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mswarning's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
This is maybe the third time I've read this book. I don't think choosing it for a readathon near the end of the month when you're trying to read like 5 books in 5 days was the best decision on my part. I definitely needed a higher ratio of action/vampire interaction to worldbuilding, so the fault was mine.
The frustration I'm seeing from people reviewing this book stems from the fact that something traumatic happens near the beginning of the book. Sunshine acts like many people do, they avoid talking about it or making a big deal about it. And the avoidance informs the slow-pacing. The worldbuilding nicely sits in the spots between the bigger, weightier parts of the story. Each scene with Constantine leaves you wanting more. And you're kind of anxiously waiting for more to happen as pressure keeps building up.
If I had rated this book when I finished it, I think I'd have rated this readthrough a 3.5 or 3.75. Time has been kind, and I've been able to separate time management frustration from my opinion of the book. I think a sequel could be amazing, but I also think it would not live up to my expectations.I want Sunshine and Constantine to have a continued relationship. Not necessarily romantic, but maybe that could work somehow. More about her magic-handling abilities and more about vampires, master vampires, and how Constantine is different from other vampires. More about vampires being more dangerous and ruining civilization. And more Sunshine coming to terms with her abilities and turning into someone who can emotionally handle killing vampires. Or maybe about what happens with her combined bloodlines from both sides of her family since there's many different possibilities to explore there.
Read the content warnings.
The frustration I'm seeing from people reviewing this book stems from the fact that something traumatic happens near the beginning of the book. Sunshine acts like many people do, they avoid talking about it or making a big deal about it. And the avoidance informs the slow-pacing. The worldbuilding nicely sits in the spots between the bigger, weightier parts of the story. Each scene with Constantine leaves you wanting more. And you're kind of anxiously waiting for more to happen as pressure keeps building up.
If I had rated this book when I finished it, I think I'd have rated this readthrough a 3.5 or 3.75. Time has been kind, and I've been able to separate time management frustration from my opinion of the book. I think a sequel could be amazing, but I also think it would not live up to my expectations.
Read the content warnings.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Confinement, Kidnapping, and Murder
Moderate: Violence and Animal death
Minor: Drug abuse, Fire/Fire injury, War, and Sexual content
msthomsen's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore
Moderate: Kidnapping
Minor: Sexual content
bronbaewr's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
relaxing
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Kidnapping
arieldeborah's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
reflective
slow-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
"What do you do when you know you have two days to live? Not a lot different than if you didn't know. Six months you could do something with. Two days?
Hmph...
Take a good long look at everyone you love - everyone local; you've only got two days. And don't tell anyone. You don't need to be surrounded by a lot of depressed people; you're already depressed enough for everybody."
McKinley has this slow, beautiful way of writing in all her books that I've read - this trait continues in Sunshine. McKinley somehow makes vampires and magic seem mundane and baking cinnamon roles magical, weaving not only a story but an entire slice of life - with all the boring and messy bits, and all those tiny things that make life worth living hidden between.
"Humans don't deal with extreme situations very well. Our pathetic bodies freak out."
Sunshine is a baker. She is bored with her life but won't really admit it to herself and frankly doesn't have many other ideas of what she would be doing anyway. The world she lives in is much like ours (well, the ours of 2002), but with magical creatures being the norm and a recent magical war having gone down in her childhood.
"Reading scary books is weirdly reassuring, most of the time: it means at least one other person - the author - has imagined things as awful as you have."
The story kicks off with that life all changing, though Sunshines narration takes you a hot minute to figure out how said change happened. Sunshine is very much a "stream of consciousness" book, seen through the eyes of someone whose mind wanders and tends to ramble and overthink (or avoid thinking if possible). It is a bit difficult to describe the plot from there without spoiling it, but it wanders in several places whilst still keeping the story fairly close to home.
"It's funny, vampires have been a fact of human existence since before history began, and yet in our heart of hearts, I don't think we really believe in them."
In the end, the story was funny and lovely and felt deeply real at times. Also, the vampire descriptions were definitely a change for me (in a good way...ish).
The story lost half a star from slowing down just a bit too much in the middle for me and a few other technical things, but in the end, I did love this novel and look forward to reading more of McKinley's backlog of work.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Blood, Gore, and Kidnapping
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