Midnight Sun book review

Midnight Sun by Stephenie Meyer
on August 4, 2020
Pages: 662
Buy on Amazon
Goodreads

When Edward Cullen and Bella Swan met in Twilight, an iconic love story was born. But until now, fans have heard only Bella's side of the story. At last, readers can experience Edward's version in the long-awaited companion novel, Midnight Sun.
This unforgettable tale as told through Edward's eyes takes on a new and decidedly dark twist. Meeting Bella is both the most unnerving and intriguing event he has experienced in all his years as a vampire. As we learn more fascinating details about Edward's past and the complexity of his inner thoughts, we understand why this is the defining struggle of his life. How can he justify following his heart if it means leading Bella into danger?

I read this book purely to satisfy my own curiosity and I’m not sure whether I’m glad I did or not. Midnight Sun was the book that nobody needed and I think that’s the best way to sum this one up, I enjoyed parts of this book especially the bits we hadn’t seen before but the others just felt like a straight retelling. I don’t think we gained anything from Edward’s point of view and I was really disappointed that there wasn’t more explored through his insight. I think there was definitely the same nostalgic feeling and addictiveness that there was with the original series but I just don’t feel like this book did it justice. Plus if I thought the original series was problematic then the pure manipulation and lies in this one completely overshadowed that and didn’t deal with the issues raised.

I think the problem I had with Midnight Sun was the fact that Edward’s inner monologue was exceptionally long and boring in places. Some of it was insightful and I enjoyed that part but he annoyed for the most part. I really wanted for me to fall back in love with Edward and the world but I couldn’t get past his angst and the lies he so blatantly tells Bella. What I will say is I enjoyed the different view of Bella and I think she developed more as a character throughout this book, more so than what I was expecting. If we had seen more from her in the original book I think it would have been less problematic but I appreciated her more throughout and thought she grew through Edward’s eyes which was a surprise. Also I have found a new love for Alice and the way that her power tainted everything in more ways than could ever be covered from Bella’s point of view. She is definitely my new favourite character.

Best bits for me was defintiely anything to do with Alice, I loved watching the way her visions worked and finding out more about the way she worked with the others. I also loved Midnight Sun for showing more about the others and their origins, I think it really helped move the story along and took away from how annoying his voice was. I loved watching Rosalie and her internal struggle, it explained a lot that was missing throughout Bella’s point of view and I enjoyed her more as a character.

The worst bit of Midnight Sun and I hate to say it was Edward and his whining, it was so annoying and it actually turned me off from the book. We all know that he is a brooding vampire dealing with the pain of his existence around Bella but it was TOO much. I just wanted to shake some life into him and snap him out of it.

A mixed bag for me. I don’t think I would recommend Midnight Sun, when I think about all the places this book could have gone but didn’t it makes me sad rather than happy and there was just too much missing potential.

Have you read this one? What did you think? Let me know!