Review Time: The I Loved Bree Tanner Thread

A discussion of the novella The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner

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MiVidaLoca
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Re: Review Time: The I Loved Bree Tanner Thread

Post by MiVidaLoca »

Edwards Ragazza wrote:I really did enjoy this book and I am glad I bought it to go with the rest of my collection. Stephenie sure did give us a surprise with the Voturri which worries me a little. I know many of you want her to continue the saga however I am very skeptical especially after reading Bree's book. I think if the Cullens go up against the Voturi again then we are going to lose some of the Cullens which will make me very sad. I like that Stephenie wrapped it up all neat with a happy ending. So we have to be careful what we wish for.

If she writes more Novella's with Fred or other small characters I don't think I would buy all of them. I would probably just wait till my local library has them. Now if she does this all in one book then I might change my mind .But seriously I don't want to buy a whole bunch of mini books that I can read in a day about all these little characters. Bree was the only exception as of right now.

I read each of the twilight books in one day LOL. I do think though when I get my next batch of school money, I am going to invest in a Kindle or a Nook and call it a school expense ;) I used to be a huge reader as a kid and in my teens. But than I had kids and got married and later started college and never found the time. Reading this Twilight Saga got me back into reading again and I keep buying all these books and having them read in hours. I read this new Bree one in 3 hours. So anyway, getting one of those it can at least be a little cheaper and not taking up space. I would probably still want to have the hard book set for the Saga though.
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Re: Review Time: The I Loved Bree Tanner Thread

Post by Edwards Ragazza »

Hi Mividaloca I am Desiree by the way.

I thought about buying a kindle,nook,ipad et...but I started thinking that I really don't read books but one time. Twilight is the only exception so far. As far as books taking space in my home. I only have HP and Twilight Series. I know ebook is cheaper than actually buying the book but again since I only read books once I just get it free from my library. Plus I don't know I really like holding a book. Maybe I am thinking way to much into this but even though I don't buy every book I read I think of all the jobs that will be lost if they stopped making actually books and it was all through computer. Computer technology is great but it seems like everything is headed to where we can do everything with our computer and that does worry me about economy and the future of jobs.
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Re: Review Time: The I Loved Bree Tanner Thread

Post by openfire »

Hello folks,

Like you all, I really enjoyed this book, much more that I expected too. In Eclipse, I didn't like Bree. I thought she seemed a bit...silly actually (although now I know she was acting this was on purpose!) and I thought she was acting very savage. I now look at her completely different. I really like her. I too wish the ending of Eclispe was a little different...

I miss SM's writing. I both love and hate how she can make us fall in love with chacaters that we know are going to die anyway...brilliant writing! She just makes you become Bree... I felt sorry for her, and I wanted her to escape and live a great life with Diego and Fred. And even though they kill people, I still like them. It's the way SM writes - you can't help but not love the characters!

And, I was really shocked that the newborns believed the "normal" vampire stories, eg burning in the sun etc. I did not expect this at all! I was glad that Bree & Diago got to learn about the sun together. I really liked them as a couple. They could have been very very happy together.

The things that really touched me were the following:
-when Bree realised that Diago had been dead for days, and she just gave up. I felt her breaking inside... I hated Riley so much for this.
-poor Fred waiting in Canada for Bree & Diago...I wonder what he did when he realised they weren't coming. Did he think they were dead, or that they didn't want to hang around with him. I wonder if he did indeed meet up with the Cullen's at some point.
-perhaps the most touching was Edward's last line to Bree. I can't beleive I never realised that he would have been reading her thoughts before!! I feel very silly now :lol: This part was heartbreaking, and I believe I fell in love with Edward a little more at this part...how that is possible I have no idea!

And the parts which made my blood boil:
-Riley. In Eclipse, I always got the impression that Victoria was leading him on and that perhaps he wasn't so much to blame. However, now I realise how EVIL he is. Gathering up all the kids that no one will miss, the tempers he threw at them, the was he lied to Bree about Diago... I now realise he was just as bad as Victoria in the army..
-the Volturi! I knew it! I'm with Bella on this one...the thought of the Volturi makes me shudder. When Bella realises Jasper speaks about them with pride, I thought he was a little crazy! But now I know that they are indeed very very nasty...to the Cullen's at least. I am so glad that Bree was able to let Edward know what the Volturi were up to.

