Book Review: "Midnight Sun" by Stephenie Meyer

Title: Midnight Sun

Author: Stephenie Meyer

Series: Twilight Saga #5

Genre: Paranormal Romance

Page Length: 818 pages

Publication Date: August 4, 2020

Rating: 4.5 // 5 stars

I finally did it. I finally read Twilight from Edward's POV. 

When this book first came out during COVID, I initially thought I'd blow through it rather quickly. Well, that obviously didn't happen. I'd reread the entire series just a few months before and it was too repetitive for me with the original book still so fresh in my mind.

That being said, I've been in the Twilight feels this year and decided it was time to finally read it. Without having the first book fresh in my mind, it was a whole different experience this time around. And let me tell you, I'm fully obsessed with this book. 

First things first, Edward is such a simp and also needs to see a therapist for some of his anxieties. Eddy, the response to being worried your girl is going to be bit by a spider is not to sneak into her room without her knowing for nights on end. But, I get it. Seeing Edward's thoughts in this book was very eye-opening. Are some of his actions still super creepy? Yes. However, seeing the rationalizations made it a little less questionable. 

One thing that surprised me, actually, is how often Edward was around without Bella knowing. And I'm not just talking about in her room at night but scenes where we thought she was just alone but she's actually being watched discreetly by him. It's rather funny, actually. 

My favorite part of this book, however, was all the bonus content Cullen. We get very little time with the Cullens in the first few books, if you actually think about the page time. Yet, their histories and way of life are perhaps the most interesting part of the series. Not only did we get to see a significant number of Cullen interactions, we also got a lot of backstory and history. 

Edward had a habit of going on tangents thinking about something that happened in the past and I loved those. We got to see the darker side of the Cullens. I also think that with being able to read their minds, reading from Edward's perspective was eye-opening for all of the Cullens. We got a glimpse into their motivations, their feelings, their powers...it was fantastic. I'm also incredibly surprised by how much we as a fandom underestimated Jasper's abilities. 

All in all, this was a fantastic read for a long-term Twilight fan. While I've reached a point where I am both equally critical and in love with the series, I must say that it was just fun to be back in this world with a fresh perspective. While we're not going to get the rest of the series from Edward's POV, it would be rather interesting to get future books. Or, alternatively, I wouldn't mind a prequel with the Cullens and each of their stories fleshed out in greater detail. 

This is definitely a must-read for Twilight fans. 

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Previous Reviews

Twilight Review

New Moon Review

Eclipse Review

The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner Review

Breaking Dawn Review

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Thanks for reading!

xoxo

Lauren

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July 2024 Wrap-Up + Book Haul

If the first half of the year seemed like it flew by, July felt like it dragged. I truly feel like I've aged years in the span of a month. It was a long, busy, and overwhelming month in a lot of ways. Books, per usual, were an escape. I read a lot of romance this month compared to usual and enjoyed them all, including some new all-time favorites to add to my list. My hope, though, is I get into more fantasy books as we get into the later months of the year since I'm craving those cozy, fantastical stories. 

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1. 

Title: Check & Mate

Author: Ali Hazelwood
Rating: 5 // 5 stars

Review

2. 

Title: Blood Oath

Author: Morgan B. Lee

Rating: 3.5 // 5 stars

3. 

Title: Shadow Heart

Author: Morgan B. Lee
Rating: 3.5 // 5 stars

4. 

Title: Not In Love

Author: Ali Hazelwood

Rating: 5 // 5 stars

Review TK

5.

Title: Flawless

Author: Elsie Silver

Rating: 4 // 5 stars

6.

Title: Heartless

Author: Elsie Silver

Rating: 4. 5 // 5 stars

7. 

