Stephanie Meyer’s vampire love story Twilight is of course a massive bestseller, but what if you haven’t read it but your girlfriend/fiancée suggests you do? Most reviewers give a short synopsis and then say you’ll either love it or hate it, but that’s very unhelpful, which is why I’ve decided to write this article as an unbiased guy who prefers action in sci-fi and fantasy novels. .
The first novel in the series is, of course, Twilight. It follows a girl named Bella who moves out of town to live with her father in a small town called Fawkes, a dreary place covered in clouds most of the time. During her first day at her new school, she meets the mysterious Edward who seems to hate her, after a while her coldness gradually fades and she ends up saving his life. This leads her to discover that he is a vampire and they start dating her and during a family outing with her new vampire friends, she meets others who end up wanting to kill her. This leads them to try to hide Bella, but she falls into a trap.
Okay guys, that’s about it – the beginning is a bit slow and the middle drags, but the final confrontation is worth putting up with.
Book 2, New Moon, begins with an incident at Bella’s birthday party that leads Edward to tell her that he is leaving forever with his vampire family. This leaves her in a deep melancholy from which she is slowly brought out through her blossoming relationship with Jacob, a young Indian man who lives on a nearby reservation. During this time, Bella discovers that she sees and feels Edward’s presence when he does something dangerous, leading her to discover Jacob’s werewolf side and making her a bit reckless, culminating in a spectacular cliff-top accident. This accident ends up killing Bella, but Jacob pulls her out of the water and resurrects her, but thanks to the power of Alice, Edward’s sister, he now believes that she is gone forever and sets out to destroy himself. Which leads Alice to return to Bella’s side to recruit her to save Edward, who then vows never to leave her again, much to Jacobs’ chagrin.
Alright guys this really drags the first chapter or 2 ok then the next 5 or so are slow thinking about Bella’s sadness, I often skipped little sections but barely missed anything. However, the last few chapters are excellent and introduce the evil clan of vampires that establishes the laws of vampires.
Book 3, Eclipse, has our 2 lovebirds finally together and a marriage proposal up in the air, but Edward has so far refused to turn Bella into a vampire. Jacob, of course, is still mad at both of them, but her love for Bella has him trying to win her over, earning Edward’s ire. Just when it looks like the love triangle is about to escalate into all-out war, the evil vampire from Book 1 returns with an army at her side, forcing the werewolves and vampires to put aside their mutual hatred and work together.
Finally there is action and it really makes it worth fighting with the previous story, the beginning is a bit slow but it works itself and the fight at the end makes it worth it.
The final story of Breaking Dawn begins with Bella and Edward’s wedding, also describing the post-wedding activities that leave Bella feeling a little worse. Unfortunately, the bruises are the least of her worries when she realizes that she is pregnant with a vampire’s baby and that she is growing at a phenomenal rate, but the pregnancy has other consequences as well. When the Volturi (evil vampire clan) find out about this half-breed baby, they set out to destroy it, leading to another massive confrontation.
Wow, it’s all I can say that this novel is easily the best of the four and even if you get the other half to fill you in on the first 3, read this one yourself.
So what does this mean as a man, should I read it? The answer is yes, but be prepared for the fight and the beginning and enjoy the pleasant surprises at the end.