So yep, I liked it. A lot!

I want more of SM stories now!
MiVidaLoca wrote: We are like a bunch of newborns that even if we drink, that ache for more is still there! LOL
Hahaha, this is so true!!
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Re: Review Time: The I Loved Bree Tanner Thread

Post by AliceFan »

**SPOILERS!!**
I too loved this little book. In Eclipse, Bree was just an aside, one of those characters I didn't pay much attention to. I thought she was annoying actually, and didn't really care if the Volturi killed her or not. This novella has changed my perspective! It's a funny thing, knowing how a story ends before you know how it begins. Bree is far from the whiney little girl I imagined her to be after reading Eclipse. Although she is young and bloodthirsty, she has some intelligence and some self-control. Diego was delightful, and I loved their discovery in the cave about the sunlight. That was very visually stimulating.

Freaky Fred was a very interesting character, and I'm glad he got away. I thought his 'gift' of repelling others quite hysterical. Who would have thought that such a power would be a positive thing? And his willingness to shelter Bree was touching.

Riley I felt more positive for, at least more sympathetic for, in Eclipse. In this backstory he really is bad news after all. Deserves what he got, I say! Maybe I was just irritated that he helped kill off Diego. Ah well.

I thought the writing style was much better in this novella too. Don't get me wrong, I do love the Twilight books, and have read The Host, and I think Meyer is a good writer, but there are certain words I really wish she would purge from her vocabulary: shuddered, smoldered, and chuckled being at the top of my list. That said, I think she has really crafted this story well, creating an interesting character in less than 200 pages.

I loved the revelations in this one about the Volturi knowing what Victoria was up to, and how Bree 'informed' Edward about it. That makes the ending of Eclipse so much more layered. By the end of the story, I really came to care about Bree and wish she had been given a longer second life. On the other hand, this story make her death so much more powerful, so much more tragic. A very fitting end for a truly tragic figure. Bravo, Stephenie Meyer!
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Re: Review Time: The I Loved Bree Tanner Thread

Post by dazzel21 »

Finally I'm here!!! I just finished the book last night, I'm really dying to join this thread but I want to stay spoiler free until I read the book...

So here we go...

It has been quite awhile since Breaking Dawn and as soon as I heard that SM is releasing another Twilight Saga book I have been so excited. I love SM's style of writing, it's very captivating yet 'easy to digest' reading.

Front Cover and Inside Leaf Summary I'm feeling giddy the whole time as I read the inside leaf summary. One new character caught my attention, Diego. Hmmnnn wonder what role he will be playing on Bree's life. We all know how the front cover looks like since it has been release far along. But what I really like is that they stick with the previous Twilight Saga front cover, black and red.

Stephenie Meyer's Introduction Like what SM says we all know how this story will end. It won't be a happy ending. I love how she introduce to book and Bree's character, what to expect while reading the book and her experiences and what led to Bree Tanner being published.

The Newborn Hunting Goosebumps all the way. Even in the first 3 books of the Twilight Saga SM there was never a scene of vampires hunting/feeding. The closest we ever got to read was during Breaking Dawn after Bella was changed, and she was hunting animals. This time it's newborn vampires feeding on humans. It's kindda creepy and at the same time I'm really curious and a bit fascinated with how a 'normal' vampire feeds.

Diego and Bree I love their chemistry. If they were both given a chance to live I think they might share the same intense love that the Cullens felt for their mate. I have no doubt that both of them could commit to being vegetarian vampires if they were pointed at the right direction and with proper guidance. Bree has a strong sense of what is right and wrong, a conscience to be specific. The 'ninja' thing was kindda funny, and the way they found out about not burning when they step out of the sun.

Fred I find him a very interesting character. I really hope he finds the Cullens. Maybe SM could include it in the guide. To be able to make himself invisible by being repulsive, that was a cool talent. We only got a glimpse of Fred in the book he seems very mysterious. I would love to find out more about him...

The Vultori Why am I not surprise to find out they are somewhat involve with Victoria and the newborns.

Riley During Eclipse I used to pity him. I used to think that this poor kid must have been in the wrong place at the wrong time when Victoria finds him. He's so in love with Victoria that he was willing to do whatever she told him. But after reading the book and finding out what he really is all my sympathy go down the drain. He's a sadistic, manipulative and blood thirsty (literally) vampire who would do exactly as what Victoria told him to do. The way he tricked all those newborn vampires specially Bree about Diego being alive...

