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meganpbell's review
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
On one hand, I can see the influence of this unique urban fantasy in books like Twilight or Legends & Lattes even. The unlikely combination of gory, sensual vampire horror, cozy community coffeeshop baking, and wry and funny narrator is a winning one in a lot of ways if a little tonally unexpected. On the other, it’s also so slowly and awkwardly paced, full of info dumps that make it harder to immerse yourself in the story, and feels incomplete narratively.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood and Kidnapping
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Gore, Body horror, and Violence
Minor: Addiction, Sexual content, Animal death, Murder, Police brutality, and Fatphobia
lanid's review
lighthearted
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Minor: Body horror, Gore, Kidnapping, and Xenophobia
vickybuka's review
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
The world building is fractured and hard to follow. Characters are constantly being given surprise backgrounds that should have been mentioned earlier in the story.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Confinement, Gore, Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, Blood, and Murder
Moderate: Animal death, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Kidnapping, Suicidal thoughts, and Death of parent
Minor: Addiction and Drug use
clevermird's review
adventurous
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
I was really excited for this book - I've loved McKinley's other work and vampires are a fascination of mine. The cover quote by a well-respected author declaring it "pretty much perfect" built even more hype. But sadly, this book didn't really live up to my hopes.
Rae "Sunshine" Seddon thinks of herself as quite ordinary - just a baker trying to help keep the coffeehouse run by her chaotic but mostly-loving family afloat. But when she decides that she needs some space and takes an impromptu trip to an isolated lake, she finds herself captured by a group of vampires and destined to be the next meal of one of them. Only he seems to have no interest in eating her. Together, they plot to escape the other bloodsuckers and that's when things really start to get weird for Sunshine.
There was a few things this book did right. As former back-of-house staff myself, I liked the way the coffeehouse's staff and customers were described. The dynamics and interactions rang true to me. Additionally, the way the world and Sunshine's character slowly spun out over the book was very satisfying and kept me engaged much more than the plot of the book itself did.The book begins with what I assumed to be "our world, but with vampires" and the ordinary girl our protagonist claims to be, but gradually shows us that things aren't quite what they appear. And as always, McKinley's protagonist has a very relatable, down-to-earth voice that's easy to read.
However, this book desperately needed editing down. Close to a quarter of the 400 pages could probably have been cut without sacrificing much plot and the story often bogs down in long info dumps and repetitive musings from Sunshine. The plot meanders, several interesting characters (such as Sunshine's boyfriend) are underutilized, and the ending ultimately wasn't very satisfying.
Overall, a promising story held back by taking way too long to get to the point. Read it if the premise suits you or if you're a fan of McKinley's other work, but don't expect a masterpiece.
Rae "Sunshine" Seddon thinks of herself as quite ordinary - just a baker trying to help keep the coffeehouse run by her chaotic but mostly-loving family afloat. But when she decides that she needs some space and takes an impromptu trip to an isolated lake, she finds herself captured by a group of vampires and destined to be the next meal of one of them. Only he seems to have no interest in eating her. Together, they plot to escape the other bloodsuckers and that's when things really start to get weird for Sunshine.
There was a few things this book did right. As former back-of-house staff myself, I liked the way the coffeehouse's staff and customers were described. The dynamics and interactions rang true to me. Additionally, the way the world and Sunshine's character slowly spun out over the book was very satisfying and kept me engaged much more than the plot of the book itself did.The book begins with what I assumed to be "our world, but with vampires" and the ordinary girl our protagonist claims to be, but gradually shows us that things aren't quite what they appear. And as always, McKinley's protagonist has a very relatable, down-to-earth voice that's easy to read.
However, this book desperately needed editing down. Close to a quarter of the 400 pages could probably have been cut without sacrificing much plot and the story often bogs down in long info dumps and repetitive musings from Sunshine. The plot meanders, several interesting characters (such as Sunshine's boyfriend) are underutilized, and the ending ultimately wasn't very satisfying.
Overall, a promising story held back by taking way too long to get to the point. Read it if the premise suits you or if you're a fan of McKinley's other work, but don't expect a masterpiece.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood
Moderate: Kidnapping, Gore, Body horror, Confinement, and Death
Minor: Injury/Injury detail, Infidelity, and Gore
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