ebc_readsmut's review against another edition
4.0
I know what you're thinking, "Not another vampire book!" But this is not like any vampire book I've seen. Since Twilight every time I go to buy a book, if I pick it up and so much as see the words vampire or werewolf I immediately put it down. But something about this book drew me in. After reading reviews I decided to give it a chance and I'm glad I did. This is a new look on the vampire world and what it means to be a vampire. No teenage girl is crying to become an immortal and dreaming about being with the one she loves forever. The author brings a grittiness and dirtiness to describe the feelings or should I say emptiness and agony to the vampires who would rather be human. It's a breath of fresh air considering most vampire books chalk it up to "I'm an immortal vampire, I'm superman strong, I sparkle in sunlight, and I sip blood out of tea cups". Finally a book that gets detailed in the life of a vampire who just wants to murder and relishes in the pain of others. The book I thought did have slow parts leading up to the action but it allowed for great detail. The detail on simple things like being able to smell flowers or feel the touch of another human being after being a vampire for so long really made me feel what it really meant to be a vampire. It wasn't all glorious. It was pain and agony and death. I remember getting shivers or goosebumps when she described the moments of sensuality between her new human self and another human. The feeling were so real. I will definitely be picking up the sequel to this and hope that it is just as riveting.
carrieat's review against another edition
3.0
Was expecting a bit more from this book. Was aimed at a much younger reader than I had hoped for. I enjoyed the flash backs to her time as a vampire but the modern day events were all a bit lukewarm.
thegeekyblogger's review against another edition
3.0
Disclaimer: Most of the reviews I have read of this book are a 4 or 5. Please go read other reviews to decide if you will like it. YA is not my usual genre and may have been why I did not like the book as much as others.
What I LOVED: The premise is fantastic! A 500 year old vampire turns into a human. She must deal with being a 16 year old(her turn age) and a vampire coven that wants her back. There are some very well written characters in the book and the pacing is pretty good. I really appreciated the ending of the book. I felt that it was a good, if not risky, ending to the story.
What I LIKED: I liked Lenah's flashbacks. They really showed that she was not the cuddly sort of vampire and neither was her coven. They also showed her rather complicated and encompassing relationships with the other vampires. Including her relationship with Rhone, which to me was the most intriguing. What would make someone love you enough to die for you? I liked Lenah and Tony's friendship in the beginning of the book. It was nice to see her be able to adjust with someone that was just fun and nice to be around.
What I thought was So-So: I never warmed up to Justin and Lenah. It just felt forced to me the whole time. Plus, I didn't like that the author kind of turned Tony into a love struck puppy dog. The character turn Lenah did about midway through the book just felt out of character because it had only been 2 months after she turned. At that point it became a very standard YA novel to me, nothing really spectacular. It was the vampire parts that kept the pages turning for me. I do think the end redeemed the book in my eyes but on a whole it was just OK to me.
Why I gave it a 3: I think the book itself will appeal to a huge audience. It has all the factors: love issues, coming of age issues, and intrigue. For me, personally, the present day story only sort of appealed to me. The book had a good beginning and a strong end but the middle at points lagged a bit.
Who I would recommend it too: I would recommend it to YA PNR readers. It does have a strong YA element.
Received from: Library Thing Early Reviewers
Author Website: http://rebeccamaizel.blogspot.com/
What I LOVED: The premise is fantastic! A 500 year old vampire turns into a human. She must deal with being a 16 year old(her turn age) and a vampire coven that wants her back. There are some very well written characters in the book and the pacing is pretty good. I really appreciated the ending of the book. I felt that it was a good, if not risky, ending to the story.
What I LIKED: I liked Lenah's flashbacks. They really showed that she was not the cuddly sort of vampire and neither was her coven. They also showed her rather complicated and encompassing relationships with the other vampires. Including her relationship with Rhone, which to me was the most intriguing. What would make someone love you enough to die for you? I liked Lenah and Tony's friendship in the beginning of the book. It was nice to see her be able to adjust with someone that was just fun and nice to be around.
What I thought was So-So: I never warmed up to Justin and Lenah. It just felt forced to me the whole time. Plus, I didn't like that the author kind of turned Tony into a love struck puppy dog. The character turn Lenah did about midway through the book just felt out of character because it had only been 2 months after she turned. At that point it became a very standard YA novel to me, nothing really spectacular. It was the vampire parts that kept the pages turning for me. I do think the end redeemed the book in my eyes but on a whole it was just OK to me.
