Sunshine

I have mixed feelings about this book, and I am reluctant to give it 3 stars as it should have been a 5 star novel (and could easily have been so). What is greatly in favour of this book is the plot line- excellent! I'm a fan of YA fiction and will happily read most genres without any prejudice, I have read some vampire stories but haven't in a while because they're now very samey, so I bought this not sure what I was going to read.Unfortunately there are negatives, which spoiled it for the most part. First, it is written in the first person (which is fine), but I think perhaps about 60-70% of the WHOLE book is the off-topic ramblings of inner dialogue and description of backgound story given by Sunshine, the main character. Of course with first person narratives you expect to know the inner thoughts anf feelings and the person to have to describe and explain, but the lengths to which this was done got in the way of the actual story. For example, someone might ask a significant question to SUnshine and there is a 2 page interlude where the reader is given context and thoughts from Sunshine, and then 2 pages later, she answers the question (finally!) and you forget what the question was in the first place. I am a fan of Thomas Hardy, and It's not as if any of his novels are to the point, but his novels are as much about the pastoral setting; a novel about the interaction between a human and vampire should in my view by a little more dynamic.Another problem with first hand narratives is that the character development of others can be tricky, as the reader doesn't get insight into what they are thinking. This happened here. While Sunshine was well developed, likable, believeable etc, I don't feel that anyone else in the book were even half as developed. Con (the vampire) who is arguably the 2nd main character next to Sunshine, I was left wondering why he was so different to the rest of the vampire nation, that question was never raised by Sunshine which is how the reader should have found that important piece of character context. It is true that I may have missed that in amongst all of the pages of inner thoughts and repeated twaddle, but I'm fairly sure I didn't. There was also a distinct lack of pages dealing with how Sunshine and Con interact. There is the beginning section where they meet (excellent), and the end (which though predictable but enjoyable), but very little inbetween where one can see how they relate to one another. Mel (her boyfriend) is there as another strong silent type (much like Con), but I thought the descriptions of his tattoos had more life and vigor than he himself.About three quarters the way through (when girl and vamp finally start meeting up again), there is an almost sex scene. The author should have decided either to put one in or leave it out. It was completely unexpected, the language used (remember from Sunshine's POV) was completely different to what the character had used right the way up until then, so that part seemed forced and simply unbelieveable. It was like the author wanted to seem modern and forward so put in some offensive language and phrases to make her character edgy. I hate this in general in novels, which is why I generally stay with YA fiction because you get great stories without the barrage of smut you can hear and access in a hundred other places. This non-sex scene did nothing to enhance the story.My last complaint is that there was a HUGE amount of repitition throughout the whole thing, which is really boring and very irritating. If I were back at school studying this novel for my exams, then a bonafide question might be, what role and importance does the cinnamon roll have? I think on at least every other page is the reference to Sunshine's cinnamon rolls. Yes she is a pastry chef in her family's bakery, but really, I felt like an idiot (or perhaps a fish) having to be reminded constantly about how great she was at making cinnamon rolls, which customers loved her cinnamon rolls, how theraputic making cinnamon rolls is, how her cinnamon rolls bring in customers from all walks of life...you get the picture. If the author thinks the reader is adult enough to read through her terrible non-sex scene, then surely we are adult enough to remember that Sunshine is a pastry chef whose cinnamon rolls could win national competitions? If the cinnamon roll had been a part of the ending to conquor evil and save the world, then perhaps the cinnamon roll mention rate would have been justified. I did wonder at one point how many pages would be used up if all the cinnamon rolls were put together? The things seemed to have more background, context and personality than a few of the characters.Did I enjoy the actual story plot? Yes. Will I read it again? No. I find myself vaguely disappointed, but glad I bought this second hand off Amazon and didn't pay full market price for it.

I'd heard good things about this one - that it was dark and exciting and just a little bit spicy to boot. I've never read an out-in-the-open vampire fantasy novel before (as opposed to one where no one even knows they exist, like 'Twilight') so that was quite novel for me. And I liked it!It took a chapter or two for me to start to settle into the world McKinley has created, a world riddled with vampires and demons and Weres, in the aftermath of a nasty war between humans and Others. But it was 'normal' enough not to push the fantasy too far, and McKinley's narrator, the Sunshine of the title, explains many of the little facets of magical life that the reader isn't familiar with. Soon enough I'd sunk right into the story and then I was away!The basic plotline is that Sunshine, a bakery girl at her family's coffeehouse, drives out to her family's old lake house one night and is captured by a band of vampires. They dress her in a long red dress, drag her to one of the deserted lakeside mansions, and shackle her to the wall in the old ballroom as a tasty temptation for their other prisoner: a vampire enemy of their master. It will take an unlikely alliance and a whole lot of courage and unexpected strength to get themselves out alive and survive the vampires' wrath at their miraculous escape.I did think maybe the chemistry between Sunshine and Con could have been a little, well, hotter; every time she starts to look sideways at him she seems to hastily remind herself - and therefore the reader - how repulsive vampires are, and it kills it stone dead! But other than that, I was completely absorbed and enjoyed it thoroughly. I'll be looking for more of McKinley's books in the future.

An interesting twist on the usual vampire story, in an alternative world, written from the main characters POV. This book is divided into long sections rather than chapters which I found made it harder work to read, although there are section breaks.Despite this, I enjoyed the story. Sunshine, the main character has a sympathetic personality, although the story ends leaving more questions than answers about the story's other players.

This is so far the only McKinley book I've read. It took me by surprise and developed from what I thought was an intriguing, albeit, slowlish start, into a brilliant story. I am still reeling form having just finished reading i! I loved Constantine and Sunshine, they were original and very richly written, but also the peripheral characters. Sunshine, a baker, has for want of a better dscription, her hidden identity thrust upon her, when a bunch of vampires randomly kindaps her as a sacrificial lamb in their power wars. Only Constantie, the vampire to whom she is being offered, and who is also under compulsion, refuses to cooperate. And so does Sunshine from then on, which is where the book gets really interesting. The plot was intense and consuming and written in good taste (rare in this genre), with subtle thoughtful and original overtones. I saw all the recommendations by other authors, such as Neil Gaiman, but was dubious at first. Well, it seems that the weren't lying.Its a stand also book which I regretted when I finished, but I suppose it packs all the better a punch for it. Thoroughly recommended.