2 stars. It may be because I've read this so many times, or because I've just finished [b:Clockwork Princess|6131164|Clockwork Princess (The Infernal Devices, #3)|Cassandra Clare|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1364052399s/6131164.jpg|6309710] and nothing can rival an ending such as that, but this was a two stars for me.I think we all have at least heard of the Twilight phenomenom, and if you haven't, please pick up that rock on your head.
So the basic gist of it: Bella Swan moves to Forks, Washington to live with her father, grudgingly. After going to school, she meets the mysterious Cullen family, and ends up being enigmatically attracted to the one and only Edward Cullen, who seems to hate her. Fast forward one month. Edward is polite, kind, Bella falls in love with him, he saves the day (multiple times) and we have our self-sacrificing heroine, which, in the end, does not end up being self-sacrificing.
The end.
Okay, so you see, for some unknown reason, I was obsessed with the Twilight Saga back in the 08's and 09's. I don't know why. But I was. Maybe because I wasn't introduced to such awesome YA back then, or because I was a naive little brat, but the point is, I fell in love with these books. And that being so, I can't exactly hate them. At all. There will always be a part of me that loves the Twilight Saga because it introduced me to reading and now I've come to love it.
However, now that I've reread it, my reaction was along of these lines:
Mostly for our young protagonist and how head-over-heels in love she was with Edward. I mean, come on, he's just a hundred-year-old vampire. And while the love wasn't "insta-love" (more like insta-attraction, but anyway, kudos to that), it was more like the "I-love-you-so-much-you-mean-the-world-to-me-after-three-days" kind of love.
(Which, if you know me at all, you would know I despise.)
And there were lots of moments where Bella's heart would be beating rapidly whenever there was a Edward x Bella moment, but Edward's breathing wouldn't accelerate at all. (Yes, I know, his heart doesn't beat, but breathing is comfortable for him, so ...) He would also ruffle her hair, which, if I'm not incorrect, is actually a form of affection, but not "love," like something you would do to a little girl, rather than your equal, which I think partners should be considered as.
All in all, I even enjoyed some parts of Twilight. But I think I've come to notice that there are definitely better romances in the YA genre than Twilight.