I really can't help posting something about this today. I bought the book yesterday and read it greedily after work.
The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner is the riveting story of Bree Tanner, a vampire first introduced in Eclipse, and the darker side of the world she inhabits. The novella chronicles the journey of members of the newborn vampire army from their preparations to close in on Bella Swan and the Cullen family to its unforgettable conclusion. Summary from Amazon.
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I have been a very big fan of the Twilight series (before the first film even came out). But I have been a bit shocked by all the media frenzy and it sort of put me off the whole thing.
On the other hand, I was impatiently waiting for this novella as soon as I heard it would be published. I thought that the choice of Bree for the novella was highly unusual and I was intrigued.
I absolutely loved it. I whined about the price for the not-even-200p novella, but I loved the characters (I love Bree, Diego and Fred!!!), I love the story and I think that the writing has improved (because I found that there were some flaws in the series - after reading each book ten times).
My favorite parts in the series were the other vampires which looked waaay cooler than the Cullens (sorry, I have a thing for badass supernatural species), like the Denali sisters and others. And this story gives such a good description of Newborns (which we only explored from a certain point of view) and uneducated vampires (to the vampire laws that is). It is actually very informative for when it comes to understanding the other side of Eclipse. But I believe you can read this book even if you aren't a Twilight fan.
I also particularly loved seeing the meadow fight scene through Bree's eyes. You'll understand what happens way better than in Bella's point of view. And it is just wow (yes, so I cried, whatever).
But don't read what I say.
Go back to when Twilight wasn't the reference in terms of fantasy.
Forget the Bella and Edward
Forget the actors of the films
Forget the Twi-hards and whatever
And read this novella with the same curious eyes with which you discovered sparkly vampires and forget all the rest that has been building up ever since.
You will love this book. I did !
What did you guys think of the book ? Useful to understanding Eclipse or just fun to read ?
I've heard really amazing things about this already so I'm VERY excited for my copy to arrive. Glad you loved it!
ReplyDeleteSold. I'm going to go and buy it right now. (I was planning on it earlier, but I cheaped out.) Thanks for the inspiration!
ReplyDeleteI ordered this for our library, but I know I won't get to see it for a while (too many holds). Great review!
ReplyDeleteAnd, I have left you an award on my blog -- here :)
Sounds really really good. But pardon the question but what is a novella? Is it a short novel? Or the proper word for novel? Little confused..
ReplyDeleteSo excited about reading it now.. And since I have not read ANY Meyer books yet (I know hanging head in shame) I may start with this one! :D Thanks Caroline!
I've been quite anti Twilight recently because of the buzz surrounding the whole thing, but this one is really great... And I can feel another novella or spin off series... And that would be *great* !!
ReplyDelete@Jo: Wow thanks so much for the award !!
@Claire: A novella is a short story with a sexier name... You can also read The Host by Stephenie Meyer if you are not ready for the Twilight series (four books) !
I plan on reading this but haven't picked it up yet. I'm hoping it will be in my birthday present pile this week LOL!
ReplyDeleteI know what you mean about the hype though. I discovered Twilight when I was browsing the YA shelves at B&N years ago, when Twilight was the ONLY one out there and when no one had ever heard of it. The simple cover caught my attention and so did the summary, so I read it and I was immediately hooked. When I heard second book was coming out, I was so excited and it went from there.
I can't wait to read this one!
You cried? Lol! You soft heart!! Just kidding, I'm glad to hear that you liked it and you think the writing has improved! Maybe I'll read it someday, but it's not on my TBR pile.
ReplyDeleteIt sounds like a must-read! I really like what you've said about forgetting the hype and just getting back to why we liked Twilight in the first place. I'll try to do that.
ReplyDeleteI loved your review! Thank you!
ReplyDeleteI picked up a copy of this today because I just couldn't stand not to have the complete "set" of Twilight books on my shelf. I wasn't planning on reading it though. I'm glad to hear that so many people have been pleasantly surprised by it! Maybe I'll read it this weekend after all!
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