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Twilight
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Is there anything that you did not like about the Twilight series?-SPOILERS
The fact Edward's cold, literally. LOL. Not attractive.
I thought it was totally unbelievable that they didn't get it on. Sharing a few chaste kisses while they're in bed together and she's 17 and he's 525 (or however old he is) pleeeassse. This bugged me. I only read "Twilight" and stopped there. Bella had way too much pseudo-angst for me.
I have to admit I didn't like his hard, cold "like marble" body either. How could you possibly cuddle up? The sex part I was ok with but when it did happen well....I suppose it's difficult to write a scene like that when your target audience is young adult.
My biggest issue was Meyers started out hinting that quite a few interesting points could develop into something, but they never did. Instead of expanding and making the story more complex and the characters more two dimensional she settled for one sentence explanations. And then fills hundres of pages with Edward and Bella professing how much they loved each other ... over and over and over.She also tends to use the same descripitive words quite alot .. I get it, Edward's skin was like marble and his voice was velvety. One description per novel is more than enough I do not need to read multiple per page.
I did enjoy reading the book and I do think Stephanie Meyer has a gift for story telling. But the actual substance of the book was probably average at best. Which is sort of frustrating when she did have so many things to build on.
I'd agree with you Lisa Anne, it's an average read.
What creeped me out and it also felt like a cop out was that Jacob imprinted on Renesmee. I mean come on couldn't she find someone esle for him? That really irked me.
Jael wrote: "What creeped me out and it also felt like a cop out was that Jacob imprinted on Renesmee. I mean come on couldn't she find someone esle for him? That really irked me."I didn't like that at all, it felt very very creepy to me.
it was creepy and an easy way to keep Jacob in bella life.
To be honest for me it just felt really *perverted* for wont of a better word. He's got to protect her and act like a big brother yet at sometime in the future he'll have sex with her. Yuck. i think that and the horrific birth description may have killed it for me.
Lol yeah that is perverted but on the same token It didn't bother as much when the other wolf was in the same predictament. I just felt it was just too easy to have Jacob imprint on her.
Mod
I did not like Renesmee at all... :(
I definitely agree on the whole Jacob/Renesmee cop out. I actually wanted Jacob and Leah to fall in love (not imprint). I thought in the end she was a more dynamic and two dimensional character than Bella and was on her side when she yelled at Bella for how Bella was treating Jacob.I kinda thought Bella and Edward were flat enough to deserve each other.
Now, I thought it was brilliant! What a perfect way to explain why Bella and Jacob needed each other so much. I was always so pissed the Bella wouldn't just stop seeing Jacob if she loved Edward so much and this makes me feel better. It seemed like Fate was making them stay close so Jacob would have Renesmee. It didn't seem perverted. The whole imprint/soulmate thing pertains to so much more than sex. Christine Feehan did this exact same thing in her early Carpathian books and it didn't seem weird so I guess I was able to find this believable in Breaking Dawn. I really was just so happy that there was some kind of reason for Bella and Jacob to be so drawn to each other.
@ Lisa Anne I was rooting for Leah as well. She and Jacob had chemistry@ Melissa never thought of it that way. Interesting.
Mod
Dude, spoilers! LOL. >.o You're killing me, man. I'd like to see a series about Jacob though.
Lol SMH. Did it again. Sorry NU I forget not everyone has finished the series.
Mod
LOL I just changed the title of the group to warn peeps that there are spoilers in this discussion. I'm sorry new_user! :( I should have thought to do that...
Melissa wrote: "Now, I thought it was brilliant! What a perfect way to explain why Bella and Jacob needed each other so much. I was always so pissed the Bella wouldn't just stop seeing Jacob if she loved Edward ..."Melissa, you put into words exactly what I was thinking about that part of the story.
I thought Jacob would imprinted on Leah. And the marriage thing, it's weird to me. Maybe it's better if they don't get married and no Renesmee.
As an adult, I enjoyed reading her books, but I think Breaking Dawn is a bit graphic for many in the younger crowd. I know it's labeled young adult, but I know kids under twelve who are reading them and I felt I needed to caution their parents. I would have liked to see it published as a paranormal romance, then she could have added all sorts of details.
I would also like to throw out one thing that really really really bugged me about New Moon was the comparison to Romeo and Juliet. One, this comparison for love stories is incredibly over done and unoriginal and Meyers didn't even use it from an original stand point except maybe that bit about comparing Jacob to Paris in the end. Two, Romeo and Juliet KILLED THEMSELVES and this was a huge point of the play, not just the little hiccup that stopped them from being happy. They were rash and silly teenagers that didn't think things through and didn't take time to evaluate the situation, hence they caused things to end in a huge mess. Thirdly if they hadn't killed themselves in the end they probably would have divorced or ended up miserable. I mean they seriously talked for only the balcony scene (half of which was a monologue), got married, had sex, and killed themselves, not really the foundation for a lasting marriage.
