Tuesday, August 05, 2008 . 11:03 AM

What a shock it is to realize that there are Twilighters out there who didn't enjoy the book as much or more than I did.

I spent the weekend reading the 4th and last book in Meyer's Twilight series. I was so obsessed that I started reading from 8pm till 4am on Sat, then woke up at 9am on Sun to finish the book. I simply couldn't bear the thought of facing Monday without knowing what happens to Edward, Bella and Jacob. When the clerk at Popular bookstore told me that the book was already in store, it was all I could do not to climb onto the counter and start doing a celebratory dance.

That would have been quite a sight, I'm sure.

But my obsession with Twilight went further than that. Imagine this:

Lgging on to StephenieMeyer.com once a day to stare at the countdown counter, hoping it would miraculously 2nd August already. Pre-ordering Breaking Dawn (something I thought I would never do after the end of HP series) and re-reading the first 3 books in Twilight to prepare myself for the last installment. Scouring websites for any teensy weensy bit of info about Stephenie Meyer talking about her experience writing the book, how she felt about her characters, the up-coming movie... and fanatically dodging any article that remotely hinted at any spoiler for the new book because I don't want anything to spoil the plot for me. I don't want to know anything until I read it for myself in the book.

If that doesn't scream fan behaviour, I don't know what does.

To be honest, I didn't and still don't understand the comparison to J.K. Rowling's HP series. Granted, both series are set in the fantasy realm and both are targeted (successfully) at young adult readers, but have also found an older following. That's where the comparison ends.

Edward and Bella's story is about 2 outsiders who realized that they're 2 halves of a whole. Except, if he ever lost his steely control, he would be as likely to kill her as love her. Theirs is essentially a love story, you know, the epic kind because it is forbidden and therefore deliciously seductive. It's fascinating how Edward, an immortal, strong and beautiful beyond your wildest imagination, is brought low by a mere mortal. He meets Bella, wonderfully flawed and multi-faceted, and she becomes the chink in his armor.

Which woman doesn't want to be the only weak spot of an exceptionally strong man? Except Bella not only tempt Edward's stone-cold heart, she also whets his bloody appetite. Whenever he looks at her or smells her, he's wrecked with the uncontrollable need to protect her and over-whelming desire to suck her blood dry.

Talk about fire and moth. That's about as close as you can get and I, along with millions of other people, are suckers (haha!) for it.

I'm not doing a recount of the book (go buy and read it!) but I am happy with how the story turned out. I think the last book is a coming-of-age story, of how Bella grew into herself and realized her full potential, rather than a pure romance story, like the first 3 books.

In previous books, she had always been protrayed as strong. Yes, even turning zombie after Edward left doesn't weaken her because she is only human and Edward is her soulmate. How do you survive when part of your soul has been ripped out? So, forgive her for being human and look at her other extraordinary traits. Like how she always put people she loved before herself and display courage and immense inner strength under fire. All these traits (and more) come through in the final book.

I think I understand why some readers might not find BD as gripping as previous books. For younger readers, it might be due to the slightly more mature theme and understated romance. Instead of the drama imbued in previous books, I think we got a more grounded relationship. They are no longer BellaEdward? but BellaEdward. That is significant because being in love is more than just the butterflies in the stomach and the fire in the touch. There has to be something more sustaining - like trust, respect, affection, tolerance, maybe a dash of blindness... but you get the point. Being in love isn't effortless, you work at it until you get damn near perfection and that, I think, is what Meyer is saying in her latest book.

Except marital troubles come in monstrous forms (literally) for our favorite couple.

I think, Edward and Bella are to the 21st Century what Romeo and Juliet are to the Shakespearan era, only with fangs.