Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer

Posted on March 2, 2009 by janicu

Breaking Dawn (The Twilight Saga, Book 4)

Stephenie Meyer

Yay, I've finally finished the Twilight series! Breaking Dawn was the fourth and final book in the saga that follows high school student Bella after she meets and falls in love with her vampire soul mate. So far the first book, Twilight covers Bella discovering vampires and Edward's family, New Moon and Eclipse covers their growing pains with their controversial love, and finally Breaking Dawn is their cementing into a family.

Man this was a long series:

Twilight: 544 pages

New Moon: 608 pages

Eclipse: 640 pages

Breaking Dawn: 768 pages

Note how each book is longer than the last? Ahh!

So spoilers for earlier books from this point on. Here are my reviews of New Moon and Eclipse. If you read them you'll know I have many rants about the relationship between Bella and Edward and about the way certain characters acted. New Moon was my least favorite book because of Bella's angst. Eclipse was slightly better, though I still had problems.

Breaking Dawn was better than the previous two, but I liked Twilight the best, because that was when I was oblivious to some of the character's flaws and was most able to just enjoy the story.

Because this is such a popular series I've heard how many fans of Meyer's had huge problems with Breaking Dawn which led to them returning the book in droves. Which really puzzles me: how did you not see this coming? I think that Meyer is the QUEEN of premonition – from book 1 you know Bella's fate, and in every. single. one. of these books the preface starts off with a preview of what is to come which pretty much gives away the whole plot! You didn't notice this? Really?! I read this books preface and I made several guesses which all came true. So while I was laughing at the what-the-fuckery, I wasn't super surprised. Actually, making guesses and having them turn out as expected was my entertainment, though there were some moments that I rolled my eyes at things being laid on a little thick. Also – I never thought that the ending wouldn't be one where everything wasn't going to turn out all right, so no surprise when Meyer took a lot of easy ways out on things. Boy was this book long though, I thought it would never end.

Overall: Although most of the book was predictable with a lot of convenient short cuts and no real sacrifices by the main characters, there were some amusing moments and I found the characters less annoying than in previous books. There was also more actually going on rather than me ending the book thinking – 400 plus pages of nothing much happened that could have been made shorter. So I'd say – above average and entertaining, but didn't blow me away.

**** OK major spoilers from now on, really. I'm going through the book point by point and ranting freely ****

Let's take a look at things chronologically.

1. Preface: Well I already talked about the preface giving up the whole plot.

2. After the preface, the first thing I noticed was: Book 1: Bella. What? This book is divided into books with different narrators? Random. All the other books had Bella as a narrator. OK, fine, I'll just roll with it.

3. The wedding. This is really my notes as I was reading the book:

Edward bought her a Mercedes "Guardian"? Cute.
Bella's father and mother seem to be taking the wedding very easily. Too easily?
Jacob is still a wolf and roaming. Charlie is concerned but Bella and the wolves know he's not missing.
The wedding was nice. Maybe sappy, but alright.
OK this seems too easy. Tanya's people come to the wedding, feel guilty about not helping with Victoria in Eclipse?
JACOB comes to the wedding so Bella can be happy? Too easy!

Notice how I use "too easy" a lot. And this book is just starting. I got the distinct impression that Meyer just wanted to skip by some of the tougher things and move the plot along to where she wanted it, and having people actually angry at Bella getting married (her parents, Jacob, the Denali coven) would mess up where she wanted it to go. So she took some short cuts. Thankfully – hell DOES finally break loose when Jacob realizes that Bella is having a real honeymoon with Edward (as in: vampire/human sex! Oh no, he'll kill her!). Jacob is incensed! Of course, in typical Bella fashion, instead of being really annoyed at Jacob she just blames herself. Ug, I rolled my eyes. As I've said repeatedly, I find her martyr attitude highly annoying.

4. The honeymoon : Edward and Bella have the honeymoon on a secret location from Bella, much romance ensues which was highly cheesy. My notes: "sex! – not told! We have the morning after!" Again, not surprised at all. I laugh at fans that expected some details. The previous books where Edward thinks he's going to hell for being a vampire, and so doesn't want Bella to be damned like him, and where Edwards also wants to get married first kind of point towards some very traditional values. I didn't want the details anyway, so this was fine with me. I was a bit surprised (but I guess I shouldn't be), that Edward's a virgin?! Seriously? He's about 80 or so? Yeah right. After the sex, I was somewhat irritated by how Edward got very mopey about the bruises Bella gets from their sex. At least Bella actually tells him off, but then we also have to suffer while Bella has to beg Edward to have sex with her after that. Oh boy, drama. Bella also gets weird dreams in the honeymoon which I thought just repeated what's going to happen. It's weird that Meyer puts that there and then Bella never tells people hey I dreamed all this would happen!

