Infinity

Infinity

Sherrilyn Kenyon / YA paranormal

At 14, Nick Gautier thinks he knows everything about the world around him. Streetwise, tough and savvy, Nick and his quick sarcasm are the stuff of legend .. until one night when his best friends try to kill him. Saved by a mysterious warrior who has more fighting skills than Chuck Norris, Nick is sucked into the realm of the Dark Hunters: immortal vampire slayers who risk everything to save humanity. Nick quickly learns that the human world is only a veil covering a much larger and more dangerous one: a world where the captain of the football team is a werewolf and the girl he has a crush on goes out at night to stake the undead. But before Nick can even learn the rules of this new world, his fellow students are turning into flesh-eating zombies. And he's next on the menu. As if starting high school isn't hard enough .. now Nick has to hide his new friends from his mom, his chain saw from the principal, and keep the zombies and the demon Simi from eating his brains, all without getting grounded or suspended. How in the world is he supposed to do that?

Ok. Maybe I should give out a HUGE disclaimer first. I LOVE this author. The Dark-Hunters, one of my favorite series, is written by her and because of that I'll devour anything she writes. I felt I needed to add this because I'm not sure how this review will go and I don't want to sway anyone from reading her books. They are addicting and delicious and my dreams have been better for having read them. In fact, reading Infinity has me rushing to my bookshelves to read about my beloved Dark Hunters again so if for nothing else, I'm glad I read this book. So where do I start because I'm having some conflicted thoughts. My first impression was WOW. Nick was always an interesting character in the DH series and I'm excited that the author has chosen to take a deeper look at him. I'm confused about why she would want to make it YA though because although it's a good tool to spark interest in the other series, it's not exactly appropriate for a YA adult author. I don't know about you but some bedroom scenes are just too "blushworthy" for teenagers. But although Infinity lacked the same feel as the DH books, it definitely was an easy read (after I got past that stupid line about swine flu) and I felt like Nick was taking me along with him. Did I mention what a good idea it was to look deeper into Nick's life? I loved Nick as a 14 year old as he was first introduced into the world of the Dark Hunters and the monsters they fight. Nick is sarcastic as hell and he had me laughing at some of his one liners. I loved having an early glimpse of my droolworthy Acheron and I felt like it was a big reunion as familiar characters entered the story. But here's where I'm a little hesitant... I don't know if it was because I had read the DH series before this book and that's the reason behind this, but I felt overwhelmed with trying to picture and place each character in the series and remember what their back stories were (it's been about 6 months since I read the DH series) This made it a little hard to keep up with the story and honestly, made my brain hurt a little. It has me wondering what my reaction would be if I was a newbie to this world. Would it make sense or would I feel like I was missing something and entering the game at half time? I don't know. It also felt like in ONE day, Nick gets hit with ALOT, totally hammered from all sides by all the different characters and creatures. It made me feel for poor Nick because it seemed like he was never given time to take a breath before being thrown even deeper into the new world he was going to be a major player in. BUT being bombarded makes sense because he is essentially thrown in to this whole new world and isn't that what it's like in reality when we're put in a situation so new and life altering? So it makes a little more sense. One thing that I found different was the author's use of zombies in this story. Oh not that zombies don't fit in as a kind of monster but that these zombies were created from a computer game designed to alter aggressive peoples thought processes. That came across as a HUGE leap from the kinds of story lines found in the other series. Maybe it's because its aimed at YA's and it seems like something interesting. Like I said it's different. But after all is said and done, I did like the book and it was worth the wait to get it. I think that now the majority of the main players have been introduced the series will take on a less "bombarding" feel and it will be nothing but excitement and exhilaration in watching Nick grow into the man he is in the DH series. I REALLY liked this book and I'll read the rest of this series as the author releases them. For the adults out there (and the teenagers who'll either sneak the books or fool their parents into thinking they're just another book series) READ THE DARK HUNTER SERIES. The men you find there are dangerous, tortured by their past, major bad asses and of course, sexy as hell. Also keep an eye on my "In The Spotlight" page because I have a feeling you're going to find them there. So now can you excuse me while I go off to read about Julian of Macedon and how he got trapped in a book as a love slave for 2000 years. Sigh. Boy I love my life...

Rating: 4.5 stars

FYI: 10 stars for the Dark-Hunter series (sure.. like you didn't see THAT coming)