Why I gave it a 3: I think the book itself will appeal to a huge audience. It has all the factors: love issues, coming of age issues, and intrigue. For me, personally, the present day story only sort of appealed to me. The book had a good beginning and a strong end but the middle at points lagged a bit.
Who I would recommend it too: I would recommend it to YA PNR readers. It does have a strong YA element.
Received from: Library Thing Early Reviewers
Author Website: http://rebeccamaizel.blogspot.com/
thecozyreaderwbo's review against another edition
4.0
I love looking back on my Goodreads status updates. Here are the ones I made for this book:
Page 55: A nice mix of historical meets modern day YA.
Page 282: Loving Lenah's character.
Finished: What a sad ending. A trilogy? What happens next!?!
But the sad thing is? I can't remember how this one ended! Granted I finished this book almost 3 months ago. At least I was looking forward to the next book, which is [b:Stolen Nights|8590082|Stolen Nights (Vampire Queen, #2)|Rebecca Maizel|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1286833604s/8590082.jpg|13459622] and I plan to pick it up to finish this story.
[bc:Stolen Nights|8590082|Stolen Nights (Vampire Queen, #2)|Rebecca Maizel|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1286833604s/8590082.jpg|13459622]
I loved Lenah's character, that I do remember. I loved that she cared so much for the living after centuries of being undead. I respected the evil vampire persona that the rest of the vampires had and of course the savagery that came in some of the scenes.
If you enjoy vampire books and the issues that teens have to overcome then you'll probably enjoy this book.
I swapped a book for this ARC copy from another blogger.
Page 55: A nice mix of historical meets modern day YA.
Page 282: Loving Lenah's character.
Finished: What a sad ending. A trilogy? What happens next!?!
But the sad thing is? I can't remember how this one ended! Granted I finished this book almost 3 months ago. At least I was looking forward to the next book, which is [b:Stolen Nights|8590082|Stolen Nights (Vampire Queen, #2)|Rebecca Maizel|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1286833604s/8590082.jpg|13459622] and I plan to pick it up to finish this story.
[bc:Stolen Nights|8590082|Stolen Nights (Vampire Queen, #2)|Rebecca Maizel|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1286833604s/8590082.jpg|13459622]
I loved Lenah's character, that I do remember. I loved that she cared so much for the living after centuries of being undead. I respected the evil vampire persona that the rest of the vampires had and of course the savagery that came in some of the scenes.
If you enjoy vampire books and the issues that teens have to overcome then you'll probably enjoy this book.
I swapped a book for this ARC copy from another blogger.
arcania's review against another edition
5.0
"- c'est comme sauter à l’élastique.
- quoi?
- Tu es debout dehors du pont, et tu sais que tu vas faire quelque chose de complétement idiot. Mais tu le fais quand même. Il le faut. Pour ressentir quelque chose. Parce que faire quelque chose d'aussi fou, c'est mieux que rester là, à vivre sa vie avec toutes ses erreurs et ses responsabilités imbéciles. Tu sautes parce qu'il le faut, parce qu'il te faut cette poussée d’adrénaline. Tu sais que si tu ne le fais pas, tu deviendras dingue."
(Justin à Lenna à propos de sa décision de redevenir humaine.)
- quoi?
- Tu es debout dehors du pont, et tu sais que tu vas faire quelque chose de complétement idiot. Mais tu le fais quand même. Il le faut. Pour ressentir quelque chose. Parce que faire quelque chose d'aussi fou, c'est mieux que rester là, à vivre sa vie avec toutes ses erreurs et ses responsabilités imbéciles. Tu sautes parce qu'il le faut, parce qu'il te faut cette poussée d’adrénaline. Tu sais que si tu ne le fais pas, tu deviendras dingue."
(Justin à Lenna à propos de sa décision de redevenir humaine.)
chxnln's review against another edition
1.0
You know that moment when you read a blurb of a book, get excited, actually read the book and feel so disappointed upon finishing it? This book had so much potential, yet it failed to deliver. Sigh.
Where’s the part when Justin and Lenah fall in love? No, I do not go out, see a hot guy doing crazy things in the sea and fall helplessly in love with him. Gosh, how many people would I be so passionately in loved with then? Oh, and especially when he goes on to call me a ‘whore’. Likewise for Justin. “Oh, pretty babe spotted. Who cares if I’ve a girlfriend? I LOVE HER.”
