--- description: Find out why 'Twilight' made the list. title: 'Twilight' Is on TIME’s List of the 50 Best Romance Novels image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1c82b264e3bacf57/698a594b47ca383c353bdce8/Twilight-Stephenie-Meyer.png?branch=production&width=2400&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 --- Aug 01, 2024 # Twilight by [Meg Zukin](/author/meg-zukin/) ## Meg Zukin Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close  When _Twilight_ was published in 2005, it established a new kind of [YA fandom](https://time.com/4053007/twilight-10-years/ "undefined"). The book, which kicked off a four-part series and a five-installment film series, was everywhere, and its legacy is lasting. The story, which first came to author Stephenie Meyer[ in a dream](https://stepheniemeyer.com/the-story-of-twilight-getting-published/#:~:text=I%20woke%20up%20%28on%20that,%2C%20sparkly%2C%20and%20a%20vampire. "undefined"), is at its core a tortured teenage romance between the sparkly and [mysterious vampire](https://time.com/6220602/vampires-pop-culture-2022/ "undefined") Edward Cullen and ordinary girl Bella Swan. From the moment the two meet in a high school biology class in Forks, Wash.—and Edward catches a whiff of Bella's all-consuming scent—the couple is inexorably drawn to each other. An intense and compelling love story ensues as Bella becomes swept up in Edward’s world, despite its encroaching danger. But the book is not without its controversy. Meyer's portrayal of Bella and Edward’s courtship has drawn criticism for reinforcing puritanical notions of sex and glamorizing what some see as a toxic relationship in which a significantly older man (Edward is technically 104, but presents as 17) holds all the power. Still, there was a reason millions of readers obsessed over _Twilight_. By the end of book one, fans of the paranormal romance saga seemed to be just as "unconditionally and irrevocably" infatuated with Meyers’ story as Edward and Bella were with one another. A global sensation, the _Twilight_ serieshas sold over 160 million copies and spent over 274 weeks on the New York _Times_ best-seller list. The film adaptations also catapulted the careers of actors Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart. **Buy Now:** _Twilight_ on [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/4973/9780316327336 "undefined") | [Amazon](https://amzn.to/3S4mb9c "undefined") These are independent reviews of the products mentioned, but TIME receives a commission when purchases are made through affiliate links at no additional cost to the purchaser. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"Article","@id":"https://time.com/collections/best-romance-books/6996662/twilight/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/collections/best-romance-books/6996662/twilight/"},"headline":"Twilight","datePublished":"2024-08-01T12:20:33.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-03T00:34:21.644Z","description":"","url":"https://time.com/collections/best-romance-books/6996662/twilight/","keywords":["Books","E-Commerce","list","Special Project"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1c82b264e3bacf57/698a594b47ca383c353bdce8/Twilight-Stephenie-Meyer.png?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Meg Zukin","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/meg-zukin/"}],"creator":"Meg Zukin","articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1c82b264e3bacf57/698a594b47ca383c353bdce8/Twilight-Stephenie-Meyer.png?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/books/","name":"Books"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/collections/best-romance-books/6996662/twilight/","name":"Twilight"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Romance Authors Share the Book That They Keep Returning To","description":"Romance authors share the book that they keep returning to","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/biTPcLi3/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2024-07-30T10:00:00.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/biTPcLi3.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/collections/best-romance-books/6996662/twilight/","duration":"PT47S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/collections/best-romance-books/6996662/twilight/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```