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 enlarge | Author: Robin Mckinley
Publisher: Berkley Trade
Category: Book
List Price: $16.00
Buy New: $9.12
You Save: $6.88 (43%)
New (27) Used (9) from $9.12
Avg. Customer Rating:  324 reviews
Sales Rank: 11229
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 416
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.8
Dimensions (in): 8.2 x 5.3 x 0.9
ISBN: 0425224015
Dewey Decimal Number: 813
EAN: 9780425224014
ASIN: 0425224015
Publication Date: October 7, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: Brand New, Perfect Condition, Please allow 4-14 business days for delivery. 100% Money Back Guarantee, Over 1,000,000 customers served.
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| Customer Reviews:
 Sunshine. December 20, 2008
They always say to not judge a book by its cover. Well, thankfully, this time I did! I was perusing the aisles of my favorite local bookstore, and this instantly popped out at me. The play of light and dark, slashed with red - my eyes went right to it. I honestly think it was the first book I picked up, and one of the armful of books I left with. But moving on -
I had heard, vaguely, that it was a tale of vampires. I was hesitant, having read the Twilight series (not that I disliked MOST of the series, but, that's a whole other story), but left with it in tow anyway. I'm a sucker for vampires - what can I say?? (Pun not intended.)
This is certainly a very different sort of vampire tale. One other reviewer that I noticed stated this isn't a book about vampires. Really, it isn't (there are several things that go bump-in-the-night tossed in for good measure). But there is a fair dose of vampires frolicking throughout it. The first person pov is excellent - Sunshine is engaging, witty, entirely human, and wholly relatable ... aside from the whole "monsters" bit. I could picture her all too easily as a real person baking in a diner somewhere.
I agree that this isn't a book for everyone, but if you're tired of the same old vampire-bit, and looking for something new, and prefer your occult-ness with a bit of wit, I think this may just be up your alley. In any case, the writing itself is superb, even if the storyline isn't your type of thing. I'd recommend this book to most that I know, and it's certainly scaled its way up my "favorites" list.
"Black humor alert." Sunshine is Magic December 20, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
So, I wanted to read my first Robin McKinley book and started with Sunshine. Granted, the Neil Gaiman recommendation on the cover helped sway me to pick it. I could barely put it down-reading half of it at the beginning of a 7:20 am flight yesterday from LaGuardia to O'Hare and then picking up the other half this evening. I'm a fan of SOME vampire books, but this one was smart and fun and edgy. I think that the dark humor/sarcasm really had me hooked though. I chuckled pretty frequently while reading.
Rae Siddon (the Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood: A Novel name Sidda kept coming to me the whole time I read, so I was glad when McKinley stuck to calling her Sunshine) is a baker extraordinaire who goes against the grain to befriend a vampire despite having a physical fight or flight reaction to his predatory nature whenever he's around. What's not to like about Sunshine? She hates bullys. She is a tough chick and even though she resembles a real woman who takes care of herself rather than succombing to being a damsel in distress, I still find it difficult to associate a 4am bakery wake-up as "real." Then again, I'm not a morning person.
The action keeps the book moving. I think this gets four stars instead of five from me because I would have liked to have seen some more of the characters fleshed out. Sometimes the action was just so good and so fast that I missed some of the relationship Sunshine has with her boyfriend Mel (aside from the fact that he's the strong and SILENT type). Same with fleshing out her mother's character, who is this force to be reckoned with the whole time but we meet her almost exclusively through Sunshine and her narrative and not up close and personal. I felt like I met Charlie (owner of the bakery and Sunshine's mother's squeeze) more than I met the mother.
I think this book is primed for a sequel, and I for one would be first in line. Can't recommend it enough, especially for people who like this genre. I don't even know what this genre is called? Urban Fantasy? In any event, I recommend it.
Great Read December 12, 2008
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
This book is great! It transports you to a world where magic and things that go bump in the night exist. Robin McKinley gives you characters that are whole and likable. I found myself becoming completely absorbed into this story and want more of it.
 Mixed feelings December 8, 2008
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
I have very mixed feelings about this book. My overall attitude is that this was a great book that was poorly written.
On the one hand, I very much liked the general story. On the other hand, it was so difficult to pick out the general story from all the other "stuff" thrown in, that there were serveral points where I just wanted to give up. I don't think that the author lacks talent. After all, I was interested enough in the storyline to finish. I do think, however, that Ms. Mckinley was in dire need of an editor's point of view before publishing this book. I was absolutely amazed. Never before have I read a book with so much plot-stopping, never-ending detail that I wanted to cry, while still not giving me a clue as to what was going on. It was down-right frustrating! I wanted very much to understand this creative world that Mckinley has created, but she made it practically impossible! She spends far too much time going on and on about minor details that add nothing whatsoever to the overall plot (i.e. cinnamon rolls) and seems to skip over the important stuff entirely. There are way too many unanswered questions at the end. It leaves the reader feeling empty and confused.
This book's saving grace was the characters. Mckinley did an excellent job of presenting us with likable, relateable characters who you are interested in getting too know. It's just a shame she didn't bother to develop some of them sufficiently. I very much liked Sunshine's character, and I absolutely loved the character Constantine. However, I was very dissappointed that there was not much provided in explaining why he is the way he is. For instance, we are told that he is able to do things that other vampires his age can't do, but we are never told why.
In summary, this book is interesting while frustrating at the same time. Don't expect any closure at the end.
This book kept me reading into the wee hours! December 1, 2008
I've long been a big fan of Robin McKinley's work, and this book is no exception. Intriguing characters, plenty of suspense, and lots of adventure!
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