Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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188 of 223 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Twilight number 4, 31 Oct 2008
Before I even read this book, I read the reviews for it. I was shocked how everyone ripped it to shreds. Of course in those reviews were spoilers, spoilers that I couldn't believe. I kept thinking do I really want to read this book now! I loved Edward and the Cullen's. Bella irritated me a lot, but I still loved her with Edward. Jacob was never my favorite character, but he was needed to balance out the stories. I didn't want to read this book and ruin my whole view of these characters I've learned to love and hate all at the same time. I'd already bought the book though so I sucked it up and started reading...I couldn't put it down. I kept thinking who ever wrote those reviews obviously didn't read the book very carefully. I absolutely loved this book, and I'm glad I didn't listen to those reviewers. Sure there were flaws, but even book 7 of Harry Potter had flaws!
I decided to talk to some of my friends who were still reading or just finished the book. I asked what they thought, and all of them really loved the book also. I was curious by this and went back online to find more reviews on the book and came to a conclusion...you either love this book or you hate. There is no gray area inbetween. So my advise to anyone who wants to read this book and are unsure...read it and form your own opinion. Don't listen to any of the reviews good or bad.
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156 of 185 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
One word: Amazing! *NO SPOILERS* for those of you who havn't read it yet!, 6 Aug 2008
Breaking Dawn is a fitting end to the story of Bella, Edward and Jacob, and all the other characters we have come to know and love. Meyer really has a way with words, painting a scene exquisitly without boring the pants off the reader with too much detail! It is a very long book, and in fact it has three 'mini' books within, from the viewponts of Bella, Jacob, and then Bella again repectively, and yet I felt that every word was required, and I actually wanted more and more - I didn't want to let go of the story, and I read the whole book in one sitting (losing some sleep along the way too). The POW switch to Jacob is interesting, if not a tad irritating at first, because the reader gets that much more of an insight to is suffering and (in his mind) rightful hatred of the 'bloodsuckers'.
There are lots and lots of unexpected twists and turns in BD (perhaps a reason for some of the very harsh reactions against Breaking Dawn - it's not the book many fans expected it to be, however for me it had everything I expected and more, so surely that's a bonus?), with new plot lines and ideas, and new and old characters; in particular, I really felt that the reader comes to know the Cullen family properly, and to love them too. They have always been interesting minor characters in the previous three books (with the exception of Alice perhaps-she was always more of a major character), but in BD they all come to life beautifully.
Some readers would argue that the characters change personalities in BD, Bella in particular; I would say rather that all that she has been through is finally making its mark. She goes through two life-changing events in this book, and comes out all the more stronger for it. She was always stubborn, and I found that her personality developed and sharpened, which seemed a more natural development than if she had stayed exactly the same as the Bella we all know and love in the previous three books.
Other characters that undergoe a welcome development and grow from the 2 dimensional characters that they were before, are Jasper and Leah. We get an insight into both of their actions and behaviour in the previous books, and I for one found Jasper to be all the likeable instead of the cautious and slightly indifferent character we were faced with in Twilight, New Moon and Eclipse.
Not so much as a review from this point but a bit of a rant:
I really don't know why everyone hates the book so much! I think Stephenie Meyer is a victim of her own success, with fans writing their own version of events in their heads and developing Bella and Edward into people that that they never were! I'm not saying the BD is perfect, and neither were the previous 3 books in my opinion, but the characters behave exactly how you would expect them to, in accordance to how Meyer has portrayed them and bulit them up in the previous novels. They are S Meyer's creation, so she can do what she wants with them.
I knew a few spoilers before I read the book, so maybe I enjoyed it more because I was expecting less...there are some aspects of the book that I understand that some people might be less than happy with, with some scenes a bit more graphic than people might be used to. I personally wasn't offended by them and actually thought they added to the tension and drama of the plot, but I know this isn't the same for all readers.
I do, however, truely believe that the plot follows the only path it can (at the risk of sounding corney. I'm trying really hard not to give spoilers here people-harder than you think).
