Released on August 4, Stephenie Meyer’s Midnight Sun has already sold more than 1 million copies and is a retelling of Twilight from Edward Cullen’s perspective.

However, Twilight fans may want to lower their expectations before reading Midnight Sun.

The novel contains some problematic concepts, including Edward’s rationalisation of gaslighting, the consolidation of traditional gender roles and of course, Edward infamously watching Bella while she sleeps.

Another deterrent is Meyer’s sub-par writing, using words like ‘conspicuous’ and ‘monster’ an excessive amount of times, which becomes awkward.

The ‘dark’ themes employed as a major selling point for the novel are undoubtably present but are not as prevalent as a reader may expect based on its marketing. Instead, the closest we get to these themes is through Edward, presented as an angsty and over-dramatic teenager pining over a girl.

If a reader keeps these downfalls in mind, and lowers their expectations accordingly, Midnight Sun has the potential to be an enjoyable read.

What I found most interesting were the new perspectives that Meyer offers. Not only does she recount Twilight from Edward’s perspective, but she uses Edward’s supernatural ability to read minds, to fill in nearly all of the gaps present in the original novel.

Readers can understand Bella’s human friends’ thoughts and feelings, as well as the history of the Cullen family in far more detail.

But, more importantly, readers get to experience the opposite perspective of the love story that is Twilight.

With this perspective, readers can better understand the struggles Edward experiences throughout the story, as he grapples with whether or not to enter a relationship with what he considers a fragile human.

It is also interesting to see that similarly to Bella, Edward doesn’t believe she could love him as much as he loves her, and this blindness is a key theme throughout.

It’s highlighted when Meyer writes: “Do you remember when you told me that I didn’t see myself very clearly?” [Bella] asked. “You obviously have the same blindness”.

A lesson I learnt from Midnight Sun is that our insecurities and our perceptions of ourselves can be false and that people can love you regardless of your flaws. That is what is most captivating about the novel; reading Edward’s fears about Bella not loving him, and knowing, from Twilight, that he is wrong.

As Edward reminds us when he gives in to a relationship with Bella, love is, “the greatest joy of this life”.