This is not a legalistic rant, but rather a fact-finding mission BEFORE I rant. Isn’t this a book series about vampires and witchcraft? If so, why is that on a Christian site?

Beliefnet is not solely a Christian site. It’s a multifaith site, open to all religions and approaches to faith. Not sure what you mean by legalistic rant.

And it’s only about vampires, not witchcraft. Also, it happens to BE highly popular among Christian audiences (not the type that feel reading books about vampires wrong, obviously.) because the author is a Christian and so she writes the characters to have more morals than a lot of books these days. The characters wait until after they are married to have sex, there is no cursing, etc.
But in response to the article, I liked Breaking Dawn… but didn’t love it, for the exact same reasons. I wish so much that Bella was stronger.

Honestly i can not comprehend why people wouldnt lyk breaking dawn. every1s happy in the end, bella has the most beautiful baby ever to exist, Jacob doesnt end up lonely and depressed, and the most important of all Edward and bella end up together FOREVER. And now i get angry….. BELLA IS NOT FLAT, BORING OR ” 1 DIMENSIONAL” WTH IS WRONG U 4 SAYING THT!?!?!?!?! NONE OF U PEOPLE SHALL EVER UNDERSTAND THE PURE BEAUTY THTIS THE TWILIGHT SERIES.

I really love Breaking dawn, but I would prefer that it would be slower, all happened to quickly! I wanted to know what Bellas friends thought about the marriage, Charlie didnt say to much… Honey moon.. to quickly she was swimming and suddenly next day after sex! ¿? no explanations? .. pregnat in the first try! then.. she was a vampire! the perfect neofit? all happened to quickly and i want to know what kind of son will have Renesme with Jacob! ¿? and the vulturius?? ..
well.. it was quickly but beautiful i will read all the saga again! i left a part of my life in the book! =P

YOU PEOPLE!!! HOW COULD YOU LIKE THAT BOOK?!Bella is a TOTAL Mary-sue & her daughter is WORSE!!!!HOW could Jacob imprint on her?!She’s half VAMPIRE, his mortal enemy!!!!AND Edward has NO personality.It should be called Breaking DOWN not Breaking Dawn.Also, how can you people stand to read a book that is really mellodramatic and no one dies, everyone ends up happy?!It’s like lot’s of anticipation and then.. SPLAT!Nothing happens I mean, I can understand it that J.K. Rowling didn’t want to kill Harry after 7 books but come on..NO ONE dying?And anyway what’s she got against people that are NOT american?

Nope, I definately agree with ya. Breaking Dawn was such a let down. Meyer really lost her touch. Honestly, I only liked the first of the series but to me all the other ones were just horrible. Especially New Moon. Boo!!, you are totally right! The story was awful and the character development sucked. I dont particularly have a problem with Jacob imprinting on Renesmee. I couldn’t care less. In fact, I’m happy it got him to stop being all stupid about Bella. The girl doesn’t like you, get over it! But everything else tanked. I hated how everyone kept making plans to do something and then some crap storm would blow by and ruin their plans. That was basically the whole book. That, and Jacob running in circles. The whole entire story line was wholly predictable with only one slight shocker: the appearance of that weird halfling dude who kept staring at Bella. __Breaking Dawn was horrible. Really, really horrible. I’ve lost any love for the Twilight series. I doubt I’ll even see the movie.

Ugh, the reason I avoided twilight is because of the fans.. I won’t call anyone out who posted a comment. I also didn’t like Breaking Dawn. I couldn’t finish it. I knew going into the book she would get pregnant and that whole fiasco. But it just dragged, and dragged.. I liked Jacob’s interpretation a little too, it was nice to his relationship grow, but I think if Stephenie Meyer is just going to randomly change perspectives, she should’ve done that in the previous books instead of creating about 9 chapters from Jacob’s POV
It took me some time to get over the whole super vampire, and I still am a little.
I liked the baby, but I agree with the whole she didn’t want to get married, got married had sex and wanted to stay a human and go to college and then bam she has a baby and all that changes. I just don’t think it flowed right.
Anyways, I could write a essay long critique on this book, I’m a little disappointed that this IS basically the last one. This is the last book to be told from Bella’s POV, and to me, that’s the end.

