*This title will be released on August 3, 2010*
Book Description
"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...
Review
Book 1 in The Vampire Queen Series
INFINITE DAYS is a grab you by the throat, ignore the world around you, fall completely in love with kind of book, the kind I haven’t really read since Twilight. Yep. I just used the T-word.
The mythology of vampires in INFINITE DAYS is refreshingly unique in that it removes all the romanticism from vampires without reducing them to feral monsters. Yes, they are pale super beings who crave human blood, but they are truly cursed in a way that a mere nocturnal immortality can not begin to rival. Their senses are as dead as they are. They have no sense of touch or taste (apart from blood). Lenah is explains it this way:
My existence as a vampire meant that all my nerve endings were dead. Only by remembering what things felt like as a human would my vampire mind understand whether I was touching something soft or hard. The only senses a vampire retained were those that heightened her ability to kill; the sense of smell was linked to flesh and blood, sight was super sight, detailed down to the minutiae, its sole purpose to find prey within an instant. – INFINITE DAYS
Of course, that complete deadness as a vampire contrasts beautifully with Lenah’s first human weeks infusing the simplest experiences with a childlike wonder: the achingly beautiful sound of music, the mouthwatering smell of pizza, the intoxication of attraction felt for the first time, the heady thrill of a human kiss. And author Rebecca Maizel captures each moment so beautifully.
But what stuck with me the most is how Lenah, when she becomes human, doesn’t spend the whole book in self-imposed agony over the thousands of lives she ended as a vampire. She clearly distinguishes between her two lives and doesn’t drown herself in guilt for having acting in accordance with her vampire nature. Her humanity was hard won, and she doesn’t waste the gift she was given mourning a past she cannot change. As a human, she chooses to live, and feel, and love in a way that is completely alien to her previous vampire existence.
I honestly wasn’t expecting great things from INFINITE DAYS. The blurb didn’t intrigue me and the cover didn’t grab me, but the story itself left me reeling by how good it was. I completely fell for this story of a vampire’s taste of humanity, her myriad of firsts as a human, the dangers from her past, and the love that brought her to life. Beautiful from beginning to end.
Sexual Content: References to sex. A scene of mild sensuality. Kissing.
My Rating (out of 5):
Near Perfect - Buy two copies: one for you and one for a friend.
Click HERE to read an excerpt from INFINITE DAYS
Product Details
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin - Published: 03 August 2010
- Format: Paperback 336 pages
- See: Full bibliographic data
- Categories: Science Fiction Romance Family Family Issues
- ISBN 13: 9780312649913 ISBN 10: 0312649916
- Cover Art: N/A
*Disclosure: I received this book courtesy of St. Martin’s Griffin
Disagree with my review? Contact me with your review for this or any other book I’ve reviewed and I might use it for 2nd Opinion Review.
interesting, I had read another review that was not so good and I had taken this off my wish list. I might have to re-think this now
ReplyDeleteGreat review! Glad to see I'm not the only one who loved this book. :)
ReplyDeleteI loved, loved this book! I'm happy to see you felt the same way. I let my teenage stepdaughter read this also and she kept talking about this book for days after she finished reading it. Can't wait for the next book either!
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Rebs - I can only speak for myself, but I loved it.
ReplyDeleteAnna - Did you post your review yet? I'd love to read your thoughts on it.
Donna - I'm passing this on to my teenage sister and hope she loves it as much. She can be pretty picky usually, but I think, like your stepdaughter, she'll be won over :)
Holly - It really is. In fact we actually learn why/how sunlight is deadly to vampires in this book. Very cool.
MDOBSON - Thank you!
I am reading this now and it's become one of those danger books where I stay up late to keep reading just one more page. It's awesome!
ReplyDeleteThe cover is stunning. Can't wait to check it out.
ReplyDeleteNot yet, It'll be going up on Monday. :)
ReplyDeleteooooh this sounds good! Great review! =)
ReplyDeleteI'm reading this right now and LOVE it!!
ReplyDeleteVicki - And it's the start of a series! Icing on the cake IMO :)
ReplyDeleteTiah - Hope you love it!
Anna - Okay, I'll keep an eye out.
Larissa - It's better than good. Hope you read it soon so I can read your review!
Tara - Awesome!
This was an absolutely AMAZING book! I can't wait for Stolen Nights!!!!!!!!
ReplyDelete