Breaking Dawn (Twilight Saga, #4)

by Stephenie Meyer

Ilyana Kadushin (Narrator) and Matt Walters (Narrator)

To be irrevocably in love with a vampire is both fantasy and nightmare woven into a dangerously heightened reality for Bella Swan. Pulled in one direction by her intense passion for Edward Cullen, and in another by her profound connection to werewolf Jacob Black, she has endured a tumultuous year of temptation , loss, and strife to reach the ultimate turning point. Her imminent choice to either join the dark but seductive world of immortals or pursue a fully human life has become the thread from which the date of two tribes hangs.

Now Bella has made her decision; a startling chain of unprecedented events is about to unfold with potentially devastating and unfathomable consequences. Just when the frayed strands of Bella's life--first discovered in Twilight, then scattered and torn in New Moon and Eclipse--seem ready to heal and knit together, could they be destroyed...forever?

The astonishing, breathlessly anticipated conclusion to the Twilight Saga, Breaking Dawn illuminates the secrets and mysteries of this spellbinding romantic epic.

• ISBN10: 0739367676
• ISBN13: 9780739367674
• Publish Date: 2 August 2008 (first published 1 January 1960)
• Publish Status: Out of Stock
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Listening Library
• Edition: Unabridged edition
• Format: Audiobook
• Pages: 14
• Language: English
• URL: https://penguinrandomhouse.com/books/isbn/9780739367674

Reviews

[inlibrisveritas]

*lets out a big sigh of relief* I finally...FINALLY...finished this series. Alright so let's see if I can pull off a review without complaining too much *crosses fingers and inhales deeply*

Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer is the fourth installment in what is known as the Twilight Saga. Which (if you haven't seen or heard anything about it) is a series based around a young girl (woman) named Bella Swan and her relationships with the neighboring supernatural population. Of course there is always more to it than that. She becomes close with a specific family of vampires known as the Cullens or the Olympic Coven due to her ever growing relationship with Edward. She also becomes best friends with a werewolf named Jacob and thus gains the friendship or at least camaraderie of his pack. Over the course of the series Bella (and Edward) have been the targets of many attempted murder ploys, and finally it comes down to one last show of strength against the one group that scares Bella more than anything, the Vultori.

The plot line and the writing style is the same as the rest of the series, and it keeps with the fluidity and ease. The first thing most people will notice is the sheer volume of the book and it's no illusion, this books comes in at 754 pages in it's hardback edition. Now seeing as the story is an easy one to read the size isn't as daunting as say a book of epic fantasy and if the storyline grabs you you can easily speed through a good 300 pages within the first few days. All the characters remain true to themselves through the book despite some changes here and there, and the reader is introduced to even more people and information that can catch the reader's interest. There are some slow spots that will drag on a bit, and that's where you'll notice the size of book in general. Overall in a outside stand point the book is interesting, some of the characters are relate-able or in the very least likable (and vise versa, you can definitely feel dislike for a few of them as well). If you've gone as far as Eclipse in the series there isn't really all that much reason to avoid Breaking Dawn, it gives it some sense of closure.

Now...on to my opinion. I thought about doing this in a sort of play-by-play, it seemed like a lot of fun to do and the ones I've seen were enjoyable to read. However I only made it half way through the book with this before I just stopped all together, yes it was fun but I also had way to many "plays". I'll put a few on here just for the heck of it though. CAUTION! THERE ARE SPOILERS AFTER THIS POINT!

P.1 - *sigh* Here I go...let this go quick

P.6 - Seriously?! He got her a temporary million dollar car. As if getting a permanent one wasn’t dumb enough.

P. 25 - Oh give it a rest Bella! Do I have to keep reading about how hard it is to keep your damn clothes on?

P.33 - Ooo vampire children...admittedly interested

P. 58 - This isn't going to end well...

P. 67 - It didn't end well.

P.70 - Yep, being dragged off again. Why can't she just follow when she's told to

P. 85 - *rolls eyes* Maybe her hormones will die down...

P. 87 - And here comes Edward's emotional over protective tirade...

P.89 - Could this guy get anymore dramatic?

