Review: Eclipse WITH SPOILERS

Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer

Book Review

4.24 Stars out of 5

WITH SPOILERS

This series is semi-surprising me. There are still some characters that I find REALLY annoying, but the series of events is actually pretty entertaining. And, obviously, if you read the first two books you're probably going to finish the series out. I recommend that in general, but I feel like it will be worth it for this series especially. Even if you saw the movie first (**bows head in shameful guilt***) and know the ending, I would read them anyway because I am catching things that differ from the movie and my opinions on some of the characters has changed. Keep reading! I approve! :P
The one thing I will say, is that I feel like this could have been the last book in the series. There was one little snag that wasn't resolved in this that I know will get fixed later, but it could have been put into this one....

BELLA AND EDWARD. WHAT THE ACTUAL ****. I have to say, I'm Team Jacob. And it's not because I think Edward is a bad guy or anything. It's just that they don't balance each other out with their personalities. Example (in comparison to Christian and Ana (Fifty Shades)- seems fitting): Christian and Edward are both super overprotective to a point that I want to hit them over the head- repeatedly. But Ana and Bella are not the same in their responses. Ana doesn't always do what Christian says. She actually makes it a point to go off her own instincts and if he doesn't like it, it's his own fault for not giving her more details. Bella just sits there and bemoans about it. Edward: "Jacob is dangerous, he's a new werewolf." Bella: "He really isn't. He is my best friend and he would never hurt me." Edward: "No." Bella: ***cries in corner*** "I miss him so much!" Gah! It was so frustrating!!! Honestly, I think Jacob is better for her. I will admit that Edward improves throughout the book, but still.... Jacob. He himself actually describes it well at the end by comparing Edward to a drug and himself to the sun and air. Gee, I wonder which one is healthier...

Most of my reactions about this book have to do with how Jacob is better for Bella than Edward, and what kills me is that SHE LOVES HIM TOO. I totally agree with the capability for someone to love more than one person at once but, having watched the movie first, I though it was mostly something Jake made up. BUT IT ISN'T. I died inside when she realized that she loved him too AND THEN STILL CHOSE EDWARD. Edward is a reasonable vampire, he would have let her go live a normal human life with Jacob and not kill the entire tribe in retribution. Not the choice I would have made... I love the werewolves. We learn so much more about them and I like them even more now.

Thanks for reading!

Review: Eclipse SPOILER FREE

Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This series is semi-surprising me. There are still some characters that I find REALLY annoying, but the series of events is actually pretty entertaining. And, obviously, if you read the first two books you're probably going to finish the series out. I recommend that in general, but I feel like it will be worth it for this series especially. Even if you saw the movie first (**bows head in shameful guilt***) and know the ending, I would read them anyway because I am catching things that differ from the movie and my opinions on some of the characters has changed. Keep reading! I approve! :P
The one thing I will say, is that I feel like this could have been the last book in the series. There was one little snag that wasn't resolved in this that I know will get fixed later, but it could have been put into this one....

[
BELLA AND EDWARD. WHAT THE ACTUAL ****. I have to say, I'm Team Jacob. And it's not because I think Edward is a bad guy or anything. It's just that they don't balance each other out with their personalities. Example (in comparison to Christian and Ana (Fifty Shades)- seems fitting): Christian and Edward are both super overprotective to a point that I want to hit them over the head- repeatedly. But Ana and Bella are not the same in their responses. Ana doesn't always do what Christian says. She actually makes it a point to go off her own instincts and if he doesn't like it, it's his own fault for not giving her more details. Bella just sits there and bemoans about it. Edward: "Jacob is dangerous, he's a new werewolf." Bella: "He really isn't. He is my best friend and he would never hurt me." Edward: "No." Bella: ***cries in corner*** "I miss him so much!" Gah! It was so frustrating!!! Honestly, I think Jacob is better for her. He himself actually describes it well at the end by comparing Edward to a drug and himself to the sun and air. Gee, I wonder which one is healthier...
Most of my reactions about this book have to do with how Jacob is better for Bella than Edward, and what kills me is that SHE LOVES HIM TOO. I totally agree with the capability for someone to love more than one person at once but, having watched the movie first, I though it was mostly something Jake made up. BUT IT ISN'T. I died inside when she realized that she loved him too AND THEN STILL CHOSE EDWARD. Edward is a reasonable vampire, he would have let her go live a normal human life with Jacob and not kill the entire tribe in retribution. Not the choice I would have made... I love the werewolves. We learn so much more about them and I like them even more now.
(hide spoiler)] Thanks for reading!

