This book annoys me slightly, only because, though it’s hardcover, it’s slightly taller than the rest of the books I have in the series. Why do people do that? Make books of the same series in different sizes? Paperbacks vs hardcovers, I understand, but to change the design right at the end? It breaks my book designer heart.

Read: October 16 – October 20, 2023

Genre: Fantasy, Supernatural
Audience: Teen/Young Adult
Book contains: mild depression, self-loathing, semi-graphic torture

Purchase a copy from Amazon.ca

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It’s Book 1 from Edward’s Point of View

Just like the tagline says: this book contains the events of Twilight but from Edward’s perspective. Edward, a hundred-and-four-year-old vampire who’s never felt the pull of love at all in his long life, and whose world is tuned upside down from the moment Bella Swan joins the ranks of Forks High School.

I already knew that this book would be from Edward’s perspective instead of Bella’s, but considering the size of it, I thought it would cover the entire series, not just the first book. Boy, was I wrong. I was surprised to find that, as the book progressed, it was only the first book, and that the book was so much longer just because Edward has so much more to say. The book also adds new content, filling in some blanks and also giving us more scenes. It also takes the fact into consideration that Edward can hear the thoughts of nearly everyone else around him, and that definitely adds some nuance to the book.

I followed along with a reading I found by Sha Audiobooks on YouTube. I found out pretty quickly that it’s not an actual person reading, but rather an automated voice, but I was too lazy to find someone else’s channel, so I stuck with it. It wasn’t too bad, aside from the obvious issues (such as pronouncing “I” as one and “IV” as four).

As I said, this book is from Edward’s perspective. As such, it doesn’t include a quote, nor a preface, at the beginning of the book, as that was more in the style of Bella. The chapter titles are once again simple (something I didn’t like about Breaking Dawn was how it strayed from short, snappy chapter titles).

We already know all of the characters, but it was nice to get to know the Cullen family a lot more, as we still didn’t know much about them by the end of Twilight originally. I could differentiate them, sure, and knew Alice the best, but they were still a homogenous blur to me until Eclipse. Also, since vampires have a photographic memory, Edward knows the names of everyone in the school, so he didn’t have to give vague descriptions of the students whose thoughts he heard. It was also pleasant to hear that he was actually behind Angela and Ben getting together—I always thought them a cute couple.

The relationship between Edward and Bella is starting from scratch, obviously, but it seems a lot darker from Edward’s perspective. He views himself as a monster, and like a lot of “Beauty and Monster” tropes, he is starved for affection from Bella, but still thinks he’s unworthy of it. He’s constantly oscillating between his hunger, his guilt, his pain, and his overwhelming love for Bella. (It’s also slightly frustrating, how he thinks he knows what’s best for Bella—how he thinks that leaving her would be the best, despite the fact that if he does, she’ll be safe from him, but open to attack from any other threat out there without him around.)

As a reader, I’d say this book was once again middle-of-the-road. It wasn’t great, but not overly bad either. I found it interesting how much longer it was than Twilight, but, as Bella says in the first chapter of that book, she isn’t very “verbose,” and Edward is obviously much better with words, hence much more inner dialogue.

As an editor, however, I’ll say I was disappointed, since, while reading this, I picked out eighteen different mistakes that should’ve easily been taken care of. They dragged me out of the reading each time.

I have to say that I enjoyed reading this book a little more than I enjoyed Twilight, so I’d definitely recommend it to fans of the series. It wasn’t at all repetitive in a way that was annoying, not like “I’ve read this before; what’s the point?” There was enough new content and other considerations that it felt like its own thing.

Related Articles:

Vampires in Fiction
Vampires in Fiction II
Werewolves in Fiction

Related Reviews:

The Twilight Saga Book 1: Twilight by Stephenie Meyer
The Twilight Saga Book 2: New Moon by Stephenie Meyer
The Twilight Saga Book 3: Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer
The Twilight Saga Eclipse Novella: The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner by Stephenie Meyer
The Twilight Saga Book 4: Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer
The Mortal Instruments Book 1: City of Bones by Cassandra Clare
*Dawned by Michelle Areaux*