Title: Midnight Sun
Author: Stephenie Meyer
Rating: 4.5 // 5 stars

Review TK

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June 2024 Wrap-Up + Haul

Book Review: "The Throne of Honor and Blood" by J. Bree

Mid-Year Book Freakout Tag: 2024 Edition

Book Review: "Check & Mate" by Ali Hazelwood

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I didn't get very many books in July but I am very excited about the ones that I did get. I got three books, of which one of them I paid for many many months ago. I'm also on a no-buy challenge for a few weeks so these books are going to be exciting enough to hold me over. 

Up first I have Butcher & Blackbird by Brynne Weaver. I actually read this many months ago but I read an ebook through the library. I knew the moment I finished it that I was going to want my own copy but I told myself to wait until Leather & Lark released. Well, I finally have said copy! I was on vacation and, as we all know, vacation shopping doesn't count. What's most exciting is that I'll be able to annotate it when I reread it and I can lend it to friends and family now that I have a copy to lend. 

Then I finally got the first book from the Seasons of Shadowhunters Kickstarter that I pledged to back in November 2023. It's wild that when I pledged for it, I was living in another country in a long-term relationship and now I've moved countries and am single again with a whole new plan for my life. But I digress. This first shipment was the Secrets of Blackthorn Hall by Cassandra Clare. This is a collection of the weekly series she did on Tumblr, similar to the novella collections for The Bane Chronicles, Ghosts of the Shadow Market, and Tales from the Shadowhunter Academy. I am thrilled to have this added to my shelf and I can't wait to dive into it when I get to that point in my Shadowhunters read-through.

The last book I picked up was Midnight Sun by Stephenie Meyer, which is my current read at the time I'm writing this post. I was so excited for this book back when it came out in 2020...and then I never read past page 200. I think that's because I'd just read Twilight and I didn't have it in me to read the same book over again. I'm about halfway through on this read and loving it. It's an insightful look into Edward and the Cullens and I'm already wishing we could have an entire story about what they were all up to during New Moon as well as their versions of events in the rest of the books. 

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Thanks for reading!

xoxo

Lauren

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Disappointing Books of 2020

Well, we're at the end of 2020. It's been a long year yet somehow this ending snuck up on me. I'm just glad it's over. Anyway, I'm not here to talk about my general feelings about 2020 but, rather, to dive into the first of my yearly wrap-up posts. Every year I do a few fun posts to wrap up my reading year and this year was definitely an interesting one.

Today I'm going to be chatting about my disappointing reads of 2020, but I feel like I need to give a bit of an explanation and disclaimer first. Just because these books are on this list does not mean I didn't like or enjoy them. Also, I am not trying to throw shade at any of these authors or people who like these books because, again, I did enjoy some of these. However, the books on this list are here because I had high or different expectations for the book and ended up disappointed. Let's go ahead and dive in!

The first on this list is actually the only one that I didn't like at all. In fact, I'd go as far to say that I hated it. I've mentioned this book multiple times over the year since I read it at the beginning of isolation but I just...it wasn't good. The book I'm talking about is Crave by Tracy Wolff. I had such high expectations for this book. It seemed right up my alley and I had heard nothing but positive reviews. And then I read it. And hated it. I won't get super in depth here because I have a non-spoiler rant review here but I just was severely disappointed and didn't like this book at all.

The next book is Midnight Sun by Stephenie Meyer. I feel like this might be a bit of a cop-out add since I technically haven't finished it yet but I think that fact warrants addition to this list on its own. I have been a die-hard Twilight fan since I was nine. I started Midnight Sun the day it came out. And I still haven't finished it. I'm over halfway and have been struggling. I'll have more thoughts once I finally finish but, for now, it's been mostly disappointing so far despite some new content I've enjoyed.

The third book I have is Losers Reap Her by Hayley Stumbo. This is the long-awaited final book in one of my favorite adult trilogies and I was so excited to finally get to reading it. I will admit that I probably hyped it up way to much in my mind and added unnecessary expectations to it. However, I also feel like this book was way different from the first two. Part of the reason I loved the trilogy so much was because I loved our main narrator, and when the POVs changed in this final book I felt a tad disconnected. Also, the ending was one of my least-favorite tropes of all time so that also didn't help. I won't say that I didn't like this book, because I did. I enjoyed finding the resolution to a trilogy I've loved for so long. However, i was a bit disappointed in it not matching my expectations. 

