Nikki’s August Book Review
Happy August book lovers!
I had the pleasure of reading Sundowners: Vampires Are Only Human by Jeffrey V. Yorio for my August book pick.
I met Jeffrey on Twitter when he posted his book cover to a #WritersLift thread and I was drawn to his cover art. I admit I am a sucker for vampires and pretty covers. After chatting with him a bit I decided that I wanted to have Sundowners be my official August pick and I have to say, this author set the bar high for future monthly picks. Jeffrey was available to answer all of my questions while I was reading and is just an all around great guy. Without further ado, here is my review of Sundowners!
Sundowners by Jeffrey V. Yorio
Started: 8/9
Finished: 8/15
Back Jacket Synopsis: If your beloved grandmother suddenly went missing with symptoms of dementia, what would you do? Now, imagine that your dear grandmother is a 400+ year old vampire with Sundowners (or as vampires sometimes call it, the Fangs of Death).
Zephirn, her grandson, has the dutiful task of tracking her down. He heads to America where she teaches Art History. The last person to see and talk to her said that she returned to Sofia, Bulgaria for her sister's funeral. The only problem is that she does not have any living sisters.
This is a race and Zephrin needs to find her before innocent people die. However, he soon discovers that he's not the only one looking for his grandmother.
Nikki’s Review: Jeffrey definitely delivered on his back jacket synopsis. The story weaved multiple characters' perspectives on their race to find Agate, a very old vampire who was on a quest for vengeance.
Things I loved: I loved the re-imagining of the typical vampire lore. Sundowners offered its own explanations of the age-old vampire myths and introduced some new, cool powers with the main vampires. The prestige of being a vampire was also apparent with the high level jobs and abilities that the vampire community had.
Another re-imagined aspect of this book was the origin of vampirism. Through speaking with Jeffrey via Twitter, he let me know that the science behind this was fleshed out with the help of his father who is a doctor. I found the explanations about the blood tests to be interesting and believable.
The relationship between Agate and her grandson Zephrin was heartwarming. Through flashbacks, we caught a glimpse into the memories they share over a long lifetime together.
The ending wrapped up the story in a satisfying way while also leaving me wondering what was going to happen between the two opposing vampires. Fortunately the next book in the series is out so one could continue with the story without having to wait!
Changes that I would like to see in future works from this author:
There were editing misses that would take me out of the story at times
While I thought the change in POVs made the story more complex and interesting as they all worked towards the same goal, the changes were sometimes abrupt and hard to follow. I prefer a one chapter per POV format
Along the same lines of the POV feedback, I sometimes struggled to keep up with all of the characters. I ended up taking notes on the characters and their jobs to keep them straight in my head.
Great quotes from the book:
“Gina, the pain I would have watching you grow old would be the same as the pain you’d have watching me stay young”
“A human bite? Thanks, I’ll get a BOLO ready for everyone to start looking for Count Dracula.”
“Movie” Rating: Somewhere between PG-13 and R. The worst cuss word was “s—”. Some sex scenes were alluded- at least two were more explicit
Overall Recommendation: If you're an adult reader into reimagined vampire stories and like to support indie authors, then I recommend Sundowners to you! You can't get much nicer than the author, Jeffrey Yorio. He was so kind, easy to talk to, and his excitement for writing was infectious. I was able to ask him questions throughout the reading process and he gave detailed answers to help me along.
If you would like to purchase Sundowners on Amazon- click here
Disclaimer: *Our reviews are solely our opinions and not swayed by any outside factors. The reviews are for fun and not meant to be taken as a professional book endorsement, review, or advice.