PanThe Independent (UK)...you might find yourself struggling with two aspects of this fanged love story. There’s the laughably bad writing, of course – \'her scent hit me like a battering ram, like an exploding grenade\' or, worse, \'her heart throbbed wetly\' – but also the questionable romanticisation of a man dating a teenager who a) he wants to eat and b) he is five times older than (not that anyone can tell, because vampires don’t wrinkle) ... the framing of Bella and Edward’s love story becomes even more unpalatable now that it’s narrated by his desires ... dward doesn’t have to be a role model – if he’s a vampire, by definition he’s also a murderer – but it would be better if his behaviour didn’t blur into the sort that often ends up with women not able to leave their house or call their friends ... unfortunately, what you learn most about Edward is his pathologically dedicated invasion of Bella’s mind and body, dictating where she should go and demanding she say how she feels when she does. So obsessed is he with old-fashioned gender roles that he doesn’t even swear in front of women ... Midnight Sun is a frustrating reminder of how much of popular culture focuses on a helpless woman being saved by a troubled, yet ultimately forgivable man. In the Twilight universe, vampires don’t burn under the sun, they gleam like diamonds. I wish they did set alight, though: that way I might not have to hear Edward’s inner monologue as his lips rest on Bella’s neck ever again.
