Reviews with content warning for Murder - Twilight

"When life offers you a dream so far beyond any of your expectations, it’s not reasonable to grieve when it comes to an end.”

Firstly, I just want to start by saying, if you want to read twilight...read it. Don't go scrolling through the negative reviews because you'll end up going into the series with an expectation and most likely will have that expectation fulfilled, because it's what you've been told you'll find. I've found that for me, the biggest issue around twilight is a lot of the people who 'hate it with a passion' and think the series is 'silly' and 'badly written', are people who have either: never read the series before, or went into it already hating twilight because that's what we've been taught to think. I don't have a problem with people not liking a book, I just don't understand why society has to embarrass girls and women for liking something? Especially something as simple and innocent as twilight.

Ok. Now into the actual review: I loved this book. I've fallen in love with this story and these characters. After watching the films years ago, I've always wanted to read the books and thought this October/November was finally the perfect time! I was a little worried that I would find the story a little 'childish', but at age 20, I still found I could relate heavily to Bella, and actually enjoyed the romance between Bella and Edward. However that being said, there were plenty of cringy moments, and chapters where I felt perhaps 16 year old Jess would've eaten this up a little more than third year uni student Jess.

I've never read a book that has so many details! At times it was odd to be reading about what Bella ate for breakfast, but I actually really enjoy Stephenie's writing style here. Knowing exactly how Bella opened her car door and drove to school actually made me feel more immersed in the story, as though I was actually stood beside Bella through each scene, feeling her every emotion. There's also so much beautiful imagery that really made me want to go to Forks and stand in the middle of the forest too.

Don't get me wrong, there were moments in this book that I wasn't really a fan of - Edward's annoying lack of communication when he's frustrated, Bella is lowkey boring, The story didn't really get going until the last sixty pages, the whole 'this is the skin of a killer Bella' when dude literally sparkles , the anti-feminism (Bella having to cook and clean for Charlie, Bella wanting to end her future for a boy she just met)...
But I enjoyed it. There's a real sense of nostalgia from this series despite the fact I'm reading them for the first time. I don't want to leave these characters (especially Alice). I don't want this story to end.

Content Warnings

jjamieww's review against another edition

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dark emotional funny sad tense fast-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? Yes

3.5

I finally read twilight! It was not a literary masterpiece but a fun read.

The whole book was mostly Edward wanting to kill Bella, Bella being chill with that (because Edward is pretty), and Edward getting angry at Bella for having no self preservation.

I was surprised with how often Bella describes Edward as having an angelic appearance as well how young Carlisle is (he is tooooo young to have gotten a doctorate).

I think the movie is better
🦌🩸🧛🏻✨⚾️❤️‍🔥

Content Warnings

pbraue13's review against another edition

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adventurous dark funny mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.5

the .5 in my 2.5 score is for Bella's choice to wear a khaki skirt

Content Warnings

add_a_little_spook's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny mysterious reflective medium-paced

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

Content Warnings

tiiiger35's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

18 year old me loved everything about Twilight. Apart from ‘The Vampire Diaries’, there wasn’t much else related to vampire's in the young adult genre.
The premise of the book was so appealing to young girls, that the fandom alone made the release of each book in the series more exciting.
I remember falling in love with Edward and the idea of him immediately. He was a tortured soul, doomed to walk the earth alone for centuries, until he met Bella.

It’s been criticised over the years for poor writing quality, but ‘Stephanie Mayer’ never tried to insinuate it was a sophisticated, complex book. For what ‘Twilight’ is (a teen romance book) it’s Perfectly good & has certainly maintained its popularity as a coming of age story.

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jourdanicus's review against another edition

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dark fast-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

3.25

A reread because of course I was all up in this series as a teen. Ya know, I didn't hate it this time. I'm reading through the lens of horror and it's kinda working for me. Of course it's angsty and dramatic but Bella is 17, I think we were all at least a little angsty and short-sighted around that age. Obviously I do not care for the promotion of toxic romantic relationships but I do think there's at least something to get out of this series. It's a cultural touchstone whether we like it or not.

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celisabeth's review against another edition

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emotional reflective tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

With this type of subject matter, the story could have been completely campy, but instead was surprisingly beautiful at times. I thought that Twilight exhibited a surprising depth of emotion, intimacy and even sensuality without ever resorting to anything explicit. I think the intimacy was owing in large part to the amazing level of communication between Bella and Edward. These two teen protagonists affected more stark honesty in their communication than many adult characters in romance novels, rarely holding anything back from each other. Edward was even forthcoming about who and what he was far sooner than I ever expected him to be. The sensuality was conveyed through simple things like smiles, kisses and touches and most importantly their beautiful dialog. The first two-thirds of the book moves at a rather languid but steady pace owing to the extensive character and relationship development. After that, it almost instantly turns into a taut suspense/thriller when Bella's life is threatened. Even though the book is written entirely in first-person from Bella's perspective, I thought the author did a good job of conveying Edward's thoughts and feelings too, through extensive use of dialog. As an aside, I really liked the small-town atmosphere of Forks.

Content Warnings

maxthedinosaur's review against another edition

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medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

I feel like I might just be giving this book a 4 stars because I love the twilight series. But once you get passed the beginning and the Wattpad vibe I personally think it's a really good book and I love the twilight series.

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