For the first time in a stand-alone paperback comes Stephenie Meyer's Life and Death, a compelling reimagining of the iconic love story that will surprise and enthrall readers.
There are two sides to every story....
You know Bella and Edward, now get to know Beau and Edythe.
When Beaufort Swan moves to the gloomy town of Forks and meets the mysterious, alluring Edythe Cullen, his life takes a thrilling and terrifying turn. With her porcelain skin, golden eyes, mesmerizing voice, and supernatural gifts, Edythe is both irresistible and enigmatic.
What Beau doesn't realize is the closer he gets to her, the more he is putting himself and those around him at risk. And, it might be too late to turn back....
My Review
I have been super into Twilight lately. I guess it’s because Midnight Sun was just released, and I’m feeling nostalgic for my simple high school days, especially with everything going on in the world. It’s been easy to dive back into this fascinating world. Oh, and this review basically assumes you’ve read Twilight. If you haven’t, well, that’s odd. Read it.
Honestly, the idea of flipping the typical paranormal romance trope on its head by having the mysterious vampire/werewolf/warlock be female versus male is so appealing to me. I’m tired of reading about possessive males. I want some possessive females goshdarnit. Stephenie Meyer kind of gave me that, though I really wanted more from the concept of male Bella and a female Edward. My favorite scenes were actually the ones that were different from the original Twilight, like Beau having to ride on Edythe’s back and feeling like a gorilla since he’s so much taller than her. More scenes breaking down conceptions of masculinity in relationships would’ve really been fun to explore. (Thankfully fanfiction has kind of done this, so I’ve been slating that thirst through those means.)
Personally, I think the only sexes that should’ve been changed in this story are the three main characters: Edward/Edythe, Bella/Beau, and Jacob/Julie. While I enjoyed some of the cool new names (Royal was my favorite name in the book), sometimes the sex changes for the non-important or side characters were just confusing. Like, why did the school nurse’s sex need changed? Or the bad vampires? Or the teachers? It just seemed like wasted effort on Meyer’s part when she could’ve focused more on those masculinity conceptions instead.
This book has inspired many ideas from me, and I’m super glad Meyer wrote it, but truly, it’s just a copy/paste of the first 90% of Twilight with very minor differences. I wish there’d been more changes in voice from Bella to Beau. Also, the ending was uber rushed. I very much liked that it was different from the original, but HOLY COW was it crazy fast. Another 25 pages to flush everything out wouldn’t have killed Meyer to write.
All in all, I enjoyed this one for personal reasons, but I
can understand why some would find it a money grab. To me, it was fun, and I would
love to get a sequel. I know it’ll never happen, but it would be cool. I guess
I’ll just have to settle for the two unofficially announced books Meyer has
mentioned writing in the Twilight-verse. I’m crossing my fingers for a Rosalie/Emmett
book or a Leah spinoff. Let me know what you’d like to see in a new Twilight
book!
*Note: I purchased a copy of this book myself. This in no way affected my opinion/review.
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