Every 'Twilight' Book, Ranked by Goodreads

Published Oct 21, 2026, 7:16 AM EDT Daniela is a freelance writer with two years of experience covering entertainment. She is a senior writer on Collider’s freelance team and has also been published in other platforms, such as Elite Daily. When she’s not writing, she's diving into thought-provoking, existentialist films and classic literature. Sign in to your Collider account The Twilight book series has been one of the most influential in young adult literature. Since the release of the first book, readers worldwide have either loved it or hated it; there was no in-between. This had partly to do with its writing style and the central relationship between the two leads, often said to be toxic, overprotective, and a questionable example for its target audience, as it seemingly romanticized unhealthy behaviors. Still, Twilight's impact (both the novels and the films it inspired) is unquestionable, with many finding its darker romance tale appealing. Even though it was mercilessly panned by general readers and critics alike upon release, the Twilight saga counted on one of the strongest fanbases in literature, and with the release of Midnight Sun a few years ago, the hype for the fantasy novels made a comeback. But where do the books rank against each other? On this list, we analyze each book's narrative, the cover's symbolism, and its overall quality, ranking each one according to its Goodreads score. 5 'New Moon' (2006) Goodreads Rating: 3.63 Although the second Twilight book is arguably not as great as the first one, it still manages to captivate audiences through its narrative that deals with the loss of true love. The plot picks up after Edward leaves Bella when his brother attacks her, leaving her heartbroken and depressed for months. During this time, she finds solace in creating adrenaline rushes that result in hallucinations of Edward. Meanwhile, her bond with Jacob Black grows stronger, and she discovers Jacob's true nature. Furthermore, Edward's sister Alice decides to visit at one point, and Bella eventually finds her way to Edward, only to find him on the brink of taking his own life. According to users on Goodreads, New Moon is the worst book out of the bunch. It's not hard to grasp what's unappealing about it, whether that is its slower pace or the depressing mood that may be a bit difficult to get through, especially when you're in the mood to read something slightly more engaging. However, New Moon is still an important chapter that provides readers with some important Twilight lore, introducing audiences to Jacob's pack and his relationship with all the other wolves while also exploring his bond with Bella. The cover symbolizes Bella's breakdown after Edward leaves. 4 'Twilight' (2005) Goodreads Rating: 3.68 Whether one loves or hates it, Twilight's impact on pop culture is undeniable, and the first book remains an iconic landmark in young adult fiction that impacted an entire generation. Featuring an iconic cover that represents the forbidden fruit from the Book of Genesis as well as Bella and Edward's forbidden love, Twilight introduces seventeen-year-old Bella Swan and vampire Edward Cullen, who fall head over heels for each other in this unconventional love story with dangerous consequences. Meyer's book is far from a masterpiece, with many considering it a "guilty pleasure." However, it would be a lie to deny that Twilight presents intriguing worldbuilding and memorable characters, with an engaging plot for its target audience, even if the writing is far from groundbreaking. While arguably still a better book than Eclipse, the first Twilight entry is the second lower-rated book in the franchise, perhaps because of its popularity, as more people have gotten their hands on it to see what its initial hype was all about. 3 'Eclipse' (2007) Goodreads Rating: 3.75 With a torn red ribbon symbolizing Bella's choice between Edward and Jacob on its cover, Eclipse is all about the iconic love triangle in the franchise. Complications arise when Edward gets back to Forks, and Bella attempts to decide between her love for the vampire and her friendship with the werewolf. In the meantime, she also finds herself facing the dilemma of leaving her mortality behind as she is put in danger again when Seattle is haunted by a string of mysterious killings. Although some people even prefer New Moon to Eclipse, the Twilight entry seems to rank higher on the bookworm platform, perhaps because of its faster pace and the way there is a lot more going on. However, all the new information it provides may be why some readers, on the other hand, may not like it as much and find it slightly overwhelming — especially considering some of its frustrating plot points. Nonetheless, one of the strongest and most fun aspects of the book is the way Eclipse provides readers with more backstory for more of the powerful Cullens. Collider Exclusive · 8 Questions · 2 Minutes Which Iconic Romance Is Your Favorite? Harry & Sally · Love & Basketball · Heated Rivalry · Titanic Four great love stories, and four completely different ideas of what love actually is. One is a friendship that took twelve years to admit itself. One is two people who refuse to stop competing. One happens entirely behind closed doors. And one lasts five days and never stops mattering. Eight questions decide which one is really yours. 🍂Harry & Sally(1989) 🏀Love & Basketball(2000) 🏒Heated Rivalry(HBO Max) 🚢Titanic(1997) FIND YOUR ROMANCE → 01 How does your love story start? The first scene tells you what kind of story this is going to be. AWe are friends for years before either of us says anything. BWe want the same thing and neither of us backs down. CNobody can know, including our closest friends. DOne look across a room and everything changes. NEXT QUESTION → 02 What do the two of you keep arguing about? Every great romance has one fight it has over and over. AWhether this is actually happening, and what to call it. BWhose career comes first this year. CWhether we will ever be honest about this in public. DNothing small. When we fight, it is about everything. NEXT QUESTION → 03 How do you show somebody that you love them? Grand gestures are easy to write. This is the harder question. AI remember every single thing they have told me. BI show up to the things that matter to them. CI keep their secrets like they are my own. DI would give up something enormous for them. NEXT QUESTION → 04 What is actually standing in the way? There is always something. Which something tells you the genre. ATiming. We keep finding each other at the wrong moment. BAmbition. We both want big lives and they do not match. CThe world. It is not safe to be open about this yet. DEverybody around us has decided this cannot