Sunshine by Robin McKinley

I've been reading Robin McKinley's books for about 25 years now and, for the most part, have enjoyed them. On the flip side, I haven't read so many vampire books. The Vampire books I've read are (yes, I can tell you how many!): Dracula, Those who Haunt the Night by Barbara Hambly, The Madness Season by C.S. Friedman, and Interview With a Vampire and The Vampire Lestat by Anne Rice. I haven't even cracked a page on the new Twilight series, much less any of the other vampire books currently on the shelves. However, when my friend reviewed Sunshine here: Disorganized as Usual I had to give this one a whirl.


Taking the description from Goodreads: "Rae Seddon, nicknamed Sunshine, lives a quiet life working at her stepfather's bakery. One night, she goes out to the lake for some peace and quiet. Big mistake. She is set upon by vampires, who take her to an old mansion. They chain her to the wall and leave her with another vampire, who is also chained. But the vampire, Constantine, doesn't try to eat her. Instead, he implores her to tell him stories to keep them both sane. Realizing she will have to save herself, Sunshine calls on the long-forgotten powers her grandmother began to cultivate in her when she was a child. She transforms her pocketknife into a key and unchains herself--and Constantine. Surprised, he agrees to flee with her when she offers to protect him from the sun with magic. They escape back to town, but Constantine knows his enemies won't be far behind, which means that he and Sunshine will have to face them together. A luminous, entrancing novel with an enthralling pair of characters at its heart."


This book was fantastic...with exceptions. I enjoyed the story immensely. I detested the pages and pages of Sunshine agonizing about her sudden ability to do magic when she knew she was from a magical family. I was annoyed by the pages and pages of Sunshine's inner monologue which seemed to be mostly whining. I grew irritated with the pages and pages of exposition describing the world setting. I didn't feel like those pages of explanation added much to the story and I kept finding inconsistencies. I wanted action, not lengthy details on why some humans had demon blood in them and what would happen to them if anyone found out they weren't registered with the Special Forces. I wanted Sunshine to grow some balls and kick vampire ass instead wandering around moping.

Hmm, not exactly a glowing review, but this was a really good book. It's just one you have to read and see for yourself.