Laura Buhl of "About.com" gave the novel a more mixed review, giving it 3.5 stars out of 5. She found "the first several chapters stifled by issues of jealousy which are slow to develop", and said "Meyer's new sources of conflict feel heavy-handed at some points and over-the-top at others." Despite praising Meyer for uncannily understanding and writing the workings of the teenage mind, she noted that Bella is slow on the uptake of some obvious aspects of the plot. However, she went on to praise the final climatic battle for bringing plenty of thrills and excitement. Novelist Elizabeth Hand wrote a negative review of the book for "The Washington Post", calling it a "disappointment" and criticizing it for "never delivering an epic werewolf-bloodsucker smackdown", as well as for Bella remaining "an insufferable bore".