Keep an open mind, & you might really enjoy it

I read the reviews beforehand, so I knew that some people felt that this was all about Stephenie Meyer cashing in on Twilight's success. Not everyone did, though, and one reviewer compared it to fan fiction because of it being a different take on the events of the original book. Since I like good fan fiction, I decided to give it a try, and I'm glad that I did. If you keep an open mind, it's a very interesting variation.

Beau Swan has a number of similarities to the Bella Swan character, but there are differences, too. I think that he is more malleable with others, apologizing more than Bella, who I felt was more quietly stubborn as a character. I didn't feel he was a doormat, but he was just a slightly different character than Bella. Edythe was also not exactly the same character as Edward had been in Twilight. Generally, most of the same events occur, and quite a bit of the same dialogue carries over, but it's NOT exactly the same book with just the names changed. All of the genders of the Cullens are switched, and while Dr. Cullen is still the head of the family, she's Corinne, not Carlisle. So, there are interesting gender role switches in all of the family and relationship dynamics involving Beau, the Cullens, Beau's classmates, and the Quileute tribe. Some people will only be able to see this as a rip-off of the original, but I really, truly enjoyed listening to this variation on the original material. In some ways, I liked Beau better than Bella because he didn't seem as foolishly stubborn to me as she did at times. He was just a caring, thoughtful guy who truly wanted everyone to be happy while still feeling drawn to Edythe and her world. I also liked Edythe better at times, too. She seemed to be a better balanced character than Edward, too. Not so tortured, but yet also not too far in the opposite direction.

I also enjoyed the differences in how everything was resolved in this book.

The reader did a fantastic job with the material. He definitely brought each character to life.

If you can't get past the fact that this is going to have a lot in common (thought also many differences) with the original book, then don't waste your credit (or money) purchasing it. If you can keep an open mind about it, I suggest you give it a try.

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207 people found this helpful

Deplorable way to try and reinvent the story

What would have made Twilight Tenth Anniversary/Life and Death Dual Edition better?

If this was decent. But it's not. In Life & Death, her concept of repurposing the story was to take Twilight, change the sexes of MOST, but not all, the characters, change a few words here and there, and call it good.

It's dreadful. Worse than dreadful. It makes me physically uneasy. I just got to the point in the book where Beau (the male Bella) has just seen the Cullens. It was already bad enough that Billy Black was now Bonnie Black and Erik was now Erika while Charlie, Renee, and Phil remained the same, but suddenly there are 3 female vamps and 2 males.

I think this is the most horrible thing Ms. Meyer could have done to the Twiverse. Her fans have been waiting YEARS for Midnight Sun and instead she redoes Twilight by changing a few names and descriptions.

DON'T BUY IT

Would you ever listen to anything by Stephenie Meyer again?

Not after this. I have been a Twilight fan from the beginning, but this? It's an atrocious way to try to make money.

What three words best describe Michael Crouch and Ilyana Kadushin ’s performance?

THe narrators were good. They were the ONLY Good thing about this.

What character would you cut from Twilight Tenth Anniversary/Life and Death Dual Edition?

I would cut Life and Death completely.

Any additional comments?

This was very upsetting. I am highly disappointed in Ms. Meyer for doing this. It was like someone wrote a fanfiction of Twilight (a REALLY bad fanfiction of it) and she chose to publish it. It's the same book, same phrases fans know. Beau has no balance - the only two differences between him and Bella are A: he's male and B: he has blue eyes.

I can't listen to anymore of it. This destroyed the Twilight universe for me.

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This isn't a "rewrite" by any means

What would have made Twilight Tenth Anniversary/Life and Death Dual Edition better?

I fully expected a different take on the original story using swapped roles: a male human and female vampire, fine. What I didn't expect was literally the exact same book with the find and replace feature used to switch out the name Bella for Beau/ Edward for Edith, etc. like, that's it as far as changes go -- names replaced to opposite genders. The dialogue, internal thoughts, every single situation is the same as the original book.... Just with a male wool gatherer blushing and stumbling all over the place this time. Stephenie Meyer has basically fifty-shaded herself and her fans, and jacked up the price of a ten year old book that people have already bought and made them pay for it again. I'm seriously pissed I got fooled by this bs.

Would you ever listen to anything by Stephenie Meyer again?

Nope

Who would you have cast as narrator instead of Michael Crouch and Ilyana Kadushin ?

