Seemingly never-ending; it's 756 pages and it definitely feels that insanely long.
My part one review went up to page 376, so this second part review covers from page 376 all the way until the ridiculous ending point at 756. While the first half of this novel was quite enjoyable, the second half dragged on and on and took me weeks to get through. It's unfortunate because all the action happens in the first 300 pages and then not again until around the 600 mark.
If you're a fan of pacey, page-turning novels, maybe give this one a miss.
As I mentioned in the first-half review - it was exciting being transported back into Forks and all the moody aesthetics. It was also interesting to see the relationship between Edward and Bella grow from Edward's perspective. However, that novelty wore off pretty fast. The story was definitely more romantic when told from Bella's perspective. When you know all of what Edward was thinking (and more of his concealed actions) the story seems more stalkerish and unsettling than centered around teenage love.
Edward has so much self-hatred buried in his soul (according to Edward he doesn't even have a soul anymore) that reading his thoughts and knowing his inner struggles is borderline unbearable. He is whiny, self-loathing, and a major masochist. There never was a truer line than 'What a sick masochistic lion,' which is shocking because Edward knows how disturbing his behavior is but continues to do it anyway. At points he is also quite verbally aggressive and emotionally abusive towards Bella. He is quick to anger and a very negative person, so constantly being stuck in his head proves a tough read.
I actually think that there is a lot that authors can get away with when writing supernatural romance stories. Because vampires are from different time periods, in theory I feel like there is more leeway when writing their aggressive/possessive behaviors. Readers even accept rude and animalistic behavior because vampires are different than humans and therefore can act differently with readers not being put off by 'un-believable actions.' However, Edward's dialogue and actions are hardly ever romantic, loving, or even sexy. I'm not really sure how he could even be thought of as a love interest or hero in this novel. I've read some possessive vampire novels and even stories where they torture the heroine before dating her, but somehow Meyer has managed to make Edward one of the worst male leads in terms of toxic and abusive behavior that I've ever encountered.
I finished this novel simply out of nostalgia and pure determination to finish a book of this length. But I will have a hard time speaking positively about the experience. I was really excited to get back to the love story that sparked my (still present) love for paranormal romances, but knowing what Edward was thinking the entire time made it significantly less romantic and I'm not sure if some of the dialogue was changed in this edition, but a handful of his comments are downright rude and upsetting. If you want to jump back into Forks for nostalgia's sake then be my guest, but even once avid Twilight fans such as myself will be bored and unsatisfied by this mammoth of a book. It should have been 400 pages shorter and Meyer should have put more thought into developing Edward's character into someone that wasn't an abusive masochist.
Rating: 3/5 Stars (for good ole times sake!)
Buy Midnight Sun here.
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