I liked her comparison to Wuthering Heights better, since it was at least more original. However, Meyers still seemed to fail to grasp one of the main factors in that book, Heathliff and Cathy's actions made themselves and each other and many others MISERABLE. Which I guess at least Bella did to an extent in Eclipse, but they still were able to tie things up nicely in the end.
I also couldn't stand how Meyers tried to explain the biology behind the whole thing. Didn't make sense it the least. Yes, women do have to be going through more to have a child then men, obviously, but the whole constant state thing was just dumb. Sperm still has to be produced and since one he's freezing and sperm, while needing to be kept at a lower temperature than the rest of the body, they wouldn't be so happy being ice cold either. Two, sperm has to be PRODUCED and since Edward cannot produce tears or blood it doesn't make sense that his reproductive system is still in tact.
Mod
I know what you mean about Romeo & Juliet. I always thought they were complete morons! LOL
I didn't even get past the first few chapters in book 1. Felt like it took forever for something to happen. So I'll have to remain a part of the Twilight unread. :P
I just think personally that Breaking Dawn as a whole was terrible. I thought the idea of a baby between Bella and Edward to begin with was bogus, plus the long drawn out account of the birth was unnecessary and gross, and Jacob imprinting on a baby was all just ridiculous. Jacob was one of my favorite characters and it felt like to me that he got a terrible ending. Don't get me wrong, I really love the first three books but the fourth I would rather didn't exist.
Mod
Stephenie Meyer had so many routes that could have followed with the series! It really surprises me that she ignored those routes, and went with the one in breaking dawn. I think she could have ended up with a MUCH better 4th book!
honestly the only one that was good was the first, the second went on and on and the third and fourth just plainly put did not come close to the standard set for it by the reviews.
I didn't like the last book either. I thought it could have been so much better. The main thing that bothered me about "Breaking Dawn" was the ending. Meyer built the suspense for the final fight for three books, and in the end- nothing happens!!! To me that is not a conclusion to the series. I also could have done without the weird love scene where Edward rips up the pillow. I know the story it made for teenagers but the scene came across as uncomfortable, confusing, and awkward. If she did not feel comfortable enough to write that scene, then I think it should have been left out.
well the whole concept it odd, but hey I guess it sells.
Mod
Really she just should have stopped with Twilight. Her writing and her story were no way substantial or good enough to get her through four way too long books. I was much happier at the end of Twilight with all the possibilities of my head of where all the characters could go, rather than knowing there endings and feeling cheated. I feel that Stephanie grew too like Bella too much by the end so the everything had to be perfect for her rather than presenting any challenges. She got her kid, she didn't have to give up her father, she transitioned flawlessly to becoming a vampire and she got to keep Jacob. TOO EASY! It needed some struggle and some developing into different people/vampires, in the end Bella and Edward just fell flat. Plus I wanted a fight scene! All that build up for them to slink away because the newbie vampire had a shield. Lame!As far as the bedroom scene goes sex in itself was a strech in the way Meyer made the vampires. Can't breath, can't shed tears, don't have blood should equal cannot have any form of even semi enjoyable sex. Plus I didn't like the whole marriage thing. I mean I get Meyer is mormon therefore no sex before marriage, but Bella seemed so against it the entire time and like she was just doing it to have sex or please Edward, which felt all wrong and awkward.
Mod
I really wanted a battle too. I agree that Meyer should not have ended the series with everything being PERFECT for Bella. Life isn't perfect and it sends the wrong message...I would have likes some strife. It also bugged me how throughout the ENTIRE series Meyer kept repeating things over...and over...again!
I hate to admit it, but I'm a Twilight fan. I agree that Meyers could have stopped after the first book, though. However, none of the cheesy explainations bothered me, and I was quite happy with the much-too-perfect ending. I think with a story like that, you just have to totally forget how things would go in the real world, or it will make you crazy. I've heard a lot of people complain about the whole Edward watching Bella while she sleeps/crazy stalker thing. I get it. If I happened upon some guy watching one of my daughters at night... Well, let's just say I can totally see myself standing over a fresh grave with a shovel in my hands! When I read about Edward doing that in the book, though, I was like, "Awww. How sweet!". A big part of me cringes to admit that! My only defense is that Meyers tapped into my inner teenager. What can I say? My younger self was a hormone-riddled idiot. I gotta agree with everyone about the battle scene in Breaking Dawn, though. I was looking forward to some carnage!
Mod
LOL I think that no matter how much someone likes a series, they will always find a few things that they disagreed with.