View all my reviews

New Moon Review WITH SPOILERS

New Moon by Stephenie Meyer

Book Review 
4 of 5 Stars

WITH SPOILERS 

I honestly think this one was so much better than Twilight. I do not have a review of Twilight up, nor do I plan on putting one up, but in comparison I feel like this was an improvement. I don't really know what the general opinion about this one is (not majorly a part of the fandom), but I do know that many people get annoyed with Bella in this one. People, she is annoying 24/7; however, I feel like her reactions in this book were described very acutely in a way that I feel like not many people can necessarily relate to or they are uncomfortable with, resulting in them degrading her character for it. For those who have read the book, you probably know what I'm talking about (more details later), and for those of you who haven't, it isn't bad, it's just honest and people don't like that honesty.
PLOT: Nothing major happens in the plot in this one--- I feel like it's more setup. Although, I really liked what was going on during the setup. It was exploratory of human nature and there were some really fun scenes.
CHARACTERS: Bella- Honey, grow up. You're not ten anymore. That being said, people say her actions and reactions are exaggerations, but you have to put in into perspective. It is a paranormal situation.... I think it's fairly safe to say non-normal reaction are the new normal. Edward- Get over yourself. Dumb***. Jacob- I fell in love with Jacob in this book. I don't ship them. I think they're better as friends. But I'd ship him with me .... :) Nobody else is a main player in this one I don't think.....
WORLD: I really liked how we got to hang out around La Push more. That was a really interesting development of where Bells lives and I feel like it filled in the picture more- it added some more colors to it. The Volturi I thought were really interesting. Especially Aro and Jane. It brought to the surface the dangers of vampires that was mentioned in Twilight, but we weren't really exposed to before. The whole thing with the Treaty is brought up too and we get some interesting info on the wolf-y ones as well. :)

SPOILER TIME
PLOT: I liked the plot!! Like I said, not much happens, but we get to hang out with Jacob and it seems like there was more doing instead of talking. We get Bella talking so much and her adjusting in the first book- which is fine- but in this one, we see her develop more indirectly, which made her character more relatable while making the plot and events more fun and interesting at the same time. We got to see a lot of really fun things, like motorcycle riding and cliff diving. And then later on we get an almost-death when Alice, Bella, and Edward are in Italy, which is always something that keeps us on our feet.
CHARACTERS: (I'm not going to do everybody) Jacob- We really get to know Jacob and his personality in this book. One of this things that I love about him is that he won't stop trying to get Bella to go out with him. This was sooooo cute to me. She even admits it to him at one point that she isn't ready to date, and he's just like, "Eh. I'll just keep it up 'til you say yes". It is just so boyishly charming that it made me love him so much more. Aro- The contrast between his authority and how he behaves and speaks is hilarious. Granted, there is nothing funny about the situation they're in when we meet him, but he seems like he's trying so hard to make everything less tense in the room. This makes me think that he isn't really that bad of a vamp. Bella- Ok. Previous to reading this, I had heard so many negative things about her depression and how the pages only had months on them, but when I was reading it, I couldn't see anything bad with it. If anything, it was very strongly accurate to depression and what that feels like. I'm not sure why people got so annoyed by that. If anything, it should have made them more aware of anyone around them who seemed "numb". I actually thought the whole month-on-a-page thing was really creative. And you shouldn't have had to have ever been depressed or know anyone depressed to see that- it was obvious that that was what she was feeling.
WORLD: Nothing really spoiler-y to say here. Jake becomes a werewolf, so they are introduced. Adds another element to the series. And like I stated previously, the Volturi come into play, and I think they are really interesting.

Thanks for reading! :)

Review: New Moon (Spoiler Free)