I liked Breaking Dawn it wasn’t really a total let down. All I kept saying to myself was that at least this book wasn’t as bad as NEW MOON! Ugh! I hate that book so much!!!
The part that I didn’t like in this book was the Jacob perspective it was a waste of some 9 chapters. I don’t know maybe it’s just because I really don’t like Jacob. He is the most annoying character EVER!!! The part that I hated was how Jacob imprinted on Renesmee that was just sick to me. Ugh.
Yeah, but I think in some parts it was too melodramatic towards the end where the Volturi came nothing ever happened there was just too much talking not enough action. A part of me never wanted Bella to become a vampire because I always liked how she constantly needed rescuing it was fun. Now, she has become this super vampire, though I do like how Meyer described Bella’s transition from human to vampire.
Overall, it wasn’t terribly bad. I think a perfect ending for the book would be if Jacob got with Leah because that’s what I thought was going to happen when Meyer was telling Jacob’s perspective. Or another better ending would be if Jacob died. That would be fantastic then Renesmee would be able to get with that Nahuatl or whatever his name was they would make a good couple.

you guys are haters. i loved loved loved the book:D i don’t care what you guys say, nothing will make me hate it. S. Meyer lost her touch? i doubt it:) she didn’t lose her touch, it’s just the way she wanted her book to be going, it’s not your choice, so stop b****ing&&making stupid pages against it. &&for the people who say they hated new moon, if you hated it so much then why did you continue reading? why did you finish it? && when you finished it && it was oh SO “horrible” why did you decide to read Eclipse? why didn’t you just STOP there? if she lost her “touch” right when she finished New Moon don’t you think Eclipse would be just as sh***y? &&if Breaking Dawn was so bad, why did you finish that was well? you didn’t like it? too bad.
&&stop moping about how much you hate the movie “Twilight”
we all have an imagination, we ALL pictured different things!
we all have creative minds, i’m sure– just be happy&&see things how another person saw it. jesusss.
“Edward is ugly”–boo hoo!
I imagined him with an accent&&not to be as ugly either.
but i don’t always get my way, so don’t b****.
he has kinda grown on me:)
anyways.
let’s support her, not destroy her.
i’m sure she reads these kinds of things & gets hurt.
it’s her ideas, support them:D
you guys act like you KNOW Edward& what he’ll do next,
but you don’t, let her run everything,
if your a fan, then be one.
don’t critisize.
for those who agree, thanks:)

Didn’t even know these books existed two weeks ago, and now I have read all of them. I must say I enjoyed them too…even Breaking Dawn. I guess because I had little to no expectation I would like any of them at all, and then was pleasantly surprised at the draw that the books held for me. It was a fantasy book which I rarely read so it was just nice to have a book end happily for once. It has been a long time since I’ve read a book (in high school or college) that wasn’t completely tragic in one way or another…of course I was just coming off my toni morrison phase so ‘happily ever after’ was the Prozac I needed. That being said, from the get go I wasn’t expecting an epic tale, just her writing style or lack thereof alone was almost to much for me…how many times can you use the word chagrined? (wince…) or smoldering? getting so bad to the point she actually wrote “his eye’s did that smoldering thing again.” (hahhahhahhahhahahhahhha) So you see my friends what we should all take out of this is just what it is an emotional roller coaster for women that finally had a feel good ending. Try not to set your expectations so high on a teen romance novel…that might help you in the future to enjoy the books…worked for me!

As to the “Don’t criticize the author it’s what she wants” comments: bad writing is great. Everyone does it. However, if it is published, it is assumed that the writing itself will be on par. People can disagree about the style/plot and be fine. Criticism towards a work that is sub-par in terms of continuity, coherence, characterization, etc etc deserves to be criticized. Criticism only benefits authors.
On to the book: Breaking Dawn’s wedding scene was fine. It made sense. The rest of the book I could not grasp. A creature that cannot produce blood, sweat, or tears can have sperm? Sperm die after approximately three days of outside exposure. Unless vampires have, along with their venom, magic sperm…but that would mean it would have been discovered and been quite common to have half-vampires, if only males were capable of reproduction. Also, religion itself was never discussed although God/heaven/hell were. I would have liked to not had to infer that Edward was Christian when he died, let alone a by-the-book one.
Bella’s magic transformation also did not seem to stick. She should still have been clumsy. Also, there was never any mention to her having the ability to protect others. Thus, being impervious to head-games/mental abilities made sense, but not the shielding people around her. That part at least was not so bad.
The Volturi thing was lame. They could have attacked families or done more damage. It was not believable given what we had already seen from them. Wrong in a different way, I think, was Jacob’s imprinting on Rennesme. It seemed highly incestuous, at least from an adopted-kin perspective. I could have worked with him imprinting on Bella-it would be lame, but still be more readable.
The end…I just don’t see how the issue of “are we evil or are we just some messed up species” never even got into the last book. Also, none of the other characters’ issues were addressed: World=solved when Bella and Edward are a family.

