"Eclipse" by Stephenie Meyer

Yes, I know its Thanksgiving and I should be slaving over the stove (never fear, the bird is in the oven). However, I just finished Eclipse this morning and wanted to share my thoughts.

I can sum up the third book in the Twilight series in a nice short paragraph. I hope I don't give away too much, but I do like to give a head's up to the parents out there that have pre-pubescents wanting to read the book. Edward and Bella still sustain their pledge of undying love for each other. Edward wants to marry Bella, but Bella has baggage from her parents' broken marriage. Bella wants desperately to become one of the undead, but wants to lose her virginity prior to the transition. There's lot of negotiation back and forth regarding these three points. Virtues are ultimately intact at the end of the book, but it's a close call with partial disrobing and entwined limbs. Rogue vampires still want to kill Bella, and a significant portion of the book is dedicated to fearing, avoiding, luring, trapping and killing them. Things heat up a bit with the love triangle between Edward, Bella and Jacob, just to make things a little interesting.

I am committed to finishing the series at this point...it is the obsessive/compulsive in me. I have to finish what I start. However, it all is starting to get on my nerves a bit. My expectations are really not all that high, but the plot development is really ridiculous. (I know...what do I want from a teenage book about vampires and werewolves?) On a positive note, Edward is still quite the dude. I'm not tired of him yet. Now, I need to take a break from Ms. Meyer for a book or two. A nice little book about Julia Childs perhaps...