Eclipse (The Twilight Saga, 3)

The romance intensifies, becoming very poignant and bittersweet, in this third installment of The Twilight Saga, which I have read for the third time, because I simply can't get enough of it! In fact, I have embarked upon a third re-reading of the entire Saga. Edward has returned to Bella's life, so Jacob informs her that he can no longer be her friend... Initially, Edward forbids Bella from trying to go to La Push to visit Jacob so as to heal their friendship. He even 'bribes' Alice to 'kidnap' her, which ultimately doesn't work. Edward finally decides that trying to prevent Bella from seeing her friend will only make her suffer, as she cares deeply for Jacob. Just how deeply, however, she herself is not aware of....until very dramatic events ensue toward the last third of the book, and Bella has to admit, at last, that she's in love with Jacob, as well, although she does love Edward more. Conflict is slowly brewing in this novel, and not just because of the love triangle. It seems that someone is rapidly creating a small army of newborn vampires that have begun to ravage Seattle. The Cullens decide they must intervene, fearing that the Volturi will step in. They don't do so right away, however, as other, more ordinary human events, prevent them from leaving Forks unnoticed. This novel gives the reader more background on the two groups that have become open antagonists -- the Cullens and the Quileutes. I was fascinated by the stories of Rosalie's and Jasper's transformations into vampires, although the acts of violence in their individual stories did make me quite uncomfortable. These were, thankfully, glossed over in the movie version of the novel. The stories did serve to flesh out these two characters, though. (Besides, they finally came across the Cullens, and embraced a non-violent lifestyle, refraining from killing humans.) I wonder why Meyer didn't do the same for the other members of the Cullen family, but then, perhaps the book would have become too cumbersome. Equally fascinating were the Quileute legends, told by a roaring campfire, with Bella in attendance. Billy started the storytelling, which was then taken over by old Quil Ateara, grandfather of the younger Quil, one of the werewolves. The stories dealt with the origin of the Quileute tribe, of how they had spirit warriors that later on became werewolves. These warriors were always protectors of the tribe, and their mission continued when they became able to shapeshift into wolves. I was especially interested in, as well as saddened by, the story of "the third wife", which, ironically enough, would have later repercussions in the novel. The dialogues between Edward and Bella, as well as those between Jacob and Bella, are the most poignant I've yet come across in this series. Edward loves Bella so much that he refrains from hurting Jacob, so as not to hurt her. Although it's painful for him to realize just how much the werewolf means to his girlfriend, he endures the pain, even going as far as asking Bella if she is truly happy with choosing him over Jacob. Bella realizes, for the first time, that Jacob would have been perfect for her, had Edward not been in the picture. Meyer gives her readers a fleeting glimpse of what could have been. That brief scene is a very touching one, too. As the danger from the vampires in Seattle escalates, an unusual and uneasy alliance is formed between the two groups that had until then been total enemies. They trust each other rather grudgingly, but still, it's very gratifying to see them working together. As Bella herself states, at several points in the story, there's no need for the Cullens and the Quileutes to be at war with each other. And so it is that Meyer begins to cleverly set things up for the events of the last novel in the Saga -- Breaking Dawn. I love that she did this! It's beautiful to see this alliance unfolding, as well. And it's Bella who is the catalyst in this developing state of affairs. Although the pacing in this book was a bit slower than that of the two previous ones -- at least for the first third of it -- I enjoyed it immensely! It's just that Meyer is tremendously skilled at creating very real, very believable characters that the reader can come to love. This reader certainly did! The conflicts and entanglements these fictional people are involved in became my conflicts and entanglements, as well. I know that, as I read, I felt their feelings, thought their thoughts, and was swept right along with them in the plot's intensely romantic angst.... The unfolding story of Edward, Bella, and Jacob -- The Twilight Saga -- is the romantic masterpiece of our time. It is also a dramatic tale involving complex existential themes that engage the intellect just as much as they enthrall the heart and mesmerize the soul. There will definitely be a fourth re-reading in my future! Stephenie Meyer has woven a permanent spell for me, one I have no desire to break....