Lenah… god. I’ve never met a show-off bigger than her. “Alright, my great lover of all time just sacrificed himself for me, and I can’t let that sacrifice go to waste. I’m gotta keep a low profile and- oh, hi, I can speak 25 languages. Disect a cat, no problem. Oh, I see a hot boy. I love him.”
Justin just felt like some piece of paper. Man.
Tony? Tony’s worse. He felt so boring. They don’t do anything together at all and Tony’s already in love with Lenah. Seriously? And my god, he freaking takes 200 pictures of her. If I ever walked in to a room with a boy holding 200 pictures of me, I kinda doubt I’d get over it. Pretty traumatizing. And he goes on bashing about the Three-Piece ruthlessly, and later hooks up with Tracy. Again, seriously?
And, the Three-Piece? What the hell was the point of having them in the story? I don’t know where to begin. They’re pretty much annoying, irritating bimbos without much of a mind. They actually copy one another’s outfits. I thought dressing identically was cool when I was like… six?
I kinda liked the beginning at first, with the flashbacks to Lenah’s vampire past. But the more I read, the flashbacks got lesser and the stupid, cardboard interaction between Justin and Lenah increased. Wait, actually there’s so much more to complain about. Such as how irritating and fake it was whenever one of the character said something in Latin and Justin’s quick acceptance of Lenah’s vampirism.
I’m also wondering why the hell did Viken put Lenah into an unnecessary hundred year hibernation when he could have just woken her up earlier to prepare her. And how the hell did he not manage to get rid of all evidence, especially something as crucial as the name of the new boarding school where he’d enrolled Lenah in.
Oh, and how I wish there was more on Viken (sorry if I got his name wrong lol) and pretty much the rest of the coven. Halfway through when Suleen made an appearance, I was wondering if Suleen was part of her coven because there was hardly anything about them at all and I had difficulty remembering their names.
Still, I’m contemplating reading “Stolen Nights” because I’m reaaaally interested to know about Viken and Rhode. Nope, not about annoying Justin and Lenah.
Where’s the part when Justin and Lenah fall in love? No, I do not go out, see a hot guy doing crazy things in the sea and fall helplessly in love with him. Gosh, how many people would I be so passionately in loved with then? Oh, and especially when he goes on to call me a ‘whore’. Likewise for Justin. “Oh, pretty babe spotted. Who cares if I’ve a girlfriend? I LOVE HER.”
Lenah… god. I’ve never met a show-off bigger than her. “Alright, my great lover of all time just sacrificed himself for me, and I can’t let that sacrifice go to waste. I’m gotta keep a low profile and- oh, hi, I can speak 25 languages. Disect a cat, no problem. Oh, I see a hot boy. I love him.”
Justin just felt like some piece of paper. Man.
Tony? Tony’s worse. He felt so boring. They don’t do anything together at all and Tony’s already in love with Lenah. Seriously? And my god, he freaking takes 200 pictures of her. If I ever walked in to a room with a boy holding 200 pictures of me, I kinda doubt I’d get over it. Pretty traumatizing. And he goes on bashing about the Three-Piece ruthlessly, and later hooks up with Tracy. Again, seriously?
And, the Three-Piece? What the hell was the point of having them in the story? I don’t know where to begin. They’re pretty much annoying, irritating bimbos without much of a mind. They actually copy one another’s outfits. I thought dressing identically was cool when I was like… six?
I kinda liked the beginning at first, with the flashbacks to Lenah’s vampire past. But the more I read, the flashbacks got lesser and the stupid, cardboard interaction between Justin and Lenah increased. Wait, actually there’s so much more to complain about. Such as how irritating and fake it was whenever one of the character said something in Latin and Justin’s quick acceptance of Lenah’s vampirism.
I’m also wondering why the hell did Viken put Lenah into an unnecessary hundred year hibernation when he could have just woken her up earlier to prepare her. And how the hell did he not manage to get rid of all evidence, especially something as crucial as the name of the new boarding school where he’d enrolled Lenah in.
Oh, and how I wish there was more on Viken (sorry if I got his name wrong lol) and pretty much the rest of the coven. Halfway through when Suleen made an appearance, I was wondering if Suleen was part of her coven because there was hardly anything about them at all and I had difficulty remembering their names.
