Eclipse

Some say the world will end in fire,
Some say in ice.
From what I’ve tasted of desire
I hold with those who favor fire.
But if I had to perish twice,
I think I know enough of hate
To say that for destruction ice
Is also great
And would suffice

ROBERT FROST

"BELLA?"
Edward's soft voice came from behind me. I turned to see him spring lightly up the porch steps, his hair windblown from running. He pulled me into his arms at once, just like he had in the parking lot, and kissed me again.
This kiss frightened me. There was too much tension, too strong an edge to the way his lips crushed mine - like he was afraid we had only so much time left to us.

As Seattle is ravaged by a string of mysterious killings and a malicious vampire continues her quest for revenge, Bella once again finds herself surrounded by danger. In the midst of it all, she is forced to choose between her love for Edward and her friendship with Jacob - knowing that her decision has the potential to ignite the ageless struggle between vampire and werewolf. With her graduation quickly approaching, Bella has one more decision to make: life or death. But which is which?

Readers captivated by Twilight and New Moon will eagerly devour Eclipse, the much-anticipated third book in Stephenie Meyer's riveting vampire love saga.

"It's the most significant sound in my world. I'm so attuned to it now, I swear I could pick it out from miles away. But neither of these things matter. This. You. That's what I'm keeping. You'll always be my Bella, you'll just be a little more durable."

I've read these books so many times that it's crazy to me that I still find new things to love. I've always thought that the movie proposal Edward gives came from nowhere. It was necessary and beautiful and everything I wish that the book could have given us... but this is the first time I've noticed that everything he says in that proposal IS in the book, When I tell you I squealed this time around. I was so happy when I got to the book proposal and knew that even if it isn't up to Edward's romantic standards... everything I wanted it to be was still written out at some point. Eclipse as a movie is easily the best they've done as far as the Twilight adaptions went. I was so happy to find something new to love about it in this read.

I love watching Edward and Bella navigate their relationship in a very real way for the first time. There's no real fear of him leaving her, and that's something that really sat over them for the last two books. I love seeing them as an actual couple, communicating their fears and their hopes, negotiating what they can both live with and what their future might look like. I love that Edward always listens to her, even when no one else is. I love that she is always honest with him as far as Jacob Black is concerned. I have nothing good to say about him in this book, so I'm attempting to be good and leave it at that.

I also love how much more important the Cullen family and their histories come into the plot. Rosalie and Jasper especially telling their stories. I love that Rosalie explains to Bella why she would make a different choice, and I love the simplicity of Jasper telling his story and hinting at why the Volturi become such a big issue in the next book. Why even though they're power hungry and the "big bad guys", people respect them all over for keeping them safe. It's so cool to see all the tiny hints into why the issue becomes so big in the next book. I love all the little bits of the Cullen family we get in Eclipse: it's why it'll always be a five star book (despite every word that comes out of Jacob's mouth).

I love how the wolves end up coming in. How the idea of "keep your friends close, but your enemies closer" really comes into the plot here. When the vampires and the werewolves band together and they see how well they can work together... it's the first step in the beautiful dynamic they end up making by the end of the next book. I could talk about how special Seth and Edward's bond is for the rest of my life, and I probably will. I love their histories. Their stories. I love that in their stories a human woman is their true hero. I love that despite all the hatred between the vampires and werewolves, they still find a way to become so much more than their histories.

Above everything else, though, I love watching Bella step into her true self. It makes me more and more proud every time I go through this book. She's so special to me. I have always seen so much of myself in her. She really finds herself in Breaking Dawn, but you see her truly begin her journey into that here. I love that she finally starts to make decisions for herself and put them into action. Whether it be figuring out that the newborns are linked to her home break-in or saying yes to Edward on her own terms and no one else's, or even something as simple as finally putting Jacob in his place. This is the first book that you truly see how special she'll be when she finally becomes a vampire and steps into her true place in this world around her. I love every second of it. I love loving her.