SM knew the outcome of the saga before she even wrote Twilight, and I think that that really shows: everything really comes together at the end, and I could really imagine how life would continue for all the characters beyond the pages. Some people were upset by the 'neat little package', but Hello? reality check: It's a book for teenagers (mostly) and it's S Meyer's first venture as an author; who wouldn't want to exert the power of the creator and make sure everything turns out just the way you want it to?
Sorry, I know im going a bit off the point here, but I can't help it, and if you enjoy BD as much as I did then you'll feel the same! NB: I was fully prepared to hate the book btw, I'm not giving it 5 stars just beacuse so many people have slated it! It deserves every one in my opinion.
Also, just to say, some people have been making a huge fuss about really small things, such as a name and a nickname for example, and I really think that's unfair on Stephenie! Yes, the nickname is a bit...well, yes, stupid, but the characters of the book themsleves admit this! It's not like they're living in a hunky dory world picking flowers and watching rainbows. The main characters react EXACTLY how they should act, and if anyone who's read the previous three books would know their personalities by now and should recognise that as truth. I think people should stop pasting their own faces over Bella and imaginag how they would have done things differently, and just accept that what Bella does is a consequense of her personality!
Not that it isn't a bit annoying but hey...
And back to the review...:
Anyway, enough of the rant. If you cancel your order, or decide not to give 'Breaking Dawn' a chance to even win you over as the other three books have done, all because of some stupid spoilers and rumours and bad reviews, then you will be missing a stunning conclusion to the saga. I'm still thinking about the book now, and when I finished it I actually sat in silence, in awe, for a few moments...please keep an open mind and enjoy BD like it deserves to be enjoyed!! Thank you :)
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14 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Clumisly Written, 12 Aug 2008
**Contains very mild spoilers**
Breaking Dawn is the massively anticipated fourth book in the popular Twilight series written by Stephenie Meyer. The story picks up where the previous book, Eclipse, finishes with the main character, Bella, looking forwards to her future life with her fiancé, a vampire.
Considering the popularity of this series there has been an understandable amount of hype and excitement surrounding Breaking Dawn. Unfortunately, as the book progresses it becomes increasingly obvious that it was never going to be the classic that many fans had anticipated. In the previous three books in the series, Meyer has shown that she is an author not afraid to tackle difficult subject matter and potentially controversial attitudes. This is something that she continues to do in Breaking Dawn though with noticeably less success. While never the most subtle writer, what subtly was there seems to be missing and this may have something to do with what at times feels like shoddy editing. There are plot holes, significant continuity errors, and not infrequently typos. Characterisation occasionally seems off and Meyer tears apart the universe that she created in order to rework it to include a whole new set of `rules'. The genre of the book seems to change halfway through.
Ironically, Breaking Dawn is often a more entertaining read than the previous books. There are more twists and turns, more interesting new characters (both minor and major), and we even get to see the events for the perspective of more than one character (unlike with the other books). Meyer works hard to justify the significant changes that she has made to the `rules' of the Twilight universe, with explanations that, while factually impossible in places, are entertaining all the same. Unfortunately, what makes the books entertaining also leaves it feeling unbalanced to read. The exciting revelations about Bella are interrupted by `Book Two', which is told entirely from Jacob's perspective and while interesting at times feels an entirely different story as he tackles (at length) events that might have been dealt with far quicker. Furthermore, what should have been an exciting final climax to the book is almost turned into a footnote by events which occur several chapters (and many pages) earlier.
This brings us to one other issue with Breaking Dawn: it is simply too long. At 768 pages it is over a hundred pages longer than any of the previous instalments and this is evident in the lulls in pace and overly flowery descriptions that are scattered through the book. Unlike the other Twilight novels that are renowned for their readability, Breaking Dawn drags at times.
Breaking Dawn is a good read. At times it is even a very good read. Poor editing and occasionally dubious content aside, the problem with it is that the reader is too frequently expected to suspend disbelief and accept significant changes to the world that Meyer has previously created. With a following which dedicates itself to learning every facet of that world this book was always going to receive a mixed reception.
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