Midnight Sun by Stephenie Meyer – Review

Published: August 4, 2020

Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers

Series: The Twilight Saga #5

Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy

Pages: 662 (Hardcover)

Rating: YOU CAN’T RATE NOSTALGIA

Synopsis:

When Edward Cullen and Bella Swan met in Twilight, an iconic love story was born. But until now, fans have heard only Bella’s side of the story. At last, readers can experience Edward’s version in the long-awaited companion novel, Midnight Sun.

This unforgettable tale as told through Edward’s eyes takes on a new and decidedly dark twist. Meeting Bella is both the most unnerving and intriguing event he has experienced in all his years as a vampire. As we learn more fascinating details about Edward’s past and the complexity of his inner thoughts, we understand why this is the defining struggle of his life. How can he justify following his heart if it means leading Bella into danger?

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Like so many countless others, I was a total Twilight fangirl during highschool. I mean, what girl didn’t have a Twilight book in hand around 2007-2008? I actually read the leaked portion of this book way back when and was dying to get my hands on the tale from Edward’s perspective. Of course, it was called off (perhaps due to the leak) and I thought it would never happen. I lost interest over the years, especially after the atrocious movie adaptations and never thought to pick up a sparkly vampire book ever again. HOW WRONG I WAS.

I pre-ordered Midnight Sun for a number of reasons, but mostly because I wanted that sweet flashback to my teenage years. I mean, paranormal teen romances were done with a certain tacky panache and depth of angst that is sorely missing from YA nowadays. This was the story we all knew and loved over a decade ago – and yes, I am aware that not everyone actually loved it. Looking back with my much more discerning eye there are numerous problems with content and even the writing and Midnight Sun only serves to highlight those issues and bring them to the forefront.

First and foremost of these issues is the relationship dynamic between Edward and Bella. Edward is a total creep and Midnight Sun literally just shoves this into your face, just in case it wasn’t apparent before. There are far too many pages where Edward is sitting in a tree outside Bella’s window and then the perv just climbs in through her window and sits in the dark corner watching her sleep!!! I mean, it’s so absurd that I laughed out loud. Teenage me was so young and naive to have thought this romantic! And he so almost rips her jugular because of her delectable floral aroma SO MANY TIMES. I AM ROLLING WITH LAUGHTER thinking about how ridiculous some of these things are. But at the same time I just love it, corny writing and all.

This was in all honesty, exactly what I expected from this book and that makes me really happy. Like I said, I mostly picked this up for fun nostalgia vibes and because this is the book I dreamed would be released after the excerpt leaked way back. Now, the part near the end where the other vampire coven shows up and the one creep decides he’s gonna suck Bella dry like a Capri-Sun is my least favorite part. I hated that part in the original and I hated it a decade later too. It was sudden and yanked me out of my immersion. I did like seeing the behind the scenes from Edward – that was pretty legit this time around, so I’m glad I didn’t skim through it like I planned. The part I hated the most was when Edward decided he wasn’t going to let Bella turn into a vampire. I am still furious – he could have let her turn and she could have rampaged Forks. This could have been a very different series, but NO, BELLA CAN’T HAVE ANY AGENCY HERE.  Dang, if he loved her so much he could have had a real conversation about turning her – make an agreement – when you graduate high school or college or something. What an idiot.

Anyhoo – if you loved OG Twilight, check this out. It was great fun and it’s coming up on cozy fall weather and leaves and sweaters so it’ll be a great atmospheric read! If you hated Twilight I guess you could hate read this, but why would you bother?