Eclipse

 

Meyer, Stephenie.  2008.  Eclipse.  Little Brown & Co.

The budding of a love triangle keeps readers on their toes in the third of the Twilight series.  The book flows from "New Moon", picking up where the reader left off, into this book where Edward Cullen wants to marry Bella Swan.  She cringes at the sound of the word marriage, especially at her age.  Who wants to be an eighteen year old bride who everyone will think got knocked up and had to get married.  If the truth were told, I think she would jump at the chance just to make him hers.  He is truly in love with her.  She is his ideal and would have loved her even if they would have met in his time, the early 1900s.  He would have taken the time to court her, go for chaperoned strolls in the moonlight, drank iced tea on the porch and got down on his knee to propose after he had asked her father.  She is the love of his life.

Bella truly loves Edward also, but when he left she became close to her friend, Jacob Black.  Jacob fell in love with her.  She doesn't love him as much as she loves Edward, but the line does divide.  He is a safe bet.  He won't leave her for any reason.  Edward thought that leaving would protect her.  She doubts sometimes that he will stay.  She doesn't doubt her love for him or his love for her and Jacob knows this.  Edward knows that if she were to choose Jacob, he might imprint on someone one day and have to leave her, then he would come in and pick up the pieces.  Edward for me would be the ideal choice.  He does love her and can make her just like he is: it is what she wants.  They have to fight the new born army and Victoria, and still pacify the Volturi.  In the end she decides that marriage to Edward is what she really wants and now they have to convince her dad, Charlie. Wedding bells will be ringing soon and Jacob cannot face the reality of her marrying him and becoming a vampire.  Her mind is made up.  The days are counting down.