Infinite Days (Vampire Queen, #1)

by Rebecca Maizel

For 500 years Lenah Beaudonte has been a vampire. 500 years of seduction, blood and destruction. But she is sickened by her dark powers – and longs to feel the sun on her skin, grass under her bare feet, and share the breath of a human kiss. She wants to be mortal again. But is she really capable of being human, after her long years of darkness? Waking up as a sixteen-year-old girl brings Lenah many things – the life she has missed, taste, touch, love. But a vampire soul is not easily shed. And her coven – the four vampires she led in decadence and thrilling destruction – want their queen back . . .

• ISBN10: 0230749003
• ISBN13: 9780230749009
• Publish Date: 3 September 2010 (first published 3 August 2010)
• Publish Status: Out of Print
• Out of Print: 15 November 2011
• Publish Country: GB
• Publisher: Pan Macmillan
• Imprint: Macmillan Children's Books
• Edition: Unabridged edition
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 400
• Language: English

Reviews

Lenah Beaudonte was the queen of a mean, ruthless and powerful coven of vampires, until she is made into a human being and starts to lead a different life filled with love and pain.

Lenah was a smart and brave character who managed to astound me in so many ways. Sometimes, I loved her personality and her brains, but at other times, I got annoyed at her stupidity and her actions. Even although Lenah was over 500 years old, she acted like a teenager and sounded like one too, but it was her regrets, her sorrows and her pain that made her seem as old as she was said to be.

This book has the unfortunate insta-love between Lenah and Justin. For some reason, I couldn't click with Justin. I didn't like him, didn't like that Lenah liked him and honestly felt that he was a jerk with absolutely no depth whatsoever. And after a few weeks, he proclaims his undying love and forevers... Yeah, right! Tony was a cool friend, except for the part where he proclaimed his love for Lenah too. Thank goodness that was idea was staked very early in the book. We also have the Three Piece, three stereotypical mean girls, but in the end, they did manage to seem a little less stereotypical.

What I did love was the concept of the vampires. These vampires are mean, evil, ruthless and cruel and will kill without any hesitation. I also loved the flashbacks of Lenah's life as a vampire queen and the way in which she was once one of the most evil vampires of her time and I loved seeing her change and her growth throughout the book.

I have mixed feelings about Infinite Days. Some parts, I enjoyed. Some parts made me want to drive a stake through my heart, while other parts seemed to get a whole load better at the end.
But if you looking for a vampire queen turned human, then this book, will be your cup of blood.

[Amanda]

Actual rating: 3.5

Original review: http://onabookbender.com/2011/09/19/review-infinite-days-by-rebecca-maizel/

Despite being a YA novel with 16 year old characters, the fact that Lenah was 500 years old makes me feel uncomfortable with the designation. Lenah is far from being a teenager, and her narration and knowledge separates her from the rest of her classmates, and, at points, me as well.

I nearly put Infinite Days down at the beginning. There is being thrown into the middle of the story, and then there is being shoved underneath a fast moving story. I felt lost and could not connect with Lenah. I logically understood Lenah’s attraction to Justin, but I didn’t feel it. It was almost too cliche for me.

My favorite characters were Rhode and Tony. I don’t know that I’ve ever not connected with either of the main characters before. I think this disconnection pulled my rating down. It was interesting, however, to see vampire portrayed as they were, especially with Lenah having been one.

As a person who has studied adjustment to a new culture (turning from a vampire back into a human must certainly be a big culture shock), this aspect of the book held my attention. How Lenah struggles with being different from everyone is fascinating, but she removes herself from her emotions (because they are so new to her?). I was enthralled with this story, but it was from a distance, as an observer. I warred with myself over whether this adjustment was believable: adjustment to a new century and high school and being a human has to be extremely hard; but then, as a 500 year old vampire, I would also assume that the ability to change and adapt has to be a strong one. Is that ability strong enough to overcome the difficulty of adjustment? I’m not really sure.