OME (ome=oh my edward) WHO EVER SAID JACOB IS ANNOYING, YOU ARE SO RONG. think about it. if you were in jacobs shoes. dude, i felt so sorry for jacob. TEAM JACOB. and New Moon was the BEST book in the series. eclipse was the worse. eclipse was just so boring. and breaking dawn, i guess it was ok. its just, i felt like i didnt relate because is like a parent. Im 14 and i cant relate to people that could be my mom. Stephanie should have started when bella was 14 or 15.

Well said, especially the last bit: “I just wish Bella became a stronger character not because she got married, had a baby, and became a vampire, but because she was already a strong person who knew developing her inner strength outside of Edward was more important than relying on him for it.” That is my main gripe on the whole series, actually, and this issue really came to my attention after the second book, New Moon. I was hoping Bella would finally surface from her dark world under a moonless sky and realize that a new moon can only last for one night. I wanted her to heal and come out the other end a stronger person. But in the end, Edward returned and things sort of picked up where they left off in a sense, although this time only this time they both saw how much the other person loved them. And that’s fine, but it just doesn’t allow much for personal growth, individuality and strength of character. I’ve brought this up with friends I know who like Twilight as well and they keep telling me that the story is written for teenagers and that I’m expecting too much depth from it. But I’ve begun to wonder if I was just hoping for “too much depth” from the writer. (Perhaps not, but I’ve wondered…) But in the end I’ll always like Twilight for the potential I saw in it as a unique take on a vampire tale, I suppose, and the memorable characters in that world. Breaking Dawn is by far the least favorite of the four, though. It would have been more interesting to see Bella wait on the marriage, perhaps go to college, realize that she is missing out on some good human experiences and grow up; experience the world. Perhaps if the events of Breaking Dawn had taken place a few years after Eclipse, with a more well-rounded, strong Bella, I might like the book a little. I might have even liked it a lot.

I loved breaking dawn, although i agree it was a lot of stuff fitted into one book it was still amazing, i think that stephanie should come out wit a 5th tho just to expand on the already overly obessed twlight fans, including myself.
I love breaking dawn