P.123 - Great soap opera drama...she's pregnant isn't she...stupid

P. 130 -Yep...well at least now I can stop reading about how she "wants" Edward for awhile. Also...why the crap is she showing already? There but be some paranormal explaination

P. 133 - HA! He has issues....and he's a jerk.

P. 139 - Jacob

P.174 - Good an explantation

P. 274 - Wow...go baby! ...Sh! I'm secretly wishing it will keep breaking bones

P. 327 - Reneesme...I want to laugh at how stupid that is but the sheer annoyance is forcing me to just stare...

P. 350 - And ew...did she have to go all exorcist during childbirth?

P. 354 - Of course she's not going to die...I only hit the half way mark of the book. Here comes vampire Bella...joy

P. 360 - Ah! No! Seriously!?

P. 377 - When faced with the worst feeling ever, pain beyond all description and comparison, what would be the last thing on my mind? Not screaming so that poor old tortured Edward can feel better...

P. 405 - She's immortal, she's apparently very beautiful...but hey she's Bella, she'll find a flaw.

P. 420 - Everyone is impressed... I am not

P. 449 - Poor Jacob...of course he doesn't care. He LOVES it! So freaking weird

P. 704 - Edward has anger issues that need to be addressed.

P. 736 - Hmm mature by seven...wait wait....so does that mean she can marry Jacob at seven?! Is that legal?! wow...messed up

P. 755 - The End...*tosses book on dresser and throws self on bed* finally...

[celinenyx]

This book is just disappointing. Characters just change, the HEA is weak, and my poor poor Jacob gets abused.

I did like the first part of the book though. It was just more of the same, but oh well, that worked for her other books too, didn't it?

Jacob's book was fun. I loved seeing more of him, as he is my favorite side character. Through his eyes, I actually began to like Bella. He has a genuine love for her, but isn't afraid to say what he thinks.

But then, oh god. Spoilers ahead.

Getting pregnant was just so.. predictable. It probably was necessary as Meyer wanted to get the Volturi back to Forks, but it felt really forced. Then the friggin baby starts to bruise stuff. And break ribs. And drain Bella. And really, that's way too disturbing and disgusting. No, that's not okay at all.
Then my poor, poor Jacob IMPRINTS on this thing?! Oh dear god. I liked it when he was still in love with Bella. I liked the banter with Edward. The "burning man" thing was a bit weird, but oh well. We are used to Meyer's repetitiveness.But in Breaking Dawn she went too far out of her way to create a HEA... And, it wasn't even well done.

I didn't know Jacob had imprinted until it was actually said. That is what I call bad writing.

Another thing that bothered me was the enormous difference between vampire Bella and human Bella. When she turns vampire, she suddenly loses all her "oh, I'm not good enough for him, why does he love me?" crap. How the hell did that happen? I though that was part of her personality, and that was supposed to stay... She makes some vague comments on "still not liking surprises and presents" but she didn't whine about it at all! And she isn't bothered by her beauty? I though she didn't even want to look in a mirror because of her ultra-low self-esteem. That's just horrible. Never thought I would miss Bella's complaining.

Off course, Edward becomes even more pretty pretty! Ugh. "I never saw him before". So wait, all that omg-he's-the-most-beautiful-thing-in-the-whole-wide-world was an UNDERSTATEMENT? And there isn't even an explanation for us mere humans why he is even more gorgeous. But maybe that's because we see everything murky and unclear.

Why is there so much tension building throughout the book, to be let down as an anti-climax afterwards? First, you have the threatening war between the bloodsuckers and the wolves. After waiting and waiting and patrolling and waiting it turns out... that everyone is good friends. Where is my fight? Then, the Volturi is coming. Oh no! So we prepare and wait and practice and wait and ponder and worry and wait and guess what... Dea ex machina Alice saves the day! Every one cheers and parties, and I'm sitting in a corner crying. I just wanted a tiny fight. Just a little one. Please?

Renesmee turned out okay. She had some cool powers and I liked she wasn't a normal kid and well, she likes Jacob. Though, the bond between Renesmee and Bella wasn't strong enough. We always get told there isn't any bond stronger than one between a mother and her child. Well, for all I know, Renesmee could have been just another member of the Cullen family. I don't think that's a good sign... I see more mothering instincts from Esme than from Bella, and Bella is the narrator for god sake!