New Moon by Stephenie Meyer
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I honestly think this one was so much better than Twilight. I do not have a review of Twilight up, nor do I plan on putting one up, but in comparison I feel like this was an improvement. I don't really know what the general opinion about this one is (not majorly a part of the fandom), but I do know that many people get annoyed with Bella in this one. People, she is annoying 24/7; however, I feel like her reactions in this book were described very acutely in a way that I feel like not many people can necessarily relate to or they are uncomfortable with, resulting in them degrading her character for it. For those who have read the book, you probably know what I'm talking about (more details later), and for those of you who haven't, it isn't bad, it's just honest and people don't like that honesty.
PLOT: Nothing major happens in the plot in this one--- I feel like it's more setup. Although, I really liked what was going on during the setup. It was exploratory of human nature and there were some really fun scenes.
CHARACTERS: Bella- Honey, grow up. You're not ten anymore. That being said, people say her actions and reactions are exaggerations, but you have to put in into perspective. It is a paranormal situation.... I think it's fairly safe to say non-normal reaction are the new normal. Edward- Get over yourself. Dumb***. Jacob- I fell in love with Jacob in this book. I don't ship them. I think they're better as friends. But I'd ship him with me .... :) Nobody else is a main player in this one I don't think.....
WORLD: I really liked how we got to hang out around La Push more. That was a really interesting development of where Bells lives and I feel like it filled in the picture more- it added some more colors to it. The Volturi I thought were really interesting. Especially Aro and Jane. It brought to the surface the dangers of vampires that was mentioned in Twilight, but we weren't really exposed to before. The whole thing with the Treaty is brought up too and we get some interesting info on the wolf-y ones as well. :)

SPOILER TIME

[
PLOT: I liked the plot!! Like I said, not much happens, but we get to hang out with Jacob and it seems like there was more doing instead of talking. We get Bella talking so much and her adjusting in the first book- which is fine- but in this one, we see her develop more indirectly, which made her character more relatable while making the plot and events more fun and interesting at the same time. We got to see a lot of really fun things, like motorcycle riding and cliff diving. And then later on we get an almost-death when Alice, Bella, and Edward are in Italy, which is always something that keeps us on our feet.
CHARACTERS: (I'm not going to do everybody) Jacob- We really get to know Jacob and his personality in this book. One of this things that I love about him is that he won't stop trying to get Bella to go out with him. This was sooooo cute to me. She even admits it to him at one point that she isn't ready to date, and he's just like, "Eh. I'll just keep it up 'til you say yes". It is just so boyishly charming that it made me love him so much more. Aro- The contrast between his authority and how he behaves and speaks is hilarious. Granted, there is nothing funny about the situation they're in when we meet him, but he seems like he's trying so hard to make everything less tense in the room. This makes me think that he isn't really that bad of a vamp. Bella- Ok. Previous to reading this, I had heard so many negative things about her depression and how the pages only had months on them, but when I was reading it, I couldn't see anything bad with it. If anything, it was very strongly accurate to depression and what that feels like. I'm not sure why people got so annoyed by that. If anything, it should have made them more aware of anyone around them who seemed "numb". I actually thought the whole month-on-a-page thing was really creative. And you shouldn't have had to have ever been depressed or know anyone depressed to see that- it was obvious that that was what she was feeling.
WORLD: Nothing really spoiler-y to say here. Jake becomes a werewolf, so they are introduced. Adds another element to the series. And like I stated previously, the Volturi come into play, and I think they are really interesting.
(hide spoiler)]
Thanks for reading! :)

View all my reviews

The Book Thief Movie Review!

The Book Thief Movie Review 

4 Stars

For anyone who doesn't know, this movie is based on the book The Book Thief by Markus Zusak- a phenomenal book that really got me interested in historical fiction and all things World War II related. That being said, this is a WWII story about a girl who is adopted by a middle-aged/older couple in the early years before war broke out. It follows her story and her growth and realizations of the world around her. I strongly recommend the book as it explores many human morals and it opens eyes to how easily people, especially young people, are influenced by media and the environment that they are in.  
I think the movie did a really good job portraying the book. I love how the movie still started out with Death as a narrator. That was one of my biggest concerns, because there are so many profound quotes from that "character".  His lines are some of the ones that have stuck with me over the years. "I'm always finding humans at their best and their worst. I see their ugly and their beauty and I wonder how the same thing can be both..." -Death, The Book Thief Those quotes and his character made me really appreciative of the movie and the lessons that we learn from him. I thought the casting was mostly good too, although I felt like Liesel and Rudy appeared too far apart in age. I haven't read it in a while, but I am pretty sure that they were the same age. Mr. and Mrs. Hubermann were great though. And Max! I loved Max and I have always loved him, but the acting was really good too. I wish there was more of a WOW factor though. It's World War II Germany, but I feel like they could have added in more of the severity and direness of situation the characters were in. I did cry at the end, and as this insofar does not have any spoilers, I won't add any now. But I think that speaks to the emotional capabilities of the movie, because in that regard, it was a really well written ending I feel. 
I do not have a book review up for this on my Goodreads account, but I will have another copy of the book soon and will re-read and review then.
I would recommend this movie, but not necessarily to everyone.
Thanks for Reading!  :)
(IDK why part of it is highlighted.... I can't seem to fix it :( so it's stuck like that)