Well, I never thought this would happen to me, but I’m addicted.
When “Twilight” was first recommended to me, I wasn’t even the slightest bit interested. Come on – vampires? No, thanks. But round about the tenth recommendation, I though I’d give it a try. You can read about it here.
When my friend lent me “New Moon,” the sequel, I was a very good girl and didn’t touch it for two days, but when I did, I read the first half before going to bed and the second half after waking up the next morning. I’m hooked.
When we left off with “Twilight,” Bella and Edward had entered into a tender relationship. Always careful not to hurt Bella, Edward struggled to maintain the balance between living as normal a life as he could and being a vampire. As “New Moon” begins, their relationship is still going strong, although Bella can tell no one that Edward is a vampire. It would put him in jeopardy.
It’s Bella’s eighteenth birthday. Edward is seventeen, and always will appear to be because of his immortal status. Bella wishes she could slow time – someday she’ll be eighty and Edward would still look seventeen. She’s asked him to turn her into a vampire as well, but he flatly refuses.
The Cullen family holds a birthday party for Bella, and while unwrapping her gift, she gives herself a paper cut. The smell of blood is too much for the vampires to bear – they’ve trained themselves to feed on animals, but they are constantly tempted by human blood. Edward steps forward to defend Bella from Jasper, his brother, and feeling ashamed, Jasper leaves the house. But something changes between Edward and Bella that night – he tells her that it’s over between them. The Cullens are leaving town and will not be coming back.
Bella knew she was in love with Edward but didn’t realize how very interconnected they were until he was gone – she literally began to fall apart. It was only the intercession of a good friend named Jake that pulled her out of her emotional coma. But then she discovers something – Jake is a werewolf, and the vampires and the werewolves are enemies. What’s more, Victoria, the evil vampire from the first book, is hunting Bella, seeking revenge for the death of James.
For someone like me who has never read a vampire book in her life, I have to say I was downright fascinated. The world that was created for them, the laws and rules by which they live – it was so imaginative. The book was a little creepy, but not freak-me-out creepy. There were sensual parts, but nothing graphic – Edward and Bella do not have a sexual relationship. And, do you want to hear something downright amazing – “New Moon” was every bit as good as “Twilight.” Sequels are hardly ever as good as the first book.
Overall, I’d have to give this book a 9.5 out of ten. I really enjoyed it and now I can say that I, too, am looking forward to the release of “Eclipse,” coming out this August.
(This book was published by Little, Brown in 2006.)
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