Welcome to Litsy!

This was an interesting take on a world where the supernatural exists and I liked the idea that someone‘s element could be the sun. My problem with this is that it felt like pieces were missing. Idk if it was just my copy but I felt like I was struggling to get the idea of some things through context.

Happy #BookSpin Day to all who celebrate! I know that the numbers were technically drawn yesterday but the second will always be the day to celebrate for me lol. My bookspin is the tagged and my doublespin is Nightwatch. I'm excited for both of these but definitely had to do a double take as they were both new to the list with that statistically crazy draw this month.

I love vampire books of all varieties. This is one of my favourite books period and does include vampires along with a variety of other creatures.

#Vampire #ScarathlonPhotoChallenge #Scarathlon #MagicalMonsters

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. But 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.

1. The tagged book. It was soooo boring! I wish I could have gotten my time back that I wasted on half of it. It was a DNF for sure.
2. Anything Colleen Hoover 🤭 I'll probably try out Layla and Verity but that might be it.

#ihavequestions @RaeLovesToRead

Slow start, but had an okay storyline

This is a big ol' DNF! I just can't take the rambling anymore.....its page after page of hurry up and get on with it already. I quit after about page 95.

So she is chained up along side a vampire and she's asking him if he is interested in hearing about her recipes???? This book better be going somewhere because at this point I am kinda tired of her talking.......

It took me a while to get into this book, to be honest I'm still not a massive fan of it. Whilst I enjoyed the world building and more 'realistic' take on vampires, I found the plot to be too tell and not enough show. The massive amounts of narration slowed the pace down, however Rae was a relatable character. There's a lot of info dump and though a lot was resolved by the end, there are still questions that need answers and there isn't a sequel.

❤🩸🖤

This story is such a smart, interesting take on vampires. I absolutely loved it. Sunshine is taken by vampires one night & wakes up shackled next to Constantine,- a vampire imprisoned with her. And then all sorts of things happen...The world building is excellent—I would definitely read more stories in this world—& I love Sunshine & Con and the wholly believable, really smart way their story is handled. I‘ll be thinking about this one…

Neil Gaiman says this book is “pretty much perfect” which pretty much means it‘s time to start reading!

Another rainy day perfect for reading and lucky me I got some Sunday #Bookmail. Rise of Empire because after Ahsoka, Kanan is a fav. Tagged book because somehow I haven‘t read it and I feel this needs to be corrected. And, Books 2 and 3 in the InCryptid series because these stories make me laugh and smile and want to read more.

I don‘t run into a lot of books that I feel let down because there‘s no sequel/series…meet Sunshine. Sunshine is a 25 yo popular baker in her stepfather‘s small hometown diner who, after a traumatic kidnapping experience with a group of vampires, discovers how powerful her magic handling abilities have become since she was a child. She forms a bond with Constantine, a vampire who was also being held, and they manage to escape together and 🔻

Okay, IMO this is the worst vampire book. There are vampires in the beginning, and the end, but the rest of the book is just a girl rambling, stream of thought, waste of time filler. Amazing world, but I didn‘t want to hear about it, I wanted to see it. Big difference. And when you‘re in any type of epic battle, give me details on that, not how your thinking about baking muffins at your bakery... ⭐️ I‘m not even sure what the story was about.

I have 60 pages left of this book and if it doesn‘t happen today, it never will. To say one thing about this book? Draining. Not a vampire pun... but fitting. 😂

I‘m trying sooooo hard not to bail! I love the overall concept but it is so long-winded! She goes into to much backstory and explanation right in the midst of action and if I wasn‘t reading on my phone I would have thrown it across the room in frustration!

This is my fave kind of vampire book. The kind with a moral dilemma. Yes, they are thoroughly inhuman and alien. Yes, they murder people. And yet... this vampire is quite likeable, and currently the lesser evil. But teaming up means he'll be around to kill more people.

#OutstandingOctober

The writing style takes some getting used to. It reads like a stream of consciousness. The world building is really solid and different from anything else I've read. Character development and relationships build slowly which i think makes it more realistic.

A fun diversion, if a bit rambly. Will make you want to bake. 😀

I miss Robin McKinley. Her blog hasn‘t been updated in nearly two years and I can find no sign of her through the internet. I have always felt her stream of consciousness thinking characters were kindred spirits. Sunshine, arrived during a particularly challenging time in my life and “rescued” me. Death of Marat anyone?
I hope Robin and her roses are doing well.

Some suggested reads:

https://www.vox.com/culture/2020/4/16/21222023/ask-book-critic-book-recommendati...

Hm. Lots of threads/ideas introduced that went nowhere. Was this supposed to be a series? It felt like set up, with no real payoff.
I did some heavy skimming, waiting for things to happen.
She baked a lot of fucking cinnamon rolls.
But hey, it took my mind off things for a bit.

I anxiety-baked this lemon pie earlier and now I am enjoying it with this fun urban fantasy that's been in my kindle library for ages. It's helping :)

I hope you all are taking some moments for self-care and comfort reading. Sending love ❤

I finally found a lovely edition for this book. Not one for vampires, but McKinley could write about toadstools and make it all kinds of wonderful. 🦌🌳☀️

Sorry it's not strictly book related but it is language related and I had to tell someone. A long time friend and fairly recent partner and I have started experimenting with endearments. He's Russian. The cyrillic bit up top was his sign off to me tonight, which I ran through Google translate and promptly swooned.

