Breaking Dawn – Stephenie Meyer

This is the final book in the Twilight Saga Series (or…was the last book), and it wraps things up really nicely. It did take me a while to get into, mostly since I read The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner before this, which was a much faster storyline. I have to say, I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this book. As you probably already know from my previous reviews of this series (check it out: Twilight, New Moon, Eclipse, The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner), I watched the movies before reading these. Breaking Dawn one and two were my least of all of the films, and so I was pleasantly surprised with the outcome of this book. 

Plot

This book contained three different “mini” books, or parts, written in Bella’s and Jacob’s perspectives. Book one began with Bella’s perspective, and Bella and Edward were finally taking the next step; marriage. Bella is so excited to spend the rest of her life with Edward, on his one condition of marrying him, which she finally agrees to in Eclipse. 

Bella and Edward’s wedding is beautiful, and they are surrounded by everybody they love. Bella’s family is there, and Edward’s “cousins,” the Denali clan, arrive as well, to wish the happy couple. Unfortunately, one member of the Denali sisters clan does not take well to the werewolves invited to the wedding, and she claims that Seth killed Laurent, with whom she was in a romantic relationship. While this puts a little bit of a damper on the party, Jacob also shows up to surprise Bella. It’s a beautiful surprise until it turns into a fight that both of them know will never end well. Bella will be a vampire, and she is determined to make things right. 

With the wedding coming to a close, the happy couple heads off to a private island named “Isle Esme”; a gift from Carlisle to Esme. With Bella finally fulfilling her side of the deal (marriage), it was Edward’s turn, and he promised they would try. Bella becomes addicted to Edward, which ends in her becoming pregnant with Edward’s child. Edward is determined to get the “fetus” out of her, but Bella wants nothing more than to love and protect it. Bella and Edward quickly travel home, and book one ends with Bella calling Rosalie for help. 

Book two is from Jacob’s point of view, and from the beginning; it is clear that he is in pain. His only thoughts are of Bella and her safety with Edward. To be honest, this does get a bit annoying. It’s always “Bella, Bella, Bella”. But, he is a good character to follow this part of the story from. Jacob has been waiting to hear bad news back from the honeymoon, or no news at all, but when he hears that Bella is in “quarantine” in the Cullens house, he knows something is wrong. Immediately he goes over to the house and makes a surprising discovery. Bella is pregnant, with Edward’s child, something that has barely been heard of before. Not only is she pregnant, but for only a few weeks, she looks about six or seven months pregnant. The baby is growing at a rapid pace.

Jacob reports back to the pack informing them of the situation. Sam orders the pack to murder Bella and the baby, and Jacob refuses, causing his alpha side to come out and take charge. He leaves the pack and decides to protect the Cullens and Bella. 

While all of this is going on, Bella struggles with the baby and its growth. Eventually, the baby breaks bones in her body, and she is put into emergency surgery to save herself and the baby. 

Finally, we come to book three and we are back in Bella’s point of view. Bella is a vampire, and for the first time in her entire life, she feels alive. Edward teaches her the basics of hunting, running fast, using her extreme skills to her advantage. Everything is amazing in her life, and she is ecstatic. Her baby survived. Little Reneesme continues to grow at an abnormal pace, and while this worries Bella and the rest of the Cullens, they are too happy with their life together to be too concerned. After so long, her life is exactly as she wished it to be. Until Alice’s vision. 

The Volturi are coming to Forks and they have heard of Reneesme. They believe her to be an immortal child, which is illegal in the vampire world due to their lack of control. Bella, Edward, and their family must gather as many witnesses as possible, to convince the Volturi that Reneesme is a hybrid of both vampires and humans, not an immortal child. 

“Now you know,” I said lightly, and shrugged. “No one’s ever loved anyone as much as I love you.”

Characters

I actually liked Bella a lot more in this book. She kind of stood up for herself and her decisions and I think that deserves a lot more than was shown in the movies. Along with that, she knew what she wanted and went for it which takes a lot of courage, especially if it’s something as important as a baby. Stephenie Meyer really takes all of the readers’ comments on previous books, saying that Bella isn’t “independent” enough. It’s definitely clear that she is capable enough to stand up to the family she has been waiting to get into for years. 

Edward is another character that has changed quite a bit from previous books. At this point, it’s clear that Bella and Edward are going to stay together forever, even through death, outside forces (the Volturi, Jacob, etc.). Edward wants whatever he believes will keep Bella safe and I definitely think it was a bit selfish of him not to support his wife’s decision to keep the baby. Although, I do see his point too. Bella dying would have completely ruined the point of the entire story! Despite all of this, in the third part of the book, Edward becomes his loving self once again and he finishes the story happily. 

Jacob is another honorable mention from this book since he was able to show us the werewolf side of things. I actually think that Jacob was a lot better in this book than in previous ones, especially because of his independence from Sam’s pack. He learns what it’s like to be an alpha, and although he doesn’t like giving orders, he is a very good leader and was able to protect Bella and her baby who he later imprints on. 

I have to be honest, Jacob imprinting on a baby has always weirded me out, but I am glad Stephenie Meyer gave Jacob someone to live the rest of his life with. Along with that, it explains the huge pull he has always felt towards Bella. It may be extremely weird, but Jacob deserves someone who will love him back and knows everything about him. 

Setting

The first part of this book takes place mostly at Isle Esme, Edward, and Bella’s honeymoon retreat. I think that this was the perfect setting for the two to honeymoon too. It was described beautifully, and the fact that it is so isolated means that they get a lot of time alone, which is what the couple always loves. 

There was also the main setting of Forks and La Push Reservation. Jacob’s side of the story begins in La Push but takes him mostly to Forks for the rest of the book. Forks have always been a beautiful setting in my opinion. The rainy weather and beautiful forests are just the perfect settings for a vampire/romance story. 

Writing

I think that Stephenie Meyer has really developed her writing style from writing Twilight. The writing is more unique and you can tell that it is her writing. Along with that, she addressed some fan concerns about Bella’s independence, and she changed her character to improve that which I really liked. It made me like the writing and Bella’s character that much more. 

In Conclusion… 

I definitely recommend this series to any fantasy/romance lovers. It is kind of for a younger adult audience, but it will always be a series that I love! 

Rating: 4.5/5⭐