Newborns attacked in the ferry Super creepy and very scary. The way SM described Raoul sitting in a pile of humans he had drained of blood *shudders*. It's a complete blood bath in that scene...

Bree finding out Diego is dead Saddest part of the novella. I cried while reading this part. Poor Bree, Diego dying right before their love story could begin. I could imagine how confused and hurt she was during the attack. Seeing her fellow newborns being dismembered in the field, finding out Riley has abandoned them, and trying to find out where Diego is and finally realizing he is dead...

Carlisle and Bree Carlisle, ever the compassionate one...what more can I say.

The whole scene with the Cullens and the Vultori Well this is the same as what we read in Eclipse but to be able to read it again on Bree's perspective. What she was thinking while all of this is happening. The way she protects the Cullens and finding out the choices she never get to have. Bree's last message to Edward about Fred...

All in all I love this book. A refreshing perspective on what happened during the fight between the newborns and the Cullens. A great read for all Twifans...

Cheers to Stephenie Meyer for another successful book...
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Re: Review Time: The I Loved Bree Tanner Thread

Post by Edwards Wheels »

I read the book yesterday after reading many spoilers through my own decisions as I was afraid this book might spoil the visions I had in my head of Twilight and the saga. The spoilers made me so curious I just had to read the book to find that I was wrong to be fearful.

The book itself was no where near long enough, and I'm hopeful that if this is as much of a success as I think it'll be then it might persuade SM to write more novella's from different characters POV. It was strange at first getting into a book written by SM about vampires but not including our favourite characters. I loved seeing into Bree's world and it reminded me of parts of Eclipse where I maybe felt confused about things.

The hunting trip I found fascinating. SM was very careful not to add in the previous books anything about hunting humans, and left most of it to our imagination but to see how some treated hunting as a childish like game and others felt the need to clean up after them. The ferry incident was almost frightening, the thought of a vessel that big being isolated and cut off from the world so easily was kinda scary, but finally we got to hear about what non vegetarian vampires did.

Diego seemed a cool character, although we ( well I) didn't hear enough about him to ever really completely trust him. Maybe if the book had been slightly longer, possibly starting from the moment the newborns were being created I could've known enough to see him as I think he was meant to've come across to me. When he disappeared although I think I knew he'd been dealt with I still had this nagging thought that he'd done a runner. And I mean completely done a runner leaving Bree to fend for herself after using her to bounce his ideas off then taking off on his own. I can understand why Bree was so nervous of Diego originally, afterall they were on a hunting trip and as Edward had explained to Bella in Twilight, when vampires go hunting they give themselve over to their senses instead of their minds and could easily make a mistake with their kill.

Fred seemed awsome. I loved the idea that everyone forgot about him because of his talent, or felt sick if they were too close. His talent seemed to be a cross between James' and Bella's, and it could've been exciting to read more about him and how he dealt with life once he's escaped. Like others have said I'd love to think that he met up with the Cullens and explained to them about Bree and her life before the fight, how they were all bred for that one fight and trained etc. And then for Edward to tell Fred, Bree's last thoughts about him and how she asked for him to be treated well.

Riley really didn't affect me like he did others. (whenever I think of Riley I have Draco Malfoy in my head and have done since he was introduced to us in Eclipse) He felt some kind of connection with Victoria but he was confused by it, and I think he put that down to either love or fear. While he behaved the way he did around Victoria he was safe. I felt a small twang of guilt for him during Eclipse, but not as much as others had, and this book proved that he was as bad as I'd previously thought. I'm not sure if he believed all the myths about vampires or whether he'd been raised believing them too, afterall Victoria may've told him all that bumf so he was sincere when he passed it on. (If he'd been the one who went through Bella's room, then wouldn't Alice have seen the decision to go in or something?) I only wish Bree had been able to see his demise, although again her logical thinking once she'd realised what was going on I found strange. When Edward killed James I was under the impression that the revenge for Victoria took over her and that was all she could do, work out ways to make it even. Yet when Bree discovered Diego was gone she was upset yes but was able to think logically through her grief and through her burning desrire to kill Bella. (Again, I might've mis read something here)

Carlisle annoyed me during Eclipse with his idea's for Bree's preservation. She'd been brought up to kill, and she was behaving in such a way I kept thinking 'Carlisle, let Jasper deal with her, don't look or anything but just get rid', now after reading this book I totally get his compassion and why he felt the way he did. In fact now I think Jasper was too harsh on her when he was dealing with her especially when the wolves were nearby and he covered her ears etc. I had never considered Edward hearing her thoughts before, and her acceptance that she was going to die were very sad, and it reminded me of why Edward was always so thoughtful, and why he went through his speech about when went through his rebellious patch and he killed humans, (even if it was monsters) and how it affected him.

