Rating: [rate 2]

When you loved the one who was killing you, it left you no options. If your life was all you had to give, how could you not give it? If it was someone you truly loved?

To be irrevocably in love with a vampire is both fantasy and nightmare woven into a dangerously heightened reality for Bella Swan. Pulled in one direction by her intense passion for Edward Cullen, and in another by her profound connection to werewolf Jacob Black, she has endured a tumultuous year of temptation, loss, and strife to reach the ultimate turning point. Her imminent choice to either join the dark but seductive world of immortals or pursue a fully human life has become the thread from which the fate of two tribes hangs.

So the series ends. I’ve read and reviewed the past three books and I can say that they grew to be one of my favorite and most recommended series for this year. Although I’m not as big of a fan as other people I know, I liked the books. I liked the characters (most of them, anyway), and I was very, very curious at how Stephenie would end the series.

(WARNING: Minor spoilers in the next few paragraphs)

Breaking Dawn was…interesting. There were a lot of unexpected moments, but there were also a lot of expected moments. I didn’t exactly like it that much, mostly because it seemed to have lost the conflict that was shown in the first three novels. The only palpable conflict I got there was Jacob’s when he was agonizing over Bella’s safety and humanity…but the rest of the “conflicts” were put into neat little packages that didn’t sit well with me. It’s just too…perfect. Where’s the danger? Where’s the tension between the tribes? Seriously, the blurb at the back of the book did NOT fit the novel at all.

In some ways the book was entertaining, but I felt that it totally deviated from what the first three books were about. It’s both fast and slow, and everything fell into place too perfectly that it’s not relatable anymore. One may identify with Jacob’s agony at losing Bella, but even that was watered down too. Bella became even more clingy and selfish, in my opinion, and Edward…well, to be honest, I hardly felt him. It was all, “Bella, Bella, Bella.” No wonder Bella turned to be a bit self-centered, yes? Oh, she hated hurting everyone, yes, but she still ends up doing so because of her fixation on Edward.

Saving graces of the book? I loved the Jacob parts, but the real winners in the book for me were Emmett and Seth. I loved all of Emmett’s lines (I can actually imagine Kellan Lutz being Emmett in the book now) and Seth’s childlike attitude and eagerness to help his friends and be of service to the pack (kind of like reminds me of an over-excited dog who takes pet supplements). Oh, and in a way, I was amused with the Romanian vampires who showed up, and the new vampires are interesting, but they were too many introduced at a short span of time, and it feels to convenient that they’re all “at peace” with each other.

So, all in all, although I was quite amused with some parts of the book, I really didn’t like it as much as I thought it would. It’s just…too much. Harry Potter did have a happy ending, but it took a lot of hardships (and death) before he got there. Harry managed to mature even more in the 700+ pages of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows and I was hoping Bella would do the same thing within the 700+ pages of Breaking Dawn, but…no. Oh well.

If you’re a Twilight fan, you might still want to read this, but if you’re not a huge fan, I’d suggest you stop at Eclipse. The ending of Eclipse seems much more satisfying than Breaking Dawn‘s. Plus I wouldn’t recommend this book for any of the young girls given its content.

More comments under the cut, but be warned, these are major spoilers.

• Wedding. I honestly didn’t know what to expect at the wedding, but it was nice I guess. A bit too cheesy, but I guess what I love there would be how Alice planned everything. It kind of goes against my values to marry that early, but hey, better marry early than commit sin, right?Although I really kind of wished the wedding was done in the latter part of the book. You know, more conflict before the wedding because of say, Tanya and Bella’s insecurity over her, or because of the Volturi, or Bella realizing how she really wants to be human…or even because of Jacob sabotaging it. It might have been more satisfying of a love story if they had a hard time making the wedding a reality because of external factors. It would’ve given Bella a chance to actually grow up, but no.
• Honeymoon. It was, honestly speaking, one of the boring moments of the novel. Maybe I’m just not interested with how the two celebrated their union, but really…devoting a couple of chapters just for that is kind of overkill for me. Or maybe it’s just me. *shrugs*
• Bella’s Pregnancy. That was surprising, given that I thought Edward couldn’t impregnate anyone given that his entire body is “frozen” because of his immortality. Her change from being an immature and clingy girl to being a mature mommy to be is VERY unbelievable though. Seriously now, no even fears of being a mom this soon? Especially the possibility of bearing a vampire? Is she so…enamored by the idea of having a “little Edward” that she didn’t even think of how difficult it may be? How can she have such maternal instincts when all she could think about was doing it with Edward…again and again and again. Erm.
• Jacob narrating Book 2. Love this. I love Jacob, and although he didn’t have super stellar moments in this book, I love that we get to see into his mind. I love how he became the Alpha, how Seth and Leah followed him. I loved his appearance in the wedding at the first book, which, as Toni said, a sign of his friendship to Bella, no matter how much it hurts for him to see her getting married. I love his chapter titles which were so Jacob. :)
• Jacob and Rosalie’s fights. Loved this, seriously. “You got food in my hair.” Classic.
• Renesmee. Ugly name, really. Her second name, Carlie, is acceptable, but Renesmee? Geez. Although her entire character seems sweet, it’s just too…perfect the way everyone loved her.
• Jacob imprinting on Renesmee. WHAT THE HECK. When I read that, I was all…EHHH? It’s too…neat! Too coincidental! Too much! I would’ve loved it if Jacob fell for Leah instead, and it would’ve been more exciting. But to imprint on Bella’s half-vampire daughter? Come on. I wanted Jacob to recover better than that.
• Charlie. This was a serious let down. Need to know? What kind of parent is that? Especially for a policeman. The idea of a conflict with Bella becoming immortal and Charlie “accepting” that is just too…simple. Too packaged to fit Bella’s wants. And very disappointing.
• Bella being “perfect” for immortality. I knew Bella would become immortal one way or the other, but saying that “this fits her perfectly” and her being the strongest vampire all of a sudden and having those powers just like that? Again, too much. Her lack of a newborn thirst is  okay with me, but I wish she had more conflict with her becoming immortal. The fact that she couldn’t really remember her human memories is too convenient as well…and whatever happened to her human friends?
• Alice’s disappearance. This was one of my favorite moments in the book, admittedly, because I thought there would be more mystery with the way Alice left clues for Bella. But I wish it didn’t end leading Bella to a forger. >_> It’s…shallow.
• Final confrontation with the Volturi. Where’s the action? It was all talk! Blah blah blah. Except for the death of Irina, there was basically nothing at this part of the novel. I expected more of the Volturi. :| I felt like this was a perfect moment to really show the idea of good and evil vampire/werewolf style in the novel, but I really think it missed the mark here.
• The ending. Too packaged. Too happily ever after. I know in the end everything would fall into place, but Bella getting everything she wanted was really just too much of an ending to accept.

There’s so much stuf in this book that it’s hard to read it all in one sitting without getting information overload or being dizzy with all the moments. I know it’s not easy to write a 700+ page book, but I really believe this could have been better, especially with so much material and plot ideas that can be used.

But oh well. I’ve read some positive reviews of it, and I don’t mean to antagonize them with my review. I just wish there was more substance, really, and more realism even if it’s a fantasy/fairy-tale like book.

Now let me get back to Eat Pray Love. I need a dose of reality, thank you very much.