Twilight

I re-read Twilight purely for the nostalgia and the comfort (after A Little Life destroyed me) and, honestly, I really enjoyed it... maybe not quite as much as I did back in the 00s, but I can still appreciate just how strong it is as a young adult romance novel (was romantasy even a genre 20 years ago?). The plot itself is simple (let's face it, not a huge amount actually happens), but that simplicity works in its favour. This book is all about exposition. Stephenie Meyer carefully sets up the world, introduces us to the characters, and makes us fall in love with them long before the real drama begins.

What Twilight does especially well is lay the groundwork for the series as a whole, particularly the complexities of vampires existing within the human world. It's atmospheric, angsty and completely focused on character and emotion. I'm sure I would've given this five stars back in the day, but reading it now as a 40-year-old means viewing it through a very different lens. It's lost a star for me, thanks to some plot holes I won't dwell on, but the nostalgia and charm are still very much there.