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Book Review of Eclipse (Twilight, Bk 3)

Eclipse (Twilight, Bk 3)
thunderweasel avatar reviewed on + 147 more book reviews


And you thought your life was complicated.

Stephenie Meyer continues her epic vampire saga with Eclipse, the third installment in the book series. After a whirlwind trip to Italy to save the love of her life, Bella Swan is back in Forks, Washington, preparing for high school graduation and the ulimate change in her life: her transformation into a vampire. But a few things are standing in the way: the Volturi (a small, dominating group of peace-keeping vampires), Victoria (female vampire seeking to kill Bella), and her chaste boyfriend Edward (vampire who isn't completely convinced on the idea of Bella becoming one of him). And her best friend Jacob - a werewolf, to note - isn't helping matters much by wanting to take their relationship to the next level despite Edward's constant presence. But even that isn't the worst of it.

A rogue group of young, hungry "bloodsuckers" are rampaging through Seattle, causing newspaper headlines to declare mass murders and killing sprees. Little do they know, the team has its crosshairs on just one target: Bella. This results in the unlikely allying of the vampiric Cullen family and the werewolf Quileute clan, who join up to defend Bella from the bloodthirsty onslaught.

But the possibility of death isn't the only thing on Bella's mind: she must find out why she can't remove Jacob from her life and whether she feels that "something more" that he does.

Meyer's writing was brilliant in the series' predecessors, Twilight and New Moon. She doesn't fail to impress with Eclipse, combining heart-breaking romance with pulse-pounding action, with an occasional romantic, mushy moment for flavoring. Even those who are unfamiliar with the first two books will fall easily into Eclipse with the series' facts stuffed into the first chapter. Though the entire series keeps a much better story, Eclipse easily stands on its own as a classic tale of evolving love and brutal war.