Wednesday 5 March 2014

New Moon - (Slightly Ranty) Book Review


New Moon (Twilight #2)
by Stephenie Meyer


What is it about:
I knew we were both in mortal danger.

Still, in that instant I felt well. Whole. I could feel my heart racing in my chest, the blood pulsing hot and fast through my veins again. My lungs filled deep with the sweet scent that came off his skin.

It was like there had never been any hole in my chest. I was perfect - not healed, but as if there had never been a wound in the first place.

For Bella Swan, there is one thing more important than life itself: Edward Cullen. But being in love with a vampire is even more dangerous than Bella ever could have imagined. Edward has already rescued Bella from the clutches of one evil vampire, but now, as their daring relationship threatens all that is near and dear to them, they realize their troubles may be just beginning...


What did I think of it:
I will confess being a bit hesitant in giving the Twilight series a try. Having heard there were sparkly vampires in it, and the mother of all love triangles (if rumors are to be believed) I steered clear of anything Twilighty. And after seeing the first 10 minutes of the first Twilight movie, I was sure it wouldn't be for me.

But then my friend Beanie read New Moon and told me he thought I might like it as well. Maybe I had indeed been unfair towards this series, so when Beanie offered to send me New Moon I decided to give the book a try.

Not far into the book I was convinced I had been right and that the whole Twilight phenomena wasn't for me. I mean: Edward, a hundred year old vampire goes to high school! Why? Why would he do that? Because he looks 17? Come on, he can fake an ID I might hope, so there's no need to constantly be repeating the last few classes of high school. Talk about a slow student! And the Cullens don't drink blood. What are they eating/drinking in that case? Synthetic blood? Animal blood? If that's the case why do they go berzerk over a drop of human blood? It's not like I go berzerk over really good chocolate after only eating the cheap, crappy kind of chocolate. And if they don't drink any blood: How do they survive? And why is Edward so mopey?

Ok, that last question has to do with me not liking Edward at all! Talk about an immature brat! And that's supposed to be a hundred year old vampire. I could almost even start to understand why he never made it past those final years of high school.

Anyway...

Because of my rule to at least read 25% of a book before tossing it aside as a loss I stuck to the story. And then Jacob entered the story. Jacob turned out to be a really cool and interesting character, and suddenly I found myself liking the story and reading on to find out what would happen next. To my own surprise I was actually enjoying the book after all the annoyance I felt at the start of it. Even Edward couldn't ruin the book anymore, I had found a character to root for (Even though I just know I'm again rooting for the wrong guy, but nothing new there).

So after a very rocky start I actually found New Moon an enjoyable read. I will confess I'm a bit afraid to pick up the next book, because I foresee lots of annoying Edward scenes, but I will confess I'm curious what's next for Jacob. Beanie kindly offered to send me the next book as well, so I will certainly at least give the next book a try.

Why should you read it:
It's an enjoyable Paranormal YA read, especially once Jacob enters the story.


buy the book from The Book Depository, free delivery

5 comments:

Beanie Mouse said...

Well, the blood thing is explained later in the story and the love triangle is VERY over the top!!! I wasn't too sure of this book either, but I'm liking the story more as it goes on!

Enbrethiliel said...

+JMJ+

Interesting perspective, Sully! Thanks for going into extra detail here. =)

I really hate New Moon as a whole, and your comments about Jacob remind me of one major reason why. I also liked him in this story and couldn't believe that Bella treats him so badly. Doesn't it seem as if every decision she makes is really stupid??? (I don't like using that "s-word" at all, but for Bella Swan, I make a justified exception!) New Moon reads like a textbook on everything you should not do when a guy breaks up with you in the most heartless manner possible. Bella should have moved on instead of wallowing.

The ending was the richest part. I will NEVER get over her reaction when she finds out that Jacob has told Charlie one of her secrets. After deliberately entering dangerous parts of town, cliff jumping, speeding on (and crashing!) illegal motorcycles, and then leaving the country without telling her father, she actually asks, "What did I do to deserve this?" (WTF?!?!?!?!?!) The whole book is what you did to deserve it, Bella! And be happy that it's just a grounding that you get!

Sullivan McPig said...

You are right about Bella. If I had been her I'd kicked Edward in the... shins. To be honest I think Javcob deserves better, and maybe that's why I don't mind Bella running after Edward. I'm still very curious what will be next for Jacob.

Blodeuedd said...

I do wonder what you will think of the rest ;)

Aurian said...

Great review Sullivan, you almost, almost make me want to read more. But I dislike Bella and Edward so much after the first book. I think I did see movie 2, but can't remember much about it.
And yes, we all know you are rooting for the wrong guy without even reading the books.