Ehh, they're not terrible. They have to read what they're given and you can't fault them in not being able to polish a turd

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

Anger that I'd spent my credit
Annoyance at the author and publishing house for fleecing people out of money this way
Disappointment at how little regard was given toward readers

Any additional comments?

Seriously, save your credit on this one! If you're curious, go grab a copy of the original twilight and scratch the names Edward and Bella out, replace them with Edith and Beau. You'll get the exact same experience.

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Lazy Way to Make a Buck

The idea of the gender reversal would have been more interesting if it were a different story. I was bored throughout most of it. I'm going to pretend that this didn't happen and go back to just remembering how much I liked this series. In an interview she said it was a fast book to write. Of course it was, she just took the existing Twilight manuscript and did a search and replace for names and pronouns.

If Meyer wanted to write from the male point of view, she should have just finished Midnight Sun.

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Enjoyed the altered storyline

Any additional comments?

I've read a few reviews of people not liking the book, but I'm never one to go by reviews on books because I seem to find something I like in everything read. I'm a long time fan of the Twilight series so I was pretty excited when I found out about this anniversary treat.

The story plays along the same lines as the original Twilight with quite a few gender roles flip flopped. Some do remain the same though. Many of the same scenes were repeated with the flipped roles. Some dialogue was different. Towards the very end of the book things take a turn and the it ends differently than the original Twilight. I enjoyed the twist but it made me a little sad too for the lack of closure. I'd actually enjoy more if the story went further.

I liked the narrator, Michael Crouch. I hadn't heard him before and I enjoyed his performance. I would listen to more of his work.

If you like Twilight, I think you may enjoy this. To me, it was worth the credit.

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Repeat

This book wasn’t for you, but who do you think might enjoy it more?

Someone who has never read the original series

What was most disappointing about Stephenie Meyer’s story?

That I have already read it when it was called Twilight

Who would you have cast as narrator instead of Michael Crouch and Ilyana Kadushin ?

Wouldn't matter who narrated the book, the material is the problem

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

Disappointment

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45 people found this helpful

An interesting experience

I'll preface this by saying that I've only listened to Life and Death on this, but I've definitely listened to Twilight a few times, even though it has been a while.

Life and Death is a good story, if you don't go into it preparing to pick it to pieces. I found it to be an amusing experience, in the same way I find alternate universe fan fiction stories fun to read. I did roll my eyes more than a few times, and there were definitely some logistical things that I don't think translated that well.

I don't think re-imagining Twilight could ever really improve on the story (at least not without some massive overhauls) so I really didn't go into this expecting much, and thankfully I wasn't disappointed. If I want fine literature, I'll go back to reading Pride and Prejudice, and be quite happy with that.

If you're looking for a different way things could have been, or a nostalgic trip back to Forks, you may find this to be the book for you. If you're looking for a story that has removed all of the sexism of the original, you probably want to give this a pass.

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44 people found this helpful

OMG whaaaa the heck is this garbage

Would you try another book from Stephenie Meyer and/or Michael Crouch and Ilyana Kadushin ?

I LOVE the original
I don't even have words for this trash.....
Holy cow don't even bother do not... do not... do not...

Any additional comments?

Can I have my credit back ....wow

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I liked the ending

Is there anything you would change about this book?

Beau and Edith where great characters and if you separate them from the original book and not think of them as bella and edward then you will love the new romance and excitement it brings,Stephenie meyer should of rewritin it more to not freak out the readers but the ending made this book worth reading!

Would you recommend Twilight Tenth Anniversary/Life and Death Dual Edition to your friends? Why or why not?

Maybe depends on what they like to read, I alwasy encourage people to read what they love as to keep the love of reading alive!

What aspect of Michael Crouch and Ilyana Kadushin ’s performance would you have changed?

I think Michael did a great job and as always I love IIyanas voice, so no!

Any additional comments?

To all the people that hate this book or leave a review before even reading it, I offer this...Reading is for pleasure and in this world of hate and sorrow please remember that authers can not please everyone and its not fare to them when you spread hate, they are just doing what they love and makes them happy! Would you like it it people could write you a slanderest review about what you love or work at? No. please remember we all humen and no one is the same. Thank you stephanie Meyer for contibuting a book to get people reading again because we all need it more than ever!

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34 people found this helpful

Surprisingly Better than Twilight

Where does Twilight Tenth Anniversary/Life and Death Dual Edition rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

The Life and Death reading is by far better than the Twilight version. I bought this just for fun but I was pleasantly surprised on how much I enjoyed Life and Death. The changes that were made, made sense and worked so well for the storey. I almost like Life and Death better than Twilight.

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