A dear friend of mine, knowing my love for ‘I Am Legend’ (the novel), gifted me
another vampire novel, Twilight.

I had not seen the film when I decided to read it, so I went into the story unaware that it was, I think it safe to say, largely a love story.  (My
gifting friend was also unaware of the romantic nature of the plot).

Having said that, I have no qualms about saying that I enjoyed the read.  It was
a well paced story with believable characters and engrossing conflict.
Additionally, I think that the author did an excellent job of attaching us to
the main character’s safety.  With some stories, we, the readers, get the
feeling that our protagonist is invincible.  We know that ‘red shirts‘ may come
and go, but the captain is invulnerable.
It is emphasised, naturally but consistently, that this is not the case with our
main character.  She is anything but infallible, and her fragility is
believable and endearing.

As for the romance, while I tend not to read love stories (at all), this one was
acceptable, even for this lover of post-apocalyptic fiction.  Personally, I think this is
because the relationships move like real ones.  This doesn’t feel ‘hollywood’ at
all, with spires of white and braids of gold let down.  The excitement of the
relationship is in the anticipation of it, complete with arguments and
misunderstandings.  And yet, this was accomplished without making the reader
feel like they’re watching East Enders or As the World Turns.  The relationships
aren’t melodramatic.  Just dramatic.

Finally, I have to say that it was rather different for me to sit for the duration of
my reading in the brain of (I assume) a well-portrayed teenage girl.  It was a
bit like listening in on your sister’s conversations with her friends, and
somehow getting the thoughts as well.  While I might not pick up a book
explicitly for the purpose of seeing a female perspective on life and events, it
was refreshingly different from what I read normally, and for the time I was
reading, I did tend to notice events around me in a different light than I would
normally perceive them.  And if I ever need to write female characters
at length, I’ll probably immerse myself in Twilight and the sequels first.

In conclusion, it’s a good read, self contained despite the existence of
sequels, with nice tension and drama.  On the whole it was satisfying, despite being
outside my normal genres.