I like the Twilight series too, there are just some things I would have liked to have been different. :( Plus I think that there are many other YA vampire series that are losing out on the hype, b/c so many people are concentrating on Twilight. I love Twilight, but I like a few other series more...(sigh) I still can't wait to see New Moon though! :)
Mod
As far as YA vampire series...I really like the
Vampire Academy series by Richelle Mead. Very good series.
Another YA series that I like is the Mortal instruments series by Cassandra Clare, but that one doesn't revolve around vampires... LOL
I'm kind of a vampire junkie. hehehe. One of my favorite topics for books, but I love the supernatural in general. I'm also a bit of a Historical Romance addict. :)
I really liked the Mortal Instruments series, too! Each book was better than the last, in my humble opinion. Usually it is the other way around (Ahem...Twilight). I'll have to check out Vampire Academy. It's on my to-read list, I think.
Mod
If you like YA books, you'll love Vampire Academy. The 3rd book is by far the best! :)
If you don't mind my asking, what are Historical Romance books? I trying to branch out. I'm a supernatural junkie, too, but I've been tossing some romance books in the mix lately. Sad to admit...I know. But after having four kids, I think I deserve a little chick-porn. Tee hee!
One of the things that bothered me about the Twilight series is that in book 2, Bella almost dies because she is attacked after getting a papercut, and then in book 4, the vampires are all standing around giving her cups of blood with a straw to drink it with, and no one is ripping the cup from her hand to gulp it down.Also, drinking blood with a straw is absolutely NOT the fastest way to get blood to a fetus, especially if you already have IV supplies and a skilled doctor on hand! Grr!
And how about saying "I can't possibly marry you, it's too permanent, but PLEASE change me into a vampire so I can live with you forever!"
I have all the same problems others have listed here, too...creepy voyeurism while sleeping, Jacob/Renesmee...
Anne wrote: "If you don't mind my asking, what are Historical Romance books? I trying to branch out. I'm a supernatural junkie, too, but I've been tossing some romance books in the mix lately. Sad to admit...I ..."Historical romance books are ones that take place in a historical setting, such as the Old West, Regency England, Medieval times, etc. If you need help knowing where to start, there is a folder on this group for Historical Romance that has some good suggestions, or there is a group here at GR that is completely dedicated to discussing Historical Romance.
Jennifer wrote: "Also, drinking blood with a straw is absolutely NOT the fastest way to get blood to a fetus, especially if you already have IV supplies and a skilled doctor on hand! Grr!"I guess I always took that to be one of those weird pregnancy cravings like most women get, or just something she needed for proper nutrition. It just so happened that since her baby was half-vampire, what she needed for proper nutrition was blood.:-)
I thought I remembered the scene playing out as "She's dying, we have to get blood to the baby as fast as possible!" Which, if she swallows it, has to be digested by the mother over the course of several hours and then converted into energy, supplied to the muscles, blood, etc. and then some of it would end up being transported to the baby via the umbilical cord. I guess I can kind of see it, but it still seems counter-intuitive to me.
Mod
My favorite Historical romance books are set in London, English when the everyone has a season(being put on the marriage mart). You should try them. Eloisa James, Lisa Kleypas, Sophie Jordan, Julia Quinn, and Sabrina Jeffries are all AMAZING!
I also suggest the historical romance group on Goodreads. It's a great group! :)
Thanks, Joy! I'll have to check it out!I also agree with everthing Jennifer wrote. All of her points are totally valid (unfortunately). There were so many things in the books that were cringe-worthy! I can totally see why so many people are anti-Twilight, and there is really no defense against any of their arguments. The books are without a doubt creepy and unrealistic. So, why did I love them? I don't know, maybe for the same reason some people like to spray whip cream from a can into their mouths. It's a guilty pleasure.
Anne wrote: I also agree with everthing Jennifer wrote. All of her points are totally valid (unfortunately). There were so many things in the books that were cringe-w..."
Definitely cringe worthy and a guilty pleasure. Even while cringing I was engrossed with Twilight, yet whenever anyone discusses it I feel the need to point out all it's flaws and the many places Meyers is lacking as a writer. Not that I've never read fluff books for fun though, in high school I loved a trashy romance novel, and I didn't feel the need to talk about how all those writers really were only sub par. I think it has to do with the thousands of people going on about how fantastic Meyers is and the series is and I just want to scream, "PICK UP A REAL BOOK!"
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Books mentioned in this topic
Wuthering Heights (other topics)Wuthering Heights (other topics)
Vampire Academy (other topics)
Wuthering Heights (other topics)
Authors mentioned in this topic
J.K. Rowling (other topics)Cassandra Clare (other topics)
Richelle Mead (other topics)
I have to say that I thought it was a little creepy that Edward watched her sleep before he even knew her...
The only other thing that bothered me was that they fell in love too quickly. I would have liked some more build up.