Eclipse (Book 3, The Twilight Saga)
By Stephenie Meyer

This novel, the third in the series, picks up right where New Moon left off. Bella and her vampire boyfriend, Edward, are preparing to graduate from high school. Meanwhile, Bella manages to reestablish her friendship with werewolf Jacob Black. This leads to numerous awkward situations between Edward and Jacob, but Bella is the one who suffers the most, as she finally realises that there's much more to her relationship with Jacob than she initially thought.

While all this is going on, danger looms on the horizon. Seattle has been plagued by a series of violent homicides, and it soon becomes apparent that the killings are not the work of the average serial killer. It turns out that these mysterious deaths are connected to Bella, who's also busy worrying about the fact that Victoria and the Volturi have it out for her, too. On top of all that, there's the small matter of Bella desperately wanting to become a vampire herself, but no one (including Bella herself) is sure if she can handle it.

Tegan, my daughter, wanted me to pick a side between Edward and Jacob. I still like Jacob better. I just don't understand why Bella loves Edward so much; Jacob is a far better catch and who she probably would have ended up with if it wasn't for the Cullens.

Twilight (Book 1, The Twilight Saga)
By Stephenie Meyer

I was initially wary of this series, as I knew it was marketed to the young adult ages, and as I am well past that, I thought it would be too juvenile for me. But I decided to give it a try after my daughter pestered me to buy the series for her. While it is clearly geared towards the high school age, adults will enjoy the book as well. It's not the highest quality of writing or classic literature but it is a greatly entertaining read and the love story is fascinating. I'm a huge fan of vampire stories (as you can tell with a quick look at this blog) and was a big fan of both Buffy and Angel on tv.

In Twilight, readers discover a pair of lovers who are supremely star-crossed. Bella adores beautiful Edward, and he returns her love. But Edward is having a hard time controlling the blood lust she arouses in him, because he's a vampire. At any moment, the intensity of their passion could drive him to kill her, and he agonizes over the danger. But, Bella would rather be dead than part from Edward, so she risks her life to stay near him, and the novel burns with the erotic tension of their dangerous and necessarily chaste relationship.

Meyer begins the story with a familiar premise (the new kid in school), and lulls us into thinking this will be just another realistic young adult novel. Bella has come to the small town of Forks on the gloomy Olympic Peninsula to be with her father. At school, she wonders about a group of five remarkably beautiful teens, who sit together in the cafeteria but never eat. As she grows to know, and then love, Edward, she learns their secret. They are all rescued vampires, part of a family headed by saintly Carlisle, who has inspired them to renounce human prey. For Edward's sake they welcome Bella, but when a roving group of tracker vampires fixates on her, the family is drawn into a desperate pursuit to protect the fragile human in their midst.

This is a very interesting re-take on the vampire legend, and a great star-crossed lovers plot. I highly recommend it to all ages. I devoured this book in a day and am really looking forward to the movie version hitting the big screen at the end of the year.

The Time Traveller's Wife
By Audrey Niffeneger

This extraordinary, magical novel is the story of Clare and Henry who have known each other since Clare was six and Henry was thirty-six, and were married when Clare was twenty-two and Henry thirty. Impossible but true, because Henry is one of the first people diagnosed with Chrono-Displacement Disorder - periodically his genetic clock resets and he finds himself pulled suddenly into his past or future. His disappearances are spontaneous and his experiences are alternately harrowing and amusing. The Time Traveler's Wife depicts the effects of time travel on Henry and Clare's passionate love for each other with grace and humour. Their struggle to lead normal lives in the face of a force they can neither prevent nor control is intensely moving and entirely unforgettable.

This was a BRA book club selection. I already had the book before it was chosen - I'd bought it to read 'one of these days'. It is an astounding, beautiful and incredibly sad novel - the story of a love that would survive through time. The inevitable result of Henry's time travelling is the most touching and poignant series of events that I've ever read. I'd recommend it to anyone.