Khanh Pham Pham থেকে Villa Guardia CO, Italy
*minor spoilers* PROS: After a meh wedding and an amusing honeymoon, the first half of the book is surprisingly dark with genuine consequences arising for Bella and her friends as everything seems to fall apart, most of which is written quite well in the bitter, cynical voice of Jacob. The pack politics are good, a whole bunch of intriguing vampires come into play in the second half, and there's a great buildup to a big final conclusion. Most impressive of all, the perfection that is Edward finally breaks in the first half as his controlling ways fall apart and he's so desperate to save Bella that he proposes some nasty ideas. But it works because the book admits it's twisted and builds off his desperation. CONS: Alice, who used to be a likeable character, has kinda fallen into Edward's role of trying to control every aspect of Bella's life. Once we get through the second half, everything is perfection and rainbows again and Bella defies odds and becomes a vampire to beat all vampires. She has a ridiculous superpower amidst a section already bogged down with ridiculous superpowers, and the way she has her cake and eats it too in terms of her new lifestyle robs the story of any true sacrifice or weight. The super brain and rapid aging of the baby feels like cheap plot convenience. I like that they acknowledge the ookier aspects of imprinting, but it's still ooky. Leah Clearwater is a fascinating character that keeps getting the short end of the stick. The promised epic climactic showdown is pretty much just people debating and failing to use their powers on one another.