5. The Pregnancy: This is supposed to be a shock, but anyway. What I found surprising was that in 5 days Bella had a bulge. That was crazy. Then Edward wanted to kill it to save Bella, which was also crazy and out of character for someone so concerned about "sinning". It felt odd to me that he didn't even moan over that crisis of conscience – Bella's life lost if her baby kills her, or killing another life. Hmm, I guess Meyer didn't want to have that kettle of fish. Bella calls Rosalie for help. Which explains why the one scene in Eclipse with Rosalie in it just had Rosalie come in to say how much she wanted a baby (which I thought was yet another a big hint of what was to come in Breaking Dawn too).

6. The Pregnancy part 2: This is where the narration switches off to Jacob's point of view. Bella has been rushed back to Forks, where Rosalie and half of the Cullens side with Bella to keep the baby, while Edward agonizes over Bella's probable death. Jacob is certain that Bella has been changed during the honeymoon when Bella comes back and tells Charlie she's "sick", so he's surprised to see she hasn't been changed, and even more surprised to find she's pregnant. Jacob has never been a fan of vampires, so his siding with Edward to kill the baby and save Bella was in character. Edward however, is so frantic all his morals go out the window. He's willing to have Jacob give Bella babies if that's what's needed. As long as Bella lives, she can have what she wants.

Although having Jacob narrate seems odd, I liked his point of view. His thinking seems more sane and normal to me than Bella's! He's not a martyr! Plus, he calls Bella one in his thoughts – how spot on. Having his point of view we get to see Rosalie as a pretty annoying person, wanting a baby so much she's fine with Bella dying to get it. At least Leah and Bella see this a different way - 1) as someone who wanted something so much and never could have it, so this one chance means a lot, and 2) as someone who feels that Bella is making the same decision she would, so she finally warms to Bella. However, I am with Jacob in finding her unlikeable.

7. The Wolves React: Of course when the wolves find out about Bella's pregnancy they are ready to attack. They have no idea what's inside Bella, and the freakishly fast growth isn't a good sign. Strangly, Jacob doesn't foresee this before turning into a wolf, thus letting them all know. Or maybe it's not surprising since Jacob never did seem to think far ahead. In Eclipse we already know that Jacob should have been the pack leader so – Jacob goes Alpha and leaves the pack to protect Bella and the Cullens. Seth, who by now is a friend to Bella and Edward after the ending of Eclipse follows, as does Seth's sister Leah. This all seemed in character, and I liked hearing they're view of things and growth of friendships between the three defecting wolves. I also found it refreshing to see more of Leah's pain instead of her being painted as a horrible shrew, which I found unfair anyway (the one female werewolf who runs with the boys = total bitch? Wow). Leah also tells Bella off like she needed to be, which made Jacob and Edward angry because Bella was upset and crying over it (oh please). Conveniently for Bella though, because of Jacob, she and her baby are saved, because the wolves have lost their element of surprise for an attack. Not only that, but technically it seems that since his grandfather set up the vampire/werewolf treaty, Jacobs permission is all they need to let Bella be a vampire. Convenient times 2: no wolf fight and now Bella HAS to become a vamp to live.

8. The Birth: While I knew this was coming, this had the most surprising bits and laugh out loud moments. The violence was pretty explicit after the fade to black sex – "then Bella vomited a fountain of blood", not to mention all the bones breaking because Bella's body can't accommodate a vampire/human hybrid baby. I was thinking - WTF, this is kind of awesome! Then Edward has to use his vampire teeth to open Bella up while there are buckets of blood, and Rosalie loses her control! After the baby is born though, the baby is is just "perfect", and she's good because she loves Bella. The only reason why Edward went along with the birth – he hears the baby's adoration of Bella. Jacob of course is in anguish that Edward changes sides and then when he thinks Bella is dead (of course not! But hmm, maybe that's why Jacob is the narrator here, so we don't know if Bella makes it?), Jacob wants to kill the baby. Bella's name for the baby however is extremely terrible. I can't even begin. Awful. Then we have more convenient things: Jacob imprints on the baby! Ha, who didn't see this one coming? Come on. So now Jacob is okay, and this obviously explains why Bella is so inappropriately nuts about Jacob - it was the baby! Even though she was nuts before the pregnancy, but let's gloss over it – now they are normal friends.