I really did enjoy the book, and I hope and pray that SM decides to write more. I's love to read a book about Carlisle, although his story alone could be a saga considering his life is still what 350 years? I'd love to read the stories from any of the vampires POV. I'd like to see what they make of Bella, of Jacob and the pack, or of Victoria etc etc etc.

A fantastic read! I've probably missed off most of what I wanted to say, and probably not written it as I want it to come across, but fingers crossed people will be able to understand some of what I've said :?
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Re: Review Time: The I Loved Bree Tanner Thread

Post by alphanubilus »

I recently purchased "The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner, and to be honest, I liked this book even better than the core Twilight books, for a few reasons. While we ALL know what happens to Bree, the getting to that part, was a thrill ride. This book was far edgier, darker, and more intense, than what Stephenie did for the core Twilight Saga, and thus she created a very moving tragedy. Stephenie's story development skills vastly improved with this book, as it centers on a mystery that unfortunately doesn't get solved until near the very end, and by that time it is too late. She paints a picture of the vampires as sympathetic creatures, not monsters, of whom are just trying to make their way in the world. They are true to what they are, but that is natural. While there are vampires you come to dislike, you don't really hate any of them... well except Victoria... I still hate her. :P This just goes to show, that Stephenie can write true tragedy and I'm happy she didn't try to find some odd way to alter Eclipse to only make us "think" Bree died, so that the character could still exist some where. In doing so, she created something really viseral and new. It really did hurt when Bree realized that Diego wasn't coming back, and I kept hoping, even against realization, that she would turn tail and run, but alas...
My only complaint is, I wish it was a full book. It was great as it is, but I think the story deserved a full novel treatment. This does make me excited to see what she has cooking next for the saga...if anything else.

openfire
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Re: Review Time: The I Loved Bree Tanner Thread

Post by openfire »

dazzel21 wrote:Newborns attacked in the ferry Super creepy and very scary. The way SM described Raoul sitting in a pile of humans he had drained of blood *shudders*. It's a complete blood bath in that scene...
I totally meant to mention this part but forgot!
This section was indeed very creepy. A whole ferry full of people, and not people that no one would miss, but people will families, and jobs, and loved ones to miss them. And then when they sank the ship...I wonder if anyone ever found it.

I also wonder if this part might be in the Eclipse film? I'm not sure how much of a backstory the newborns are going to get, but if this is in the film, I am sure I will get a shiver up my spine!
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Re: Review Time: The I Loved Bree Tanner Thread

Post by bored by the sea »

after our weeks and weeks of spazzing over it s release and my fulfilling my countdown responsibilities :lol: im late to joining in the thread, but heck im here now to join the "i love the bree tanner" book party. it was awesome!!! it totally gave us a proper insight into the newborn coven (feels wrong calling them that) and i loved that stephenie confirmed out suspicions that the volturi were in on it!(yeah fairly sure i literally yelled when i read this part!) gah there was sooooooooooooooooooo much that i loved dont really have time to go into it right now i shall come back at some point and re-post, but i feel like stephenie definitely showed us the other side to vampire life , i agree the description of the newborns attacking the ferry was scary. i really felt for bree having read this, when you look at her character through bellas eyes in eclipse you are kind of afraid of her i guess, fearful? but when you read this and understand her motivations and how she was twisted into doing these things that she truly didnt want to have to do you really do feel her pain. o.k. ill be back with further points lol
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Re: Review Time: The I Loved Bree Tanner Thread

Post by dazzel21 »

bored by the sea wrote:after our weeks and weeks of spazzing over it s release and my fulfilling my countdown responsibilities :lol: im late to joining in the thread, but heck im here now to join the "i love the bree tanner" book party. lol
You certainly are :lol: :lol: :lol: But better late than never...
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