Oh, I needed something happy and this is just so full of heart. #fanfiction

Magic Beans
https://archiveofourown.org/works/596185

Listen, if the world‘s gonna subject me to snow, I‘m gonna break out the holiday lights.

I also made a couple changes to my new shelves: my red globe in the place of my Rose Tyler Pop!, a couple more wall stickers, and Robin McKinley‘s SUNSHINE beside Harry Potter.

My favourite #RomanceNovels are #ParanormalRomance

I love the mix of action and the supernatural with the romance side. Many of these include some form of ‘mates‘ too, pairs that are destined to be together and know when they have met the one. I like that idea as it takes away the doubt people have in the real world 🥰

Pictured are the first books in several PR series I love and a stand-alone that I think counts...

@24in48 #24in48 #Readathon

There is so much more I want to know about this world, and it's a little info dumpy, but mostly I still enjoyed it very much. The tentative friendship/relationship that evolves between Con and Sunshine is so well done, and Con's vampirism is never romanticised -- he's still scary and unsettling, even as his sense of honour becomes clear.

#WyrdandWonder

There is so much background to this book that's never used. So much we don't ever see about the characters. I always loved that and found it frustrating in equal measure, and I have that feeling again with this reread...

Been rediscovering a book that was one of my favourites 10-15 years ago!

Not that I'm reading much today. I've been a little busy graduating. Helen Hippo came with me to see it through. :) After 29 years with me and three degrees, she's a bit battered. [I wish I was smiling better in this picture, but that expression is mostly me trying not to laugh.]

I had a book in my bag the whole time, of course. That's how Littens roll!

My least favorite of McKinley‘s books

I loved this and I hated it, but you definitely have to read it, if you like urban fantasy. McKinnley's vampires are an absolute must. They're a total breath of fresh air and a world I would love to continue exploring. There's not a love triangle because there really isn't a romance, it's on a different level. But the lack of information is a real issue and I had a few other fundamental issues with the book too. But it was a good end to April.

Whelp, I'm a very puddleish mess of ovaries. Gah.

I got this from last week's library dime sale and it's been calling to me all week from it's place on the bottom of my tbr pile. So on this peaceful evening by myself, I'm giving in 😂😂 I also find it so interesting that it was an adult novel in 2003, but it's very much YA, at least from the narrative so far. Let me know if you've liked this!

Thanks for the tag @cassiopia - 1. Buying books at the Raise-A-Reader booksale in May 2. I‘m reliable 3. I‘m rarely late 4. Since it‘s Friday I‘m not going to tag ( really I‘m not usually late 😂🐉)

I'm sorry...I know I should like this one....but....after the first part...(and well, ok, a lot of the first part) there was just too much information and I just got soooooo bored.

OMG! Catching up on newsletters and saw this! Neil Gaiman recommended Robin McKinley‘s Sunshine, one of my all time favs! I have three copies of it, cuz I want backups, just in case. 📚😊❤️📚😊❤️📚

#neilgaiman #robinmckinley #authorcrush #authorcrushforlife #favorites #booklover #alwaysbeenaloverofbooks

I'm super excited for this one!

I loved this book. McKinley is a favorite author. #meetmeinthedark #octoberxfiles

Not bad. Honestly, I added this to my TBR stack and completely forgot what it was about once I didn't find it right away. It kinda reminds of the Sookie Stackhouse books smushed into a single novel.

⭐⭐⭐

#screamathon @4thhouseontheleft

#audiowalking with these goobers!

Using the tagged book as yet another #screamathon pick! 😄🧛🏻‍♀️

Oh, yes. This does the trick.

I loved that these were vampires that were ‘other,‘ not just slightly more dangerous people. You never forgot the fangs and the blood were the least of your worries! And the juxtaposition of a master baker and a war against great darkness was thoughtfully and rivetingly done.

Hard choice between pick and so-so. I liked a lot of the parts of this novel, but overall it didn't really wow me. I really liked the main character (nicknamed Sunshine) and her rambly voice--it felt authentic to her personality. I also liked how Sunshine wasn't always likable and how she described her job as a baker. The fantasy world was pretty cool, unique, although it annoyed me when McKinley used Sunshine to just info dump instead of showing.

Eating London Fog flavoured ice cream in the sunshine reading this book called Sunshine. I also love a part from the page on the right, where the protagonist is describing the difference between her mom and her:

"She's a brass-bound bitch because she believes she knows best. I'm a brass-bound bitch because I don't want anyone getting close enough to find out what a whiny little knot of of naked nerve endings I really am."

Starting my first of hopefully many #HalloweenReads! This is supposed to be a unique twist on the vampire novel. My coworker recommended it to me today so I thought I'd give it a whirl. It has a great opening: "It was a dumb thing to do but it wasn't that dumb. There hadn't been any trouble out at the lake in years. And it was so exquisitely far from the rest of my life."

A different take on vampires and the like than I‘ve read before, I enjoyed this novel immensely. That said, the ending definitely left me wanting more; I‘m a bit disappointed that this is a stand alone novel and not the start of a series.

I need to read more by this author. If you have a favorite from her bibliography that I should be sure not to miss, please share!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ • #urbanfantasy #vampires

Happy #BookLoversDay! I just finished Sunshine, and it was funny and weird and beautiful. So pretty much right up my alley. And a good reminder that I need to read more Robin McKinley!