I LOVED IT!!!!! I just finished.. i'm so upset that it took me forever to finish.. longer than twilight.. but i'm really happy and sad because now i don't have anything else to read.. I really liked it a lot.. I love it probably as much as i love twilight... i know.. i feel like a traitor saying that.. but I feel like Twilight is my Edward and The Host is my Jacob... I really hope that she starts making the second one soon.. i can't wait ..

I finally finished it last night & I really enjoyed it. I think hubby might read this one. It was very interesting and made me do a lot of thinking...more so than the Twilight books.

I have to say that I had no desire to re-read this book from the beginning like I did with Twilight - but .SPOILER ALERTI did re-read it from the point whre Wanda is the caves and Jared is out on the raid.

For some reason I had a really hard time getting past the alien names and the Singing World and the Flower World - it was a little too weird for me. Stephenie's writing style, though, was recognizable and I enjoy her a lot. It was great to read her very vivid descriptions of a landscape so opposite of the Olympic Pennisula. I also recognized lots of actions/responses of the characters remiscent of Bella and Edward - stroking of cheeks, tucking of heads, etc; but I enjoyed that. It seems kind of signature Meyer, if you know what I mean.

All in all, I would say that liked the book, but I wouldn't run to buy the sequel. But I'll be first line on Aug 2!!

Ha, ha, the phone book Yeah, I'd buy it too

Haven't yet finished it..but, my sentiments exactly..I care for the characters..crying over aliens???!!! Leave it to STEPH

I re read the 1st 2 chapters again, and it makes more sense to me 2nd time around...However..the more I read(or re-read) the more i think the book should have been called "the Soul" only bc I find that although Wanda was put into Melanies body, the story was essentially Wanda, her soul, and how she intergrated herself with the human emotions, not necessarily the "physical body"...so yes, she ws put into the human body, but the story is not about the "host", its about Wanda, the "soul", and how she struggled with the strong emotions, and ultimately accepted the these emotions, embraced them, and even "sacrificied" herself for the greatest emotion of all...Love... Sorry if I do not make any sense, but this is how I feel about the novel...great novel..love it.

Has anyone thought what the book would be like if SM used several narrators? If you were inside the mind of not just Wanderer, but Mel (alone) and Jared and maybe even Ian? Sometimes books with multiple narrators can be disjointed, but it can often work well (see Enchantment by Orson Scott Card). The more I think about the book, the more I want to know what all the characters are thinking - a testament to SM's incredible writing skills! Any thoughts?

I agree. I was surprised that the book was so much more about Wanderer than Mel, given the title. Wanderer is an incredibly interesting character, but I almost wish more time was devoted to Mel and her single thoughts, of being captive in her own body. Still loved the book!

I agree with many of the posts in this thread -- this book did make me think alot more than Twilight.

Things like what does it mean to be human? What is essentially human?

What about the contradiction of a gentle, peace-loving species exterminating another "for their own good"? (Made me think about our human history of colonialism.)

I also saw many similarities in writing style. The words 'chuckle' and 'rolled his/her eyes' crop up alot, although nowhere near as much as in Twilight.

The one thing I did want more of was the Ian Wanda relationship .

Not sure I'd want a sequel -- where could the story possibly go? Humans retaking the earth?

I finished last night and it was very hard for me at 1st but then i found some mood music which fit perfect and then was able to pick up from there it started to play out like a movie for me .... I am not a Sci-Fi fan but I definately loved it ! i am curious if there will be a sequel .
I did find myself crying alot Esp when Jared throws her into the wall !!!
i did stop breathing a few times but i am so thankful that i finished it .
I will definately re-read it over a few times Who knows maybe i will like some sci-fi now ..

Someone at my husbands work was reading it and he hated it he threw it in the garbage of course i vented at my husband about this guy and what a complete idiot he was for not reading all of it ..... and that he had to tell him that it is great and to finish it... Then of course "WHY DID YOU NOT GET HIS BOOK OUTTA OF THE GARBAGE AND BRING IT TO ME???????
my husband went back and told him that i liked it
he went and bought it again, finished it and loved it.
he thanked me personally and asked me if i would get his copy signed by stephenie on sat....
i laughed and told him he would have to give my husband a raise 1st ...
It was the CEO of the company , who when i 1st met him i told him i was my husband's mistress not wife ..(before i knew he was the CEO )

I finished the book last night. I had alot of trouble with the first few chapters. I was very confused. But once she starts explaining, it got better. It was a good story, but it didn't grip me like Twilight. There are no quotes worth repeating over and over like in Twilight. And Ian and Jared are no Edward and Jacob!

I really liked Wanda, and cried at the end when I thought she was gone forever. I was very sad for Ian. I really liked how he took care of here. Not sure how I feel about Jared. I guess he redeemed himself in the end, but I hated when he was physically hurting Wanda.

Not sure I will reread this one. But it was worth reading. I like SM's writing style. But the Twilight story is better in my opinion.

Ihave read the Host 2 times and love it. I was a little confused in the epiloge and first chapter but when I read it the 2nd time I understood completely.I loved all the aspects of the different characters and the love Wander developes for them.It was thought provoking,I hope she writes a sequal.

It made me do alot of thinking as well, momof5. I questioned many of my beliefs about kindness, love, fear, and trust. I am still processing. My brother is starting the book this evening, so I am looking forward to seeing how it impacts him.

For me, much like TWILIGHT, The Host has validated my beliefs about kindness,love,fear and trust. Whether it be with Vampires, werewolves,aliens or humans..you need to allow your self time to get to know them before jumping to all sorts of conclusions!!!

Loved the book. I found a lot of comparisons to Twilight (immortal character falling in love with a very mortal character both from completely different worlds). Also the 2 loves for the one character. Very much like Twilight a lot. I love SM, I just felt like it was a very similar novel with many of the same plot, character conventions.

That being said, I loved the book as said before. I'm very happy that Wanda and Ian ended up together in the book (I was rooting for Ian the whole time, not as big a fan of Jared though). I loved that Wanda was open to the human characters and didn't seem to have a better than you ego, which I'm sure is part a result of having Melanie in her head.

I found it very convenient that Wanda ended up with a small and frail body. I know there were reasons for the humans choice for a body for Wanda, but i couldn't also help but notice that the body made Wanda highly reliant on the humans for everything and that's the way it would be for the future.

Did anybody else find it highly convenient that Wanda knew how to remove the souls from the body when nobody else (even the healers) seemed to? Or did the healers, I'd need to reread.

All in all, I really want to reread it, and enjoy the story again from a new perspective.

Surprisingly, I was very happy with the way it ended, and wouldn't be upset if the book stayed as a single novel. I felt that we were left off with hope, the colony had found other humans like them, who are allies for fighting the alien invasion. I think if SM never writes another novel, that there is enough to fanfic off of just this one book. If she does write a sequel I will read it, but I thoroughly could see the novel just being a stand alone novel.

Anyways that's my $0.02 if it makes any sense.