Edward...always, from the beginning right the way through, though I could have bashed his vampire skull on the wall a few times during the series!
Honestly, I didn't like Jake at first. Didn't have a problem with him in Twilight, but of course, you don't see him too much there. In NM he drove me up the wall - coming across as quite childish and whiny in his pursuit of Bella BUT I suppose you have to see the situation from his point of view...looking back I see it more from his point of view a) he doesn't have the foggiest what went on With E/B until later, b) he knows Bella is single, spending a lot of time with him...she does lead him on more than a little bit! I think on first reading it is quite difficult to find balance when reading the saga because as it's from Bella's pov you are obviously influenced by the way she sees people. She does drive me bonkers sometimes with constant descriptions of Edward and his 'beautiful face'.
Anyway, as I said, I didn't like Jake the first time I read New Moon, and in Eclipse, though I did feel a bit sorry for him, I cheered when Bella punched him for getting too fresh - and one of my favourite scenes in the book is right after that incident when Bella gives Edward permission to kill Jake, but Edward warns her that she'll regret it in the morning.
(I ADORE Edward's dry sense of humour
) I found Jacob's obstinate way of going about things more than a little irritating and to me, at times, he seems like he's more interested in winning a tug-of-war battle with a blood-sucker than what Bella wants. Personally, he just rubs me up the wrong way, especially in Eclipse.
When I first got to Jacob's book in BD I thought: 'urgh....' but I laughed, and cringed and sighed etc. etc. all the way through and I completely loved Jake's character that came through during the course of it in a way I'd not been able to see before. I felt sorry for him with what he'd been through...but now I had grown to be exceptionally fond of Jacob, in a decidedly matey sort of way, or even older sister/little brother - he annoys me intensely sometimes, but I love 'im anyway.
So...Edward. I do hear a lot of Edward bashing going on because of the things that Edward did during the course of the saga - the most frequently dragged up being him leaving Bella. As much as I want to scream 'IDIOT' at him every time I read it, I understand what he was trying to do...and I adore his character all the more for it, because if he hadn't left and done the whole angsty thing again he just wouldn't be Edward...
What is so appealing about Edward? Forget the mystery and the angst for a minute, as much as they make up a big part of him, especially in the first 2 novels. The first thing is that he is NOT perfect. I've heard people go on about how Edward is the perfect guy - that's why they are 'Team Edward' (who the hell came up with those terms anyway?
) - but he's not perfect! He's got a violent temper, he's way too self critical, he's insecure, he can be pushy, and seems to think he has a monopoly on deciding what is right for Bella. But, again, it's what makes up Edward as a character - if he was perfect he would be deadly boring and I wouldn't care a jot about the books or him.
Amidst all this non-perfectness that makes up Edward
there are also some wonderful characteristics that make him 'even more amazing behind the face':
- The dry sense of humour that I already mentioned
- His dedication to his family
- How
intensely he cares and tries to do the right thing, even when it turns out to be a major disaster (New Moon, case in point)
- He's an old fashioned Gent
- He's musical, which isn't a merit per se, but for me it's something I can relate to
- He likes to talk, and to
listen
- Quite the old romantic
And there's something about his self-loathing and insecure nature that sometimes makes you want to slap him and tell him to get over himself, and other times brings forth what I would call the 'aww' factor.
I found Edward fascinating right form the word go, and I think discovering him through Bella's eyes pulls the reader in even more. I don't know if you guys read the leaked Midnight Sun? I didn't even know it had leaked until I checked SM website the day after the whole fiasco - I was gutted as I was excited about the prospect of seeing the story, and Edward himself through his own eyes. Anyway, I read the copy that
she posted seeing as we were told we were likely to never see MS completed, (I wouldn't have read a leak - I'm still disgusted that anyone did such a thing) and I fell for Edward again and again seeing his character from a whole different dimension. I won't quote anything for now in case you guys haven't read it...but I loved it.
Errrrrm Is this a private thread or can anyone join in? No idea what you are both on about though! 