In the world of Sunshine, vampires are a constant presence. Leave them alone and they’ll leave you alone, that’s the general rule. Anyway, Rae “Sunshine” Seddon doesn’t have time to worry about vampires. She’s too busy baking cinnamon rolls for her loyal customers at the bakery, getting into tiffs with her well-intentioned mother, and trying to decide how serious to get with her on-again-off-again biker boyfriend. Until one night Sunshine gets a little fed up with the regular characters in her life and wanders off for some peace and quiet—only to end up surrounded by characters of the undead, blood-sucking kind. Sunshine is chained to a desperately thirsty (but still good-looking) vampire named Constantine who—surprisingly and mysteriously—refuses to kill her. In a Buffy the Vampire Slayer-esque sort of way, Sunshine finds herself drawing on untapped magical powers instilled in her by a sorceress grandmother and is soon caught between the desires of the human and vampire populations. Nevertheless, she’s determined to protect Constantine, for whom (like Buffy for Angel) Sunshine has developed something of a soft spot. Author Robin McKinley is best known for her modern retellings of fairy tales like Beauty and the Beast. Here, McKinley puts an urban spin on vampire lore. A thoroughly modern girl falls in with an old-fashioned forever-young vampire. Monsters are just as likely to lurk outside city bakeries as they are outside abandoned lakeside cabins. And savvy readers are sure to be alternately spooked and charmed by Sunshine.

posted Aug 23, 2009 at 9:12PM

This is an excellent book! I am constantly searching for non-campy vampire books, and this hit the spot. Very engaging and entertaining.

posted Apr 2, 2010 at 12:02PM

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