Lenah Beaudonte remembers her life of 592 years as a bloodsucking, remorseless, savage vampire in great detail. She wakes up in a new century in a new place and in a very mortal, human state. Her soul mate and best friend Rhode sacrificed his life so that she could become human as she had always wanted after she tired of her unsatisfying existence. Her vampire coven is compiled of four vampires she made herself because of their utter ruthlessness, unparalleled skill, and detachment from humanity. To become completely human, Lenah must immerse herself in human life and grow new attachments with her fellow classmates at her new high school. Can a centuries old vampire bring herself to care about the trivialities of teenage life? How long will it take her vampire coven to find her? Will she be able to protect her human friends in her weak, human state?
Infinite Days is definitely not what I expected. I figured it was just going to be another vampire romance exactly like Twilight and all its various rip-offs. I was completely wrong and I have never read a book quite like this. I really enjoyed the way the story was slowly revealed. At first, we essentially know very little about Lenah. Significant stories from her past are interwoven throughout the narrative of her present life when she saw or did something that brought that memory to mind. It is an interesting format that reveals a little information at a time that builds up until the reader feels that they really know and relate to Lenah. It also compares what was normal in her vampire life (death, destruction, and laughing all the while) to what is normal in her human life (gossip, classes, and learning to live again).
Lenah is a wholly unique protagonist. She seems rather still and formal at first and has a clinical way of looking at the world. As a human, she still finds herself thinking as a vampire, like how she would have dealt with people that displeased her. She never descends into being emo or the typical brooding vampire stereotype. She accepts her past as just that and doesn’t make apologies for it. She also retains some of her vampiric gifts and slowly loses them as she thoroughly lives her human life. The first two big events that caused some of her gifts to become weaker were solitary experiences. The event that makes them disappear altogether is one of being immersed in the community as a part of a whole and momentarily forgetting her individual identity. This scene is beautifully written and my favorite scene of the novel.
Lenah’s relationship with Justin at first was a little painful for me. He just seemed like a jerk who only wanted things (and people) that he couldn’t have. When he became interested in Lenah, he started ignore his girlfriend and her feelings in his pursuit of another. Then when he opened up to Lenah and he revealed his true self, I was convinced that they belonged together. However, I felt that the way she treated Tony was awful. He seemed to just be a character to acclimate Lenah into society and then he wasn’t needed anymore. He was a good character and I would have liked to see more of him.
I really enjoyed Infinite Days. The writing flowed really well and kept me engaged in the story. I found myself sadly closing the book when I had to go do other things or go to bed. The ending of the novel was absolutely perfect. I especially recommend this to fans of young adult vampire novels that are tired of reading the same sappy story.
My rating: 4/5 fishmuffins
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