Infinite Days by Rebecca Maizel
6:17 PM
Author: Rebecca Maizel
Release Date: August 3, 2010 (paperback)
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Pages: 336
Source: Bought
Overall: 4 Stars
Summary:
“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.
I never expected to be sixteen again...then again, I never expected my past to come back and haunt me...
Rebecca Maizel's debut novel Infinite Days, the first in the Vampire Queen trilogy, offers a fresh take on the vampire genre. The novel brings back the more traditional style of vampires (ie. the deadly kind you never want to cross paths with) while also managing to add a few new spins as well. It was a delight to read, with wonderful writing you could easily lose yourself in. The entire time I was reading, I found myself quite fascinated by the idea of a many centuries-old vampire suddenly finding herself human once again.
Lenah Beaudonte wakes up to find herself human once more after a century-long slumber in which a dangerous ritual transformed the vampire back to a human. A new transfer student at Wickham Boarding School, Lenah must slowly adapt to modern times and life as a normal girl once again. Struggling to fit in, little does Lenah suddenly expect to catch the eye of the most gorgeous guy on campus, Justin Enos, or that she feels something for him as well. Lenah may be trying to make the most of her new life, but she's living on borrowed time. The powerful Coven that Lenah left behind still thinks she's buried underground and when they realize she's gone, they'll be coming after her... and blood will be shed.
I thought the relationship between Justin and Lenah progressed rather quickly. Rhode, Lenah's soulmate and maker, had just died after sacrificing himself for her, yet as soon Lenah sees Justin for the first time, she was already feeling attracted to him. Before you think too harshly of Lenah though, she thinks about Rhode often too but I guess you could say I was a bit surprised at how soon a new love interest was introduced in the story. (Plus, I was still siding with Rhode...) Lenah's past as a vampire is interspersed with the present, so it was quite interesting to see the change from the cold Vampire Queen to a human teenage girl.
The last leg to the finish kind of creeps up on you. I mean, all along as you're reading, you're sort of waiting for something big to happen. As Lenah becomes accustomed to her new life, there's always the imminent danger of her Coven eventually trying to search for her in the background of the story. There's comfortable pacing until the last 100 pages when events seemed to suddenly rush by. New questions are brought up and the ending leaves you wondering just what's going to happen next.
I was so glad to find the prologue and first chapter of the next book, Stolen Nights, was included, but not so thankful with the note it ended on. It will leave you wishing it was already out in stores! Too bad we must wait until early 2011.
You can check out Rebecca Maizel's website here.
1 comments
Good review! I have this one sitting by my bed to read. I think I'll start tonight!
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