9. Back to Bella as the narrator (and Bella's Change): And I guess it's back to feeling irritated of Bella for me. Again with convenience – Bella is unlike normal newborn vampires, she doesn't go crazy! She has extreme control! Jasper is surprised, everyone is surprised. And Bella is gorgeous. When she was human she was "ugly". Now she's sooo perfect, but oh her lip proportion is slightly off so that makes it better because Bella's still in there. Ug. And now Bella hunts, but again, self control: she stops before hunting humans, and everyone is amazed. Her thirst keeps being described as a fire in her throat, I was getting tired of that. How is thirst = fire in your throat? Bah.

10. Inexpicable filler Now the book just lags for a bit. Bella gets her 19th birthday presents, she and Edward get to have off the page vampire sex. Jacob becomes a dumbass again and just goes to tell Charlie about the baby and Bella being in town in order to force them to get over the one issue that keeps them from being able to stay in town. And yet again, convenient for Bella – Charlie is fine! He doesn't know much, but he knows something supernatural is involved, and oh he doesn't want to know what has happened to his daughter! Father of the year award. Other stuff happens that I didn't care about.

11. Action again – Alice sees that the Volturi are coming to kill them all! And it's all the Volturi – guards, wives, everyone. This was also expected from Bella's dreams and the preface. Reason is: Irina comes by to say sorry for missing the wedding and mend bridges and sees Renesmee, the baby. She assumes this is a vampire child, not knowing that this is a hybrid, and vampire children are forbidden. Things happen quickly now, Alice runs off leaving a message for them to contact as many friends as they can to bear witness, and then disappears. Everyone is shocked, thinking Alice ran to save herself! I said yeah right, and it's rather silly people thought Alice left them for herself.

12. Boring stuff, more filler - Now for about 100 pages, all these other vampires decend onto Forks as the Cullens try to work towards saving Bella's baby. We also get some theories about what the Volturi are really after, not for their supposed crime, it's their talents that Aro covets. Bella tries to learn how to fight and use her powers (Edward doesn't want to teach her because he can't bear thinking of hurting her – what a drama queen!). Anyway, blah blah, was rather slow, could have been edited.

13. The Face-off: Finally the Volturi arrive! Of course this is in the SAME clearing used in almost every book – where Bella watches the vampires play baseball and where they fight off the newborn vampires. Are there no other clearings around? Aro and the Volturi try one thing after another in order to have the excuse to break apart the Cullens and take their powers. Bella saves the day with her shield powers, and then Alice cames back like expected, to save the day some more. The end. No real sacrifice to Bella, no real fighting.

P.S. While Twilight has hints of Pride and Prejudice, New Moon was inspired by Romeo and Juliet, and Eclipse on Wuthering Heights, I fail to see how Breaking Dawn has anything to do with A Midsummer Night's Dream. Though google says also The Merchant of Venice which I haven't read.

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Kitty and the Midnight Hour by Carrie Vaughn

Posted on February 28, 2009 by janicu

Kitty and the Midnight Hour (Kitty Norville, Book 1)

Carrie Vaughn

Kitty and the Midnight Hour was first published in 2005, but I hadn't started the series until now. I'd heard good things from people who I think have similar tastes in books, and happily, Hachette sent me the first five books to review. The sixth book, Kitty Raises Hell is right around the corner with a March 1st release date. My plan is to catch up to the whole series over the course of this month and review as I go.

The premise: Kitty Norville is a late night radio DJ and secretly two years into being a werewolf. One night she idly mentions a Bat Boy article, and this kicks off an impromptu talk show on creatures of the night. Suddenly, a weekly show about the supernatural is born. Kitty calls it The Midnight Hour, and it's a big success. Of course, not everyone is happy, like Arturo the head of the local vampire coven or Carl and Meg, her werewolf pack alpha and his mate, but Kitty finds herself increasingly proud of her show and will do anything to keep it.

Through the radio show, Kitty lays down the foundation of the world to the reader, and an idea of the practical "rules". Kitty is forthright with her listeners, sometimes dissuading those who may have lofty ideas of becoming a werewolf or vampire, providing advice to those who are, and educating everyone in the process.

Despite the amusing concept and Kitty's glib on air persona, there is an element of grit and darkness in this book. Kitty's change into a werewolf was not a happy story, and the werewolf lifestyle isn't for everyone. Kitty isn't a strong wolf, I think others prefer if she stayed as a cub, and so she's weak and vulnerable amongst her peers -at least when the book begins. To me it seemed like a constant battle between the human rational side, and the instinctive wolf side, and Kitty has to listen to both to survive.

Overall: Quite an enjoyable read – worth a try for all urban fantasy fans. Although there are some dark moments and grey areas which may turn off others, I breezed through this fairly fast, and I'm glad that I have the second book waiting. While this ended in a good place, there is definitely a lot more that you want to find out. Kitty and the Midnight Hour lays down the foundation. The world building is such that you understand what is going on, but you know that there is more, and you want to keep reading to find out what else is there.

