Summary: The story of last battle of the 3rd Book of Twilight (Eclipse) told from one of the newborn vampires.
So I am going to out myself up front. I read all of the original Twilight books. They are some of the first books I read on the Kindle when I first purchased it. And I enjoyed them. Yes, I get some of the issues people have with them. Yes I understand that they completely turn vampire lore upside down and made what has always been considered evil into good. Yes, I get the issues of sexualizing teens and the problems of her desire to die rather than live without Edward. I don’t completely disagree with those complaints, but I still enjoyed them.
I was aware of this book when it came out but evidently was not really paying attention close enough. I thought it was about Bella’s child, not about the ‘vampire childhood’ of one of the vampires created to kill Bella. So I picked this up when I saw it online at my library and checked it out on audiobook through the Overdrive system.
It is short, but longer than what I would call a novella. It is about 200 pages in print and almost exactly 4 hours of audiobook.
Bree Tanner is a new born vampire. Unknown to her and the rest of her group, she is being raised to kill Bella and if possible destroy the Cullens. She just happens to be a bit smarter than most of the newborn vampires and along with two other newborns starts to realize that something is not quite right. She and Diego realize that they will not burst into flames when they are in sunlight (this is Twilight, not Buffy) and that insight lets them know they are not being told other things as well.
There is some good story here, but it is not really a stand alone book. One, without understanding the rules of Twilight vampires you will not really understand what is going as as Bree grows as a vampire. Also there are several things that are hinted at, but not actually discussed (like the werewolves). Third, this just feels like supplemental material and not a full story on its own.
But I do like getting alternate perspectives on books. I read the unfinished alternate perspective book about Edward and this is fairly similar. There are weaknesses as well. Bree pretty much falls in love with Diego instantly and is not sure she wants to live when she fears he might be dead. Clearly a theme that Meyer likes, but is problematic in many ways.
This was originally published as a promotional for the Twilight movie, then became a fundraiser for the Haiti earthquake. But as far as I can tell it is just for sale now. Strangely it is the most expensive book in the Twilight series on kindle. It is not something you need to read. But if you liked Twilight and can find a free copy at the library, you will probably enjoy it.
Purchase Links: Hardcover, Kindle Edition, Audible.com Audiobook