Twilight was published in 2005 in English and it was called a phenomenon. With Twilight we were introduced to Stephenie Meyer’s great (and really addictive) pen, a saga started and… vampires and werewolves came back to business Stephenie Meyer agitated the waters of Fantasy Fiction and many books followed her path. You can imagine my anxiety waiting to get my hands on these books, to find out – on my own – what made millions of readers to embrace this new author and this new book series so vehemently.
The plot takes place in Forks. It’s a rainy, depressing and sunless town in the state of Washington, northeast USA. The climate in Forks is almost unbearable for Bella who just moved in her father’s house. She left behind her mother, in sunny and warm Phoenix, Arizona, and Bella took that bold step forward, to help her mother and her step-father, whose profession demanded moving from town to town.
Bella’s father, Charlie Swan is the Chief of Police at Forks, so when she arrived all knew about it, or where even expecting her. At High School all students were ok with Bella. All but Edward Cullen, who avoids her and seems to despise her. The cold relationship between the two teenagers changes radically when Edward saves Bella’s life in a car accident. She fells in love with him, and Edward does the same. Now, the things could be really nice and easy. But he has a dark secret. And a young American Indian, Bella’s family friend, claims he knows that secret: Edward and the rest of the Cullens are… vampires!
First of all, let me tell you that even though some of the main characters are vampires, the faint-hearted can also enjoy Twilight. This is essentially a romance book, an unbelievable tender love story without violent scenes and Twilight is miles away from the Gothic style that you can find in books and movies like Underworld for example.
You shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, but Twilight starts with a wonderful book cover and, in the Greek version by Platypus Publications, continues with a special, relaxing and carefully chosen font. The most important part of a book is the content of course. Well you can’t stop reading till you reach the last page. It’s just impossible to let this book out of your hands. The way Stephanie Meyer writes, the plot she weaves and the book characters she portrays, leave you breathless. The suspense goes sky high, and you want to find out what happens next. The language flows with no gaps or slowdowns in the narration, and the story that Meyer conceived has many twists that make it impossible to guess what follows or how it will end.
This is a love story that bites. A sweet, tender, charming and thrilling book for adults and young adults. When you finish Twilight, you will definitely run to the bookstore to get yourself the sequel.
When this review was originally written in Greek, I believed that Twilight will have a big success in Greece too. I am very happy that the book readers have proved me right! I enjoyed this book from the first to the last page. I surely suggest that you read the whole Twilight Saga.
The synopsis at the back of the book:
Bella Swan’s move to Forks, a small, perpetually rainy town in Washington, could have been the most boring move she ever made. But once she meets the mysterious and alluring Edward Cullen, Bella’s life takes a thrilling and terrifying turn. Up until now, Edward has managed to keep his vampire identity a secret in the small community he lives in, but now nobody is safe, especially Bella, the person Edward holds most dear.
Deeply romantic and extraordinarily suspenseful, Twilight captures the struggle between defying our instincts and satisfying our desires. This is a love story with bite.