From Page to Screen: Twilight by Stephenie Meyer

You guys, if you're thinking about re-reading Twilight, definitely read this review.

The BOOK

Yes, I was into Twilight when it first released. Probably because I was Bella's age when the books were coming out. As a 30-something... yeah, I'm not about this life. I literally had to force myself to finish reading this.

One of my bigger gripes is how terribly this novel has aged. As a teenager, I thought Edward was broody and protective and just loved so hard. As a grown woman, there are so many red flags that I surely would run screaming in the opposite direction.

Don't get me wrong. I love a protective man who claims their woman, but in re-reading this, I couldn't understand what Edward loved about Bella other than the way she smelled. He was controlling, insensitive, and arrogant.

Honestly the best part of this book (and series if memory serves me) is the rest of the Cullen family. Each of them have a more interesting backstory and I really would have loved to see Meyer write something from either Alice or Jasper. Instead... we got Midnight Sun. And the genderswapped one. And just... nah.

Also, can we acknowledge how Bella makes herself responsible for her parents in a way that is super toxic? Like she makes herself responsible for Renee's emotions and takes care of Charlie like he's a toddler. C'mon. That isn't selfless. That's toxic.

And why would people that have been alive for a super long time agree to go back to high school over and over again? You couldn't pay me to go back a single time.

As I've grown in my own writing, things like filtering really bother me and take me out of the narrative. There's a ton of that here.

One thing I didn't remember from my earlier reads is that James allegedly turned Alice. Yet... we never hear anything about it again? Like, c'mon, THERE is your story.

And I really hate special girl syndrome.

That said, it took me almost two weeks to get through the entire thing. I probably won't be reading this series again.

The MOVIE

The plot in the book didn't change like at all to the movie, so I won't go into the story. I'll highlight some things I liked and things I didn't like.

Dislikes:

-Robert Pattinson. Just... *waves hand*

-I used to think Kristen Stewart couldn't act. But I've seen some of her more recent stuff and I have to believe that the directing of this film was the cause. I love her now.

-In the same vein, Catherine Hardwicke was the total wrong director for this film. The camera angles and jerky filming... Thought it would be enough to give someone a seizure.

-Jacob's wig.

Likes:

-The baseball scene. It's filmed really well and underscored and all around fun. But, that included all of the Cullens, which is why I think I liked it so much.

-The soundtrack. There are so many amazing songs. Many that I've used to write myself.

-Alice & Jasper. Rosalie & Emmett. Carlisle & Esme.

-Billy Burke. I love him in everything.

Final THOUGHTS

Just... don't.

Abbie

Book Review: Service to the Prime by Ginny Young

Y'all. I really don't enjoy posting reviews sometimes. As an indie author, I can completely sympathize with readers that don't enjoy my work. But I hate writing about indie books that I just did not like. Unfortunately, this is one of them.

Side note: I no longer post reviews to Goodreads. In the past, I had someone lash out at me for posting an honest (albeit negative) review and I just won't do it anymore. I share these reviews with Bookbub, but if it's negative, I usually just keep it here.

I received a free copy of this novel from a Facebook giveaway. I was really excited to read it because it was a dystopian romance. Dystopian is pretty much my favorite genre. The novel is listed as a "A post-apocalyptic romance." Cool, right? Something sorta similar to Guns & Smoke?

*facepalm* Yall. This is not it.

Dahlia has been living on her own for three years, since she escaped from a compound where she was basically a part of a warlord's harem. She's been scraping by and lives a very quiet life, until one day, she spies a helicopter over the city (town? It was unclear) and that's never happened before. Upon further inspection, a body is dropped from said copter and then shot at.

At this point, we know very little about the main character, with the exception that she's on her own by choice and enjoys a quiet life.

Yet, she helps this person she's never met. I didn't understand why she would stick her neck out for someone like that.

Dahlia takes this stranger back to her apartment without much hesitation and proceeds to allow him to recover. This didn't make much sense to me. Moreso, the demanding attitude of Vinn, the guy, made me want Dahlia to shove him back out into the streets to fend for himself.

The pair team up, Dahlia believing the promise of a better life where Vinn comes from.

It is an interesting premise, but I fear that the story was really lacking. I didn't quite understand the motivations of any of the characters. The romance was disappointing, and I just... I couldn't enjoy it.

I wouldn't recommend reading this book, unfortunately.

Abbie

From Page to Screen: Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens

Where the Crawdads Sing has been a really popular story for a while. I picked up a copy second hand at my local indie bookstore and dove right in!

The BOOK

I wasn't sure what to expect from this. Honestly, I tend to avoid super popular books because they have a tendency to let me down.

Where the Crawdads Sing starts out slow. You get Kya, the main character, telling you about her history as a child and how everyone in her family left her. While it's tragic to see this unfold from the perspective of a child, her history is intertwined with the "current" plotline, where a popular man from town has been found dead in the swamp. It takes a while for that plot to pick up as well.

I really got engaged when Kya was a teenager and a boy named Tate started leaving feathers for her. Y'all know me, romance is my favorite.

One thing I really loved is that Owens didn't shy away from topics that are considered taboo, like Kya getting her period for the first time and not understanding it. That Tate was so kind with her about it really endeared him to me.

Kya and Tate spent months together. He taught her to read. She learned just how smart she was and how much she knew about the marsh land. By this point, most of the town knew her as Marsh Girl.

Entwined with this history is the murder investigation. Chase Andrews was the person found dead in the swamp. The police haven't quite been able to prove whether it was murder or an accident, though there are clues that point toward Kya.

Tate goes off to college, and he breaks his promise to come back to Kya. So she seeks comfort in someone else: Chase Andrews. They spend time together, and he leads her to believe that he's going to marry her. Spoiler alert: he doesn't.

I won't go into any more plot detail, but let me tell you, the ending is something I did not expect.

The two plotlines take place between the 1950s and 1960s. My favorite characters were Jumpin and Mabel. Jumpin is a Black man who owned the store where Kya got her stuff. He and Mabel helped Kya as best they could: buying her fish and mussels that she brought in, giving her clothes, life advice. They truly loved her.

This also leads to the question of who actually killed Chase Andrews? You find out in the last few pages. So Good.

The MOVIE

I was more excited than ever to jump into the movie. I couldn't wait to see how they took the plots from the book and converted it to film.

The movie did exactly what I wanted out of the book: condensed. While we still got all of Kya's backstory with her family leaving, it was more interconnected to the trial. While we're learning about Kya's romances with Tate and Chase, she's also being arrested. We see the support she has from Tate, Jumpin, Mabel, and her lawyer.

Overall, I thought the book translated really well to film. It was cast well--I love when they case relatively unknown actors in major productions like this. Especially because the guy who plays Tate would make a perfect Jesse from Guns & Smoke!

My one complaint was the ending, which I won't spoil here. Just let me say, what's obvious in the ending of the book, isn't so obvious on the screen.

Final THOUGHTS

As I said before, I typically steer away from super popular books, but I'm glad this time that I didn't. I really enjoyed the book, and the movie was well done as well except for the last little scene. I watched it with my sister and it wasn't completely clear to her, so I had to explain it.

If you enjoy literary fiction, definitely check this one out!

Abbie