Infinite Days by Rebecca Maizel
Paperback, 336 Pages
2010, St. Martin's Griffin
ISBN: 0312649916
Series: Book 1 of Vampire Queen
Synopsis
"Throughout all my histories, I found no one I loved more than you...no one."
Those were some of Rhode's last words to me. The last time he would pronounce his love. The last time I would see his face.
It was the first time in 592 years I could take a breath. Lay in the sun. Taste.
Rhode sacrificed himself so I, Lenah Beaudonte, could be human again. So I could stop the blood lust.
I never expected to fall in love with someone else that wasn't Rhode.
But Justin was...daring. Exciting. More beautiful than I could dream.
Review
The concept behind Infinite Days, that a very old vampire could become human again, is impressive. The idea of seeing the world through the eyes of someone who is almost 600 years old, but has slept for the last 100 years is exciting. The book itself took these ideas and wove them into something truly magnificent.
Infinite days was very good. My one problem - Lenah describes what she's wearing frequently even though the outfits all kind of sound the same. As far as complaints go, this is minor and probably not noticeable to most readers.
After sleeping for a century, Lenah must a.) learn to act human and b.) learn of all the changes in the world. These two things provide such an interesting struggle that you just don't get to see very often. She also has to deal with the grief and guilt of losing her best friend and long-time lover because of the ritual that made her human.
Lenah finds a love interest in Justin, but something felt off. I kept waiting for him to say he was kidding about being with her. I can't put my finger on it, but there was something unbelievable going on in this relationship. Since this is the first in a series, I foresee something major going to crop up in the future for these two.
Infinite Days is one of the many boarding school paranormals out in recent months, but does much to distinguish itself as something unique. A vampire's lust to be human and a teen's life through the eyes of something "other" come together to provide an awesome viewpoint on life. It's very different, unlike anything that has come before. Infinite Days exceeded my expectations.
Rating
Links
Rebecca Maizel's blog
Great review!
ReplyDeleteThis is definitely on my to-be read list!
Sounds interesting. To be 600 and a teenage human all over again had to make for a fascinating viewpoint.
ReplyDeleteThis is definitely an interesting switch to what's on the market right now...vampire or not, just figuring out how to be 16 again would make for a very intriguing story.
ReplyDeleteI love the concept of this series but people keep mentioning the Justin thing so I think I'm going to wait until the sencond book comes out to read them together. I'm in the middle of way to many frustrating series right now :-))
ReplyDelete@Leilani - Thanks!
ReplyDelete@carolsnotebook - It was fascinating. I love it when a concept I never considered is presented in such a way that I feel like I've always been waiting to read about it.
@Peppermint Ph.D. - Definitely. If you look at it without the vampire angle it's completely relatable to anyone who's ever wondered what it would be like to go back and relive your teen years knowing what you know as an adult.
@Karen - Probably a good plan. It was hard to tell whether the story with him is going to take a unexpected turn and this feeling is foreshadowing something or if the romance just wasn't written convincingly. The second book should make it a little more obvious.
Great review! I think it was impossible for Justin to live up to Rhode. Hell even Vicken was a better love interest. I'm really interested to see how this develops in the next book!
ReplyDelete@Tara SG - Oh, Rhode. He had such potential, even after death. I definitely don't think he's gone for good.
ReplyDelete