The Host by Stephenie Meyer

The Host by Stephenie Meyer
3/5 stars
615 pages
Source: Library

The story:

Melanie Stryder refuses to fade away. Earth has been invaded by a species that takes over the minds of human hosts while leaving their bodies intact, and most of humanity has succumbed.
Wanderer, the invading "soul" who has been given Melanie's body, knew about the challenges of living inside a human: the overwhelming emotions, the too vivid memories. But there was one difficulty Wanderer didn't expect: the former tenant of her body refusing to relinquish possession of her mind.
Melanie fills Wanderer's thoughts with visions of the man Melanie loves - Jared, a human who still lives in hiding. Unable to separate herself from her body's desires, Wanderer yearns for a man she's never met. As outside forces make Wanderer and Melanie unwilling allies, they set off to search for the man they both love.
Featuring what may be the first love triangle involving only two bodies, The Host is a riveting and unforgettable novel that will bring a vast new readership to one of the most compelling writers of our time.

The review:

Having gotten over my Twilight obsession long ago, I've come to realise the bad writing that dominates Stephenie Meyer's books ('most compelling writer of our time'? Was the author of that sentence high when he wrote that..? Just saying...) Some of her phrases just don't make any sense, no matter how long you stare at them and let's not forget the numerous and frequent grammatical errors.

 However the plot isn't that bad. In the beginning the humans are portrayed as violent creatures who didn't deserve to live on this beautiful planet; a Point Of View that's shared by activists today. That POV honestly surprised me because I didn't expect Meyer to stray from her sappy love stories long enough to even consider how other alien civilisations might view our world and civilisation, if they visited. 
Then there's Wanderer-Wanda-and Melanie-Mel. Trapped together, they don't get along in the beginning, in fact Wanderer tries everything that passes by her hand to get Melanie to fade but she refuses to switch bodies. I love her resolve, thinking she can get rid of her if only she tries hard enough. But as we move through the story, their bond grows stronger and surpasses even that of best friends; one willing to sacrifice herself so that the other can live in peace. 
Regarding the romance in this novel, this part also surprised me. As Wanda and Melanie travel through the desert, Wanda falls in love with Melanie's memories. In all the books I've read I can't recall someone ever falling in love so fast just from the memories. And honestly speaking, are memories REALLY that powerful? 
ANYWAY coming back to Meyer's typical style of writing, upon their arrival at the human settlement you get the development of a love square! A FREAKING LOVE SQUARE! As if love TRIANGLES weren't bad enough, Meyer had to go cook up a love SQUARE.... *huffy angry noises* You can all imagine how much I liked the book from that point on... Someone please give this woman a nice slap upside the head, maybe that'll jar her brain into place. 
But again I was surprised at the end because they way everything plays out is rather beautiful and, quite frankly, really sweet. 
All in all, the plot idea and some part of the story are really good and tie the book together.