A couple of people I know compared the writing to Patricia Briggs when I mentioned I was reading this. I think that there are some parallels to the Mercy Thompson series: werewolf packs and a society being introduced to the reality of supernatural creatures, but I thought the heroine was very different from Mercy. Kitty doesn't start off as a confident heroine. She's the alpha's pet, lowest wolf on the totem pole, and submissive to all the other wolves. At first I wasn't sure I liked her because of her submissiveness (and I definitely don't like Carl, who I felt was abusive), but as the book moves along, having the radio show gives Kitty purpose and she begins to question where she may not have before. The book starts off with me not really liking certain things, but as time moves along Kitty seems to make the right decisions regarding what bothered me. This is where I think the grey area is on whether others will like the book. I thought that Kitty had a pretty good self-awareness of her own weaknesses, which reminds me of another heroine in a radio station – Ciara Griffen of Jeri Smith-Ready's WVMP series. I would call that a good comparison. Kitty also has an intelligent sense of humor, and I liked reading about her radio segments - they brought up a lot of socio-political questions that I found interesting to think about.

This is definitely urban fantasy in that there's only a brief hint at romance and I don't think we'll see a HEA or HFN in that department, at least not for a while. As I said, there are some dark moments too. They secondary characters are interesting (Cormac, the were/vamp hunter, TJ, Kitty's best friend and fellow werewolf and others), and I want to see more of them, but I also warn you – don't get too attached to people, things don't really go the way you expect. I'm still hoping things go the way I want, and Kitty pulls through!

Carrie Vaughn's website

Calico_reactions Kitty reviews (she loves this series)

Cosy World's review (a different opinion, she didn't like it at all)

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Browsing Amazon instead of reading again..

Posted on February 24, 2009 by janicu

New urban fantasy that look interesting. I hadn't really heard much about these:

The Better to Hold You

Alisa Sheckley

The Better to Hold You by Alisa Sheckley (Feb 24th, 2009)

"Manhattan veterinarian Abra Barrow has more sense about animals than she does about men. So when her adored journalist husband returns from a research trip in Romania and starts pacing their apartment like a caged wolf, Abra agrees to move with him to a rural mansion upstate.

But while there are perks to her new life, particularly in the bedroom, Abra soon discovers that nothing in the bucolic town of Northside is what it seems. The local tavern serves a dangerous, predatory underworld. Her husband has developed feral new appetites and a roving eye, and his lack of humanity isn't enitrely emotional. And the other woman really is what Abra feels like calling her.

As the moon waxes full, Abra must choose between trusting the man she married, taking a chance on a seductive stranger…or following her own animal instincts."

Moonburn

Alisa Sheckley

Moonburn by Alisa Sheckley (May 19th, 2009)

The sequel to The Better to Hold You:

"Life in Northside gets a whole lot more complicated, as Abra starts getting wolfish between full moons, and builders working on Old Scolder mountain accidentally cut into an ancient crossroads between dimensions."

Death's Daughter

Amber Benson

Death's Daughter by Amber Benson (Feb 24th, 2009)

"Calliope Reaper-Jones so just wanted a normal life: buying designer shoes on sale, dating guys from Craig’s List, web-surfing for organic dim-sum for her boss…

But when her father—who happens to be Death himself—is kidnapped, and the Devil’s Protege embarks on a hostile takeover of the family business, Death, Inc., Callie returns home to assume the CEO mantle— only to discover she must complete three nearly impossible tasks in the realm of the afterlife first. "

Sins & Shadows

Lyn Benedict

Sins and Shadows by Lyn Benedict (April 28th, 2009)

"Sylvie Lightner is no ordinary P.I. She specializes in cases involving the unusual, in a world where magic is real—and where death isn’t the worst thing that can happen to you.

But when an employee is murdered in front of her, Sylvie has had enough. After years of confounding the dark forces of the Magicus Mundi, she’s closing up shop—until a man claiming to be the God of Justice wants Sylvie to find his lost lover.

And he won’t take no for an answer."

Mark of the Demon

Diana Rowland

Mark of the Demon by Diana Rowland (June 23rd, 2009)

"When Homicide Detective Kara Gillian finds traces of arcane power on a body, she quickly realizes that this is no ordinary murder. The serial killer known as the Symbol Man is a nightmare that Beaulac, Louisiana thought had ended three years ago, but now he's back for an encore and leaving every indication on the flesh of his victims that he is well-versed in demonic lore.

