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.
theladygonzalez's review against another edition
4.0
I had a lot of expectations for Infinite Days - I have heard many wonderful things about it and I was worried the book would not live up to them. It seems a lot of times, that when a book receives a lot of hype, it never is as good as you think it will be. While Infinite Days certainly had some flaws, overall, I truly enjoyed it.
The book begins with a bang - you are introduced to Lenah, a sixteen year old girl (physically) who has just completed the transformation back to human. She has spent the last several hundred years as a vampire - and a ferocious, deadly one at that. She was basically vampire royalty; but she gave it all up in hopes of becoming a human. Also introduced at this point is Lenah's boyfriend/soul-mate/best friend - Rhodes. They share an intense bond - Rhodes is Lenah's maker, but they desperately love each other as well. Rhodes sacrifices himself to grant Lenah's wish for humanity and he only appears in Lenah's thoughts and flashbacks throughout the rest of the book. I LOVE Rhodes. From the first page, I was foolishly holding on to a hope that he did not actually die from the ritual. He is the epitome of the perfect boyfriend - I mean come on, he killed himself to ensure Lenah's happiness. Obviously, Lenah has a difficult time dealing with the loss of him and for the first time in hundreds of years, she has to feel grief.
That's one of the marvelous things about this book. Maizel does a fantastic job sort of reinventing the vampire. In today's YA Literature we are constantly bombarded with vampire stories. More often then not, these vamps are portrayed as these tortured creatures who are just longing for human companionship. The vampire world in Infinite Days could not be any different. These are absolute monsters, who kill people on a whim. There are several flashbacks in the book in which Lenah recounts her life as a vampire - and she was an absolute feral woman. Maizel doesn't glorify the vampires - they certainly have relationships amongst each other, but they feel no compassion for mundane humans.
This really gives an interesting quality and depth to Lenah. As a human, she is now rediscovering many human emotions and feelings others for the first time. She revels in touch - as a vampire she could not feel the texture of things; her nerve endings were all dead. She feels things with her whole body now and everything is exciting for her. Another fun little quirk is that she has to transition herself into the modern world. In preparation for the ritual, she hibernated underground for a little less than 100 years. This means she is completely unfamiliar with the ways of the modern world and all of its amenities. It gives her a sort of otherworldly quality and draws the attention of two boys in particular - Justin and Tony.
Tony is Lenah's first friend at Wickham; the school where she is hiding from her former coven. Tony is instantly drawn to Lenah and they form an easy friendship. He is an artist and Lenah feels that he can see the real her; that he "gets" her. Of course, this wouldn't be a YA/Fantasy novel without a love triangle. Enter, Justin. Justin is the big man on campus and the object of every girls affection. He too is drawn to Lenah, even though he already has a girlfriend, Tracy. Lenah connects with him as well, and she is obviously more attracted to him than Tony. Honestly, I really didn't have a preference as to who Lenah ended up with. If I had to choose - I would say Tony, because Justin was a little flat to me - but I knew that she would pick him from the book description. I enjoyed both characters, but like I said before, I was still holding a torch for the dearly departed Rhodes.
While I enjoyed all of the characters, there were a few plot points that sort of bothered me. First of all, I am not satisfied with the way the coven is led to Lenah. Rhodes loved Lenah more than anything. He sacrificed himself so that she could become human - and he went to great lengths to ensure her safety. He obviously planned out his course of action and covered all his bases. Are you seriously telling me that he would have missed that scrap of paper with the word Wickham on it? I think he would have made sure that ALL of the paper burned. I mean, with his super vampire vision, he would have easily seen it. I understand that the Coven had to find Lenah, for the story to continue, but the way it happened just did not seem right.
The other plot point that seemed a little off was how quickly both Tony and Justin were taken with Lenah. I guess Tony's progression was more reasonable, he was good friends with her and they spent a lot of time together. But Justin hardly even knew her and was instantly obsessing over her. I know she is suppose to be an absolute knockout; but still these boys were falling in love rather quickly. But, that happens a lot in books, especially in YA novels.
Despite those flaws, I still really enjoyed the book. I think that Maizel did a great job with the book and I cannot wait for the sequel, Stolen Nights. The book began and ended with a bang - it left me dying to know what happens next.
The book begins with a bang - you are introduced to Lenah, a sixteen year old girl (physically) who has just completed the transformation back to human. She has spent the last several hundred years as a vampire - and a ferocious, deadly one at that. She was basically vampire royalty; but she gave it all up in hopes of becoming a human. Also introduced at this point is Lenah's boyfriend/soul-mate/best friend - Rhodes. They share an intense bond - Rhodes is Lenah's maker, but they desperately love each other as well. Rhodes sacrifices himself to grant Lenah's wish for humanity and he only appears in Lenah's thoughts and flashbacks throughout the rest of the book. I LOVE Rhodes. From the first page, I was foolishly holding on to a hope that he did not actually die from the ritual. He is the epitome of the perfect boyfriend - I mean come on, he killed himself to ensure Lenah's happiness. Obviously, Lenah has a difficult time dealing with the loss of him and for the first time in hundreds of years, she has to feel grief.
