Eclipse ~ Stephenie Meyer

eclipse.jpgStephenie Meyer’s Eclipse. We waited patiently for it. We read it as soon as we could get our hands on it. ta calmly enjoyed it; kimb8 was quietly dismayed; and inkonvellum wanted to throw it across the room.

Here is a collection of thoughts on the third installment in Stephenie Meyer’s best-selling young adult series…

{Be mindful, there might be minor spoilers. Nothing that would ruin the plot or give too much away, but just so you’re aware.}

ta’s thoughts…
Eclipse was not my favorite of the three. Why? It wasn’t as face paced as the others and I found the whole Jacob versus Edward thing too drawn out. I like Jacob very much, but I like Bella’s Jacob i.e. pre-werewolf. I found that Jacob was a little annoying in this book and I thought the kiss was inexcusable and punch-worthy. That being said, I also didn’t get all tingly when reading about Edward like I did in the past. I’m not sure why. I thought Jacob’s epilogue was sad, but I am a hopeless optimist when it comes to fiction. I believe that Jacob will go away for a while, but then he will come back more mature and maybe take his place as the alpha. He may also be able to imprint now that he doesn’t always have to think about Bella. I know that some people were really annoyed with Bella, but I still like her. She can be a little trying at times, but I love that she is so human – so stubborn and persistent. What I think I liked best about this book was some of the back-story. I found Rosalie’s story particularly compelling. I hope that the next book will have some of the things that I thought I would find in this one.

kimb8’s thoughts…
Eclipse picks up where New Moon left off. Bella and company are back in Forks and Bella is agonising over hmmm…Well, just about everything. First there’s graduation and the party that Alice is insisting on throwing for Bella. Then there’s Edward’s ultimatum that if Bella wishes for him to turn her then she must marry him first. Finally, there’s the whole Edward, Bella, Jacob triangle. I could probably list more reasons for Bella’s angst, but my fingers will cramp from all the typing. Bella really, really, REALLY annoyed me in this book. Honestly! By the time it ended I wanted Edward and Jacob to go and have a drink together and tell Bella to take a hike. The reason why I’m actually giving this 3 stars instead 2 is because I really liked the way Jacob’s character was developed in this story (although I hated the things that were done to him). I also liked getting more background info on the werewolves and vamps and why they hate each other. I will definitely read the next book, but I’m hoping Bella matures a little before then.

inkonvellum’s thoughts…
No. Just no. On so many levels. It does not bode well for the story when a first person narrator is annoying. But that’s what Bella insisted on being. Her motivations should have been clear – for the love of Pete, the reader was in her head! – but instead they were weak and did nothing to bolster this reader’s sympathy for her. And Edward, well…He was just a shell in these pages; a cold, manipulative one at that. It became painfully hard for me to understand the depth of emotion they supposedly shared, and if I couldn’t come to terms with it, couldn’t accept it, I couldn’t enjoy the story. So that was strike two, I guess. But what really pushed me over the edge, what made me want to pitch the book out the window, was that Jacob, beautiful, warm Jacob was treated so poorly. His motivations, at least, I could understand and empathize with. He was warmth and light where everything else was cloudy. Sigh… Go ahead and ask kimb8, she’ll tell you that this review is a very tame sketch of my thoughts. My anger and frustration with it has dimmed marginally, but I cannot approach the next installment, Breaking Dawn, the way I would have before the eclipse.

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