REVIEW: Infinite Days by Rebecca Maizel

Title: Infinite Days (Vampire Queen #1)
Author: Rebecca Maizel
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Publication Date: August 3, 2010 (New Cover 2012)
Format: Paperback 336 pages
Rating: 4.5/5
Get it: Amazon | B&N | Book Depository

“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...

My thoughts, feelings, and reactions

Just when I thought I was getting tired with vampire novels, I stumble upon Infinite Days and basically rediscover why I enjoy vampire books all over again! Infinite Days showed me a whole new world full of magic, danger, and devoted romance that I found refreshing and riveting. 

Infinite Days starts off strong with a lead in that totally grabbed my attention. Rebecca Maizel did a wonderful job of enrapturing me from the beginning and kept me within the clutches of the novel as I got to know more of Lenah’s story. Maizel created a different kind of vampire, one that was still within the realms of what we know of vampires today, but added in the element of dark magic and the pain and torment of being a vampire. This world she created allowed for vampires to walk among human life as the most powerful beings for centuries. She made these vampires evil, irrational, and without care for human life, but she made them so I was able to feel some semblance of sympathy for the constant pain they felt. I loved how connected vampires were to magic; using it to gain more power. It was very interesting aspect to read about. 

Lenah spends most of her time in this novel adjusting to her new human life, moving on from her vampire life, and trying to be safe from the danger she left behind. I absolutely loved reading all about Lenah’s adjustment from being a powerful vampire queen to becoming a normal 16 year old. She had a lot to reconcile with; a lot to learn about the new modern world she lived in. Throughout Lena’s time as a human, she makes comparisons of her vampire self and reading these flashbacks were my favorite parts. I loved that Maizel allowed me to get to know the vampire Lenah and the human Lenah throughout the whole book because I got to see her character come full circle and watch it develop further on. As a vampire, Lenah was vicious, ruthless and heartless. She was frightening, cunning and dripping with power. As she got used to being human, she retained her confidence, elegance, and bravery, but she also became compassionate, loving, and caring. She was fascinated with the people and things of the modern world and in turn, this made me fascinated by her. Even through all her past faults, Lenah was capable of change. She thought of others before herself. She learned to love and be loved back and to protect those that meant dear to her. Lenah’s growth throughout the book had me awestruck and left me admiring her to no end. 

The romance in this book was quite prominent, but not the center of attention. To be honest, I didn’t feel like Justin and Lenah had much of a strong connection or enough chemistry to really be invested in their relationship. However, I did like the way their relationship developed and I eventually warmed up to them. I could see why Lenah loved Justin’s happiness, his care-free adventurous and, live-life-to-the-fullest personality. It was different from anything she had ever known. His energy was contagious, and swept Lenah up. Justin didn’t judge her, but accepted her and showed her to live again. If you were to ask me, I really loved Lenah’s friendship with Tony. He was adorable and loved Lenah to bits. I could feel how much he truly cared for Lenah. I thought their friendship was a lot stronger and had much more potential to be something more. 

Maizel’s writing in Infinite Days was absolutely magnificent. It was perfect for Lenah’s voice and within the time period she lived then and it blended well for the modern world too. Maizel allowed Lenah’s voice to really consume the book and just make it, so her. I believed that this was Lenah telling her story as if it truly happened. The novel flowed nicely and had me turning page after page. I loved how Maizel was able to tie in magic elements to vampirism. It gave this book a unique twist and an intricate plot line that I adored so much. Her ability to make me love certain characters quickly was breath-taking and the way she had me at the edge of my seat from the looming danger was ultimately exciting. 

Overall, Infinite Days was an original, dark, and involved novel with a different take on vampires that I fell so hard for. I couldn’t get enough of Lenah!