The last book on this list is Blood & Honey by Shelby Mahurin. This one hurts probably the most out of every book on this list. The first book, Serpent & Dove, was my number one favorite book of 2019. It still remains one of my top books of all time. I was incredibly excited for the sequel. However, I felt like it let me down. I did try to make my expectations realistic in that a lot of the things I loved about the first book couldn't be replicated. However, it felt like this book dragged a bit and I was quite frustrated by many of the characters throughout a lot of the book. I do think this is a case of second-book syndrome, especially considering this was originally a duology that got stretched to a trilogy. I am still quite excited for the third book, Gods & Monsters, and I did give this book 4 stars, but it didn't live up to the first book or the early hype I'd been reading and, for that, I was disappointed. 

Thankfully, those were the only books I had for this list! There were books that I rated low this year but a lot of those were also ones that I wasn't highly anticipating so they didn't really disappoint me, per se. Hopefully next year I won't even need to do this post! 

What books disappointed you this year? Let me know in the comments! 

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Thanks for reading!

xoxo

Lauren

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August 2020 Book Haul

Okay so where I didn't read very many books in August, I did haul a bunch of them. I got 16 books in August, which is one of my bigger hauls of the past year. However, considering last summer I had a haul with over 30 books in it, I'm not too ashamed at this number.

This month was a big book haul month for me for a few different reasons. The first was that it was my birthday and I got a few books and gift cards (that I then spent on books). Additionally, I had a few books that I had to buy for my classes this semester since I don't have access to the school library right now. Lastly, I was sent a couple of these for various promotional reasons. There's quite a few to talk about so let's just dive right in!

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The first book that I got this month was Midnight Sun by Stephenie Meyer. Twelve-year-old Lauren was dying when this book was announced earlier this year. There were a few chapters of this leaked many years ago but I didn't actually read them because it wasn't something I was interested in. However, I was so excited when this was announced. I'm a little over halfway through at the moment and it's not quite as great as I'd hoped, but I'm still enjoying it overall.

Up next I have a physical copy of Boyfriend Material by Alexis Hall. I listened to this book on audio early in August and absolutely fell in love with the characters and story. While listening, I knew that I needed a copy for my shelves. I'm absolutely in love with this story and the paperback is so floppy and just nice to hold and look at. If you want to know my thoughts on this book, you can find my review here.

Then I got the entire Broken Earth trilogy by N.K. Jemisin from my grandmother for my birthday. I was so excited that she got these for me because this trilogy has actually been on my list for a while now and I've heard nothing but amazing things. I would ideally like to read it this year but with school and my internship I don't see that happening, but I know I'm going to make it a priority in 2021!

My grandma also got me the new hardcover edition of A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas. This is my favorite book from the ACOTAR series and I'm really excited to have this new edition in my collection. While I do still prefer the original covers and don't think the new ones match the story very well, I do think that the new covers are pretty. Hopefully I can collect the rest of these over the next few months in time for the fourth book's release!

Then I picked up a copy of the Vampire Academy: Ultimate Guide by Michelle Rowan with Richelle Mead. This is a companion guide to the Vampire Academy series which is one of my favorite series I read when I was younger. I really want to do a reread of the entire series next year but in the meantime I'm excited to learn more about the characters and world from this guide.

The next book I got was sent to me by Random House Kids and Storygram Kids for a tour I did on Instagram a few days ago. The book I got was Millionaires for the Month by Stacy McAnulty and it sounds so cute! It's a middle grade story about two boys who find a billionaire's wallet and are challenged to spend over $5 million in just 30 days. This just sounds like such a fun story and I'm really glad I was able to be on this tour.

