Infinite Days by Rebecca Maizel

Who: Rebecca Maizel
What: Infinite Days
When: August 3rd, 2010
Why: Won
How: Contest

Lenah Beaudonte is, in many ways, your average teen: the new girl at Wickham
Boarding School, she struggles to fit in enough to survive and stand out enough
to catch the eye of the golden-boy lacrosse captain. But Lenah also just happens
to be a recovering five-hundred-year-old vampire queen. After centuries of
terrorizing Europe, Lenah is able to realize the dream all vampires have -- to
be human again. After performing a dangerous ritual to restore her humanity,
Lenah entered a century-long hibernation, leaving behind the wicked coven she
ruled over and the eternal love who has helped grant her deep-seated wish.

Until, that is, Lenah draws her first natural breath in centuries at
Wickham and rediscovers a human life that bears little resemblance to the one
she had known. As if suddenly becoming a teenager weren’t stressful enough, each
passing hour brings Lenah closer to the moment when her abandoned coven will
open the crypt where she should be sleeping and find her gone. As her borrowed
days slip by, Lenah resolves to live her newfound life as fully as she can. But,
to do so, she must answer ominous questions: Can an ex-vampire survive in an
alien time and place? What can Lenah do to protect her new friends from the
bloodthirsty menace about to descend upon them? And how is she ever going to
pass her biology midterm?

Infinite Days is proof that vampires are not going anywhere! I've stalled writing this review for days, because I have no idea what I was going to say. I finished this novel in tears, my voice quaking and my mom franticlly asking what was wrong. To answer, I paced back and forth in the house going "Just...oh my god. Wow. Oh my god." So you know when i'm that hazed over and amazed, it must be good! I will admit it, it took me a while to really get into. But after 30 pages? I was hooked.

The book starts off with your first sneak peek of Rhode and Lenah's relationship. Rhode (which I will fan-girl about later) sacrifices so much for Lenah to be human and to be able to feel again. She's fully human but still has some vampire senses, like being able to see far distances and knowing the intentions and feelings of people who talk to her. And it was funny seeing Lenah do things that she only did as a vampire as a human. Everytime she would meet someone new, it was customary to check the person's pulse, decide if he/she was healthy or not, and then decide how long it would take to kill them. You'd think it'd be annoying, but it wasn't.

My favorite part to read out of the story really had to be the flashbacks. It was so nice seeing a peek into Lenah's old life, because it really explained a lot about how she is now. It showed you flashbacks for her with Rhode (which meant more Rhode ;) and flashbacks of her with her cover. Speaking of her coven, I kinda liked them too! Song and Heath and Gavin I liked, not so much Vicken. I know I shouldn't like them because they're evil and such but still.

Lenah was a character that I really liked. Not because she was relatable but because, like us, she was learning. You know how when you're a kid, and you think it's all right to pull other kids hair and break their crayons and such? And then we learn that it's not okay to hurt people and how to be kind and fair. Well, Lenah learns too. I liked being in Lenah's mind because it was so based on what was right and wrong. And Tony was an awesomely funny character.

Something did irk me, but that has to do with Justin. You see, Justin had a girlfriend. And while his girlfriend was a b****, you don't FLIRT with other people in front of your girlfriend! For a while there, I didn't believe Lenah and Justin's relationship. It didn't seem genuine (not like her and Rhode's did) and moved kinda fast. They both had their moments but for the most part, their relationship didn't seem authentic and real. Love at first (or second) sight is hard to pull off, and sadly I didn't believe Justin.

Ok, Rhode. *fangirl squeal* It takes a lot to make me fangirlish squeal and it happens with few fictional guys (out of the 10, I only fangirlish squeal when you mention 5). Rhode was amazing and hot and dangerous, which you get a peek of in her old old flashbacks. But he was sweet and loving and actually cared about her, even if vampires don't have feelings. Because if they didn't, he wouldn't have sacrificed so much for her that he did. I could read a WHOLE book about Rhode and not mind in the slightest (Rebecca, i'm pretty sure you'll read this so you should get right on that ;) He left on page 22 and only showed up in some flashbacks, but he was the main man on my mind during the whole book. Sorry, Justin!

My rating: AWESOMESAUCE (The small flaws were no match for the overall awesomeness)