The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner

Title: The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner by Stephanie Meyer
Genre: Fiction, Fantasy, Paranormal, Novella
Rating: 4/5

From Little, Brown: Fans of The Twilight Saga will be enthralled by this riveting story of Bree Tanner, a character first 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.

As a fan of the Twilight Saga, I knew I was going to read The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner but after the cracktasticness of Breaking Dawn I wasn't sure what to expect. Luckily, Stephanie Meyer seems to have returned to the more polished writing of her earlier books. It was intriguing to see how a more traditional vampire, one that hunts humans, fits in the Twilight world and to see Bella from the POV of a vampire other than Edward. The Bree of this novella is less animalistic than the one in Eclipse. She befriends another new vampire named Diego, is suspicious of their unnamed creator and avoids confrontation with the other new vampires rather than participating in the in-fighting. I also found it interesting to see how Victoria used superstitions about vampires in order to control her new army. Each morning they returned to the coven before sunrise for fear of its effects.

I really enjoyed The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner and would recommend it to fans and non-fans alike. Bree won me over within pages, and despite knowing what would happen, I found the ending bittersweet and wished it could end another way. Rumour has it that Meyer may be writing other books based on minor characters in the Twilight Saga and I'll definitely read them if she does, particularly if Freaky Fred gets his own book.