Eclipse (The Twilight Saga, Book 3) Review

Bella Swan has one desire--to become a vampire so that she can be immortal and be with Edward Cullen forever.  Edward knows what she will miss if she gives up mortality.  He knows the human aspects that she may still want.  A big loss would be that of having children and he believes that if he fulfills her desires and bites her that she will harbor bitterness against him for taking away her humanity. 

At the end of New Moon you believe that Bella's wish will be granted but when things go awry on her 17th birthday Edward leaves her and her world falls apart.  Bella then takes up a friendship with Jacob Black, an Indian boy from the La Push reservation.  She later discovers that he is a werewolf.  Jacob pulls Bella out of the downward spiral that she is in and she soon discovers but will not admit that she has fallen in love with both Jacob and Edward.  But as the story progresses you realize that there is much conflict when there is a love triangle and this one is comprised of a human, a vampire and a werewolf.

In New Moon, Edward and Bella made a promise to the Volturi in Italy that instead of him killing her he would transform her into a vampire.  So, in Eclipse Bella is constantly reminded of this promise and soon strange things begin to happen and she believes that the Volturi is coming after her. 

Webster's Dictionary defines an eclipse as: "total or partial obscuring of one celestial body by another."  Thus, we would be aware of the lunar and solar eclipse when the sun and/or the moon covers the other.  So in the novel you must determine who is being overshadowed by whom?  Which being, the vampire or the werewolf has the better chance of winning Bella's love and casting the shadow down upon the rest?  To understand the eclipse better take a peak at the novel:

If I didn't know what it was like to live without him.  I wasn't sure.  That knowledge was so deep a part of me, I couldn't imagine how I would feel without it.

"He's like a drug for you, Bell."  His voice was still gentle, not at all critical.  "I see that you can't live without him now.  It's too late.  But I would have been healthier for you.  Not a drug; I would have been the air, the sun."

The corner of my mouth turned up in a wistful half-smile.  "I used to think of you that way, you know.  Like the sun.  My personal sun.  You balanced out the clouds nicely for me."

He sighed.  "The clouds I can handle.  But I can't fight with an eclipse."

To understand the above passage and to know who is talking to whom you will have to read Eclipse.         

Someone gets into Bella's room and organizes it.  They also remove several of her garments and other personal affects.  Bella believes that Alice did it as part of the slumber party scam but they later discover it was done as a means to track her scent.  But who is tracking Bella?  Who still wants Bella dead?

In order to save Bella Edward and Jacob must make a truce.  They both love her so much that they agree to put aside all differences for the sake of keeping her safe and alive.  And so, the vampires and the werewolves unite forces.  But what happens when the newborn vampires arrive on the scene?  Newborns have no sense of self-preservation or self-control.  They can turn on themselves or one of their own as quickly as they can turn on the enemy.  Bella finds herself in one compromising situation after another and the more she fights for her life the more she realizes about true love.  And when she witnesses the behavior of a newborn vampire she begins to wonder if she too will be that way.  Will she lose control and kill innocent people?  Will she have to say good bye to her family and friends forever to keep them safe?

You will have to read Eclipse to get the answer to the following questions:

• Who is after Bella?
• What does it mean to imprint someone?
• Will Bella be able to seduce Edward and will Jacob be able to win her love?
• When the battles rage whose lives are lost?
• What does Jacob give Bella and what does it symbolize?
• What does Edward give Bella and what does it symbolize?
• What are the stipulations that Bella lays out to Edward and what stipulations does Edward put on the table before he will consider transforming Bella?

I have noticed that the books get longer each time you move on to a new one.  Eclipse was 628 pages and I loved every minute of it.  There are times when you think Bella is going to get her way.  She wants to consummate her love for Edward before she becomes immortal because she knows the feelings will not be the same after she has become hard and cold.  Will the love still run thru her veins like the blood in her body? 

I was endeared more to Alice as I read Eclipse.  I saw humanity in her.  Often while reading I would forget she was a vampire.  When I would see her interacting with Bella I just saw two best friends having the time of their life.  Edward just became more genteel.  My heart went pitter patter every time he did something unselfishly like when he willingly gives Bella over to Jacob and tells her it is her decision and that all he wants is for her to be happy.   I want to slap Bella silly and make her see just how good she has it.  Jacob is such a child and so immature and Edward is her knight in shining armor.  But she must find the meaning of true love within herself before she can share it with another.  You will grow to love Edward more as you read Eclipse and you will be wishing and hoping that he could creep into your bedroom at night and calm all your fears too.  Edward IS what dreams are made of!    

You will be on the edge of your seat when the storms are raging and the battle begins.  You will hear the werewolves howling and the vampires shrieking and you will be taking a second glance over your shoulder as you turn every page.  Meyer's was very descriptive in this novel about the morphing of man to werewolf and I found myself cringing at times just to read what was happening.  How do you react to the sound of werewolves being torn to pieces and vampires being broken apart as rocks crushed in a quarry?  And when they burn the dead--it's as if you can smell the burning flesh in your head.

I had a difficult time reading about the battle between werewolves and vampires because I had the same concern and fear as Bella: I cannot stand the sight of gore and blood and I was wondering who would lose their life for the sake of another and in the end-would it be lost in the name of love or vengeance?  Many lives are lost and you cry anticipating who is going to be next.  

And when the battle is over it's not really over.  You will have to read Eclipse to see who appears on the scene and how a new battle begins.  The battle continues for one woman's life and another's heart. 

Eclipse was a well-written book in which the author just developed the characters more.  She took you inside their mind and soul and gave you a glimpse of Heaven and Hell.  She let you see how immortals struggle with their conscience and how mortals struggle with their soul.  This was a beautifully written story.  It picked up a little more language toward the end but wasn't raunchy and profane.  I already have Breaking Dawn, the final book in the saga and I will begin it this evening! 

Additional Book Information:

• ISBN: 978-1-904233-91-6
• Publication Date: 2007
• Publisher:Little Brown and Company
• Format: 628 pages, paperback
• Cover Price: $22.99
• My Price: $10.47 plus $3.99 s/h at amazon.com