Sentimental and Perfervid: Midnight Sun by Stephenie Meyer

Series: Twilight Saga*

Release Date: August 4, 2020

Format: Hardcover

Rating: 4.75/5 stars

*Companion to Twilight (told in Edward’s perspective)

When I heard Midnight Sun was being released this summer a few months ago, I was so excited and shocked. Years ago, I had resigned myself to the fact I would never get Edward’s perspective on Twilight. And, to be honest, until I read this book, missing out on Edward’s POV wasn’t that big of a deal. But, after reading Midnight Sun, I feel like I need the whole Saga in Edward’s perspective only because it gave me so much more insight into the Cullen clan.

The main reason why Midnight Sun received such a high rating was that I didn’t feel like I was reading a duplicate of Twilight just from a different POV. Midnight Sun is very much so Edward’s story and, more specifically, how his life changes forever after meeting Bella (and deciding not to kill her). The reader gets an intimate look at how Edward and his family struggle with vampirism.

I think many readers–including myself–are guilty of thinking of Edward as a 17-year-old boy. But, in Midnight Sun, it becomes glaringly apparent that all of Edward’s problems stem from his monster… the part of himself that craves human blood. Many of Edward’s actions are a by-product of his vampirism and his general cluelessness of dating in the 21st century–he is over 100 years old.

Vampires as Romantic Partners

Midnight Sun Sun demonstrates how insular Edward and Bella are as a couple—they come across as fated and destined. It’s honestly difficult to position their relationship in this book within the other four books because those books revolve around a love triangle. Reading Midnight Sun, it’s mind-boggling to think Jacob ever stood a chance. 

And for all those reviewers who talk about Edward as creepy for the watching Bella sleep thing: Midnight Sun addresses it! Edward thinks about it in-depth for half the book and never excuses himself. It’s another demonstration of his vampirism (and overprotective tendencies)—he can’t hear Bella’s thoughts to ensure she’s still alive (and hasn’t been killed by a meteor—I laughed out loud at that thought of Edward’s), so he watches her sleep. Not excusable, AND Edward agrees with the skeptic reviewers that Bella’s reaction to finding this out was not normal… but he’s a vampire, and she falls in love with him despite that. Moral of the story: Bella has no self-preservation instincts.

The Otherness of Vampirism

Edward’s vampirism and his struggle with his monster are the very foundation of Midnight Sun. His vampirism is why he such a threat to Bella. The gifts that come with it are also why he falls for Bella to such a degree in such a short period. Alice’s visions show him—succinctly—why Bella is so important to him and how he falls in love with her. In Alice’s vision, Edward can feel the emotion he’ll have for Bella. This is why–to me–it felt like Bella and Edward were fated… he knew he would love her before he actually did.

It was also interesting to discover that vampires in the Twilight Saga mate for life. When a human turns into a vampire, they not only freeze physically but psychologically. Meyer touched on this a bit with the vampire children in Eclipse but didn’t really expand how it also applies to adult vampires. Edward elaborates: when adult vampires adapt and learn to change, those changes are usually life-altering. One such instance is falling in love as a vampire. You fall in love with a person and are then frozen to love them for eternity… as if every day is the first day you realized you love them. This really helped me understand why Edward’s declaration of love was so sure despite how short a time he spent actually getting to know Bella before declaring his feelings.

Why Not 5-stars?

The ending of Midnight Sun shows that Edward makes his decision to leave Bella after James’ attack. Jasper’s incident in New Moon is simply the “sign” Edward takes that it’s time for him to leave.

It was honestly painful to read because I kept remembering the grief and gut-wrenching disbelief and trauma Bella felt and slowly worked her way through when Edward leaves her. He thinks it’s for her own good… but I’m still of the mind that it’s cowardly, and he was trying to play God. Obviously, Edward doesn’t want to condemn her soul, but Edward doesn’t have the right to map out her life. It would be different if he didn’t want to be with her. But him playing martyr almost kills them both. 

I feel almost compelled to read New Moon now… but only the parts where they reacquaint. And more specifically, the part where Bella says she can live without him now. 

Some Thoughts on the Plot (and Action)

Reading all the action points from Edward’s perspective was excellent–it felt like I was watching an intense action movie. The baseball scene and Edward going to save Bella from James were probably the two most entertaining scenes. The level of detail was incredible, especially considering Edward can read minds and see the alternate futures Alice is sifting through.

I loved how Meyer didn’t shy away from writing the detailed action sequences and how those sequences change when it’s a vampire in an intense car chase instead of a human. The scene where Edward arrives at the Phoenix airport with Carlisle and Emmett to discover Bella is missing results in one of the best-written road racing scenes. Alice uses her abilities to elude the cops, meaning they have to switch cars and cause accidents. And, Edward has to use his vampire senses–like excellent vision and quick reflexes–to make it to Bella before she’s killed.

Edward does bring up an interesting point, though: that the Cullens maybe should have killed James immediately after he tried to kill Bella after the baseball scene. Edward concludes they did the right thing by giving James’ clan a chance… but the drama from that one choice lasts three books. Bella almost dies like 4+ times (counting all of Victoria’s attempts in New Moon) because of that decision.

Overall

I was expecting to enjoy Midnight Sun primarily for nostalgic reasons. Because the book is Twilight, just written from Edward’s perspective, I knew there would have to be duplicated dialogue. And it’s not like I haven’t read Twilight recently—I read it in March/April, so the book is still very present in my mind. Edward’s history as a vampire, his relationships with his family and how he interacts with the modern world was so compelling. I LOVED seeing the Cullen family from Edward’s POV and understanding them as nuanced people instead of cold vampires. I always felt that the otherness of vampirism created a wall between Bella and the Cullens (until the last book). In Midnight Sun, that wall is gone, and because of Edward’s telepathy, we get an even more intimate look at each of his siblings and parents.  

I very much want to read Eclipse and Breaking Dawn in Edward’s POV. But I think New Moon would be too horrible to read… and I wouldn’t have any sympathy for Edward’s grief—he did it to himself.

As an aside, I already knew Rosalie was horrible—re-reading Breaking Dawn in the spring, it became uncomfortably apparent that Rose was basically contemplating taking Renessme as her own if Bella died (and Edward’s then killed himself). But I had hope that it was just jealousy about Bella’s humanity. And while envy did play a role… Rose is so mad at Edward for telling Bella their secret that she advocates killing Bella as a preemptive measure to protect their identity. Furthermore, Rose refuses to help protect Bella during the James debacle. If I was Edward or Bella, I would never forgive her. For how severe her reactions were (murder and condemning Bella–and as a result Edward–to death), the reasons were petty: Rose centred herself in things that weren’t about her.

Despite my unsettling realizations about Rosalie, I seriously loved seeing Alice, Jasper, and Emmett’s familial side. I got teary when Edward described meeting Alice and Jasper for the first time–and when Alice and Jasper first met! Also, Emmett’s grumpiness about James being more scared of Jasper was freaking hilarious. I loved how each of the Cullen’s maintained their core characteristics from Bella’s perspective. Still, from Edward’s perspective (and more familial relationship with each of them), their personalities were more individualistic–and much more fun.

Discovering that Midnight Sun has been in the works for 15 years is simply mind-bending — I can’t believe it’s been that long. But I would 100% say it was worth the wait. Now, I have to convince myself not to be too greedy about a whole Saga from Edward’s perspective.

Buy Midnight Sun

*These buttons contain affiliate links. I may earn a small commission when you click on the links at no additional cost to you. You can read my full disclaimer here.