Gorgeous cover, no? Have you noticed the spate of reissued classics with Twilight-esque covers?
BREE TANNER is only about 170 pages, so I finished in one sitting yesterday evening. Reading via the website proved frustrating at first because the viewer used to protect the novella from being downloaded/printed has very small text. It may have been my computer, but I had to change the resolution to 800x600 to make it readable (unless you don't mind scrolling halfway down each page, but I found that annoying). Then again, maybe the publisher hoped the online version's annoying setup would push those on the fence to just go buy it.
As always (with the exception of the end of BREAKING DAWN, imo), Meyer's storytelling grabs hold and won't let go until the final page. Bree is an engaging character, one I don't mind spending those 170-odd pages with. To my delight, one of the other newborn vampires is an extremely likeable character whom I wouldn't mind reading another novella (or even whole novel) about. I wouldn't be surprised if another work detailing his/her account doesn't come out eventually (though I really wish Meyer'd finish MIDNIGHT SUN instead).
To my disappointment, the writing seemed to lack professional editing. Obviously, it was edited, because, hello, Little Brown is no vanity press. But it read like a very neat first draft. It wasn't that there were typos or grammatical errors. It resembled a manuscript before you take out all the to me's and just's and that's. Before you make every word count. And that lack of economy took me 10 or 20 pages to get used to.
I was concerned Bree would be a clumsily veiled Bella, but Bree's voice was distinct. Seeing the ECLIPSE players from Bree's perspective, which differs drastically from Bella's, was extremely interesting. (And watch for a reference about Jasper's appearance that would have been nice for the filmmakers to have known from the beginning.)
If you are considering rereading ECLIPSE before BREE TANNER, wait. Being a little fuzzy made BREE's end more satisfying.
Finally, while we are on the subject of TWILIGHT, check out Blue Lipstick Samurai's review of NIGHTLIGHT by The Harvard Lampoon. After reading Blue's review, I am definitely going to pick up this book.
And while you're around, go enter to win Sandy Shin's giveaway! The prize is a preorder of Ally Condie's much-anticipated MATCHED!
