my feelings on "breaking dawn" with big time spoilers, so don't read this if you haven't finished your book yet

Do NOT read this until you've read "Breaking Dawn."

You hear me?

Don't even be tempted.

I know I'm dashing and witty and tempting but no.

Don't do it.

Lot's revealed in this post.

OK?

You've been warned?

Still reading?

All right then. . . onward.

Holy cow, this is one long book!  756 pages with lots of detail, plot, characters, and twists.  Stephenie Meyer really has an amazing mind.  I am constantly in awe that she wrote this in. . . what?  One year?

Let me start by saying I loved the first half, even the first 2/3 of this book.  The rest was just so-so.  I loved the wedding-even the drama with Jacob!  His howl after the happy couple drove away for their honeymoon just killed me!  Oh Jacob.  You just feel so sorry for him.

The honeymoon chapter was awesome!  So fun and romantic and hot!  I love how tastefully SM described (or lacked to describe) the first night.  Very well done.  And the feathers.  And the headboard.  L. O. L.

Then of course things got interesting.  A baby.  Holy crap!  Holy surprise!  Holy twist of fate, batman!  Wasn't expecting that.  I found it just plain bizarre that Bella was pregnant for all of what. . . 20 days?  It had a very distinct "Alien" feel to it, what with the threat of it popping out of her stomach and all. And, like most, I don't care for the baby's name. Renesmee (taken from Renee and Esme). I think Carli (taken from Carlisle and Charlie) would have been a better choice for the first name rather than the middle, but that's just me.

I found it very interesting that the book switched to Jacob's narrative after the first part.  Cool to see his point of view and I think this part was written very well.  Certainly a different writing style for the two characters, as it should be.  I also found it very believable how he kept switching back and forth, changing his mind on if he was going to kill the Cullens or protect them, love Bella, or hate her.  From defending her as he separates from his pack to being ready to kill her daughter after he fears Bella's death. I came out of this liking Jacob a lot more--I felt that he'd grown quite a bit, matured.

And then the imprinting.

Whoa!  Another shocker! This seemed so neat and tidy, but essentially, I think it's a bit icky. In 6.5 years when Renesmee's all grown up, Jacob can tell her how he used to make out with her mom. I was actually looking forward to him becoming closer with Leah, or even imprinting one someone in a future book told by his point of view. This kind of disappointed me. Oh, and I hated when Edward called him "my brother, my son" at the end. Ick ick ick.

Bella's turning from a human to an immortal was great. . . something we've all wanted for a while.  I'm glad Stephenie included the details; we've all been so curious!  I found it very 'safe' that it was done just to save her life though, not because she was ready and asked for it.  But it was an amazing chapter.  I was scared and excited and of course anguishing over her possible death.  But it was very well played out.

As I  mentioned, the first 2/3 of the book is definitely better than the rest.  The first is full of "oh my gosh!" moments and parts where I giggled and squealed out loud.  The "quotes of the day" were fun to read in context and of course the progression of the story was just good.  Fun.

The last 1/3 is so different.  For one, I think it got really slow.  I also think it went about 200 pages longer than it needed.  I actually found myself getting bored (and maybe just tired from reading all day).  She brought in about 20-30 new characters that I personally had a hard time following and keeping up with.  With all of their vampy super-powers, it started to feel much more "X-Men" than "Twilight." 

Missing from this book was all the Edward/Bella relationship moments that we love from the rest of the saga.  I know she's immortal and they are married now, but the romance is key to why so many love this series.  Almost literally overnight, they go from Edward and Bella crazy in love/lust with each other, to Edward and Bella parents of a three year old.  Just odd, and lacking all that lovey dovey excitement. As someone else said recently, where was my Edward? Where was he in this book? There was "no crooked smile, no dazzling, no components that made up the Edward that I've grown to know and love! I feel like a chunk of my heart has been lost." Edward should have been the best dad in the world. But THIS Edward was different. I wasn't dazzled.

The book is much more sci-fi than any of the others.  At one point, I had to remind myself that I was reading "Breaking Dawn", and not "The Host"!

I was disappointed that three books in a row now, we have finished with a stand-off between the Cullens and the Volturi.  And again, no clash of the titans.  All the training, all the worry, all the build-up of the creepy italian royalty vamps visiting again to just have them be able to talk their way out of the pickle once more.  I found it fairly flat, boring, safe.  I'm kind of tired of the volturi and everyone being scared of them. 'Course, she left it open for them to come back in later installments of "Twilight" from whomever's perspective "(Renesmee, anyone? that's my guess), but I was hoping for a good butt-whooping this time.  The resolution was fairly anti-climactic! 

Also safe was the way they dealt with Charlie.  I was disappointed that it was Jacob who informed Charlie of Bella's changes and the fact that there was never an "I'm a vampire, Dad" moment.  I find it slightly unbelievable that Charlie would be able to know Jacob was a werewolf, to see Bella so changed, to know he has a granddaughter, and not demand answers.

And Renee-what?  We just expect her to live her happy life with Phil in Arizona and not need to see her daughter anymore?  To never see her again?  No big explanations?  Again, so safe and pretty unrealistic.

Safe again that since there was no physical confrontation with volturi, that no one died.    Sure, Irina, but she was a very minor character and I hardly flinched when she was killed.

I was happy to see that I was right in so many of my predictions:  Bella and Edward marrying, Bella becoming a vampire, Jacob imprinting, Bella's power, the fact that Tanya's family and the Volturi would play a larger part. . . all things I figured would happen.  I guess I just figured a lot of that would happen with a bit more oomph!

But again, I really pushed myself to finish the last 200+ pages.  I thought the whole disappearance of Alice and the clue thing with J.Jenks was just stupid and unnecessary.  I felt let down to find that the only reason for all that was to get a fake birth certificate for Renesmee.  I expected more, I guess.  And really, did you believe Alice and "Jazz" were really gone, for one second?

With about 40 pages to go, I literally had to stop, wake myself up, and do something else for 1/2 an hour before I could continue on.  It wasn't pulling me through as the other books did.

So, in the end, I loved the first 2/3, but the last 1/3 fell quite flat.  I thought the book was 200 pages too long and I felt the ending was just safe.  Although I liked it and I recommend it, it's probably my least favorite of the series. It really just didn't tie in with the rest of the series. There was so little Alice and Emmett, so little Edward. . . and that was just disappointing.    I'd love to hear your opinions as well!

By the way...didja notice my new Twilight widget to the left there? It's not great, but there aren't a lot out there yet. I've only seen one or two other ones but I wasn't crazy about them. If you see some you like, let me know! The next countdown is on!