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Hna's review

New Moon (Twilight Series, Book 2)
by Stephenie Meyer

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<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/49041.New_Moon?utm_medium=api&amp;utm_source=blog_review" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px"><img alt="New Moon (Twilight Series, Book 2)" border="0" src="http://s3.amazonaws.com/photo.goodreads.com/books/1170357256m/49041.jpg" /></a> <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/49041.New_Moon?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_review">New Moon</a> by <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/941441.Stephenie_Meyer">Stephenie Meyer</a> 
 <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4104646?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_review"><h3>My review</h3></a>
 rating: 3 of 5 stars I’ll be honest, my first impressions after finishing this the other morning was that it suffered due to a lack of Edward - having grown rather attached to him in Twilight having him disappear for the majority of this book was a let down. I understand his reasons for leaving and knew that he was coming back but as a series based around his and Bella’s relationship, not having him present undermined the story somewhat. The only times I was truly at peace with the story was when Edward was around – the rest of the time I was engaged but on edge.
 
 Furthermore I did feel that the plot was lacking here as well, it never really seemed to go anywhere. For me the ending seemed rushed, I was waiting for something else, something more significant to happen. Much like in Twilight Mayer writes in a way that has you racing towards the end from the first description of a crisis however, here the ending seemed to drop off – the adrenaline rush you expected never really materialised to the same extent as in Twilight. In this sense the book really did suffer from second-story syndrome - much like in Chamber of Secrets, The Two Towers and The Amber Spyglass the scene setting obviously intended for Eclipse meant that there was never any chance for the story to establish itself as a stand alone.
 
 However, I don’t mean to pass the whole thing off as dead weight. I enjoyed the opening of the story – everything in Twilight was so theoretical it was interesting to see the realities of living with vampires – the danger became real and tangible this way. It was also interesting to realise Edward’s religious affiliations: "Edward's with me up to a point. God and heaven exist. . . and so does hell. But he doesn't believe there is an afterlife for our kind." Carlisle's voice was very soft; he stared out the big window over the sink, into the darkness. "You see, he thinks we've lost our souls." As a book presented from Bella’s point of view you automatically empathise with here way of thinking but by having Edward’s feeling aired by a third party the tables turn slightly.
 
 I liked the development of Jacob’s character, although I’ll be honest there’s something about him that isn’t *right*. Maybe it’s just because everything’s being set up to form a massive love triangle of doom which will no doubt dominate Eclipse but I think it could be something more than that. First impressions of him are that he’s very self-absorbed and that’s one quality that I hate.
 
 Along that vein I can see why people ship Jacob/Bella but I don’t. Not at all. Maybe it’s because I have a thing for Edward, maybe it’s just because I’m a sucker for canon. But for me Edward/Bella sticks much better. Quite frankly how can you resist: "Which is tempting you more, my blood or my body?' I challenged.
 "It's a tie."
 
 I can’t say that the ending – agreeing to transform Bella and Edward’s insistence upon marriage – surprised me completely, it all seemed quite appropriate but I don’t think it’ll be acted upon in Eclipse, as Bella sums up in the Epilogue there are too many unresolved human issues to deal with before then. Plus, the love triangle of doom will need to rear its ugly head and have shipper wars dividing fandom.
 
 So, overall it was an entertaining read which I enjoyed but did not live up to its predecessor and which will hopefully be bettered exponentially in Eclipse. (PS. Edward Cullen = my fictional boyfriend!)
 <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/list/253791?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_review">View all my reviews.</a>

Hna's review
rating:
recommended for: Teenage Girls, Hopeless Romantics

I’ll be honest, my first impressions after finishing this the other morning was that it suffered due to a lack of Edward - having grown rather attached to him in Twilight having him disappear for the majority of this book was a let down. I understand his reasons for leaving and knew that he was coming back but as a series based around his and Bella’s relationship, not having him present undermined the story somewhat. The only times I was truly at peace with the story was when Edward was around – the rest of the time I was engaged but on edge.

Furthermore I did feel that the plot was lacking here as well, it never really seemed to go anywhere. For me the ending seemed rushed, I was waiting for something else, something more significant to happen. Much like in Twilight Mayer writes in a way that has you racing towards the end from the first description of a crisis however, here the ending seemed to drop off – the adrenaline rush you expected never really materialised to the sa...more I’ll be honest, my first impressions after finishing this the other morning was that it suffered due to a lack of Edward - having grown rather attached to him in Twilight having him disappear for the majority of this book was a let down. I understand his reasons for leaving and knew that he was coming back but as a series based around his and Bella’s relationship, not having him present undermined the story somewhat. The only times I was truly at peace with the story was when Edward was around – the rest of the time I was engaged but on edge.

Furthermore I did feel that the plot was lacking here as well, it never really seemed to go anywhere. For me the ending seemed rushed, I was waiting for something else, something more significant to happen. Much like in Twilight Mayer writes in a way that has you racing towards the end from the first description of a crisis however, here the ending seemed to drop off – the adrenaline rush you expected never really materialised to the same extent as in Twilight. In this sense the book really did suffer from second-story syndrome - much like in Chamber of Secrets, The Two Towers and The Amber Spyglass the scene setting obviously intended for Eclipse meant that there was never any chance for the story to establish itself as a stand alone.

However, I don’t mean to pass the whole thing off as dead weight. I enjoyed the opening of the story – everything in Twilight was so theoretical it was interesting to see the realities of living with vampires – the danger became real and tangible this way. It was also interesting to realise Edward’s religious affiliations: "Edward's with me up to a point. God and heaven exist. . . and so does hell. But he doesn't believe there is an afterlife for our kind." Carlisle's voice was very soft; he stared out the big window over the sink, into the darkness. "You see, he thinks we've lost our souls." As a book presented from Bella’s point of view you automatically empathise with here way of thinking but by having Edward’s feeling aired by a third party the tables turn slightly.

I liked the development of Jacob’s character, although I’ll be honest there’s something about him that isn’t *right*. Maybe it’s just because everything’s being set up to form a massive love triangle of doom which will no doubt dominate Eclipse but I think it could be something more than that. First impressions of him are that he’s very self-absorbed and that’s one quality that I hate.

Along that vein I can see why people ship Jacob/Bella but I don’t. Not at all. Maybe it’s because I have a thing for Edward, maybe it’s just because I’m a sucker for canon. But for me Edward/Bella sticks much better. Quite frankly how can you resist: "Which is tempting you more, my blood or my body?' I challenged.
"It's a tie."

I can’t say that the ending – agreeing to transform Bella and Edward’s insistence upon marriage – surprised me completely, it all seemed quite appropriate but I don’t think it’ll be acted upon in Eclipse, as Bella sums up in the Epilogue there are too many unresolved human issues to deal with before then. Plus, the love triangle of doom will need to rear its ugly head and have shipper wars dividing fandom.

So, overall it was an entertaining read which I enjoyed but did not live up to its predecessor and which will hopefully be bettered exponentially in Eclipse. (PS. Edward Cullen = my fictional boyfriend!)...less

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message 1: by Ellie (last edited 12/10/2007 06:21PM)

10/17/2007 01:00PM

Rubbish. I'd say New Moon was a completely great book. Many wouldn't agree, but this book is the most important. I'll be the first to say that I'm not a Jacob Black fan, but New Moon was just so important. And the middle wasn't the best, but the end was so ah-mazing that it completely made up for the middle. New Moon was a great book!!!!! So there.