So, I finished the second in the series in the Twilight saga. Everyone's pretty bazonkers about it all, so I figure I'll read them all and make my own decision.
Most people already know how I felt about the first one: I liked it, but it didn't quite ring true. By not 'ringing true' I mean I couldn't believe that Edward and Bella didn't have sex or even come close. For me, believing that the love that they shared so strongly and forcefully couldn't result in some sort of... expression I guess, whether sex or something else. But it's written for teens, and by a modest author, so I understand that it's probably inappropriate. So, I still enjoyed it, I just couldn't bite into like everyone else was. You can create a moral, enjoyable world (see Harry Potter) and not have sex... but when you want to take the most sexually charged, sensual, and powerful sort of creature, neuter it and condense it into a teenage love/crush, I just couldn't buy it completely. Edward is not a realistic character to me. His one 'flaw' was he's a vampire. But, I never felt like being a vampire was that bad a thing. So he's basically perfect. How am I supposed to be entertained or compelled by that? I was told by multiple people that I was going to have to read the second one to resolve all my doubts and whatever...
So, Checking back in. Second book down. What's my verdict? Meh, about like the first. The first half of the book was Bella moping around like a lovesick child for MONTHS. I understand that she loved Edward and everything, and he was everything to her, etc, etc. But listening to her heartache so constantly was very draining. Jacob steps in (2 chapters too late imo) and finally we get some interesting exchanges of dialog and relationships (however simple) forming. She never actually stops being whiny, but at least we get some cool Native American wolves running around. There is not enough of this in my opinion. It would be much more interesting if Bella would have really gained an understanding, respect, and desire for 'the protectors' to succeed and been truly torn about the cold nature of her love, Edward, versus the warm blooded, earthy, and happy Blacks. But no, her 'love' is solid and is never questioned, nothing challenging or interesting happens within her. At the end of one chapter you can feel her start to concede she could be happy with Jacob, but it rings so falsely like she's 'giving in' that neither we the reader nor the author believe it.
Her friendship with Jacob was the only interesting development. His desire for her and her guilt for her need of him, this was actually well thought out and decently written... however it appears loving two people is too much and or too complicated for this world, and her love for Edward crosses beyond the realm of a mothers love for her child. I mean, I want to feel completely torn between Jacob and Edward when Edward shows back up, but no, I don't. We like Jacob a lot, we know he could make her happy, but the idea of love for Jacob is beyond Bella. And I don't know how we're supposed to feel about this... is this the demonstration of the bond Edward and Bella have? It just feels like I wasted chapters with Jacob. Once the Cullens show back up we don't give Jacob a second thought... Glad Bella got to have her self-inflicted pain eased by the goodhearted Jacob, otherwise I would have had to read her moaning over Edward the entire time. Honestly, Jacob should have shown up two pages after Edward left.
I guess I was supposed to be blown away when she finally accepted that Edward loved her... I wasn't. What history did she have for not believing him? Had she been betrayed? Had she evidence of Edwards indiscretions or other goals outside of her? Nope, she just can't believe someone 'like him' would love her... blah. Vampires written by others cause this same sort of infatuation, but I guess I'm supposed to believe that it's real love. It feels more like vampire allure than real love if this is supposed to be taken as a healthy relationship. I would prefer if it was ambiguous in this matter, is it love? is it because of his vampire allure? THAT would be interesting... but no, it's not.
I find the world and the characters interesting, but the love between Edward and Bella is so simple and I can't seem to believe the main reason why they can't be together. I'm supposed to think it's complicated because it's so bad being a vampire! Edward thinks she'll lose her SOUL! ZOMG, THE RESOLUTION I WAS LOOKING FOR!! However Edward loves Bella, and Bella loves Edward... so, are we going to go down a religious path here? The idea of the soul is that your happiness and love would be there after you die ... only vampires are immortal, and in this world are able to love! So let me get this straight, immortal with love vs. an afterlife (which may or may not exist depending on the belief of the character) without love. How am I supposed to be torn? Is Stephani Meyer holding out on me? Do I have to read the other books to resolve THIS? She's got a pretty successful business model on her hands. Like selling someone a car chassis and letting them know the engine will come out with next years model.
Anyway, the wolves were cool for their two scenes (don't get me started on the amount of time it took the author to finally 'allow' us to know what was going on... please, I knew after reading the first book!) And I liked the exchanges between Jacob and Bella. The vampires in Italy were pretty cool too. It's a fun story, I don't know if I'd call it a good book. But I'm holding out hope that things get resolved in the next book...
