“He saw my empty black eyes, my death-pale skin, and he saw judgment.”

Meyers has done it again. She had the opportunity to take a creepy character, Edward, and turn him into a complex vampire whose falling in love left him feeling unlike himself; instead, she produced a story more boring than Twilight. 

Instead of this book focusing on Edward's earlier life, we begin our story with Edward Cullen starting school and meeting Bella Swan. For the most part, this book doesn't offer anything new except for the fact that Edward was constantly thinking about Bella's blood. Like Twilight, most of the book is dedicated to Edward fawning over Bella and then having a nervous breakdown that he might accidentally kill her. In the end, this book is pretty dull and is hard to get through due to Edward's overwhelming Byronic hero nonsense. 

However, there is a part in this book that, in my opinion, shows Meyer's potential at writing an interesting story. Bella asks about Edward's time away from Carlisle during the Carlisle chapter, and he remembered his time in September 1930. A man dreaming of harming a young girl catches Edward's eye. Edward watched the man as he struggled with not wanting to hurt the girl but continued planning his crime. It wasn't until the man started to strike that Edward killed the man. But it was that kill that had Edward realizing that his actions were not exactly good. This chapter of the book was engaging and gave some insight into Edward as he reflected on his time away from Carlisle. 

But in the end, Meyer decided to focus on Bella obsessed Edward, and it sickens me. This book had so much potential, but she focuses on the most tedious aspect of Edward's life, being in high school for the hundredth time. I'm hoping for more from Meyer, but at the same time, I'm so tired of being disappointed.