A review by jessicabearbooks
Twilight by Stephenie Meyer

dark lighthearted mysterious tense slow-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

4.0

"When life offers you a dream so far beyond any of your expectations, it’s not reasonable to grieve when it comes to an end.”

Firstly, I just want to start by saying, if you want to read twilight...read it. Don't go scrolling through the negative reviews because you'll end up going into the series with an expectation and most likely will have that expectation fulfilled, because it's what you've been told you'll find. I've found that for me, the biggest issue around twilight is a lot of the people who 'hate it with a passion' and think the series is 'silly' and 'badly written', are people who have either: never read the series before, or went into it already hating twilight because that's what we've been taught to think. I don't have a problem with people not liking a book, I just don't understand why society has to embarrass girls and women for liking something? Especially something as simple and innocent as twilight.

Ok. Now into the actual review: I loved this book. I've fallen in love with this story and these characters. After watching the films years ago, I've always wanted to read the books and thought this October/November was finally the perfect time! I was a little worried that I would find the story a little 'childish', but at age 20, I still found I could relate heavily to Bella, and actually enjoyed the romance between Bella and Edward. However that being said, there were plenty of cringy moments, and chapters where I felt perhaps 16 year old Jess would've eaten this up a little more than third year uni student Jess.

I've never read a book that has so many details! At times it was odd to be reading about what Bella ate for breakfast, but I actually really enjoy Stephenie's writing style here. Knowing exactly how Bella opened her car door and drove to school actually made me feel more immersed in the story, as though I was actually stood beside Bella through each scene, feeling her every emotion. There's also so much beautiful imagery that really made me want to go to Forks and stand in the middle of the forest too.

Don't get me wrong, there were moments in this book that I wasn't really a fan of - Edward's annoying lack of communication when he's frustrated, Bella is lowkey boring, The story didn't really get going until the last sixty pages, the whole 'this is the skin of a killer Bella' when dude literally sparkles , the anti-feminism (Bella having to cook and clean for Charlie, Bella wanting to end her future for a boy she just met)... 
But I enjoyed it. There's a real sense of nostalgia from this series despite the fact I'm reading them for the first time. I don't want to leave these characters (especially Alice). I don't want this story to end.
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