That's one of the marvelous things about this book. Maizel does a fantastic job sort of reinventing the vampire. In today's YA Literature we are constantly bombarded with vampire stories. More often then not, these vamps are portrayed as these tortured creatures who are just longing for human companionship. The vampire world in Infinite Days could not be any different. These are absolute monsters, who kill people on a whim. There are several flashbacks in the book in which Lenah recounts her life as a vampire - and she was an absolute feral woman. Maizel doesn't glorify the vampires - they certainly have relationships amongst each other, but they feel no compassion for mundane humans.
This really gives an interesting quality and depth to Lenah. As a human, she is now rediscovering many human emotions and feelings others for the first time. She revels in touch - as a vampire she could not feel the texture of things; her nerve endings were all dead. She feels things with her whole body now and everything is exciting for her. Another fun little quirk is that she has to transition herself into the modern world. In preparation for the ritual, she hibernated underground for a little less than 100 years. This means she is completely unfamiliar with the ways of the modern world and all of its amenities. It gives her a sort of otherworldly quality and draws the attention of two boys in particular - Justin and Tony.
Tony is Lenah's first friend at Wickham; the school where she is hiding from her former coven. Tony is instantly drawn to Lenah and they form an easy friendship. He is an artist and Lenah feels that he can see the real her; that he "gets" her. Of course, this wouldn't be a YA/Fantasy novel without a love triangle. Enter, Justin. Justin is the big man on campus and the object of every girls affection. He too is drawn to Lenah, even though he already has a girlfriend, Tracy. Lenah connects with him as well, and she is obviously more attracted to him than Tony. Honestly, I really didn't have a preference as to who Lenah ended up with. If I had to choose - I would say Tony, because Justin was a little flat to me - but I knew that she would pick him from the book description. I enjoyed both characters, but like I said before, I was still holding a torch for the dearly departed Rhodes.
While I enjoyed all of the characters, there were a few plot points that sort of bothered me. First of all, I am not satisfied with the way the coven is led to Lenah. Rhodes loved Lenah more than anything. He sacrificed himself so that she could become human - and he went to great lengths to ensure her safety. He obviously planned out his course of action and covered all his bases. Are you seriously telling me that he would have missed that scrap of paper with the word Wickham on it? I think he would have made sure that ALL of the paper burned. I mean, with his super vampire vision, he would have easily seen it. I understand that the Coven had to find Lenah, for the story to continue, but the way it happened just did not seem right.
The other plot point that seemed a little off was how quickly both Tony and Justin were taken with Lenah. I guess Tony's progression was more reasonable, he was good friends with her and they spent a lot of time together. But Justin hardly even knew her and was instantly obsessing over her. I know she is suppose to be an absolute knockout; but still these boys were falling in love rather quickly. But, that happens a lot in books, especially in YA novels.
Despite those flaws, I still really enjoyed the book. I think that Maizel did a great job with the book and I cannot wait for the sequel, Stolen Nights. The book began and ended with a bang - it left me dying to know what happens next.
andimontgomery's review against another edition
No rating - I just could not get into this book and ended up stopping after 60 pages.
waterfairy's review against another edition
2.0
I had so much expectations going into the book - interesting premise, great cover. I thought it was a win-win situation. Unfortunately, it was less than satisfying.
Lenah is a Vampire Queen who has become evil to the core. She has a coven of 4 people she Made because she can. Rhode, her maker, gives up his life because Lenah wanted to be human. I still don't understand his motivation but yeah, I can go with it. But then, the way he made it raised a lot of questions: Why was Lenah in hibernation? Why did she have to sleep for 100 years? He could have told her coven that she was hibernating when in reality, she could have lived out her life. We don't get to know, unfortunately.
Ok, so we go with the flow and agree that Lenah waking up 100 years later is perfectly sensible. With technology as it, why couldn't Rhode have created her a false name? Why go with her own name? We don't know again. And for a 100 years hibernating vampire who is 500+ years old, she's remarkably blithe about the new technological advance. She acclimated rather easily to the tech stuff. Which is a nag. And of course, she excels at everything which is explained by her looong life. But wouldn't it be prudent to keep low? Especially when your coven would be searching for you?
