Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer

The third book of the Twilight Saga has me glued from its first page to the very last and has me reread it again..and again. This book takes off from where book number two left us and offers so much more. Eclipse has, in my opinion, a better plot and a slightly better character development than New Moon.

Bella’s decision to be together again with Edward has pushed her friendship with Jacob almost to the brink of non-existent. What makes it even harder for Jacob to accept is Bella’s choice for immortality with Edward after her high school graduation. He tries to convince Bella that there is other choice in life which doesn’t involve in her giving up her mortality, by choosing him instead and he’s not giving up easily to try to win her heart over.

As this love triangle evolves around them, the Cullens are worried at the same time about the strings of mysterious killings in Seattle because it doesn’t appear like it is done by human. Due to Edward and Jacob’s mutual affection for Bella, the werewolves and vampires decide to team up against these killers, despite the fact that such a pack is completely against their natural instinct.

This book is not as mundane as the second book, with action, suspense, humor and the pain of decision making nicely told. I especially like the chapter Fire & Ice with Jacob and Edward. I see Edward’s point on why he’s doing what he’s doing although I think it’s utterly and endearingly generous of him, even to the point of extreme. I can understand his overreaction at first but his extreme tolerance and his completely unselfish gestures later on totally bugs me.

At times, I was a little disappointed with Bella’s character in this book. By pursuing her friendship with Jacob, she’s indirectly giving him hope. She even knows it herself what she’s doing to Jacob but she couldn’t stop herself from craving his company. Don’t you think it’s cruel to both Edward and Jacob? Well, you would have guessed where this eventually will lead to.

I like how Meyer uses various literatures to illustrate her storyline. She uses Pride and Prejudice for Twilight, Romeo and Juliet for New Moon and for Eclipse, it’s Wuthering Heights. I can see why she’s using this book as a parallel description for this love triangle. As Bella quoted from the book when she has made her decision:

Ah, that sounds exactly right
My verdict: 4.9/5