I am a sucker for vampire stories. (Hahaha, see what I did there?) So I was almost guaranteed to like this novel. But I appreciated the differences between this book and some of the more usual vampire fantasies. Rae, aka Sunshine, finds herself in a very dangerous situation, early in the action. She is shackled in a deserted house with a vampire who is similarly imprisoned. It's pretty obvious that she is the live mouse put into the cage with a bird of prey.
Here's where Sunshine's urban fantasy heroine pedigree shines through. She spent most of her life denying to herself who her father was. But she fondly remembers his mother who taught her the first few tricks to do with her magical talents. All of a sudden, those hidden, mostly forgotten skills are going to come in handy. And she seems to have made a friend, as the captive vampire, Constantine, comes with her and they mutually stagger to safety.
Constantine is not the usual sensual, attractive vamp, all interested in human women. Indeed, he's very removed from humanity and actually rather reptilian, but seems to have some sense of honour or comradeship or something. Sunshine frequently wonders what she has gotten herself into. Her disappearance has brought her to the attention of the police of the supernatural and their questions make her feel guilty that she feels responsible and has friendly feelings for a vampire. She and Con seem to adhere to the old saw that when you save someone you are then responsible for them forever. Since they escaped as a team, they seem destined to remain a team. Their strange entanglement develops as the book progresses and as they decide to deal with the vamp who trapped them together in the first place.
McKinley's refusal to follow the well worn rut of most urban fantasy tales was both refreshing and sometimes annoying. I hadn't realized how programmed I have become to expect certain plot points, like for instance a human-style romance. I am also kind of impressed that she felt one book was enough. If you want to know where Sunny goes from there, you'll have to write fan fiction.
Book Number 438 of my Science Fiction & Fantasy Reading Project.
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