Then we have your typical YA love interest - a love triangle. Of course, the guy she luuurves is a tall, dark, handsome guy but for what reason, we don't know. Seriously, what is up with this? This is like the 3rd book I've read in 2 weeks that I don't WHY two people love each other. It is irritating when we can't understand why they love.
Apart from this, the good things are: the author's writing - it did suck me in and how vampires were evil. Really evil. Without any qualification. All of this makes us harder to like Lenah (I wanted a good redemption) but the way to redeem Lenah was supposedly her love for Justin (see: Tall, dark, handsome) which we don't get to see.
So, all in all, it could have been a better book.
Lenah is a Vampire Queen who has become evil to the core. She has a coven of 4 people she Made because she can. Rhode, her maker, gives up his life because Lenah wanted to be human. I still don't understand his motivation but yeah, I can go with it. But then, the way he made it raised a lot of questions: Why was Lenah in hibernation? Why did she have to sleep for 100 years? He could have told her coven that she was hibernating when in reality, she could have lived out her life. We don't get to know, unfortunately.
Ok, so we go with the flow and agree that Lenah waking up 100 years later is perfectly sensible. With technology as it, why couldn't Rhode have created her a false name? Why go with her own name? We don't know again. And for a 100 years hibernating vampire who is 500+ years old, she's remarkably blithe about the new technological advance. She acclimated rather easily to the tech stuff. Which is a nag. And of course, she excels at everything which is explained by her looong life. But wouldn't it be prudent to keep low? Especially when your coven would be searching for you?
Then we have your typical YA love interest - a love triangle. Of course, the guy she luuurves is a tall, dark, handsome guy but for what reason, we don't know. Seriously, what is up with this? This is like the 3rd book I've read in 2 weeks that I don't WHY two people love each other. It is irritating when we can't understand why they love.
Apart from this, the good things are: the author's writing - it did suck me in and how vampires were evil. Really evil. Without any qualification. All of this makes us harder to like Lenah (I wanted a good redemption) but the way to redeem Lenah was supposedly her love for Justin (see: Tall, dark, handsome) which we don't get to see.
So, all in all, it could have been a better book.
whatdaniellereads's review against another edition
5.0
It was even better the second time!
--
Oh. My. God. I love this book! I was obsessed with it from the first page, it was so exciting! I love all the characters, especially Tony. Unfortunately, the ending leaves me with thousands of questions. But that's why there is an upcoming sequal to Infinite Days, I guess.
****Spoilers****
1. I didn't liked Justin at first, because he was one of the popular guys, flirting with every girl on campus. When the end approached, I started to like him more. He is good for Lenah, he loves her so deeply.
2. Tony. Oh, what a wonderful character. When I was reading Infinite Days, I was hoping he and Lenah were getting closer. And they did, but not in a romantic way, that was what I hoped for. But in the end, I liked Justin too, so I was good with it.
3. Tony & Tracy together? Hell no. I didn't think I like this couple at all. That's because I hate Tracy in Infite Days, I guess. In my expierence, she was a jealous bad ass kind of girl. My favorite character is Tony, so I sighed when I read that they were together.
4. I didn't like the dead of Tony. He was my favorite!
--
Oh. My. God. I love this book! I was obsessed with it from the first page, it was so exciting! I love all the characters, especially Tony. Unfortunately, the ending leaves me with thousands of questions. But that's why there is an upcoming sequal to Infinite Days, I guess.
****Spoilers****
1. I didn't liked Justin at first, because he was one of the popular guys, flirting with every girl on campus. When the end approached, I started to like him more. He is good for Lenah, he loves her so deeply.
2. Tony. Oh, what a wonderful character. When I was reading Infinite Days, I was hoping he and Lenah were getting closer. And they did, but not in a romantic way, that was what I hoped for. But in the end, I liked Justin too, so I was good with it.
3. Tony & Tracy together? Hell no. I didn't think I like this couple at all. That's because I hate Tracy in Infite Days, I guess. In my expierence, she was a jealous bad ass kind of girl. My favorite character is Tony, so I sighed when I read that they were together.
4. I didn't like the dead of Tony. He was my favorite!
cxrriemc's review against another edition
5.0
First of all the cover was amazing! Loved it!
I loved how it was a vampire novel that wasn't all about the vampires(might seem confusing).But when it did show Lenahs coven, I liked how they weren't nice and sweet but ruthless and bloodthirsty.
I'll definitely be reading Stolen Nights!
I loved how it was a vampire novel that wasn't all about the vampires(might seem confusing).But when it did show Lenahs coven, I liked how they weren't nice and sweet but ruthless and bloodthirsty.
I'll definitely be reading Stolen Nights!
chllybrd's review against another edition
4.0
Cant wait to read book two. What a great book, I couldn't put it down.