Twilight (Twilight, Book 1)

I picked this up due to the amount of hype and hubbub about the series. I was hoping to find another series I could (ahem) sink my teeth into. I had previously read "The Host" by the same author, and enjoyed it, so I thought this would somewhat the same. Unfortunately, I was disappointed.

All of the characters are two-dimensional. Bella shows some promise at the beginning, but quickly falls off into infatuation -- the only thing she thinks about is Edward. And I thought she was supposed to be an "outcast," what with the not fitting in comments, etc. But she seems to have fit in right away without even any effort.

The text is repetitive, to say the least. The book could have been half as long if Meyer had limited herself in the number of times she told us that Edward was cold, and beautiful, and perfect in every way. Oh, and how many times do we need to hear about Bella's scent? Speaking of perfection -- every time Bella calls him "perfect" or says "he can do anything," his family laughs. But we never get to see why. I know the book is in first person, from Bella's POV, but still...it is possible to present something that the reader can understand while the character doesn't, even in first person.

In truth, this is a romance novel with vampires, for teenagers. Three-quarters of the book is about these obsessive feelings they have for each other, which came from a "love at first sight" (or maybe smell) event, rather than developing true feelings for each other. There's no real antagonistic presence until the last hundred pages or so, when some reasonable action develops.

Unlikely I will read the rest of the books, or go see the movie. But if you enjoy romance novels, particularly paranormal or teenage romance, then this book will be right up your alley.

Was full of intrigue .. I liked the way the author developed the characters .. I am thoroughly looking forward to the rest of the series ... and Can't wait for the movie and hoping they are as good as the book ... we shall see ..

All i can say is wow. I wasn't sure about reading this book because it is in the "young adult" section and I am 24 (some people have told me I need to grow up with my book selection). I absolutly fell in love with this book, from the moment I opened it!! I was so consumed that it only took me 2 days to read. Even though I am already married, I would marry Edward, he is perfect.... Alot of the bad reviews said that Bella was almost pathetic, she was so consumed by edward. I feel the love that they shared was amazing and almost made me envious..I can't wait to dive into the next book (compliments of Amazon.com) I am excited for the movie to arrive @ my local movie theater. The cast looks like it was chosen perfectly, and i can't wait to see it!!!!!

Brainstorms
I read the entire Twilight series after fans kept telling me that my song "Edward" reminded them of the book(s). I think "Twilight" is a fun, subtly sexy read. And Edward is indeed a lovable character! If you agree, you might enjoy my song too, so hopefully you'll check it out ;o)

So I'm sure I won't say anything that hasn't been said yet. This book was kind of addicting, considering that I read it in about 24 hours and it kept me from studying for a college final. Having said that, it has a million problems that I'm sure people have pointed out before. Infallible, one dimensional characters, utter corniness thrown from every direction, and a romance without a single kink in it or anything to make it all that interesting after it develops, which takes all of ten minutes. In my opinion, this book is Romeo and Juliet or Titanic meets Harry Potter. Now, I've been nearly crucified for comparing this to Harry Potter, and I will say that no, it's not like Harry Potter all that much; the characters in Harry Potter are actually believable, whereas here we just have... Edward. Perfect, perfect, Edward. The only reason this book sold as well as it did, and not many people will agree with this, but it's 100% true, is that girls dream of having a dude like Edward. This book is purely fantasy that plays on teenage girls' silly desires, and it probably should be kept to teenage girls.

Having thrown all that negative, the book wasn't a total waste of time, hense the three star rating, which to me means a good product. That comes from the fact that this book DID get so addicting and was easy to follow, and it was easy to root for these characters, no matter how one-dimension, and no matter how bland you had to admit the story was at the beginning. The series has potential now that the first ten chapters are out of the way, and I guess I'll give the second one a try, but I want to see some character development next time around, and maybe hey, the text could be a little more believable. That's be cool. As for now, I am totally neutral about this one.