Reviews tagging 'Toxic relationship'

New Moon by Stephenie Meyer

45 reviews

carlate96's review against another edition

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dark emotional medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

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arbitrary_convenience's review against another edition

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relaxing fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

Why do the boys have to growl so much?!? 

Also, kinda creepy the way they handle Jake’s age relative to Bella’s. The type of justifications they use sound way too close to groomer language. And then there’s the light hearted “you might be 18, but I’m 110” from Edward later. It’s just weird. 

I feel like the normalization of toxicity is just getting worse. There are so many times both boys physically restrain her or block her path. Jake tried to kiss her after she told him not to. They’re both violent towards the objects in their surroundings. It makes me think of the “they always hit around you before they hit you”. Just red flags all around. But naturally worked in so that the reader thinks it’s normal, romantic even. Just no. 

I’m gonna finish the series still, but it’s getting more frustrating. Nobody knows how to have a productive conversation. Most can’t look past their immediate impulses to consider the implications of their actions. The main cast doesn’t have emotional regulation skills, though Jake might get a supernatural instinct pass after he transforms, the instincts are too fresh and it’s a struggle but he’s trying at least. Bella in inconsistent in how she handles her interactions. She’s selfish and impulsive, but puts on a mature facade. 

That said, it’s getting more addicting. It’s like rage bate that ensnares your attention whether you want it to or not. 

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agw622's review against another edition

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emotional sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Although the miscommunication can be a bit annoying, I do think this one of my favorites from the series. I love seeing her with Jacob, and the intensity show from an unhealthy relationship.

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paulabekkerus's review against another edition

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dark emotional sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0


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tepidgirlsummer's review against another edition

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dark sad slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.0

I forgot how much of a slog it is to get through this one.

I’m in the throes of a Twilight Saga reread. New Moon has always been my least favorite book, but I’d forgotten why. I sort of remembered it being boring, but thought maybe I hadn’t read it with the right perspective the first few times. I have a greater appreciation for emotional nuance than I did in my very early 20s, and several fellow Ratties defended this installment as important to understand the emotional bond between Bella and Jacob in the future books.

But holy moly is this book a snooze fest. It’s probably about 150-200 pages too long. And aging has only made me even more weirded out by how much Stephenie Meyer normalized these extremely codependent and manipulative relationships. Also, there is virtually no plot. I think this one is supposed to be more character-driven, but there’s hardly any character development after the first couple hundred pages.

I liked Twilight more this time around than I did previously. I remember Eclipse being my favorite, so hopefully that reread doesn’t disappoint.

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justcallme_blondie's review against another edition

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lighthearted tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

This book put me in a reading slump, which isn't a good thing regardless but especially wasn't a great thing considering I just read another book that also put me in a slump.
I actually really liked the first Twilight book because even though it was cheesy and everything, it was still entertaining and there felt like there was actual conflict and I am Team Edward so I liked seeing their relationship develop (if you could call it that because there is absolutely no character development at all in the Twilight). This book just felt like 400+ pages of Bella being like "Edward doesn't love me so I have no purpose, guess I'll die." Stephanie Meyer could have cut maybe 100 pages of this repetition dialogue and the book probably would have been a high 3.5 stars from me. Even in the end with the climax, the stakes never felt that high for some reason. 

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stindex's review against another edition

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adventurous
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No

0.75


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book_dragon_'s review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0


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celisabeth's review against another edition

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  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

New Moon is my favorite in the series, mostly because Edward isn’t around which means Bella is a little less silly.  Okay, and while I like Jacob more than Edward just because he’s less manipulative and Heathcliff-y, he also has a few warning bells going off around him. At least Jacob’s sweet, warm and cuddly and can turn into a big-ass wolf whenever he so chooses. Another thing that made me raise an eyebrow was a very simple little line: “Jacob hadn’t told me how to turn.” She’s on a motorbike and she has a crash because Jacob hasn’t told her how to turn. Has Bella never seen a bicycle before? How can you not know how to turn? It has handlebars, just like a normal bike. It has two wheels, just like a normal bike. You turn it, just like a normal bike! Anyways, the book is similar to the first one. High school life, excessive brooding, Bella being sad and sometimes mean, Bella swooning over vampires, Bella hearing voices (oh yes, she’s having full on aural hallucinations), Bella feeling sorry for herself, and so on. And shirtless, hunky werewolf boys – although they turn out better on screen, admittedly. Basically, New Moon is chewing gum for the eyes – and the brain. There were many references to Romeo and Juliet and they were blatantly obvious. (Feuding families, balcony, both commit suicide because their loved one has died, that's the general grasp of the plot.) New Moon is entertaining and oddly enticing. 




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alyssapusateri's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5


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