Eclipse - Stephenie Meyer

Title: Eclipse Author: Stephenie Meyer Genre: YA, Fantasy, Paranormal Rating: 5/5 # pages: 629 Date read: August 2007, December 2008, December 2009, August 2014, July 2018, September 2024

As Seattle is ravaged by a string of mysterious killings and a malicious vampire continues her quest for revenge, Bella once again finds herself surrounded by danger. In the midst of it all, she is forced to choose between her love for Edward and her friendship with Jacob --- knowing that her decision has the potential to ignite the ageless struggle between vampire and werewolf. With her graduation quickly approaching, Bella has one more decision to make: life or death. But which is which?

Just like the two others, I devoured this in less than 24 hours. It was amazing, even if I was disappointed that we were cheated out of seeing Charlie's reaction to a certain event near the end. I've seldom read as captivating books, and it was difficult to move on from them once I finished as I wanted to stay in the same universe. I highly recommend this series, it's absolutely amazing. I'm still firmly placed on Team Edward, but felt so sorry for Jacob.

Reread in December 2008: Still really, really good, but I found myself taking my time with it this time around, meaning that some things struck me more on this read-through. Most noticeably Jacob's "assault" on Bella which totally turned me off him, and Charlie's outrageous reaction to it... even if he did sort of redeem himself later. I know we're supposed to like Jacob, but Meyer really went too far there. I just found him obnoxious.

Reread in December 2009: What struck me this time around was how nobody seemed to respect Bella's wishes at first. Edward came around thankfully, and mostly Jacob and Charlie did too, but Alice's insistence on throwing a wedding annoyed me. Especially the "If you loved me, you'd let me do this." How about "If you loved me, you wouldn't force me to do this."??

I still love the book though, and still couldn't put it down.

The Nanny Diaries - Emma McLauglin & Nicola Kraus

Title: The Nanny Diaries Author: Emma McLauglin, Nicola Kraus Genre: Chick-lit Rating: 7/10 # pages: 368 Date read:August, 2007

Summary: The Nanny Diaries takes a peek into the utterly weird world of child rearing in the upper reaches of Manhattan's social strata. Cowritten by two former nannies, Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Kraus, the novel follows the adventures of the aptly named Nan as she negotiates the Byzantine byways of working for Mrs. X, a Park Avenue mommy. Nan's 4-year-old charge, the hilariously named Grayer (his pals include Josephina, Christabelle, Brandford, and Darwin) is a genuinely good sort. He can't help it if his mom has scheduled him for every activity known to the Upper East Side, including ice skating, French lessons, and a Mommy and Me group largely attended by nannies. What makes the book so impossible to put down is the suspense of finding out what the unbelievably inconsiderate Mrs. X will demand of Nan next.

Review: Very, very similar in style to "The Devil Wears Prada" except that the characters are somewhat more 3-dimensional. If it hadn't been for the unsatisfactory ending I would have rated it a 4, but I was very disappointed by the way things weren't resolved. Not that I thought it was completely possible to, but the way it ended was just cruel. Do women like Mrs. X and Miranda Priestly really exist outside books?

Book List