Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I think one other person finally brought this up, but I must agree. What does everyone in the book see in Bella? It's rather unbelievable that two strong, "hot" men of any age (human or not) would find a weak, seemingly talentless, and "plain" girl so compelling. I loved Twilight. Bella and Edward had an energy I haven't seen in characters in a very long time. I was willing to overlook Bella's damsel in distress deal, because I figured she would grow as a character. As a writer myself, I prefer to write about realistic heroines. Not all of them start off strong, but many grow and learn to love themselves more. It doesn't matter if the book is fantasy or reality; it's the realistic human element that allows readers to connect to the characters. That being said, what does Bella have to offer? She's not particularly smart. She has no goals in life outside of loving Edward and being with him forever and ever. Blah. She scoffs at the idea of going to Dartmouth. Empowering the mind through education??? Psh, she's too girly to do that! Has anyone ever noticed that she has no real hobbies? I love a main character with quirks and passions in life. Bella spends her days being rescued and, well, that's about it. It's the 21st century and women still have to struggle to be taken seriously. Let's get with it by presenting female characters that, sure, make mistakes, but reflect the incredible strength that most women have. I know I do. That being said, there was a flicker of hope when Bella had second thoughts about marriage. I'm quite surprised at the amount of reviewers who supported Edward on the 'let's get married' view. Am I the only one who would find a guy manipulating me into marrying him extremely unattractive? When I was 17, I would have laughed in the guy's face at such a ludicrous suggestion. Gone is the sarcastic, deliciously arrogant and slightly mysterious Edward. He's been replaced by a needy sap who hasn't had a date in the 100 years he's been around? Come on, ladies. If he's as smoldering as Meyer suggests (I haven't counted, but I'm guessing there is a reference to it on every page), surely he would have had a few dates under his belt by now. I was hoping that the whole storyline with Rosalie suggesting there had been women in Edward's life before would play out as a secret he'd been keeping from Bella. That would have made him more real to me. Hey, I've made a few mistakes, but I love you now, honey puff (gag). What he comes off as, instead, is a naive female fantasy boy. I find that pretty boring, but I've always preferred the male love interest to be a bit rough around the edges. I find imperfections endearing, and more importantly, REAL. Which brings me to Jacob. Aside from his unrealistic obsession with Bella, he is the most realistic character in the series at this point. For one thing, he acts like a 16 year old boy, right down to the barrage of immature comments and sloppy kisses. I can't really say he's a likable character for me, simply because he reminds me too much of the really bad dates I had in high school. Needless to say, I found their "hot embrace" towards the end more vile than anything else. I also don't understand why either character has any feelings for the other one at all? What do they have in common? Alice was an interesting character in the first book. I like her little fashion quirks, but I cannot understand her patience with Bella. Since she's not in love with Bella, it makes little sense that she's put up with as much as she has. When Bella was making snotty comments at their little slumber party, I was waiting for Alice to become disgusted. Disappointment is an understatement for me. I admit that I'm extremely picky when it comes to characters. I find most to be 2D and underdeveloped or just plain boring. Twilight had a magic above and beyond the books I've read in the last few years. I was excited to finally be drawn in by something again. When New Moon came out, I didn't like it nearly as much, but I still had some hope that Bella would develop as a character. Eclipse sealed the deal for me. I'll be happy not to read another page of Bella's self-deprecating and mundane blather. I'm sorry this is so harsh, but sometimes the author needs to hear the truth. My suggestion would be to forget your own morals, and think about what the characters in your book would realistically do. Stop forcing them to be so virtuous (ahem Edward). And please, pump some life into Bella. At this point the only thing that redeem this series is if Breaking Dawn went a little like this: Bella ditches Edward and pursues a career as an FBI agent, joins the marines, decides to become a professional bum or something else completely unlike her. Oh, and Edward and Jacob hook up. Was I the only one that noticed the sexual tension between those two? It couldn't have all been about Bella.