Reviews

Midnight Sun by Stephenie Meyer

jeni_martini's review against another edition

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3.0

DISCLAIMER: as a previous twi-hard teen, this review may be slightly biased but bear with me. i liked this book way more than i expected. i picked it up as a gift to my past self, to indulge in my guiltiest of pleasures from my youth, and yet it still captured me (i'm a sucker for nostalgia). while this is "from edward's perspective," his ability to read minds kind of makes it "from everyone else's perspective" which gives way more insight to the events of the original twilight series. the book was potentially too long and drawn out (their first kiss doesn't even occur until over halfway through) but part of me LOVED that there was just that much more hopeless romantic/dramatic/angsty content. i do genuinely hope stephanie continues with the rest of the twilight series...

tayparks's review against another edition

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emotional mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

sarah4socialism's review against another edition

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5.0

I loved this book, and it pieced together what was going through Edward’s mind at the end of Twilight to leaving early in New Moon. I’m disheartened to know Meyers won’t be continuing the series from Edward’s point of view.

priyaarcharya's review against another edition

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dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

netflix_and_lil's review against another edition

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1.0

Wow, Jake Abel really will do anything.

Reaching the final chapter of this felt like coming to the border of an immense desert, before shortly realising that the end was a mirage because I had another HOUR LONG chapter to get through before this little burst of nostalgia finished for me.

Maybe one star is a little harsh because it's not like this was the worst thing I ever put myself through in the name of an expansive literary education. Stephanie Meyer can write (sometimes) and I did find myself enjoying parts of Midnight Sun unironically, mostly when the romance got shelved in favour of vampire shit.

But the whole thing was marred by BOREDOM. While I can forgive stories for being ridiculous, overindulgent, poorly constructed, and two-dimensional, I cannot stand being bored. The writer priorities as to what we needed to know every detail of and what was glossed over were all wrong for my personal enjoyment. The best example of how Midnight Sun achieves this lackadaisical feel would be the simple fact that the first kiss chapter was 107 MINUTES LONG while the climax was all of two lines; basically, 'I surprised James and threw him to a side character so I could get back to the unimportant stuff'. I get that she was limited by what had already happened in Twilight but COME ON.

The absurd length of this book was so unnecessary. Was she being paid by the word? It felt like for every line of dialogue there was three pages of dissecting.

Also thank you, Midnight Sun, for reminding me how terrible Edward is. I had started to wonder why I ever hated him. Answer; he is a predatory, overprotective, opportunistic incel who ignores almost all of what Bella wants (when he isn't openly laughing at her for it). Like seriously, slow down your car and make your girlfriend feel a little safer, ffs.

Also, really tiny thing but I really didn't like the retcon that he was responsible for Angela and Ben, the only healthy couple in all of Twilight, getting together. I don't know why it was included and I hated how crowbarred in it felt. Maybe to make up for how much time Edward spent invading the privacy of, judging and actively despising these 'children' - his title, not mine. Didn't miss that they were all the same age as his girlfriend either, but that's another conversation. Hasn't Stephanie Meyer ever heard the rule of vampire romance? 'Don't mention the age gap'? I mean props to her for breaking the mould but also, ick.

In conclusion, why? Why was this released in the year 2021? Why did I commit 26 hours of my life to it? And why did is my first long-form review in months about a book I actively disliked?

I'm glad so many seemed to have a blast with it, but I'm left with only regrets. And why.

alyxbock's review against another edition

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dark medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character

2.5

megan5chase's review against another edition

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Way too descriptive, couldn’t get past Edward’s thoughts 

creativekristi's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny mysterious slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

krazycatmom's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective 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

4.0

cowboylikestoread43's review against another edition

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

4.0