Sinful Book Reviews

I imagine this will end up being more of a discussion on this book rather than a review. I’m not really sure how popular this book actually was when it came out so I don’t know how any people have read it. I just know that I love it so much more than the Twilight books (which I plan to re-read another time). This is the third time I’ve read this book in the past two years. This time I listened to the audiobook, which was pretty good. I’m going to break this discussion down differently than I do with my reviews. First, I’ll focus on a few of my favorite characters and what is so great about them. After that, I’ll talk a little about the writing, plot, and other elements.

Wanderer is great. I love the inner battle she’s always waging since her insertion into a human body. She’s so gentle and nice. She’s terrified of any type of violence. Yet, she’s stuck in this body that is used to violence and hatred. Melanie has an automatic impulse to hurt anything that stands in the way of what she wants. Wanderer has an automatic impulse to protect the things she wants. Despite the difficulties of sharing the same mind, I think they work very well together. Wanderer puts a lid on Melanie’s excessive anger and impulsive behavior. Melanie forces Wanderer to feel and make sense of the intense emotions of her new body.

Ian is the most lovable character in this book. I think the tendency would be to like Jared, which I understand. I just disagree. My heart belongs to Ian in this book. In the beginning, he doesn’t accept Wanderer because he doesn’t know her or understand her. The more time he spends with her, the more he wants to learn. He keeps such an open mind, and by the end of the book, he really understands her: how she thinks, how she feels, what she’s going through. It’s because he listens and pays attention. I think it was easier to appreciate everything about him during a re-read because I already knew how wonderful he would turn out to be and I was looking for every sweet thing he did.

Jared is the predictable favorite. He’s wonderful for all the reasons everyone points out repeatedly in this book. He’s realistic. He can think straight under pressure. He knows how to survive and get the everyone what they need. He’ll also do whatever it takes to keep Jamie and Melanie safe. Sure, sometimes he acts a little cold, but he’s just keeping his guard up. I get completely frustrated with him sometimes, but I always warm up to him in the end. I feel the same way about Melanie. She and Jared are both fighters and really strong characters.

The one complaint I really have about Meyer is that she writes in far too much detail. I appreciate the enthusiasm, but I’m not that interested in what Wanderer is wearing. I will say I felt less frustrated by that in this book than I did in the Twilight series. For the most part, I enjoy Meyer’s prose. It’s not very lyrical, but I don’t think that would be appropriate for this book. I think it works perfectly.

I’ve really liked the idea of this story since I first read it. I think it’s really interesting, and I’m usually not into this kind of thing. I love all the stories Wanderer has from other planets and the details that go into her lives. All the stories of the other planets and how everything works was one of the most interesting parts of the book. I think after writing the first three Twilight books, Meyer really found her voice in this one. I heard somewhere there’s supposed to be more. I really hope that’s true.