I have many problems with this
1. BREAKING DAWN WAS PERFECT AND I LOVED IT!
2. I AGREE WITH “YOU GUYS ARE HATERS” IF NEW MOON WAS SO TERRIBLE THEN WHY DID YOU FINISH READING IT? AND THEN WHEN YOU FINISHED AND STILL HATED IT SO MUCH WHY DID YOU GO ON TO ECLIPSE? AND BREAKING DAWN? DON’T YOU THINK IF ONE WAS SO HORRIBLE ALL OF THEM WOULD BE? BECAUSE IF SHE LOST HER TOUCH DURING ONE OF THE BOOKS WELL SHE CAN’T JUST GET HER TOUCH BACK BECAUSE SHE IS ON ANOTHER BOOK.SO STOP SAYING YOU HATED THE BOOKS SO MUCH IF YOU LIKED THE OTHER ONES.
3. YOU SAY “ITS NARRATIVE IS WAY TO OVERSTUFFED WITH MELODRAMA” WELL ACTUALLY IT WASN’T BECAUSE ALL THE CONFLICTS WERE CONNECTED TOGETHER AND THEY ALL FLOW TOGETHER UNITEING INTO ONE BOOK. BECAUSE IF SHE NEVER MARRIED EDWARD SHE WOULD NEVER GET THE ONE HUMAN EXPERIENCE SHE ACTUALLY WANTED AND WITHOUT THAT SHE WOULD NEVER HAVE HAD RENESMEE AND BECAME A VAMPIRE SO SOON. AND RENESMEE COMPLETED THE WHOLE FAMILY WITHOUT HER THE CULLENS AND THEIR FRIENDS WOULD NEVER BE ABLE TO GET TOGETHER AND FIGHT FOR THE ONE PERSON THEY ALL LOVED AND WOULD ALL FIGHT FOR NO MATTER WHAT THE CIRCUMSTANCES EVEN IF THEY HAD TO DIE FOR HER THEY WOULD BECAUSE THEY LOVED HER SHE WAS THE WHOLE REASON FOR ENEMIES AND FRIENDS AND FAMILY UNITEING AND WORKING TOGETHER AND AGREE TO RISK THEIR LIFE.
3. STEPHANIE MEYERS IS THE AUTHOR AND KNOWS WHO BELLA IS AND WHAT DECISIONS SHE WOULD MAKE IN HER LIFE YOU DON’T. STEPHANIE MEYERS KNEW WHAT SHE WAS DOING AND KNEW WHAT DIRECTION SHE WANTED HER BOOK TO GO IT’S HER CHOICE NOT YOURS TO DECIDE WHAT HAPPENS IN BELLAS LIFE CAUSE YOUR NOT THE ONE WHO ACTUALLY KNOWS BELLA, STEPHANIE MEYERS IS SHE CREATED BELLA AND KNOWS HER PERSONALITY AND DECIDSIONS.IF YOU CAN’T UNDERSTAND THAT YOU OBVIOUSLY DON’T UNDERSTAND TWILIGHT AND ARE NOT A FAN. JUST BECAUSE BELLA SAYS SHE’S NOT “THAT GIRL” DOESN’T MEAN SHE WON’T MAKE THE CHOICE TO GET MARRIED TO EDWARD BECAUSE IF SHE DIDN’T SHE WOULD NEVER GET THE ONE HUMAN EXPERIENCE SHE WANTS AND IF SHE NEVER GOT THAT EXPERIENCE RENESMEE WOULD NEVER HAVE COMPLETED HER FAMILY AND SHE WOULD NEVER HAVE REALIZED HOW MUCH SHE WANTED A BABY UNTIL IT WAS TO LATE.
4.EVERY BOOK BELLAS CHARACTER GROWS STRONGER YOU CANNOT DENY IT EVEN WHEN SHE BECAME A VAMPIRE AND WHEN SHE WAS STILL HUMAN, SHE GREW STRONGER IN MULTIPLE WAYS NTO JUST PHYSICALLY AND MENTALLY BUT HER PERSONALITY CHANGED IN MANY WAYS. I SAW HER STRENGTHEN BECAUSE SHE OVERCAME HER FEAR AND GOT MARRIED EVEN THOUGH IT WASN’T HER SHE DECIDED THAT IT WAS THE RIGHT THING FOR HER TO DO AND ONCE SHE WAS MARRIED SHE LOVED IT. SHE DECIDED TO DO THINGS SHE WOULD NEVER HAVE DONE BEFORE SHE MARRIED EDWARD. ALSO SHE GAINED PHYSICAL STRENGTH BY BECOMING A VAMPIRE.
There are many more but I forgot them all since its been a few months since the time I decided to post this.

Personally I liked the book, no matter how melodramatic it turned out to be. However I seriously disliked the ending of the book and the lack of a final battle (after all the preparations for it). I mean all the third part is about the Volturi’s arrival and the fear of confronting them, but in the end everithing ends perfectly without any loss (excluding Irina). I’m obiously not a writer and I cannot teach Stephany how to write, but if there’s a part of the book that needs to be changed, that is the Cullen vs. Volturi part, it’s so disapointing. If I counld change it, I would make:
Aro never touches Edward so he never discovers the true nature of Renesmee. Instead Aro orders Chelsea to break the bonds among the Cullens and then discovers the mental shield that Bella casts.
Aro orders a physical attack upon the Cullens since both Jane and Alec are incapable of using their powers.
Edward kills Demetri, since he is the worst menace for any vampire who tries to escape the struggle.
Garrett and Kate are killed by Felix (because everybody that has plans for the future dies in almost every movie or book). Emmett fights against Felix but is incapable of defeating him. Bella rages after the death of Kate so she defeats Felix.
Sam dies, so Jacob becomes the only Alpha among all packs (some other wolves die as well).
Jacob escapes with Renesmee but Renesmee fears for her family so she shows Jacob her intentions and runs towards her family.
Renesmee manages to get to Aro and she touches him (Renata is unable to repel her because Renesmee doesn’t represent a threat to her master). The conection between Aro and Renesmee is so strong (due to their contradicting powers) that Aro is able to see the truth.
Aro calls a ceasefire, but Cayo wants to continue. Then Jasper apears to calm Cayo and Alice shows up.
From this point onward the story returns to it’s normal pace.
These are the changes that I would make so the story could have the action everyone was prepared for but that never came.