I hade to read this book after reading the first two books in the series because I didn't want it to end and I wanted to know what was going to happen. I wouldn't say that Stephanie Meyer is the best writer but she really knows how to captivate you with the telling of her stories. I don't currently own this book but I hope to when it comes out in Paperback. Bella and Edward have been through a lot in the last two books so this books feels like it should be about them getting to be together and things going their way. Of course, they have to deal with Jacob, the werewolf best friend to Bella who is continually claiming his love for her. One of the things I love most about Bella is her inability to stay unharmed. She is the biggest clutz I have ever encountered in any story and it really does make things funny. Edward on the other hand is the most moral vampire you will ever come across because he wants love, marriage and intimate relations in that order. And you would think with all his concern and straight forward honesty, Charlie (Bella's dad) would just love him, but alas he can't get over the heartbreak in New Moon. I have to mention Jacob again because I really liked him and I guess I still do but in this book he really steps over the line. He pretty much forces a kiss on Bella and then gives her an ultimatium about his life which doesn't go over very well. He also forces Bella into an assumption about her feelings that doesn't really ring true to me. Yes, Bella loves Jacob because he is her best friend but somehow what Jacob wants her to feel doesn't see so plausible because no matter what he thinks she wants Edward and there is no stopping her. There are some really great mischeivious moments with Bella and Alice and we get to know the La Push Werewolves a little bettter which I like. I'm a total fan of Seth because he's such a sweetie and he paw high-fives Edward. We also learn a little more about the whole imprinting thing and while it is strange and in some cases really wierd it is also a nice touch and very similar to what the vampires experience when they find their mates. This has to be one of the best of the series. I loved Twilight but this one is right up there with it because I like Edward's overprotective nature and his bride to Alice. I also love that we get to know a little more about the Cullen Clan. This series is totally worth it. Go for it.

This was easily my least of the Twilight books so far. The story was fine for the most part, but god damn, Jacob and Bella pissed me off so much throughout this book. Jacob wouldn't take no for an answer and kept forcing himself on Bella. Bella kept going back to him even though she knew he loved her and would keep being weird. Like she was so disrespectful to Edward throughout the entire story. Yes, he messed up bad in New Moon by abandoning her. But she did pick him again so this was all just stupid on her part. Also Charlie was annoying as all hell too with his obvious preference towards Jacob even though Bella was dating Edward again. Like are you really pushing your daughter to cheat on her boyfriend? Idk, overall the book was good, but I hated most of the Jacob and Bella moments together. Also, Alice is still by far the best character in the whole story. She is amazing.

*originally written in August 2007 and MAY contain spoilers* I finished reading Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer about twenty minutes ago. I've been reading it all day. It's the kind of book where you only put it down if you have to, and even if it means you only got 4 hours of sleep that night, you are waking up early to continue reading it. I'd read that a lot of readers were disappointed and even angry at what happened in the book. The love triangle, of course. But I don't understand, don't they see beyond that? The struggle, the anguish, life? Life isn't about soulmates and love is complicated. They hated that Bella loved Jacob too and was torn between him and Edward, but I don't understand that either. Bella will always choose Edward, it is inevitable. She loved him first and she'll love him last. If she had loved Jacob first...but she didn't. For the past three books she has loved Edward more, he was her life. It would be series suicide to change that course. But didn't they feel any remorse for Jacob? You knew he loved Bella but you also knew that it would never be anything more than what might have been. Jacob is better for Bella. Her future would be better with him. The way Stephenie Meyer describes what these vampires are like....their entire bodies are as hard as rock and cold as ice. I can't picture Bella like this. No, I don't want her to become a vampire. I want her to be with Edward, I do...but I wish there was a way for Edward to become human again. I posed this question to some readers, if both choices were possible, would you rather Bella become a vampire or Edward become human again? Can you believe that they all said vampire? It's like...they just see the surface, or maybe I read too deep. They want Bella to give up her humanity, and they don't want her to love Jacob. Maybe it's cause they are young, I can tell that they were cause of their grammar and spelling. lol. Maybe it's because I'm older, not necessarily in age, but in wisdom, that I have this view. Love triangles are real and they hurt, because it's supposed to hurt someone or everyone. Not everyone can win in a love triangle, usually no one does. What would the victory be if your choice caused someone else pain? No, love triangles have sharp corners and they pierce. But...I've never had a book affect me the way this one did. When I read a book that I'm really into, I associate with the heroine. I feel her anguish, her joy, her anger, and her sadness. Sometimes so much that it might make tears gather in my eyes. But this book...Bella, Edward, and Jacob....I felt them all. By the end of the book I was bawling, and I'm still affected. But somehow at the end, all the pain I feel is for Jacob. I grieve for him. Bella and Edward have it all figured out, they are closed off. But Jacob...I do believe he loved her from the start. And most of all, I'm extremely uncertain about what is going to happen in Breaking Dawn. With New Moon and Eclipse....we had an idea. But Breaking Dawn, there isn't even a blurb written for it yet. Why, I don't even know if Stephenie Meyer has started writing it yet, last I checked it was still in outline stage. It won't be out until fall of next year...that is a long time. More than a year. Will I even care by then? Of course I will. I'm affected now and I have to know how it ends. And most of all, I want Jacob to have a happy ending, but without Edward losing his. But I'm still amazed how this book affected me, how I still want to cry for Jacob even though I'm done reading it. All authors dream of their readers getting moved like this. Because it means that they got in your heart somehow and that it was no longer reading as a hobby or as pleasure, but an addiction. I have to know how the story ends. And even if it ends in a way I don't like or don't expect, that doesn't matter, because the story will still be over. No more. And I imagine this sounds pathetic if you've never felt this way about a book before and you must think that I'm a loser weirdo. But I wish I could just share with you a little bit of what I felt, then maybe you would understand. You probably could even relate. I just know that this book was good. And for the record, at times I hate Bella's character. Her selfishness, lack of confidence, and her clingyness. BUT, as much as we dislike her, she's real. It may seem over the top to you, but there are teenage girls out there who are JUST like this, and older women too. Sometimes I dislike Edward too, just because he doesn't seem real. It wasn't until Eclipse that he started ACTING like a boyfriend. There are quirks about each character that rub me the wrong way, but overall, I won't stop reading the series because of that. I HAVE to know how it ends. lol.

