good.
With Rosalie... I tried. I really did.
I've never particularly liked Rosalie - her personal beliefs diverge sharply from my own, but we'll get to that in a minute. But one of my friends tried really hard to convince me she wasn't that bad just as I started reading, so I tried really hard to have an open mind. But I, in fact, hated her even more than I did in Breaking Dawn which is really saying something. She's so antithetical to my own personal values - she's vain, she's jealous, she loves attention... she hates being a vampire.
I think she failed so spectacularly for me in this volume simply because SM does a terrible job of convincing me it's bad to be a vampire. Being a vampire sounds cool. You're smarter, faster, stronger... So what if you can't go out in sunlight? I barely do that already. Don't sleep? Time to read more books and watch every movie I've been meaning to watch! Can't have kids? Oh, thank God, now I won't have to make that choice later in life...
Going to Hell? Well, I was raised Jewish and am an agnostic, so SM and I have very different opinions on the concept of souls and Hell. I think I'll take my chances.
So, even if I despise Rosalie, she definitely inspires feelings.
Unfortunately, this brings me to Esme and Carlisle.
Esme is literally the most boring vampire ever. This woman is made of cardboard. Similarly to Alice, I feel like we're supposed to love her purely because we're supposed to love her. All she does is think things at Edward and ineffectually mother him and then look at Carlisle. When someone says the word "Help Meet," I think of Esme and that is not a compliment.
Carlisle's criminal lack of character exploration was not necessarily as personally offensive as it was about Alice. He's a father figure, so I suppose keeping him at arm's length can be appropriate at times. But I really felt he was underutilized throughout the series, so it wasn't that big of a change.
Hands down, I thought the use of vampire powers was the best part of this book. Not only did it explore Edward more fully, there were some genuinely fantastic scenes about Alice's future-telling. (Especially towards the end. I feel like in the driving scene in Phoenix might be off-putting to some readers, but I was completely enraptured.)
And don't even get me started on how cool Jasper's powers are.
But I'm a slut for magic systems, so this exploration was completely welcomed.
Having written this plot once before, SM was able to really dig deep and explain all the little parts we missed originally. Whether she knew what happened at the time or thought it up later, I don't think it really matters, because it genuinely worked for me. From all the little vampire moments and thought conversations to the choreography of the chase and the fight with James, they finally fit together. SpoilerAnd we finally got an explanation for whether Edward's eyes turned red or not! I was literally discussing that two days ago, so I'm glad I got my answer.
SM and I disagree on several extremely significant issues that come up in Twilight, but mostly child-bearing and fertility. It frustrates me to no end that both Esme and Rosalie see the ability to bear a child as the pinnacle of femininity, the peak of their entire lives. That they want to foist their own insecurities on Bella, who is 17-years-old and still in high school, is particularly appalling to me. While motherhood is obviously important to many women, it is not and should never be the end-all-be-all of your life as a woman. Although it wasn't really touched on here, previously in these books, SM has made some unpleasant commentary about being infertile making a specific character feel like "less" of a woman and I still think about that a lot...
It's difficult to call something like this a "flaw" when it's really just an expression of her sincerely held beliefs. But they run opposite to my own, and many other people's, so it's important to question the role this mentality plays throughout the series.
Despite ALL (or any) of that, I love this book. I had the absolute best time reading this. I've started rereading the rest of the series, too. Even with all my griping and moaning, I adore this. I know what's wrong with Edward but I don't care. I love him and I love how stupid he is, and this is the most fun I've had in months.
I am absolutely overjoyed to own a copy of this book and I guarantee you will see me rereading it within the next 12 months.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Stalking, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Animal death, Sexual violence, and Sexual harassment
Minor: Pedophilia, Rape, and Sexual assault
unloveliest's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
sad
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
1.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Stalking, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Murder, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Animal death, Child abuse, Confinement, Cursing, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Grief, Cultural appropriation, Toxic friendship, and Abandonment
ashleyvharris's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
God. This book ruined me. I knew that reading from Edward’s perspective was going to be mentally taxing, but this was almost painful at times. His constant inner turmoil over his romantic feelings and bloodlust for Bella was like a tidal wave that refuses to let you come up for air; every time he had a gentle, pure thought, it was marred by his agony.
Although his narration lines up closely with what I’d imagined of Edward during the original saga, it confirms that his mind is an unbearable place to be.
Although his narration lines up closely with what I’d imagined of Edward during the original saga, it confirms that his mind is an unbearable place to be.
For all the depression, angst, and agony, there were some truly sweet moments that were worth reading from his perspective. His description of the joy he felt after confessing everything to Bella was so sweet and endearing. Not to mention his humor surrounding Bella and her “suitors”.
And look, I know he can’t read her mind like everyone else, but he is so dumb for a vampire. He was confused by every thought Bella ever had. How has this man been alive over a century and he doesn’t understand the physical cues of human attraction?
My absolute favorite thing about this book was the new scenes of the Cullen family and their perspective on events from Twilight. The way that Emmett was so immediately protective of Bella despite Rosalie’s anger toward her? Heartwarming. The way Jasper wanted to be around Edward and Bella because of how strong and enjoyable their emotions were? Adorable.
