BREAKING DAWN

SYNOPSIS: It ought to seem redundant to dismiss the fourth and final Twilight novel as escapist fantasy-but how else could anyone look at a romance about an ordinary, even clumsy teenager torn between a vampire and a werewolf, both of whom are willing to sacrifice their happiness for hers? Flaws and all, however, Meyer's first three novels touched on something powerful in their weird refraction of our culture's paradoxical messages about sex and sexuality. The conclusion is much thinner, despite its interminable length. Everygirl Bella achieves her wishes quickly (marriage and sex, in that order, are two, and becoming an immortal is another), and once she becomes a vampire it's almost impossible to identify with her. But that's not the main problem. Essentially, everyone gets everything they want, even if their desires necessitate an about-face in characterization or the messy introduction of some back story. Nobody has to renounce anything or suffer more than temporarily-in other words, grandeur is out. This isn't about happy endings; it's about gratification. A sign of the times?

MY VIEW: I LOVED THIS SERIES!! ALL 4 BOOKS WERE FANTASTIC!! I feel like I KNOW each of these characters personally. The feel like family. The market has gone crazy on vampire stuff. There are lots of sayings that only a Twilighter would recognize such as Which would you prefer as a boyfriend, a guy who wants to drink your blood? or a guy who drinks out of the toilet? Team Edward 1809, Team Jacob, It's a wolf thing, Bite Me! Suck Me, Drink my blood, It's a Vampire thing...and many more Stephenie Meyer is a genius and an excellent writer!!

ECLIPSE

SYNOPSIS:

"Edward’s soft voice came from behind me. I turned to see him spring lightly up the porch steps, his hair windblown from running. He pulled me into his arms at once, just like he had in the parking lot, and kissed me again. This kiss frightened me. There was too much tension, too strong an edge to the way his lips crushed mine–like he was afraid we had only so much time left to us."

Readers who are hooked on the romantic struggles of Bella and the vampire Edward will ecstatically devour this third installment of the story begun in Twilight. Jake and Edward forge an uneasy alliance. Jake and Edward's competition for Bella feels particularly authentic, especially in their apparent desire to best each other as much as to win Bella. According to the author Stephenie Meyer, the fourth book should tie up at least the Edward story, if not the whole shebang.

MY VIEW: I think so far this volume is my most favorite!! Stephenie Meyer is a Genius! This is the first time have read a series of books and couldn't wait to get into the next book! I love the way she writes, it's like she can get into my head and describe exactly what I'm thinking down to what a person looks like. I imagined what Jacob looked like and when she explained him, I felt she had the same image. The movie Twilight just came out this weekend and the people they found to play the characters were what we expected to see. I could have named them all before they were introduced because they found people to fit Stephenie's descriptions. I just started Volumn #4 now...Breaking Dawn so stay tuned to my view when I finish it!!

NEW MOON

SYNOPSIS: In New Moon, Stephenie Meyer delivers another irresistible combination of romance and suspense with a supernatural twist. The "star-crossed" lovers theme continues as Bella and Edward find themselves facing new obstacles, including a devastating separation, the mysterious appearance of dangerous wolves roaming the forest in Forks, a terrifying threat of revenge from a female vampire and a deliciously sinister encounter with Italy's reigning royal family of vampires, the Volturi. Passionate, riveting, and full of surprising twists and turns, this vampire love saga is well on its way to literary immortality.

MY VIEW: I was sad that Edward had left. Bella was heartbroken and lost until Jacob became more aware of her and she began spending more time with him. I really felt sorry for Bella and the way that she felt. Jacob was falling in love with her and she loved him as a FRIEND only and found comfort in being with him as it was a good distraction for her mind with kept drifting back to Edward. Her heart only truly LOVES Edward and she missed him terribly. There wasn't a day that went by that she didn't think of him and wish that he was with her.

TWILIGHT

Synopsis
Bella Swan's move to Forks, a small, perpetually rainy town in Washington, could have been the most boring move she ever made. But once she meets the mysterious and alluring Edward Cullen, Bella's life takes a thrilling and terrifying turn. Up until now, Edward has managed to keep his vampire identity a secret in the small community he lives in, but now nobody is safe, especially Bella, the person Edward holds most dear. Deeply romantic and extraordinarily suspenseful, Twilight captures the struggle between defying our instincts and satisfying our desires. This is a love story with bite.

MY VIEW: Stephanie Meyer is a fantastic author! I didn't think I would like this type of reading but before the first chapter was through...I was hooked!! This was the best book I've read in a while that I could just relax and enjoy the story.

I was at the Salon and most of the girls working there were all sitting on their chairs when I came in and all of them had their nose in THIS book!! Yes it is THAT GOOD!! I went to the bookstore to pick up the next book in the series and it was "Twilight" mania all over the place. I guess I didn't pay attention very well to the fact that her latest book "Breaking Dawn" was releasing that day and so everyone there was waiting until the magical hour to purchase their copies. I'll wait for mine. But I have to say that people were costumed out very well!

I would say GET THIS BOOK and good night light!!

ON CHESIL BEACH

Synopsis
In 1962, Florence and Edward celebrate their wedding in a hotel on the Dorset coast. Yet as they dine, the expectation of their marital duties weighs over them. And unbeknownst to both, the decisions they make this night will resonate throughout their lives. With exquisite prose, Ian McEwan creates in On Chesil Beach a story of lives transformed by a gesture not made or a word not spoken.

MY VIEW:

I thought the book was good however it seemed to have drug out to long for me. This is my second Ian McEwan book to read. I did enjoy reading his book Atonement....actually I liked the movie better I think.

BUNGALOW 2

I just started this book...so no personal review yet!

SYNOPSIS:

Danielle Steel takes us beyond the dazzle of Hollywood in her compelling new novel—the story of one woman’s journey from suburban mom to award-winning screenwriter...and all the joy, heartbreak, and challenges along the way.

THE LAST LECTURE

I would recommend this book to everyone. I'm almost finished reading it at the recommendation of a friend who listened to part of it online. When I saw the book at the store I remembered how much he talked about this story....so I bought it!

Synopsis:
"We cannot change the cards we are dealt, just how we play the hand."—Randy Pausch
A lot of professors give talks titled "The Last Lecture." Professors are asked to consider their demise and to ruminate on what matters most to them. And while they speak, audiences can't help but mull the same question: What wisdom would we impart to the world if we knew it was our last chance? If we had to vanish tomorrow, what would we want as our legacy?
When Randy Pausch, a computer science professor at Carnegie Mellon, was asked to give such a lecture, he didn't have to imagine it as his last, since he had recently been diagnosed with terminal cancer. But the lecture he gave—"Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams"—wasn't about dying. It was about the importance of overcoming obstacles, of enabling the dreams of others, of seizing every moment (because "time is all you have…and you may find one day that you have less than you think"). It was a summation of everything Randy had come to believe. It was about living.