However, Kara is a Summoner of Demons, and may be the only cop on the city's small force who can stop the killer. Able to see and interact with a world most people can't, Kara soon discovers that the Symbol Man is also a summoner, one who seeks to gather enough arcane potential to summon a Demonic Lord–a potent entity who, if bound, would give the killer nearly unlimited power.

But Kara has encountered this Demonic Lord before and has been unwillingly marked as the Lord's own. With the aid of an FBI agent who may be more than he seems, Kara must stop the killer and keep the Lord from being summoned, all while defying the same Lord's demands that she call him to her–an action that could bring new and terrible meaning to the phrase "Hell on Earth." "

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Bone Crossed by Patricia Briggs

Posted on February 22, 2009 by janicu

Bone Crossed (Mercy Thompson Novels)

Patricia Briggs

Thanks to a contest at Avidbookreader's blog, I won a copy of Bone Crossed. This is the fourth book (out of seven?) in the Mercy Thompson series:

Moon Called (my goodreads review)
Blood Bound (my goodreads review)
Iron Kissed (my review)
Bone Crossed – Excerpt of Chapter 1

Bone Crossed starts off soon after where Iron Kissed left off – Mercy is still recovering from the events in the last novel when the charred, tortured body of Stefan drops out of thin air into the middle of her trailer. The obvious conclusion is that Marsilia, ruling vampire of the Tri-Cities has found out about their involvement in the death of Andre, one of her own, and now Mercy and all her friends are in danger.

*** Spoilers for previous books will likely follow. ***

Overall: OK, this is one of my favorite series, and despite my not liking HC, I think even if I didn't win it, I was going to break down and buy the book. I think I'm predesposed to like this book before even reading it, despite my feeling upset over what happened in Iron Kissed. I, like Mercy, have recovered somewhat, and I want to see what happens next.

I think what draws me to these books are the characters. Mercy of course is a smart, self sufficient character, but she has a lot of support from a very strong supporting cast. I feel happy reading this series because I know I'll get to see the satellite characters again. Briggs' tends to create some very interesting people with mysterious backstories and it's rewarding to catch glimpses of what makes them tick. Mercy is learning about them at the same time, and makes some observations which I don't think I'd have really picked up on myself. Besides some insight into her enemies she also pays attention to Adam, Samuel, and Stefan. Adam seen as her mate is somewhat different from just one of her two suitors. This was great because I think Mercy has to also learn how to trust other people too, so her character is growing because of the relationship. Samuel has a new level of sadness which I think may need to be addressed soon; you worry about him. And Stefan has re-entered her life.

This is of course combined with whatever trouble Mercy has gotten herself into at the time. In Bone Crossed, Mercy is not only dealing with an angry Marsilia, but another problem – an college acquantance needs help with a nearby haunting in Spokane. Mercy's last real involvement with the vampires occured in Blood Bound, so I'd recommend reacquainting yourself with that book before you read this. I had to remember who certain characters were, but it wasn't very hard to figure things out again. Stefan is a likeable character and I sort of missed him. Mercy wasn't very happy with him because of what he did at the end of Blood Bound, so they had a couple of things to sort through, but I think they came to a better understanding after Bone Crossed.

It's pretty hard for me to come up with anything negative about this book. There are only two really nitty things I can think of. One was feeling somewhat suspicious of how seemingly easy it was to get Mercy to Spokane. The wolves thought it would make her safer to look into the ghost issue while Marsilia was angry, but I thought it somewhat unlike Mercy to leave. In the end the two story arcs worked well together so this was practically a non-issue. The other thing was one minor timeline thing which threw me out of what seemed like a pivotal emotional scene. Mercy went to the bathroom in one sentence and dresses, then the very next one she takes a step towards the bathroom. Threw me off. Yeah that's all I have (after racking my brain too)!

So in the end a satisfied sigh from me.

Other reviews:

Avidbookreader – (gave it an A)

Angieville (a glowing review)

The Book Smugglers (gave it an 8 – Excellent)

Dear Author (Jane gave it a B+)

Breezing Through Books (conversation review, gave it two A-, one A)

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Cat and Carrie Vaughn

Posted on February 20, 2009 by janicu

And now for some silliness. I know Tez (queen of cat with books) will enjoy this. I don't remember if I posted that I got a couple of young cats from the shelter about two weeks ago. This one is Pel. I got a box of Carrie Vaughn's Kitty series to review this week, and he's making himself very comfortable. Clearly the books are an armrest. Or maybe he's closing his eyes and trying to channel Kitty Takes a Holiday.