happen. NEXT QUESTION → 05 Which romantic moment gets you every single time? Be honest. There is one that works on you and you know which. ASomebody running across a city to say it before midnight. BSomebody in the stands who stayed until the very end. CA look across a crowded room that nobody else catches. DSomebody promising to hold on, and meaning it. NEXT QUESTION → 06 What would you actually risk for the right person? Every romance asks this. Most people find out far too late. AA friendship I could never get back. BThe plan I have had for my life since I was a kid. CMy privacy. All of it would become public. DEverything. I would not think about it for long. NEXT QUESTION → 07 Where are the two of you in ten years? Some love stories are about the meeting. Some are about the staying. AStill talking. We have never run out of things to say. BBuilding something together, both of us still ambitious. CFinally open about it, after years of being careful. DApart, and I still think about it constantly. NEXT QUESTION → 08 Which of these sounds most like something you would say? Eight questions in, this is the one that decides your romance. AI would rather talk to you than anybody else, forever. BI am not giving up either of us. We find a way to have both. CThis is mine, and I am not explaining it to anyone. DI would do the whole thing again, even knowing how it ends. REVEAL MY ROMANCE → Roll The Credits Your Romance Is…Four love stories, four completely different ideas of what it means to be somebody's person. This is the one that matches how you actually fall, and what it would ask of you. Harry & SallyYou do not fall for strangers. You fall for the person you have already been talking to for years, which is the slowest and by some distance the most durable way anybody has found to do this. When Harry Met Sally made the case that the best romance is an argument you enjoy, conducted over a decade, by two people refusing to admit what is happening. You want to be known rather than swept away. Somebody who remembers your worst story is doing better work than anybody arriving with flowers. The film is unusually honest about timing. These two are wrong for each other repeatedly until suddenly they are not, and neither of them engineered it. You would still be talking about everything at eighty. That is the entire promise. Love & BasketballYou want a partner, not an audience. Somebody who wants their own life as badly as you want yours, and who would never ask you to be smaller to make the relationship easier. This is the rare romance where both people have a real career and the film takes both of them equally seriously. You would rather be pushed than protected. The right person for you is also a bit of a rival, and that never entirely goes away. It understands the actual problem in ambitious relationships. Not whether you love each other, but whose turn it is this year. You would still be competing at forty. That is how you would know it was working. Heated RivalryThe intensity was never the problem. The secrecy is. You are drawn to a love that lives entirely in private, and to the particular ache of wanting somebody you are not supposed to want. Heated Rivalry runs on the oldest engine in romance: two people on opposite sides, meeting in secret, getting far more attached than either of them planned. You keep your private life genuinely private, and something in you finds hidden things more real than public ones. The tension is not only between the two of them. It is between what they have and what it would cost either one to say it out loud. Years of this, and the whole story is really about whether either of them will finally stop hiding. TitanicYou do not do this cautiously. When it happens for you it is immediate and total and it rearranges everything, and you would not accept a smaller version of it. Titanic gave us the biggest romance in film history and then made it last about five days, which is precisely the point of it. You measure love by intensity rather than duration. A few days of the real thing beats decades of something merely comfortable. The film is not only about the romance. It is about a woman who went on to live an enormous life afterwards because of it. You would still be telling this story at a hundred years old, and telling it exactly the same way. ↻ RETAKE THE QUIZ 2 'Midnight Sun' (2020) Goodreads Rating: 3.76 The latest Twilight novel captured the attention of many fans when it was announced and received a bit more positive feedback from critics and audiences alike than the rest of the saga, as seen through its Goodreads score. The book, which features a nod to the myth of Hades and Persephonis through its pomegranate cover, is a companion novel to the first entry and pretty much retells the events of Twilight, though this time from the perspective of Edward Cullen instead of that of the franchise's Bella Swan, who narrated all the other books. Although not much changes from the original Twilight book (and some may even find it boring or repetitive for this reason), Midnight Sun is, in a way, an entirely new experience, so it is not surprising that fans of the franchise like it so much. It is an interesting book in that it invites readers into the mind of Edward Cullen and sets things from his perspective, giving long-time fans more insight into the character's behavior. It is an even more intriguing reading experience if readers are willing to re-read the original book so that they know exactly what each character is thinking during their shared moments. 1 'Breaking Dawn' (2008) Goodreads Rating: 3.76 Unlike the movie franchise, Breaking Dawn is not divided into two books (though still divided into three parts, with the first and third sections written from Bella's perspective, and the second from the perspective of Jacob). It picks up after the events of the previous novel, Eclipse, and sees Bella and Edward Cullen finally get married, much to Jacob's dismay. It eventually pictures a sick Bella, who faces unexpected, life-threatening situations, risking her human life and possible vampire immortality as a result. Breaking Dawn's storyline is quite different from the three other books, which is probably why it is appealing to some even if it feels more rushed. Plus, while the film and the novel are obviously connected, some would be shocked to learn that one of the major differences between the Twilight movie and the book is the entire confrontation scene, which plays out quite differently — and more peacefully — in the book and there is no plot twist involving Alice's vision. Despite Reneesme's unnecessary plot point, it still makes sense that Breaking Dawn ranks high among the other novels, if only for vampire Bella Swan, who is so much fun with a newly found confidence.