Still, I’m contemplating reading “Stolen Nights” because I’m reaaaally interested to know about Viken and Rhode. Nope, not about annoying Justin and Lenah.
emiliebookworld's review against another edition
On one of my numerous trips to the bookstore, I decided to pick up Infinite Days by Rebecca Maizel. Even though I have a pile of books waiting to be read, I decided to read this one right away simply because I had heard so many good things about it. As it turns out, all those good things were very true and I really enjoyed reading this book. It was great to read a vampire story where all the focus wasn’t on vampires, if that makes any sense.
Lenah Beaudonte has been a vampire since the fifteenth century, but when she wakes up in the twenty-first century she finds out that she has become human once again. Now she must learn to live like a normal sixteen-year-old while dealing with losing Rhode, her lover for the past 500 years. Fitting in at her new boarding school doesn’t appear to difficult but when she meets Justin Enos, things might turn out more complicated than they looked. Lenah never expected to fall in love with Justin, but that love may just be what will save her.
I absolutely loved Lenah. She was such a great character and I loved getting to know her. It was always so fun to see her discover things that to me are things I’ve been doing my whole life, like breathing and having a heartbeat for instance. It was always funny to see her accept to do things without knowing what they are and have her turn around to Tony to ask what she just signed up for. She really didn’t have things easy though; as much as she wanted to enjoy life and have fun she always had to worry about her old coven coming after her. Every page I turned I was hoping that she would be able to just be happy with Justin and not have to worry about her coven. Lenah was just a great character.
I have mixed feelings about Justin. Sure he’s super cute and every girl wants to be his girlfriend but beyond that I wasn’t entirely sure what more he had to offer. But then something happened that just made me completely changed my mind about him, but I’m not going to say what (so I don’t ruin it for anyone). After that, I could really tell that he truly cared about Lenah and saw a whole other side to him that I didn’t really expect. By the end of the book I was totally sold on Justin and I was totally rooting for him.
I wasn’t sure about the whole concept of the story at first. Vampires just seem to be everywhere these days and I didn’t really feel like reading another story like that again. But then I started reading and saw that vampires weren’t actually the main focus of the story. The story was really about a teenage girl learning to live and love life and doing new things. Even this aspect didn’t seem overdone either. The mix of the two together made for a story that was something new, different and quite enjoyable.
Infinite Days was a really good book. It’s a refreshing change from all the other vampire stories that are available out there. Now that I’m done reading it, I can’t wait for the sequel, Stolen Nights, which is coming out in March 2011.
Lenah Beaudonte has been a vampire since the fifteenth century, but when she wakes up in the twenty-first century she finds out that she has become human once again. Now she must learn to live like a normal sixteen-year-old while dealing with losing Rhode, her lover for the past 500 years. Fitting in at her new boarding school doesn’t appear to difficult but when she meets Justin Enos, things might turn out more complicated than they looked. Lenah never expected to fall in love with Justin, but that love may just be what will save her.
I absolutely loved Lenah. She was such a great character and I loved getting to know her. It was always so fun to see her discover things that to me are things I’ve been doing my whole life, like breathing and having a heartbeat for instance. It was always funny to see her accept to do things without knowing what they are and have her turn around to Tony to ask what she just signed up for. She really didn’t have things easy though; as much as she wanted to enjoy life and have fun she always had to worry about her old coven coming after her. Every page I turned I was hoping that she would be able to just be happy with Justin and not have to worry about her coven. Lenah was just a great character.
I have mixed feelings about Justin. Sure he’s super cute and every girl wants to be his girlfriend but beyond that I wasn’t entirely sure what more he had to offer. But then something happened that just made me completely changed my mind about him, but I’m not going to say what (so I don’t ruin it for anyone). After that, I could really tell that he truly cared about Lenah and saw a whole other side to him that I didn’t really expect. By the end of the book I was totally sold on Justin and I was totally rooting for him.
I wasn’t sure about the whole concept of the story at first. Vampires just seem to be everywhere these days and I didn’t really feel like reading another story like that again. But then I started reading and saw that vampires weren’t actually the main focus of the story. The story was really about a teenage girl learning to live and love life and doing new things. Even this aspect didn’t seem overdone either. The mix of the two together made for a story that was something new, different and quite enjoyable.
Infinite Days was a really good book. It’s a refreshing change from all the other vampire stories that are available out there. Now that I’m done reading it, I can’t wait for the sequel, Stolen Nights, which is coming out in March 2011.
seffra's review against another edition
4.0
It actually surprised me how good it was...I loved it!! Can't wait for the sequel!!
sleepflowerrr's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
nicolelin23's review against another edition
5.0
Amazing book! The story is really different. I cannot wait for the next book.