When I read Twilight, I fell totally in love with Edward - the vampire who doesn't want to be a monster, who defies his thirst for Bella's blood so adamantly, who dares love the human being most tempting to his hunting side. I always felt Edward's love for Bella was more real than hers for him... she actually seems more obssessed with his scent, his beauty, his voice and all the other irresistable physical things. New Moon brought in Jacob, and I was mesmerised (hey, I like tall dark & most importantly WARM men more, as any normal human being would...). While Twilight depicted an intense, surreal and emotional love story (on Edward's part anyway), New Moon brought about a more real, believable and comfortable relationship between Bella and Jake. Bella's interactions with Jake were very interesting and warming, although her grievances over Edward were a bit far-fetched. At the time, I was happy to see her back with Edward, until the end of the book where she leaves Jake in the woods. I was restlessly waiting for the third book, to see them make up and to see Bella keep her friendship as well as her love. Eclipse was far better than the first two books for reasons below; 1. Bella shows some backbone and runs off to see Jake twice; finally some attitude from the mushy herione whose only objective in life, till that point, was to keep Edward happy at the cost of anything. 2. More iteraction between Jake & Edward; I loved every time these 2 got together - vampire & werewolf figting over one girl. SMeyer definitely knows how to write dialogues; the part where Jakes kisses Bella in La Push and the subsequent showdown between him and Edward is hilarious. Another one is the scene in the tent, where Jake forces his 6'7 body in the same sleeping bag with Bella and the conversation that follows. Not to forget Edward's grudging admiration for Jake when he tricks Bella into kissing him... 3. Jake finally fighting for what he wants; Bella. I loved the way he confessed his love for her and asked her to choose him over Edward. The kiss that followed was intense, but funny at the time. 4. Bella finally realising that Jake is more than just her friend. Painful to read honestly, but my sympaties are with Jake only. 5. The ending written from Jake's perspective... I must say I was depressed over how the book ended, and am waiting for the next book (I wonder if SMeyer will speed it up just for her fans...). Now I feel a thorn in my side, like Jake will be running around as wolf until the next book comes. Who will Bella choose? As Alice said, to choose between 2 good things... By the end of Eclipse, I wanted her to choose Jake until I re-read Twilight and New Moon. Now I'm as clueless as ever...