If you’re wondering what scene ruined me most thoroughly? Edward’s internal explanation for taking her to prom. Destroyed me. Highly recommend if you’re a masochist :)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, and Blood
Moderate: Animal death, Death, Violence, Medical content, Grief, Stalking, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence
gabyhat's review against another edition
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Animal death, Chronic illness, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Car accident
chloevienna's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
i know this is a star above average but i am an absolute whore for twilight and always have been
Content Warnings
Minor: Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Cursing, Death, Miscarriage, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail
tagged warning stuff that was even barely mentioned in passing - everyone has dark backstories so i wanted to be thorough!!cdt96's review against another edition
challenging
dark
funny
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Though a great addition to the saga, Edwards constant self loathing becomes tedious. Overall though a good read, took some time to gain progress as it's slow to start. Having not read the books since 2010, the return to the twilight universe was nostalgic and warm.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Death, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Blood, Medical content, Stalking, Car accident, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Animal death, Child abuse, Death, Gore, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Car accident, Murder, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Medical trauma, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Abandonment
mariamorrone's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal death, Body horror, Death, Gore, Mental illness, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Murder, and Abandonment
er1nmoore's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Misogyny, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Grief, Stalking, Murder, and Sexual harassment
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Genocide, Suicidal thoughts, Medical content, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, and Toxic friendship
Minor: Ableism, Confinement, Pedophilia, Racism, Forced institutionalization, Car accident, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Fire/Fire injury
luluslittlelibrary's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
lighthearted
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
This is one of the worst books I have ever read... I cannot express how much I love it. It is like 99% of Edward's inner monologue, it goes on so long, none of it makes any sense, and it just adds to how awful Edwards and Bellas relationship was. Here are a few of my favorite parts I would like to mention:
Maybe I was wrong. But if I was right... how exasperating! How endearing! Her life had never been in deeeper peril, but she still cared that I, the very menace threatening her life, liked her appearance.
Can we just look at that writing? Was it written by a twelve-year-old with a thesaurus? Additionally, it must be noted that the thing that triggered Edward to think this was Bella blow-drying her hair the night before the meadow.
I watched her as she lifted her face to the light rain, with her eyes closed, a slight smile on her lips, what was she thinking? Something about this action seemed off. And I quickly realized why this posture seemed unfamilar to me - normal human girls wouldn't raise their faces to the drizzle that way, normal human girls usually use makup, even here in this wet place. Bella never wore makeup, nor should she. The cosmetics indestry made billions of dollars a year from women tring to attain skin like hers.
I'll just let you sit with that. (also I know the punctuation is a mess, I didn't copy it directly from the book)
Also, Edward justifies stalking Bella and watching her sleep by bringing up all of the other crimes his family has committed.
Also, Edward justifies stalking Bella and watching her sleep by bringing up all of the other crimes his family has committed.
Lastly, the car scene when they are driving to save Bella in Arizona:
When they get to phoenix, the Cullens steal cars to get to Bella. The first car is a Subaru WRX STI (it's like a really fast race car). And despite Edward being able to see in his mind that Bella is about to die, he is still freaking out about this car, he's going 195 mph and is totally geeking out over it. But then the police set up a roadblock on the highway because of Edward's speeding, so they half to steal another car. So they steal this Porsche, by making this woman get out of her car, have Carlisle sedate her with a needle he just happened to have on hand and lay her on the side of the highway. Then they have Emmett pick up the Subaru and throw it across the highway to cause a huge pileup so that they can get to bella....... like what?!
When they get to phoenix, the Cullens steal cars to get to Bella. The first car is a Subaru WRX STI (it's like a really fast race car). And despite Edward being able to see in his mind that Bella is about to die, he is still freaking out about this car, he's going 195 mph and is totally geeking out over it. But then the police set up a roadblock on the highway because of Edward's speeding, so they half to steal another car. So they steal this Porsche, by making this woman get out of her car, have Carlisle sedate her with a needle he just happened to have on hand and lay her on the side of the highway. Then they have Emmett pick up the Subaru and throw it across the highway to cause a huge pileup so that they can get to bella....... like what?!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Death, Gore, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Stalking, and Car accident
Moderate: Animal death
sj_54's review against another edition
emotional
tense
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
3.5
I felt I owed it to my younger self to read this.
It was even angstier than I remembered the books being, and as a distraction it definitely did the trick.
No regrets, wouldn't read again but worth the trip down memory lane, and a few laughs at how ridiculously over the top, stalkery, and dramatic Edward is.
How did we ever believe this couple was the paragon of relationships? Seriously, what were we thinking (oh wait we were teenagers).
It was even angstier than I remembered the books being, and as a distraction it definitely did the trick.
No regrets, wouldn't read again but worth the trip down memory lane, and a few laughs at how ridiculously over the top, stalkery, and dramatic Edward is.
How did we ever believe this couple was the paragon of relationships? Seriously, what were we thinking (oh wait we were teenagers).
Content Warnings
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Torture, Blood, Stalking, and Murder
Minor: Animal death