Midnight Sun by Stephenie Meyer

Midnight Sun by Stephenie Meyer
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - 2 days

Pages - 756

Publisher - ATOM

Source - Bought

Blurb from 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?



My Review

Guys this is absolutely a marmite book, I have seen such split reviews at very opposite ends of the spectrum. Also, despite being a chonky almost 800 pages this book ONLY covers book ONE from Edwards point of view. Everything we read in book one was from Bella's point of view this is all Edward. We have a lot of his thoughts and feelings around what is happening at any given time which was a bug bear with some but I really liked that.

The book also offers some information into some of the other characters and I genuinely hope if she brings out the other books to match the originals she keeps this vein where we learn more about the other characters. Meyers gives us in Edward what E L James didn't with Christian, he is very focused on her, her safety and of course he loves her.

I loved these books when they first came out and they are about a "teen" couple so there is angst but the original books had that too. I was surprised how little Jacob was mentioned, I think over 200 pages has passed before we hear him mentioned and not much after that. As I said the book is very marmite, I happened to really enjoy it and hope she does the rest of them. If I hadn't been feeling so crap I could have sank this in one sitting, 4/5 for me this time.

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The Short Second Life Of Bree Tanner by Stephenie Meyer

The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner: An Eclipse Novella by Stephenie Meyer
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - < 1 day

Pages - 178

Publisher - Little Brown Books

Blurb from Goodreads

Bree Tanner can barely remember life before she had uncannily powerful senses, superhuman reflexes, and unstoppable physical strength. Life before she had a relentless thirst for blood...life before she became a vampire.

All Bree knows is that living with her fellow newborns has few certainties and even fewer rules: watch your back, don't draw attention to yourself, and above all, make it home by sunrise or die. What she doesn't know: her time as an immortal is quickly running out.

Then Bree finds an unexpected friend in Diego, a newborn just as curious as Bree about their mysterious creator, whom they only know as her. As they come to realize that the newborns are pawns in a game larger than anything they could have imagined, Bree and Diego must choose sides and decide whom to trust. But when everything you know about vampires is based on a lie, how do you find the truth?


My Review

If you enjoyed the Twilight series you will love this. We get to know a bit more about Bree, we wee vampire who cowered and gave up during the big battle with the Cullens. We didn't know too much about her or how she came to be in the group let by Victoria. This is Bree's story, her existance as a vampire up until the day on the battlefield.

I think, and correct me if I am wrong as it has been a long time since I read Twilight, but we get to know a wee bit more about the actual vampires than from Twilight. Yes we get the Cullens backstory and watch as Bella makes her transition but what of those who didn't choose. How did they come to be, how did they form relationships and come together? We get a bit more of that through the eyes of Bree. I felt for her in the books/movie but more so after reading this, it is indeed her short second life and I wish we had got to see a bit more of it. I am sure I read Meyer was done with these book which is a shame, another character, in this book, Fred, would have been fascinating to catch up with. That and maybe some comeuppance for the Volturi, it has been loved and hated by Twihards, if you have read it let me know what you think. I liked it and enjoyed it for what it was 4/5 stars for me this time.

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The Chemist by Stephenie Meyer

The Chemist by Stephenie Meyer
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - 6 days on and off

Pages - 528

Publisher - Sphere

Blurb from Goodreads

She used to work for the U.S. government, but very few people ever knew that. An expert in her field, she was one of the darkest secrets of an agency so clandestine it doesn't even have a name. And when they decided she was a liability, they came for her without warning.

Now she rarely stays in the same place or uses the same name for long. They've killed the only other person she trusted, but something she knows still poses a threat. They want her dead, and soon.

When her former handler offers her a way out, she realises it's her only chance to erase the giant target on her back. But it means taking one last job for her ex-employers. To her horror, the information she acquires only makes her situation more dangerous.

Resolving to meet the threat head-on, she prepares for the toughest fight of her life but finds herself falling for a man who can only complicate her likelihood of survival. As she sees her choices being rapidly whittled down, she must apply her unique talents in ways she never dreamed of.


My Review

Her name constantly changes, it needs to, she is on the run from the Government. Previously employed as an "extractor" she used her knowledge of chemicals to torture and get info from the bad guys to save the innocents until they turned on her. Now she is the hunted, pulled out from her hiding to hunt down a sadist killer who thinks nothing of taking out millions of people, she agrees to meet one of the government operatives. Back to doing what she does best, she goes to work extracting information, but what the prisoner tells her is not what she is expecting and now she finds herself in danger from all camps and not knowing who to believe!

Ooooh think a female style Jason Bourne, The Chemist knows her way around chemicals and she isn't afraid to use them to torture for the greater good. She trusts no one and rightly so, her name changes constantly to keep her identity a secret. A constant game of cat and mouse, she can trust no one. However her prisoner makes her question everything she knows and worse, feelings she is not used to having come to the surface. Trying to survive in a world where no one can be trusted, fling into the mix a male who stirs up feelings she didn't know she could feel and a presence who resents everything she is!

This is a story of relationships, self preservation, personal growth, learning to reintegrate into societal relationships in very unnatural circumstances, murder, trust, betrayal and loyalty. Oh and lets not forget there are some very fabulous well trained loyal dogs, I love dogs in any kind of story! Things I didn't love so much, the main character is a machine, her main operative is staying alive, yet so many decisions and choices she makes questions the earlier version of the character we meet in the start of the book. One character is a machine, indestructible, a high end operative and assassin yet some of the lingo he uses just doesn't fit with who he is presented as in the book. Despite that I did enjoy the book, I would give it, overall, 3.5, as Goodreads and my blog doesn't do point stars, it is a 3/5 for me this time. I enjoyed the Twilight books and I did like this one I just didn't love it, I would read her next book and if you like a thriller style book give this one a spin. Thanks so much to Anne Cater from Random Things Through My Letter Box for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.

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