Sunshine

Sunshine is from a very involved family that work together in a bakery. She needs a moment by herself, and goes to visit the lake. She thinks it will be safe, because nothing has happened there in years. Discovered by Vampires while at the lake, she finds herself chained to a wall in a mansion, and she must use all of her abilities to survive.

I liked that the story was set in a modern era. Most of McKinley's work is set in a fantasy world, so it was surprising to find one of her books take place in a present-day setting. It was also refreshing to have vampires not as the focus of the story. It is more about Sunshine's self discovery in a world filled with more possibilities than she realized were open to her. Told from Sunshine's perspective, we learn that humans and the Others-- Vampires, Weres, Demons, people with magical abilities coexist, as long as the Others keep a low profile.

I liked that Vampires were portrayed as monstrous creatures in this story. They are seen as different from humans, and something to be feared, which is refreshing from many popular versions of this genre. It was also interesting that even though the Others are feared, a lot of people in the story are Others. It was fun to discover who is human and who is not. Fans of Robin Mckinley's books will enjoy this one, even though it is not set in her typical world.