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My thoughts were rather similar... I'm not sure how much of it was that nothing can compare to Twilight and to portions of Eclipse...how much was my adversion to what I felt was a bit of a "fanfic cliche"... and how much was just that its over, and we've all gotten so accustomed to stories that end with the wedding and we don't get anything more... (I think I would have oddly enough been most happy with just the wedding and then having her become a vampire on the honeymoon or something...yes no plot - but maybe added into the end of Eclipse? I don't know what I want!) I think that was my problem - I don't know what I was expecting out of Breaking Dawn - I just know it wasn't what we got... Not that it dampens my love of the other volumes any (nor does it keep me from wanting to know when Midnight Sun is ever going to be released - I think thats my biggest fear - that Breaking Dawn will be taken badly by those who aren't fans, and that the publishers won't publish Midnight Sun... We've GOT to have Midnight Sun!!! (especially since its the opposite point of view of the first and best book of the series)

I felt the same--in fact, while trying to explain to my friend how I could stop mid-book and put it aside for an entire day without going crazy, I wasn't sure if it was just me or if the book just wasn't as captivating as the others. And the fight scene was horribly anti-climactic. And throughout the whole book, the focus didn't seem to be that much on Edward, which, admit it, is what we love best about the series. On the plus side, Bella wasn't as obnoxiously annoying as she was in Eclipse. But still...it felt so calculated, like Meyer was just setting everything up for the next series, featuring "Nessie" and Jacob and the Amazon vampires. I was glad that Bella and Edward got their happy ending, but I didn't feel an emotional attachment to their story.

Although my thoughts tend to be similar to those already expressed, I think I have finally figured out why I didn't love Breaking Dawn. I read three rather long books all building up to the answers to two questions. Two big climaxes-- 1) Is Bella going to become a vampire? 2) Are Edward and Bella going to get married? They get married in the second chapter-- no big deal, no real excitement, it just happens. She becomes a vampire halfway through the book, and again it is really not that big of a deal. She had been living on blood for quite a while before that. To me there was no real reason for the rest of the book. The big things I had been waiting for to finish off the series had happened.

anon, those were definitely two of the big conflicts to be resolved but I loved that Bella turned into a vampire early. We got to see her transform and become graceful and gain powers that she never had before, so I'm glad it happened earlier in the book. I agree with the review though. I enjoyed it but didn't obsess over it and thought there were some strange/shallow parts. I mean, really, who names their child Renesmee????

I actually enjoyed the fact that there is a love story out there that shows a happy, healthy married relationship without tons of "drama." Sure there was no push and pull passion like the first couple of books, but I felt like it was more "real" in terms of relationships. I thought this was the best book of the series because it explored other types of love besides teenage angst. I was also glad that Jacob got his happy ending by imprinting, even if it was on the baby. I think the author set this up early in the series as she discussed that it was like a protective Uncle, someone that would play for hours with the child and never get tired of the game (I know my son would love it if I never tired of tag and bubbles).

I agree that at least Edward and Bella's relationship became a little healthier and more realistic after they got married, rather than so obsessive. :)