I'm disappointed. When I started reading, I expected light, fast and a teen-vampire romance with a lot of insecurities and angst. What I got was Meyer's artificial depressingly different trick to get to the HEA she wanted. There were way to many pages that you could do without. If you just read the first hundred, Jacob's book, and the last fifty, you didn't miss out on anything. Don't think I will ever read it again. Maybe I can make someone else happy with my copy.

[Hixxup]

my favorite out of the whole series so much action it's non-stop. I had stayed up all night reading this book between the wedding, the honeymoon, the pregnancy, and the everything after all that had me mesmorize that I couldn't sleep and had to know what happened next... until this book it was unknown for me to be captivated by a book this much that I was willing to risk losing sleep to finish.

[mbtc]

This was probably my favorite out of the Twilight series, probably b/c I could just suspend my thoughts that it should be set in some sort of reality. Also, it was kinda nice not having to read Bella's griping for hundreds of pages.

[cherryblossommj]

Seemingly with a good novel series, when the end is coming as a reader, one wants it to go on forever. The feelings with finishing the Twilight Saga is much the same. I despise the fact that it had to end, but since it did, this was definitely in good form.

Breaking Dawn is the fourth and final installment of the Twilight Saga, not counting the [b:The Twilight Saga: The Official Guide|3609763|The Twilight Saga The Official Guide|Stephenie Meyer|http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41mqtX-NO8L._SL75_.jpg|3652514] said to be coming out December 2008. (I'm excited). This novel is told differently than the first three. [b:Twilight|41865|Twilight (The Twilight Saga, Book 1)|Stephenie Meyer|http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41DcKN0STkL._SL75_.jpg|3212258], [b:New Moon|49041|New Moon (The Twilight Saga, Book 2)|Stephenie Meyer|http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/414jgcy2FAL._SL75_.jpg|3203964], and [b:Eclipse|428263|Eclipse (The Twilight Saga, Book 3)|Stephenie Meyer|http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/411cNNPkYAL._SL75_.jpg|2675454] are all told from protag Isabella Swan's POV and is one whole book each, while [b:Breaking Dawn|1162543|Breaking Dawn (The Twilight Saga, Book 4)|Stephenie Meyer|http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/416pfGGLM0L._SL75_.jpg|2960529] is divided into multiple "books" and every other book moves from being as Bella's POV to another long standing character Jacob's POV. It is fascinating and amazing what it does to the story and presents all sorts of details and imagery that would not have been available simply from Bella's mind.

This is a big book, this is a good 700-something pages, getting very close to 800, but it is entirely worth the time for a read. It is amazing how well this book sucks you in until you have finished. The entire series is fabulous, in that you have not a clue what will be coming next, but that is essentially a fact in this book. As a reader, I never would have expected to what happened to occur on each following page.

[a:Stephenie Meyer|941441|Stephenie Meyer|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1208990584p2/941441.jpg] is good. She really does deserve to be a Bestselling Author with her gift of story telling. She was easily able to take a figment that has for almost all time been seen as evil and mold it into a form that is "trying". So many people have fought off this series without attempting to read it, because of a fear factor. I really encourage you to read this series. The themes are fabulous, and it is a great teen read as it was meant as well as an adult read. With love, abstinence, mercy, personal growth, friendship, devotional, and free will as constant themes through out, a reader can learn many things from the forms in which Stephenie Meyer presents a tremendously engaging story.

[ladygrey]

I had avidly avoided spoilers, but I still knew that some people were not happy with this book and had heard Stephenie Meyer say that that's just the way the story went. So, before I read it I was trying to think what people could possibly be dissatisfied with. Edward and Bella were going to get married and she was going to be a vampire; that seemed inevitable. But what if she didn't do that? Then she did so I kept reading.

The pregnancy thing was a weird turn I wasn't sure I liked at first. But I also knew that there isn't much I like in the first half of her books anyway, so I'd give it time to develop. I wasn't thrilled about Jacob's point of view, especially at first. But then he was interacting with the Cullens (and Edward) and I acknowledged that his really was the most interesting point of view at the time. Bella was just lying around dying and being pregnant and that wasn't nearly as interesting as Jacob's interactions with Edward and his reactions to everything that was happening. And then it was back to Bella's point of view and that's where I felt the story really got going (not that there weren't fun moments beforehand).