Pel in a box

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Contest Roundup

Posted on February 20, 2009 by janicu

Some interesting contests going on out there right now:

Mark Henry is hosting a contest with a variety of great prizes to celebrate the release of his second book – Road Trip of the Living Dead. Prizes include a Dinner and a Movie package, Coffee and Gas package and a basket of books. All you need to do is preorder his book and send a copy of the receipt to zombiestimulus@markhenry.us. Winners are announced Feb 24th, so try to enter before then.

So have you not heard about the book Pride and Prejudice and Zombies? Basically Lizzy and Darcy meet and battle zombies together or something.

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies: The Classic Regency Romance – Now with Ultraviolent Zombie Mayhem!

Jane Austen

If that's not nutty enough for you, how about the movie "Pride and Predator"? Executive produced by Elton John, it's about Pride and Prejudice plus aliens (I'm still not convinced this isn't a hoax). Smart Bitches is having a 24 hour contest for a $25 gift certificate if you come up with another zany combination of a book with some nutty thing inserted into it like these two shining examples.

Ann Aguirre is having a Blue Diablo blowout to celebrate her newest release. This is the first book in her new Corine Solomon urban fantasy series. Some really nice B&N, Amazon and Lush gift cards are on the line – more than one prize, and more than one way to enter. Plus this contest is open for a while (you have about a month or so). Check it out!

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Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer

Posted on February 18, 2009 by janicu

Eclipse (The Twilight Saga, Book 3)

Stephenie Meyer

Eclipse is the third book in the Twilight Saga by Stephenie Meyer. Unless you've been living under a rock, you'd know this is the story of Bella, a "normal" high school girl who falls in love with a vampire. Complications ensue because she's human and should be her boyfriend's dinner, and she has a werewolf for a best friend.

Some minor spoilers for this book and previous ones are in this review.

My review of New Moon is here. If you read that, you'll know that I found New Moon very angsty and it made me feel rather ranty about Bella and her depression. I also thought that Edward was rather controlling by deciding what was best for her and not letting her make her own choices. Despite really liking Twilight, I'm not sure I would have continued this series after New Moon. But that this series is so popular that my cousin gave me the whole series as a present so I own it now. Also my best friend has been nagging me to read it so she can rant to me about it. So I read it.

Where to begin. Well I thought that Eclipse was better than New Moon. I think that that is greatly due to my aversion to reading about a main character who is moping around and angsty, which is what you see a lot of in New Moon. I'm just not a fan of depression in my escapism. On the other hand, while in New Moon I found Bella and Edward somewhat annoying, in Eclipse I started also getting mad at other secondary characters like Charlie, who is Bella's father, and Jacob, Bella's best friend! Why is everyone annoying? Let me tell you:

Edward is trying to back off on his control issues here but he still slips with the excuse that he will do anything to keep Bella safe. He manipulates her to get what he wants. At least he was so overshadowed by other people who were driving me crazy in this book, he didn't bother me as much as he did in the past. His "patience and understanding" were laid on a bit thick though. I still don't quite understand what he sees in Bella. He just shakes his head and says Oh Bella, you don't know how wonderful you are.

Jacob: In earlier books, Jacob is this sort of happy-go-lucky guy that Bella just hangs out with, and he pulls her through her depression, letting her use him as a crutch through her bad time even though she knows he has feelings for her and she doesn't feel the same way. You know that Jacob doesn't like vampires, so he's constantly making nasty, petty remarks about them and about Edward. In Eclipse, this pettiness seemed to rise to extreme levels. I found Jacob's smugness and casual put-downs about people Bella cares about very immature. To top it off Jacob has Bella's number because he realizes she's easily manipulated through guilt. So he uses this several times to get what he wants. Also *spoiler here so look away if you care about that type of thing* Jacob forces a kiss on her. Bella hits him for that, but because he's a werewolf, all that does is break her hand. And then he *laughs* about it and is never really sorry! What a great guy. I was pretty pissed off to reading this part.

Charlie: He doesn't like Edward so of course every chance that he can he pushes Bella towards Jacob. When Jacob admits that he kissed Bella, instead of feeling concern for why his daughter is so mad, all he can do is be happy and praise Jacob for it! His comment regarding Bella's hand is something like I must not have taught you how to punch properly. He's a cop, but he's really uncaring about his daughter being sexually harassed. This is of course coupled with the same complaint I had in the last book – Bella is Charlie's servant; doing the cooking and cleaning while his excuse is that he is just a man so can't do housework. He can't heat up sauce in the microwave (puts metal in there), and he can't do his own laundry. Let's not even go into his parenting and his not having a clue as to what his daughter feels or what she's up to.

