Author: Robin McKinley
Publisher: Speak - Published by the Penguin Group
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Description (from Goodreads):
Sunshine's mundane existence as the head baker at Charlie's Coffeehouse takes an unexpected turn when she drives to her grandmother's secluded summer camp. While she is taking in the scenic view of the starlit sky reflecting off the lake's calm surface, she is attacked by a gang of vampires and brought to an abandoned mansion on the far side of the lake. They strip her of her shoes, dress her in a blood-red gown, and shackle her to a wall. In the semi-darkness of the moonlit room, she realizes that a vampire is shackled next to her. After some tense moments, the two begin to talk and quickly conclude that if they don't help each other escape, they're both as good as dead.My Review:
I'm not sure exactly how to begin this review. Did I think Sunshine was a good book? Yes. However, I felt like it didn't blow me away like I expected. When Melissa Marr is quoted as saying "Sunshine is quite possibly the best vampire book published in my lifetime" right on the book, I think you kind of have high expectations.
There were several things I really liked about this book. For one, I really enjoyed how suspenseful the beginning was. I loved the dynamic between Sunshine and the vampire, Con. I wanted more scenes with Con! I also liked the magical world that McKinley built. It was definitely unique and left me wanting to know lots more about it. Tell me more about the magic, the wards, the Others!
Sunshine's character was well built. She had a believable background and I had an easy time seeing how she fit into her family and her job (which pretty much melted together being that she worked in the bakery of her family's coffee shop). Now I feel like going and baking some cinnamon rolls!
I kind of felt like there was too much of Sunshine's thoughts in this story. She confused me sometimes and I had to go back and reread quite a bit. Usually I love lots of details in a story, but I couldn't understand exactly what it is she was trying to say. Maybe I just don't understand the way she thinks? She is definitely a very different person than I am. Too much of the story was told though her thoughts versus some kind of action.
Also, it seemed like the beginning of the book had tons of action and then the middle got a little boring. There was too much of a lull. I wasn't sure I wanted to finish the book, but I really wanted to know what was going to happen, so I kept reading. I am glad I did, but that middle part was tough.
By the end, the pace picked back up and I was excited to keep reading again. The end completely left me wanting more!
My issue with this book is I found myself skimming a lot there was way too much unneeded description. I'm still up in the air with it as well. I really enjoyed certain parts other parts just didn't appeal to me.
ReplyDeleteYeah, exactly. I usually really like detail, but page after page of nothing but random thoughts (that I couldn't even understand her point on) was too much. Other than that, it had some great parts to it. I liked it, but didn't love it.
ReplyDeleteThis is one of my favorite books, certainly my favorite vampire book, but I do agree about the middle, it bogged down a bit (especially after the first part, which I remember being really good!). I didn't really mind all her random thoughts though, I didn't have a lot of trouble following them, but I've heard this complaint before.
ReplyDeleteI think my one complaint was that there aren't more books after this one. It's such a complex word, with such great characters, and I think there's so much more that could be done there. Well, we can only cross our fingers and hope!
-Lucy
I totally agree! I really wish this was a series. She really built up a great world and it would be awesome to see where the story goes from here. I can't even imagine!
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