In the beforehand I liked the wedding and the honeymoon and Edward the first time he heard Renemsee's thoughts. I thought the poor kid's name was ridiculous. And Bella's conversion to immortality and that she went back and showed us Edward and Bella telling Charlie about the engagement. And I really liked Jacob when he was telling the story from his point of view. It was sweet.

In the aftermath, I liked Bella as a newborn and her self-control. I really liked everyone's reactions to her control and her choices and that Edward had been holding out on her. Their interactions in the very beginning were a lot of fun as he was playful and proud and sweet. I liked the confrontation when Bella found out about Jacob's imprinting (and Emmett's reactions, always).

The thing I consistently don't like about her books (and I think [b:Twlight|17570712|In This Twlight|Al Bruno III|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1362981451s/17570712.jpg|24510125] is the exception) is how often the characters are so much dumber than the audience. The things that happen, that surprise them, are not surprising or unexpected. Of course Alice wouldn't leave them, dumbasses. There were a couple of other things I was disappointed in, but I'm too tired to remember them now. (ETA: The Cullens not realizing that a half vampire baby might be craving blood until Jacob thought the obvious was pretty dumbass.)

I liked Bella's shield and how she learned to extend it, during the confrontation with the Volturi and especially at the very end to allow Edward to read her thoughts. Though the confrontation with the Volturi was completely a let down after all the hype and bother and dismay they stood around and talked a little and then everyone went home.

[Whitney @ First Impressions Reviews]

I so looked forward to reading this and although I enjoyed the concluding book the storyline didn't seem as developed as the first three. I thought that Stephenie Meyer rushed though some of the plot {especially towards the end} to get it published quickly. In the end Bella really doesn't have to sacrifice anything, she gets Edward, she gets a baby, and she gets immortality and even her transition to a vampire was practically a piece of cake. I was a little disappointed with Vampire Bella's power, I mean come on self control and a protective shield of love I always thought those were more characteristics rather than a magic power. I was also a little puzzled by Edward getting Bella pregnant, I figured since he was a vampire he would be shooting blanks, but I guess that's why they call it fantasy. Honestly, I really expected Bella and Eward to go away to college or something after their honeymoon for Bella's change and was curious that they stayed in Folks as Stephenie Meyer consistently said through out all three of the previous books was how the Cullens had to move around a lot as people eventually got suspicious about their eternal youth; but at the end of the novel it appeared that the Cullens would stay in Forks for quite sometime which contradicted what Stephenie Meyer had written before. I wanted and expected the Volturi to return to Washington but there wasn't as much action as I had hoped there to be, I thought it seemed like more of a debate of whether Renesmee, Bella's daughter could co-inside with the immortal world as she was a half-breed. but of course everything works out for the best.

The second half of Breaking Dawn was told by Jacob which was interesting to hear his point of view on things but took a disturbing turn for the worst when he imprints on Bella and Edward's daughter Renesmee. Now because Jacob and Renesmee are destined to be together the vampire/warewolf hatred is put aside and they are now one big happy family.

This review probably sounds like one big rant. I just thought Breaking Dawn was a little too tidy at the end.

[Terri M. LeBlanc]

Meyer's critics were very harsh regarding the final novel in the Twilight series. While not as gripping as the other 3 novels (the 2nd novel begin the peak, IMO), it did tie up everything nice. A fitting conclusion to a love story that could have ended up like Romeo and Juliet.

[Eve1972]

HATED this one!

Look I LOVED Twilight. The first book was brilliant - I fell in love. And then she wrote the next one. And that was good. Decent. Not quite what I wanted but it was okay. The third one was pretty average. I struggled to get through it. This last one?

What the hell was she thinking? It was like she jumped off a cliff. She threw every crazy idea you could possibly have and honestly left it looking like little more than a parody fanfiction.

I just don't even know where to begin with this, there was so much wrong it wasn't even funny. It was just a disaster of epic proportions.

Renesmee? Are you fking kidding me? Horrible name. The Jacob/Renesmee thing? Jesus Christ. I mean come on, we're just going to write off everything between Jacob and Bella as being because she was fated to have a kid that is his mate? WTF!???? And then Renesmee aging to a teen? It was just a fkn mess. It was like a badly written fanfiction.