Bella: I kept noticing what felt like excuses for Bella's past behavior. Behavior that continues in Eclipse. It felt like the author was trying to address complaints from readers. The servitude is explained away as OCD. I lived with someone with OCD, and Bella does not have OCD. Even if she had *mild* OCD, her dad should still know how to microwave some damn sauce if he's lived alone before and he's an adult! Secondly, Bella spends a lot of time thinking she's a horrible person and has hurt Jacob so much, but feeling bad and still doing it doesn't really absolve you. I really dislike when people don't want to hurt someone, but instead they just give them hope by not trying hard enough to tell them the truth, so in the end it feels even worse. These people moan to everyone how they feel bad, but what they really want is for others to say that they aren't bad so they can continue what they were doing. Which I feel Bella does with Jacob. Not that Jacob is an innocent here, but Bella has already gone through this in New Moon, why are we repeating it again in Eclipse? Finally, Bella acts like a doormat. She gets manipulated by everyone. Edward tricks her into doing what he wants, so does Jacob, so does her dad. I found it really aggravating that the main character is a woman, surrounded by men who want to control her, and she let's them! She's submissive! Any fight she makes just feels like token resistance, because she gives in later. I actually wrote down a couple of times – Bella is mad, I bet she'll forgive him soon, and Bella says she doesn't want to, I bet she will later. And surprise, surprise - she did forgive, she did give in. Jacob underlines this for me because he actually says that he knew she was going to forgive him so he did what he wanted.

All this points to something which feels glaringly obvious; this book has very old fashioned values and views. Bella's role as housekeeper for her dad is a good example. Then we have the sex. Stephen King infamously commented on Meyer's writing recently, and said: "A lot of the physical side of it is conveyed in things like the vampire will touch her forearm or run a hand over skin, and she just flushes all hot and cold. And for girls, that's a shorthand for all the feelings that they're not ready to deal with yet." I was hardly surprised that Edward was unwilling to have sex with Bella before marriage. Already he's discussed his belief that as a vampire he has no soul and probably will go to hell when he dies, so it was no stretch to see him want Bella to marry him first. This is safe moral ground. It's a bit too pat but I have no real problem with this little bit of preaching in this story. What bothers me more is Bella being easily controlled – forgiving easily the asshat-ery of her male controllers. It disturbs me to see her accept what the men do, when I see it side by side with her domestic duties. It disturbs me to see Meyer's picture of men vs. women, Bella vs. Edward/Jacob/her father.

I admit, Meyer has to be doing something right. These books aren't on bestseller lists for nothing. I'd say it's the world building and the way she writes her dialog. It feels very natural and real and it's very readable. From what I remember of Twilight, the pacing there was quite fast. The pacing in Eclipse however felt a lot slower, with much of the action happening only in the last 100 or so pages. So despite my liking the way Meyer writes dialog, I felt like there was too much – it takes up a lot of room so pages and pages later you realize – nothing has happened. At 600+ pages, this book could have used some merciless editing.

Overall: An average to slightly above average read. Natural dialog, fascinating world building, great action when there is any (there was little), but I had some major issues with the characters and with Bella's subjugation by her male counterparts.

I now leave you with Southpark's Twilight parody "The Ungroundable", which aired recently and is online in its entirety for now (go watch, it's awesome).

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Two Guys Read Jane Austen by Steve Chandler and Terrence N. Hill

Posted on February 15, 2009 by janicu

Two Guys Read Jane Austen

Steve Chandler

Two Guys Read Jane Austen is the third book in the series (after Two Guys Read Moby Dick and Two Guys Read the Obituaries). As the title suggests, this is a book where two men read Jane Austen, but it's more than just Jane discussed here. The two writers have been lifelong friends, so peppered with their observations of first Pride and Prejudice and then Mansfield Park, are observations to one another about life that covers topics from plastic surgery, to alcoholism and writing. Written as a series of letters back and forth to each other, Steve and Terry have a meandering conversation, and as a reader I felt like I was overhearing two intelligent people who enjoyed each other's company. Jane Austen was just their excuse.

Overall: I had a good time reading this – it was an amusing book and I found myself reading slowly to savor it. There was a lot of gentle prodding at each other and a great sense of friendship. For instance when Terry is in Mexico and Steve hasn't heard from him in a while, he writes wondering if Terry has been kidnapped, and then notes there has been no random demand: "What would I be willing to pay, you are wondering. Everything. I would liquidate it all. And that might be a reckless thing to say so publicly in a book, but criminals don't read. Which is one of the reasons why they are criminals." I love that; criminals don't read, but it's also a nice commentary on their friendship.

I wish I could put my thoughts down as coherently and as thoughtfully as these two do. It was also refreshing in many ways. One admitted tearing up at the end of Pride and Prejudice (and that he cries at movies!). The other commented "I think the mind is the most neglected aspect of falling in love". Plus they both like Jane Austen!

