Book Review: The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner: An Eclipse Novella

The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner: An Eclipse Novella by Stephenie Meyer

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Bree lives in a home with several other newborn vampires. To call them a coven would be incorrect, since a coven would work together, and it seems like all the newborns do is work against each other. If it weren’t for her hiding place behind Fred, a newborn with unusual powers, she might not have survived so long, but self preservation is a strong instinct. Then one night hunting, she gets to know Diego, another new born who has begun to question things like she has, and she begins to think she might have finally found a friend. Just when she begins to puzzle out her new life, she is told that she has a terrible enemy who is coming for her.

In many ways, this novella had more appeal to me than any of the other Twilight saga novels. Bree was a tough character to like, but once you did, she is a hard character to forget. She is strong, smart, and desperate to survive. In many ways, she is also a better drawn character than you find in the original novels. You see her motivations, her desires, and her pain. Bree is a brilliantly developed character.

The other characters in this novella are not nearly as fully formed as Bree. Riley is a shadowy character at best, who speaks for the creator who Bree doesn’t remember. The other newborns are stereotypically savage and in turns stupid. Diego, is a little better developed, but we don’t spend enough time with him to fully flesh out his character. The one character I found myself wishing I could know more about was Fred.

Anyone who has read Eclipse knows where this novel will take us, but that doesn’t make the journey any less enjoyable. I really found myself wanting to read more of Bree and enjoying her story. I found this story to be better developed and thankfully missing much of the melodrama that was present in the other Twilight novels.

The audio version of this book was read by Emma Galvin, who does a superb job of narrating Bree’s story. She was clear, and believable as she voiced the newborn vampire Bree. I could easily imagine it was Bree telling her own story, and that is a mark of a good narrator.

Overall this was a fantastic addition to the Twilight saga and a must read for fans of the series. If you haven’t read the other books in the series, I am afraid this isn’t the place to start as some parts of the story will only make sense if you have read the other books.

Cautions for sensitive readers: Violence is present. No sex.

View all my reviews >>