Book Review: Infinite Days by Rebecca Maizel

"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... (From Amazon)

I received Infinite Days after the buzz had started to build around the blogosphere. I was fairly excited about it, despite my current aversion to vampire YA fiction. I was tired of reading the same vampire story over and over, and this one seemed fairly unique. I enjoyed what I found, although I did have a few issues with the story. Still, I think vampire and paranormal fans will enjoy Maizel's first novel.

One thing that Maizel did particularly well was in describing the differences between humans and vampires. Reading Lenah's first human experiences after years of being a vampire was a very unique experience. I'm sure that even the biggest vampire enthusiasts will have to stop and think about the ramifications of giving up a human life to become a vampire. In on portion of the book, Lenah describes how vampires only have senses which will help them to catch their prey. So, for example, a vampire is unable to feel a silk blanket, nor do they experience emotions in the same way that humans do. I also appreciated the distinct lack of sugarcoating in this book. The vampires were vicious, and quite scary. From a psychology standpoint, I found it that it was interesting that the vampires still experienced love. Despite losing all their other human senses, it seemed as though their last thread of humanity was in that ability.

There were some aspects of the story that I would have liked more of. The story takes place in current day, and over the course of the book there are a series of scenes that take place during Lenah's vampire life. I guess I wanted to see more of Lenah's desire to be human. I felt like there was some part of that scene that was missing. I wasn't sure what her real motivation was, and I think a bit more depth to this scene could have changed that.

Infinite Days (Vampire Queen 1)
By Rebecca Maizel
Published by St. Martin's Griffin
310 Pages
Release Date: August 3, 2010
Rating: C

In My Mailbox (July 4)

In my mailbox was created by Kristi of The Story Siren, who was inspired by Alea of Pop Culture Junkie. Here are the books I got this week...

For Review:

Infinite Days by Rebecca Maizel (ARC edition/Published by St Martin's Griffin/Release Date: August 3, 2010)

"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... (From Amazon)

I'm pretty excited about this one, I've only heard good things so far.

Purchased:

Barnes and Noble was having their red dot sale last week, and aside from Sizzling Sixteen, they were all 2.99 or less. I'm not going to post each book's full synopsis, but I will link to Goodreads.

Sizzling Sixteen by Janet Evanovich

It’s summertime in Jersey And all across the land It’s time for Summer Reading And working on your tan. But no vacation can start Or go off without a hitch Unless you’ve packed your bag With the latest Evanovich. Yes, it’s time for Stephanie and gang To get up to their old antics With Grandma, Lula, Connie too— (Partial Synopsis from Goodreads)

Bite Me by Melissa Francis

AJ Ashe isn't your typical seventeen-year-old vampire—as if there is such a thing! She's stuck in the middle of a huge fight between her two BFFs. Her ex-boyfriend—whom she's still totally in love with, by the way—is now her stepbrother. A former classmate—who, um, she may or may not have turned into a vampire—is stalking her. And now, apparently, the fate of humankind lies in her little undead hands. What ever happened to the good old days, when all a vampire girl had to worry about was the occasional zit and hiding her taste for blood? (From Goodreads)


Jennifer's Body by Audrey Nixon
Someone needed to put a stop payment on Jennifer Check. Some people find it hard to believe that a babe like Jennifer Check would associate with a dork like me, Needy Lesnicki. But we had history. We'd been the Wonder Twins since we were preverbal, and sandbox love never dies. Or at least that's what I thought. But after that night in the woods, Jennifer was different. She looked different. And then the killings began. . . . A lot of people ask me if I'm sorry I did it. I'm only sorry I didn't do it sooner. (From Goodreads)

Generation Dead by Daniel Waters

Phoebe Kendall is just your typical Goth girl with a crush. He's strong and silent...and dead.

All over the country, a strange phenomenon is occurring. Some teenagers who die aren't staying dead. But when they come back to life, they are no longer the same. Feared and misunderstood, they are doing their best to blend into a society that doesn't want them. (Partial Synopsis from Goodreads)

Little Lady Agency and the Prince by Hester Browne

Hester Browne created a unique heroine in Melissa Romney-Jones a.k.a. Honey, London's ultimate freelance girlfriend, who won the hearts of readers on both sides of the Atlantic in her "charming and feel-good"(Cosmopolitan) and "funny and original" (People) earlier adventures. (Partial Synopsis from Goodreads)