If you haven't read Jane Austen, I think you'll still enjoy this book, but it certainly helps if you have a basic idea of the plot of Pride and Prejudice and Mansfield Park, so you can follow the jumping points for the conversation.

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Baby Bonanza by Maureen Child

Posted on February 11, 2009 by janicu

Baby Bonanza (Silhouette Desire)

Maureen Child

OK, a quick review here. This is another one of the 16 free Harlequins, this time from the Silhouette Desire line.

Jenna Baker worked for Nick Falco on one of his cruiseships, but after a week long affair together, Nick fired her because she didn't tell him she was his employee. Jenna got pregnant, but Nick ignored all her emails, phonecalls and messages for months and has no idea that he's a father. Jenna just wants Nick to know and to ask for child support for the twins, so she buys a ticket on his newest cruise to approach him in person.

Overall: OK, but I ended up not really liking this one. I thought Falco sounded like a big jerk. For example: "His plan to seduce Jenna and then lose her was backfiring […] Time to take her to bed. Before they got the results of the DNA test." He thought she was a liar but he didn't mind sleeping with her – and then discarding her. When his assistant tells him she thinks Jenna is being straight with him - "He shifted uncomfortably because he didn't want her to be right. It was much easier on him to think of Jenna as a liar and a manipulator. Those kind of women he know how to deal with". Um.. Ok so what is Nick's view of most women? Liars? After this I was somewhat disappointed at how easily Jenna jumped back into bed with Nick. His player persona was off-putting, and I had a hard time buying the transformation into a family guy – it seemed superficially done. The sex to romance ratio was more on sex, little on romance. At one point they were doing something in what I think was in the same room as their sleeping babies! Ack. Page 159 by the way. At least his trying to get back into her good graces was alright, but after what he put her through I think Nick should have had to work a little harder than he did.

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Stargazer by Colby Hodge

Posted on February 8, 2009 by janicu

Stargazer (Oasis Series, Book 1)

Colby Hodge

Lilly is the princess of an agricultural paradise of a planet (named Oasis), who is at war with it's neighbor, a desert planet that squandered it's environment and is now after Oasis' resources. Hoping to ask for help from the galaxy's governing body, Lilly is on a transport ship headed towards the Senate when her ship is suddenly attacked. She escapes with Shaun, a prisoner who was in a cryogenic chamber on the same transport. Shaun is an mystery; a man with rare grey eyes who can communicate mentally, something that before only Lilly and the women of Circe could do.

The cover: I just had to say that I think this book has possibly one of the worst covers of any book I own. It's awful.

Overall: I'd put this down as an average read. The writing had a stilted quality to it and the story was predictable, but if you want space opera, this certainly qualifies. Stargazer jumps at a dizzying pace from one location in the galaxy to another, from swamp planets with prehistoric lizards, to mining planets where everyone lives underground. I kept feeling like it was vaguely familiar and I realized that a lot of things remind me of Star Wars and of Dune. We have a princess needing help from the Senate, a prisoner in a cryo-chamber, and a male with powers only women had before among other things.

Despite sometmies feeling deja vu, there were some moments that stood out. My favorite part would be the when Lilly and Shaun finally arrive at the Senate. Here there seemed to be some time spent on describing some of the culture of their enemies. The reader sees how the Circe women treat their men as slaves, shuttling them around with neck braces that inhibit their will, and the gladiator games that went on there showed the dark underside of the galaxy. I felt like this was the most absorbing part of the book for me, but unfortunately most of the book didn't seem to have the same focus on world building as this section did. I wanted things to slow down and have more context. For example, I thought Lilly and Shaun were in Oasis at one point only to be informed they were somewhere else, without any transition or explanation that that's where they were going. And for about the first third of the book I started wondering when they slept. I know that on the transport Lilly had to go into a sleep chamber, but after escaping, all space travel afterwards seemed to take no time whatsoever. There were other places like this where missing details threw me out of the story.

Another issue I had was the predictability. I could tell from the first 10 pages what the big reveal was going to be and it's not hard to guess from Shaun's grey eyes. Yet this is kept a surprise for a long time. It was also not hard to guess what characters were going to do because hints would be dropped beforehand.

Maybe this can be attributed to it being the first book for the author in the genre. I'm still willing to keep reading. Oasis' enemies have been stopped for now, but they won't be down for long, so the ongoing intruiges and plotting will continue. Shaun's devil may care pirate friend Rubin was a major player here so I wasn't surprised to find he's the hero in book 2, Shooting Star. The trilogy concludes with Star Shadows.

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