The Genre


Vampire fiction, fantasy, horror

The Plot


From Amazon:
"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."

The Review


I really, really liked this book. A lot. LOL. It was refreshing to see a vampire different from the usual cliché. This vamp isn't drop-dead gorgeous but he is impressive nonetheless. He is also not "house-broken" meaning he has a harder time than most vamps found in novels when it comes to dealing with humans. They are still food but he is trying, not to be good, but to not be a monster. However, thankfully, he also doesn't go around crying at the fate that the world has dealt him. The heroine, as heroines are bound to do, will get on your nerves once in a while. Especially at the beginning because, in this world where everyone knows that the things-that-go-bump-in-the-night do exist, she manages to go wandering about near a lake in the middle of nowhere in the middle of the night. Yes, this is crucial as this is what leads the two main characters to meet but still. My one pet peeve with this is that this book leaves many, many things up in the air. In fact, the ending feels like a setup for the sequel. Except there is none. If you go on the author's site she even declares that she has a hard time when it comes to sequels ergo she doesn't write them. It's a damn shame because the world she built was real interesting and I would have loved to see how Constantine and Sunshine's relationship progressed.

The Verdict


Nonetheless, this is IMO a great read. Yes, it's bogged down at times by the heroine and her tendency to go off on a tangent when she is explaining something to us but skip a few paragraphs and you'll be fine. I loved the way that this vampire was portrayed. It was different and refreshing and I did like the heroine as the story went on as well. I really do wish Mrs. McKinley would write at least a short sequel to this.

As it is, I give it a 4.5 out of 5.

8 comments:

I know! This book was great and it would make one helluva movie!

I really enjoyed this. And yes, Sunshine was a bit stupid at times, but I don't mind that as it fitted her character. Not that she was stupid as a character... I'm not certain what I'm trying to say :)

Anyways, really enjoyed it, and while part of me would like to see a sequel another part id happy with it just the way it was.

Agree totally with occasional annoyance at heroine, but otherwise, fabulous book. I also loved Constantine's characterization and am anxiously awaiting a sequel, but it doesn't look good.

I enjoyed the book, I liked the book, but I didn't love it the way I wanted to. I felt that it needed a good editorial review. Reduce it by 10-15% and it would have improved a great deal. And the ending definitely screamed sequel, which seems a bit unfair.

I just finished reading it and came skipping to the pc to see if there was a sequel! Cant believe she is not even considering it after leaving me and NO DOUBT countless others wondering: Where are they going etc!!!??? Loved the book...even the Rae's waffling - Ha!

i'm an enormous fan of the book (acknowledging all the weaknesses as well as the strengths the other bloggers mentioned), but the writer is absolutely adamant (in a horribly annoying way) that she will not write a sequel even though the book is filled with loose ends intended for a sequel. well, then, i hope someone else with similar talent will be allowed to delight us with a continuation of the story, or at least that a movie would be made based on the first book and then a second movie which would be a substitute for the literary sequel.

This book was amazing, but the author's attitude kind of makes me wish I hadn't gotten into it in the first place. I think McKinley is a genius. Her writing is incredible and Sunshine's plot line was amazing as well. But, and I do have to sat but, she she doesn't seem to be very into the idea of sharing, which IS her right, just as Sunshine is her book. She isn't planning to write a sequel, fanfiction websites aren't allowed to have anything related to her books published, nor is she interested in having any movies made. I understand most of it, she does have her reasons, but her attitude still upsets me.

I looked forward to scenes with Constantine. Rae, on the other hand, was a tough one to stand, and she's the one speaking to the reader. It was extremely irritating and boring to be inside her head. I actually started off liking her in Part I, when shackled next to Con, but she quickly turned mundane and snobbish. For me, it was a regression in character. I do think it's a shame there is no sequel as I liked the overall premise & I can see Rae grow in likability through her Blaise heritage. Leaving something to the reader's imagination is good, but there was too much left up in the air for this to be a truly satisfying read.

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Since I was a little girl I have been fascinated with books. Early photos show me with a book in hand, even if it was not exactly my reading level... My first word was a made-up word meaning 'book', actually. I suppose I had my priorities at an early age... Over the years my interest in books has become one of the defining features of who I am as a person. You can probably call me a bookworm. While I have other interests, reading will always be the one I talk about the most, even if I am not focusing on it as much as I used to.

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