The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner by Stephenie Meyer

The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner (Twilight Saga, #3.5)

by Stephenie Meyer

Fans of The Twilight Saga will be enthralled by the riveting story of Bree Tanner, a character introduced in Eclipse, and the darker side of the newborn vampire world she inhabits.
In another irresistible combination of danger, mystery and romance, Stephenie Meyer tells the devastating story of Bree and the newborn army as they prepare to close in on Bella Swan and the Cullens, following their encounter to its unforgettable conclusion.

'I'm as surprised as anyone about this novella,' said Stephenie Meyer. 'When I began working on it in 2005, it was simply an exercise to help me examine the other side of Eclipse, which I was editing at the time. I thought it might end up as a short story that I could include on my website. Then, when work started on The Twilight Saga: The Official Guide, I thought the Guide would be a good fit for my Bree story. However, the story grew longer than I anticipated, until it was too long to fit into the Guide.

Reviewed by celinenyx on

3 of 5 stars

Share
I'm not a big fan of Twilight, I don't make a secret of that. I think Meyer is pushing the boundaries by still releasing Twilight stories (i.e. The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner, Midnight Sun). That this little novella is for sale for over fifteen dollars is beyond me.

But I was curious, I was on vacation with nothing to do but read in the sun, so I gave Miss Bree Tanner a try.

Turns out, Bree's life is quite boring. This is 150 pages of Bree doing this, Bree doing that. Bree is thirsty, Bree drinking some blood. Everybody hates Bree, so Bree is hiding in a corner. Bree finds an instant love interest, boy out of the blue likes Bree. There is a big mystery going on, and Bree solves it!

The writing in The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner is quite al right, I don't really have something to complain about there. Meyer is a very clear writer, making her books accessible for the general public. The problem I'm having is that her books are empty. There is no meat, no substance. I feel like we're watching a puppet-show. The characters move about a lot, they tell a story, but in the end, they're only puppets.

I don't understand why Miss Meyer thought Bree's was a story that needed to be told. I read the post on her site about it, but I still don't understand. I'm all for the underdog's perspective, but Bree just doesn't have anything interesting to bring. I would have enjoyed this novella more if it had been from Riley's perspective. Now that would have been interesting.

I would recommend The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner only for the hardcore Twilight fans. For the casual reader this novella has nothing to bring, especially not for it's insane price.

Last modified on

Reading updates

  • Started reading
  • 12 August, 2011: Finished reading
  • 12 August, 2011: Reviewed