Then I snagged a copy of the Archenemies Barnes & Noble Exclusive edition by Marissa Meyer. This is the second book in the Renegades trilogy which is one of my new all-time favorites. I discovered that the B&N edition had an exclusive bonus scene included and I knew that I had to get my hands on it! I saw it on eBay for cheaper than it had originally been sold for and jumped at the chance to add it to my collection.

Up next I got a copy of Jackpot by Nic Stone from my dad for my birthday. You may know Nic Stone from her debut, Dear Martin, but she has a host of other published books that I have on my wishlist. I'm so excited to have Jackpot in my hands because it sounds so good. In just one sentence it's about a girl working at a gas station who has to team up with a guy to find the person who bought a winning lottery ticket so that hopefully she can get a reward.  Hopefully I can read it soon!

 I then was sent hardcover copies of A Fallen Hero and Phantom's Mask by Sara A. Noë. These are the first two books in the Chronicles of Avilseor and I'm so excited to have them! A Fallen Hero was one of my favorite books of 2019 and I am so excited to read Phantom's Mask now that it's finally out! I'm hoping to get reread A Fallen Hero and then dive into Phantom's Mask this month.

Lastly, I got a few other books for school and whatnot: Tess of the D'Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy, the Norton Anthology of English Literature Volume 2, News: The Politics of Illusion, and The Intelligent Investor. Nothing too exciting here, but these are books that I'll be reading soon-ish!

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Thanks for reading! Did you get any exciting books this month? Let me know in the comments!

xx

Lauren

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To get more awesome posts like this post, click the follow button to the right!

Use LAUREN10 for a discount on beautiful bookish and custom bookmarks from Total Bookish Eclipse!

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Book Review: "Twilight" by Stephenie Meyer

Title: Twilight

Author: Stephenie Meyer 

Series: "Twilight Saga" #1

Genre: YA Paranormal Romance

Page Length: 501 pages

Publication Date: October 5, 2005

Rating: 5 // 5 stars

Goodreads

So I haven't re-read this in at least 8 years, if not longer, and I was quite excited about it. When Stephenie announced Midnight Sun a little while ago, my inner Twilight fan reared to the surface and I pulled my beat-up copy off the shelf because I couldn't resist revisiting the books.

I've watched the movies over the years quite often. I've read dozens of fanfictions. But it's been years since I actually read the books and, because of Midnight Sun, I've decided that now is the time to reread them. It was actually really interesting because I realized some of the things from the movie that I never remembered being different in the book. Some iconic lines and scenes from the movie are completely different or missing from the book, so I just enjoyed getting to note those differences.

That being said, on this time around I definitely noticed a lot more of the problematic aspects of this book as well as some general craft-related things that were a bit iffy. As I've grown up, I've definitely had more discussions about how this series can be problematic, but when I was rereading this book there were definitely things that made me cringe when I originally was in love with them. I could probably write a whole paper on the issues of just this book alone, let alone the whole series. But I digress. Additionally, as a writing student who's almost finished with a degree focused on creative writing, there were just some craft-related things that I noticed weren't the best.

I don't think I would have liked Twilight as much if I'd read it for the first time now. But I read this book when I was 8. I fell in love with it and this series has done so much for me and been such an important part of my life for many years. I've visited Forks, I've made so many friends, and I fell in love with YA because of this series. Even rereading this book and knowing that it's not a literary masterpiece of any kind, I still loved it.

I loved being reuinted with this story in this form and these characters. This book really did feel like I was slipping into a piece of my childhood...a familiar place that felt like home. I know it's not perfect and there are a lot of issues, but I loved rereading it and I'm excited to continue on rereading the series since I haven't read them in years.

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Thanks for reading!

xoxo

Lauren

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You can follow my bookstagram here for more bookish content!

To get more awesome posts like this post, click the follow button to the right!

Get free worldwide shipping with Book Depository using my affiliate link

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