Stephenie Meyers wrote the series to be about the obsession of first love and targeted primarily at mid teen girls and the first two books of the series are weaker for it in my opinion. Bella is a blank slate character who doesn't begin to really fill out personality-wise really until this third book. In many ways she comes off as cold and callous in the first book because her mind is really only focused upon Edwards flawless face. It is not until the end of the book where she she is shown to be selfless in trying to protect her family. The same could be said in the second book except it remains to be all about Edward and a bit of Jacob where nothing else really matters and everyone else is secondary. It is in this third chapter of the series that we see her world expand more and we are given a bit more interaction with others not named Edward or Jacob. She shown to have fear a concern not just in passing but consistently for those around her. This I feel adds more deapth actually to the relationship between her and Edward. It is in this where we see the Love Story go beyond someone's flawless perfection or unreadable mind. We get to see the person instead of the blank slate. it is worth noting that when this book came out the series was really taking off and becoming a national craze. not only had the character of Bella growing older but so had the original readers. I think that is why the story is a bit more mature if still appropriate for the original core audience as it will remain throughout series for the most part. It may sound weird but it's very much like the shift that occurred in the Harry Potter series where it went from being aimed at a younger audience to growing up and becoming more mature as the audience and characters group. The promise of action and danger along with a mystery makes a story more compelling so that the romance is not the sole thing holding the story up. The love triangle that was commercialized to an extreme is shown not to be as in depth or prevalent in the story itself. it's there and there is angst but there's never really anything to it. If Edward and Bella is about the obsession of first love in Jacob and Bella is about the line between loving a friend too much to let go. For those on the fence of reading the book series I would say to do so simply to know what you're talkin about if it ever comes up in conversation. In truth it is not a bad story but it is one directed toward a certain audience and readers outside of the audience have to accept that. In the end I do think it comes down to the readers taste of what kind of character they want. Authors can either make the main character have a personality that is impactful and memorable or have one that is easier to slip into because there's nothing there but an outline for the reader to fill out themselves. I believe that those who dislike the series do so because they did not want a blank slate character but one that reached out to grab the reader's attention and pulled them along the story. perhaps this is why I enjoy the last two books more than the first two because the author has filled out the outline more so that Bella feels more like a complete character. This book contains no strong language or Gore. It is a fairly clean story with the romantics limited to kissing passionately.

Having never read the Twilight series in high school, I'm surprised by how much I love it! It's not about the exquisite writing; it's just a genuinely solid and enjoyable book that's easy to get lost in. The adaptations are remarkably faithful and well-done, making this a truly satisfying series.

I, like many others, awaited this book, anticpating Bella's immortal transformation and the Volurtio (sp?) visiting Forks to rush this life changing decision. I was also giddy to the point of hysterics at seeing the next development of Edward and Bella's beatiful and unique relationship further grow and deepen. Instead I was handed a six hundred page book of uncharacterized actions from unappealing lead roles and a soap opera love triangle that, to me, came out of absolutely nowhere. Bella, the main character, was supposed to be someone the average reader could relate to. She wasnt popular, over pretty, overtly talented at any one thing...she was so very human, you couldnt help but empathize with her. But in this part of the series, she became this whiney indecisive melodramatic codependent little girl. In the first book, Twilight, my absolute favorite, she stood above the people around her because she was oddly mature for her age. Her mother even mentioned her having the mind of a thirty five year old. In Eclipse, she becomes this reckless brat who stamps her foot under Edward's good sense and intentions. I was so incredibly disppointed with her lack of character development. She regressed completely and to me almost deserved Jacob compared to the selfless love Edward endlessly demonstrated. Jacob Black? Ugh. Tolerated him in NM because he helped Bella but I knew he was going to be a roadblock in this one. What I didnt know was that Bella was going to be stupid enough to fall for this pathetic immature jerk. He is everything that is wrong for her. Jacob is the antiEdward and he proved with every selfesh action and deed why he was and never will be good enough for Bella. Or so I thought until Bella kept disappointing me. Edward-um, why cant he be real? Lord. I cant be too peeved with SM and this book when she has created such an irrestible character in Edward. As a reader, you could practically feel his love for her emnating off each page. His love for her is defining and so overwhelming its hard to read without breaking down and crying. He more than proved himself worthy in Eclipse. I too was upset with how he left in NM but I knew his intentions were selfless. He has more than paid his dues and now I feel Bella is the one indebted to him. It was very hard to read Bella taking advantage of Edward the way she did, voluntary or not- she hurt him over and over. Just because he didnt hold it against her doesnt mean I didnt as a reader. All in all, I didnt understand the point of this addition. The first two books clearly show the building and obstacles of Edward and Bella's love. This book should have also tested that, but to throw in her falling in love with Jake did not add further drama. It took away the essential brillance of the story and why it drew people in to begin with. The whole "torn" card was unbelievable and completely out of left field. Realistically I couldnt comprehend how she could be in love with Edward to the point of complete absorbtion...the author spending two books proving that..only to have her torn in the last few chapters and practically settle for Edward. It was such a distribute to the whole of things. I didnt understand it and I still dont. I didnt know they were doing another book but if so, I hope these errors are rectified and then some because I was seriously scarred by the amount of disservice done to Edward and Bella. I am reading Twilight all over again just to make sure I wasnt delusional in my idea of what these two characters shared, lol.