Edward’s Stalking Tendencies Reach New Heights In Midnight Sun
After finishing Midnight Sun last month, I was so befuddled that I needed to take a very long and introspective break to figure out how I even felt about this weird book. Maybe sit alone in my dark closet and analyze my life choices. But we’re now officially running the risk of me forgetting everything I read, so I guess it’s time to write the damn thing. *Blows out a long breath* Buckle in, I think it’s gonna be a long one.
I don’t even know where to start. Despite being a former Twilight fan in my high school years, I fully expected to hate this book. I thought getting through every page would be absolute torture. I mean, inside Edward Cullen’s mind for over EIGHT HUNDRED PAGES?? No way I’m getting out alive.
But then I got COVID and was stuck in bed for a whole weekend, and y’all, when I tell you I could NOT put this book down. I devoured it. All eight hundred and something pages. It was like witnessing a train wreck that I couldn’t look away from and I was FASCINATED by this emo stalking mofo. And there were some actual good parts of this book that I genuinely enjoyed, which shook me to my core.
To make this easier, let’s go over the good and the bad.
The Good Stuff
Getting A Peek At Edward’s Morally Gray Past
When Edward is giving Bella the grand tour of the house and telling her about Carlisle’s history, we get a peek at one of Edward’s most memorable victims, and I absolutely ate that sh*t up. The vibes were a very PG-13 version of Interview With a Vampire, and I could have read an entire book of 1930s Edward.
Bella Actually Getting a Personality
It was obvious to me that Meyer took our comments to heart over the years and tried giving Bella more life in this version. We get all the dirty details of Edward’s questions when he’s trying to get to know her and hear what all of Bella’s answers were. To me, she still reads like a 50-year-old woman in the body of a 17-year-old (not that I can talk as the most boring person on the planet, and maybe this was an intentional move), but I appreciated the effort nonetheless.
Seeing More of the Cullen Crew
There’s a bad side to this same bullet (*cough* Rosalie *cough*), and I’ll get to that in a minute. But for the most part, I had a really great time getting to know a new side of the Cullens and their powers. Emmett may be a himbo, but I somehow love him even more now than I did before. And Alice and Jasper’s powers are SO COOL??? I hesitate to even mention or give any kind of credit to Jasper, the former Confederate soldier (barf), but he and Alice have the coolest powers, and we get a front-row seat to them in Midnight Sun.
Hearing the Thoughts of Other Characters
Edward may be annoying as hell, but his power is super cool and it was fun hearing what other characters were thinking. It made me realize how truly terrible Jessica and Mike are?? They deserve each other.
The Explosive Fast and Furious Ending
Ya’ll. YA’LL. If you take nothing else away from this book review, please listen to this ONE BULLET POINT. If you’re not a die-hard Twilight stan, you can honestly leave the rest of the book on the floor. BUT FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, READ THE JAMES CHASE SCENE. It’s so genuinely fun and exciting that I was LIVID we didn’t get this version in the first place. This is the section of the book that takes place while Bella is wasting away in the hotel room and then gives herself to James in the ballet studio.
So you mean to tell me. YOU MEAN TO TELL ME. THAT I HAD TO READ CHAPTERS OF BELLA DOING NOTHING IN A HOTEL ROOM FOR DAYS WHILE EDWARD IS OUT THERE CHASING DOWN JAMES AND PULLING FAST AND THE FURIOUS MOVES IN A STOLEN CAR TO SAVE BELLA?!? ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!?!?!?! CARLISLE LITERALLY DRUGS A WOMAN ON THE SIDE OF THE FREEWAY SO THEY CAN STEAL HER CAR.
Imagine how astronomically better the first book would have been if we got alternating POVs between Edward and Bella once she figures out what he is. OH MY GOD, I’M IN PHYSICAL PAIN THINKING ABOUT IT. *INCOHERENT RAGE*
The Bad Stuff
The Length
Absolutely no one will be shocked to hear that Midnight Sun was waaaaay too long. I mean, I kind of get it. Obviously, this would be longer than Twilight since Edward never sleeps and he’s the main character, but it was too much. So many parts of this were unnecessary and droned on and on. It’s a no from me.
Rosalie Getting Shafted AGAIN
Rosalie is arguably the most fascinating and complex character in the entire series. She’s painted in such a shallow, terrible light in the first book—a flimsy villain to Bella’s immortal desires. There was real potential for a Rosalie redemption arc in this book, and I was genuinely looking forward to hearing more of her side of the story. But once again, she’s treated like dirt and made to be the most vain and shallow character. It was so frustrating watching that potential turn to dust. If we could stop treating female characters like this, that would be greeeeeeat.
Edward Being Exactly As Unhinged As I Thought
Again, this bullet point will not be shocking to anyone. But it kind of blew my mind to see just how quickly his obsessive stalker mode is activated in Midnight Sun. It basically takes one semi-normal conversation with Bella about THE WEATHER for him to be like, “Yep, I’m in love. I better watch this chick every waking moment of her life.” It’s absolutely unreal.
The Final Word
I have no clue where this leaves me. The good parts of this book make up maybe 15% of it, and the rest is just Edward being Edward, which is a big no thank you.
If you really love the Twilight books, I can definitely see the appeal and recommend Midnight Sun. And if you’re like me and *used* to really love the Twilight books, you’ll probably get a kick out of it. But for the most part, I think you can give this one a pass. Just read that chase scene and be done with it.
