Infinity by Sherrilyn Kenyon

Nick Gautier is one of the cockiest, most smart mouthed 14 year old in all of New Orleans. Or at least he thinks he is. The son of a teen mother & death-row inmate, Nick hasn't hasn't had the easiest of lives, but that doesn't change this Cajun's fiery attitude. He would lay his life down to defend his mother & wants nothing more than to become the man worthy of her praises.

Unfortunately there are things lurking in New Orleans that have always been on the periphery, that are now attracted to Nick like bees to honey. Every crazy creature from every horror movie ever created, and some new ones to boot, are coming after him & his friends. Some of them have been sent for nefarious reasons & others are renegade agents accidentally created by a nerd trying to avoid being bullied.

As Nick sinks deeper into the new New Orleans, he's learning more about himself & his friends than he ever expected. Those closest to you are your most dangerous enemies & strangers' kindness always comes with strings attached. Can Nick hold his ground or will he have to give an inch to gain a mile?

While I must admit that overall I did like this story, there is absolutely no denying that this book was written by someone accustomed to writing adult, romance novels. Nick Gautier is one of the more intriguing "human" characters in Sherrilyn Kenyon's Dark Hunters series. As such, he was created in an adult world. Despite the fact that she is now going back & writing his back story for teens, she can't very well change his lineage as it already exists. Therefore, Nick's mom is a Bourbon Street stripper & his father is a homicidal death row inmate. There are also some phrasing choices & references that some more reserved readers may cringe at, but nothing overly imposing.

All that being said, I really loved the feeling of New Orleans in this book. Sherrilyn really captures the city's majesty & essence while also managing to capture the more struggling side of life. There is something about a "Cinderella" story, rising to greatness from the lowest depths, that I find truly compelling & masterful. Sherrilyn manages to combine all of these elements together in a truly astounding way that is still so very relative.

My absolute favorite character in this story is Bubba. A backwater, zombie-hunting, Oprah-watching redneck who owns a computer repair/gun shop, he is a main source of information on the preternatural & Nick's unofficial guide while he's learning to navigate in this new dark world.

A fun read, with creative flair, Infinity is the beginning of a series I intend to keep an eye on.

One last thing, if you've never checked out Sherrilyn's website, you really should. She has so much information on all her series & characters. Be forewarned though, since there is some crossover between the adult & teen series, there are spoilers in the adult profiles. The niftiest part I found on Nicky's profile was his 10 Things to Know About Me:

1. I was born standing standing up and talking back
2. Cajun born and bred
3. My fave haunts are Mulates and Cafe Du Monde where my mom takes me after work.
4. I live for Zydeco and good gumbo.
5. I really want a gaming system, but we can't afford it.
6. I don't like authority and it doesn't like me.
7. Bubba is one of my best friends.
8. Rich man's gumbo is when the meat is actually bought in a store.
9. Schools and prisons. Both are institutions with people who want to abuse you where you're confined to little rooms.
10. Manga. The new drug.