Oh, I wanted to love Breaking Dawn. I did obsess over it, devouring it in less then 3 days. I kept waiting for it to get better, but, it really never did. Here's my list of complaints: (yes, complaints!)
** I didn't understand some of the threads Stephenie introduced (ie the maid on Esme's Island who figured out what Edward was.) What was the point? For that matter, the whole point of the document forger and his fear of the Cullens was, what exactly?
** Alice? Where are you? We got to know her so much, and love her bubbly enthusiasm. She was just "there" in Breaking Dawn without any real interaction.
** Bella didn't have to give up anything, her friendship with Jacob, her love for Edward, her relationship with her father. Everything was tied up so neatly. But, really, Charlie is just suddenly ok with Jacob being a wolf and his daughter being... something... that he just accepts everything?
** The ending! Finally, I thought, now this book is going somewhere. A great battle will take place. Something exciting, possibly horrific, and potentially life altering will take place. Then.... oh.... nothing. All the other vampires we were introduced to, with a look at their powers, was for what reason? To bring the one character into the story that was like Renesme?
** Edward loved Bella human. Her scent, everything, drew him to her, tormented him. When Bella became a vampire, she commented to Edward that she didn't understand how much he was holding back, how wonderfuly their love would be once she was changed. Edward seemed to agree and referenced the human Bella nearly encountered in the forest. Edward commented that she should try "kissing that." What? He misses nothing of her as a human?
** Oh, and Leah. Why did we get closer to her. To what end?
** Jacob imprinting on Renesme? Stranger then strange.
** Quill and Embry joining Jacob's pack with no real explanation.
** Bella suddenly graceful as a vampire? Wouldn't it have been more interesting if she was the first clumsy vampire?
The list goes on and on. Unfortunately, I think Stephenie introduced a complex love story involving choices and sacrifice. For the ending, no choices were made (Bella had to become a vampire or die) and nothing was sacrificed. Don't get me wrong, I love a happy ending. But, this one did not fit the story we were drawn into.

Before the release, Stephenie hinted that her publicists warned her not to be too violent because her reading audience was 8-80 yr. olds (mostly girls). My husband and I felt the odd pregnancy and horrific labor scene in the beginning portion of the book would affect young girls negatively for childbirth. (I am a mother of four...we lost a baby to miscarriage right before reading New Moon and it was emotional for me). Our last baby, a girl, came placenta abruptio (same as Reneseme...sort of). I think CHAPTERS could have been classically summed up in two paragraphs and the end with the vampires could have had more action!
I enjoyed reading 70/30 of this book.
Why was Leah brought up and put into Jacob's pack and then left unmentioned after that?

I agree. This book was SO frustrating! What the heck?????

It was definitely my least favorite. It focused too much on that dang wacked-out baby and not enough on Edward and Bella's relationship.

Plus, the climax was just kinda crappy. The Volturi came ALL the way over from Italy to....TALK about it???

The baby was weird. I thought it would have been so touching if Jacob had died saving Edward's life or something...then they'd all be connected and ...well, ya. We all have the way we want it to turn out :)

Can't wait for the movie!!

Personally, I hated the book. I'm not an obsessive fan. I only heard about the series 2 months ago, and I didn't like the first two books at all. Book 3 saved the series for me, and then the last book ruined it again.
My biggest complaint is all the repetition. Here we have Bella being worried. Now she's being worried with Edward. Now they are both being worried with the Cullens. Now Bella is worrying about the same stuff on her own again. Repeat 50 times. It got to be completely infuriating for me as a reader. Meyer would enter into these long angsting cycles that would bring the story to a screaching halt. I finally gave up and started skimming once I saw Bella start worrying about something (so, every 3rd page or so) until something else happened. I don't know what it is about editors these days. Are they intimidated by their starlet authors and afriad to offend by cutting out all the redundancies? JK Rowling's novels suffered in this way, too, as the HP series progressed.
I also agree with the posters above who thought that it was all a little too easy for her once she made the change. She lost nothing. And the big climax that I kept reading to get to because I thought it would finally get interesting again completely fizzled out.
I gave it 2 stars on GoodReads, just because I liked to story itself. The execution of the tale ruined it for me, though.

I liked the book. I did not have any expectations - only hopes. I hoped she would have children - and she did. I hoped she'd become a vampire - and she did. Lastly, I hoped there could be some resolution for the Jacob/Bella relationship - and there was. I am happy as a clam. The end was not as climactic as I thought it might be, but still, it was a great way to end the story. I gave all the other books 5 stars out of 5. This one will get only 4 - it just wasn't as enticing after I got everything I'd hoped for.

That last comment was from me, Jennifer, not my husband Jeremy. How embarrassing! He'll be mortified if he ever sees his face on this romantic/womanly book review page!