by Rebecca Maizel
published August 3, 2010
by St. Martin’s Griffin
details Paperback, 310 pages
isbn 0312649916
4.5 stars

“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…

I picked up Infinite Days at the store after our interview with author Sheralyn Pratt who highly recommended it. Within the first couple of pages I discovered it was “another book about vampires” and I almost put it down…so glad I didn’t! Rebecca Maizel is a masterful spinner of stories and she left me captivated. It’s been several days since I finished and I can’t seem to get my mind off of her book. The first thing that drew me in was the cover. Five stars to that. It is made of opalescent paper which shimmers when light hits and the photo itself fits the book perfectly. It’s one of those covers you’ll want to touch and feel quite frequently. So while author Myra McEntire carries her books as a woobie blanket, I pet my covers for comfort.

But, on to inside the cover, which just blew me away. The beginning scene introduces Lenah Beaudonte, left to hibernate for 100 years and changed by the pure love of her soul mate Rhode Lewin into a human. Her past life as vampire queen in Hathersage, England is transformed into a new beginning as a High School Junior at a prestigious private school on the East Coast named Wickham. The thing that I love about Lena is her innocence in experiencing life. She re-reads human emotion and relishes in every day things we would normally take for granted like the sun on our skin. Two of my favorite scenes are of her standing in the rain and in a greenhouse with newly developed human senses of touch and smell. Of course it helps that Justin Enos,the schools biggest hottie is there with her! Which beings me to another reason I love this book. She has several layers of life all brought into one day and time, and as well several love interests to spice things up. Rhode, who changed her, Vicken whom she created and Justin in the present day. My prediction is that all three men will play a part in the sequel and things are about to get very interesting.

The overall theme that I picked up was that evil thoughts lead to evil actions, and it is pure intent which matters most. Change is possible and can ultimately mean the difference between life and death. Between flashbacks and a menagerie of interesting scenes from her past you will get sucked into the plot. And Rebecca has a way of awakening your senses along with Lena’s with chocolate chip cookies, the different colors of a grain of sand and the smell of an apple orchard. Truly a memorable debut. To learn more about Rebecca Maizel visit her website at http://rebeccamaizel.blogspot.com/ where you can enter to win a free audiobook and read excerpts from Infinite Days.