Infamous By Sherrilyn Kenyon

Infamous is book 3 in The Chronicles of Nick. This is a YA series by Kenyon that follows Nick through his teenage years. If you are a fan of her Dark Hunters, then this series is a must read. Having read all the Dark Hunter books so far, and now reading Nick’s series there are times I feel like a ping pong ball. My mind keeps jumping back and forth between to the two series. I know how things have played out in the Dark Hunters, and am trying to wrap my mind around the events that are playing out in Nick’s teenage world, and how they will affect his present and future. I won’t lie to you and say at times I don’t get frustrated reading this series cause I do, but it’s not because I don’t like what I’m reading, it’s because I can’t figure out where she’s going with a certain storyline, or how something will play out when I know what’s already happened in the Dark Hunter series. Don’t worry people, it’s all good, it really is. It’s all part of the fun that Kenyon creates in her books with her wonderful characters and storylines. To me this is a sign of a great author because her writing keeps me coming back for more. Okay onto my review. 😉

The prologue of the book begins with Ambrose telling Nick more about their life. He explains how he’s able to come back in time to try and aid Nick so that he won’t make the same mistakes Ambrose has made. Nick is well aware now that he was born to be an instrument of evil. He can’t fathom that since he has never done anything evil and is against anyone causing evil or hurt to anyone. This part of Nick is in thanks to his mother and the human half of his DNA. Thanks to his mother and her upbringing we see that there is hope for Nick in the future and hopefully may be able to over come the darker side of his DNA. Enter Nick’s father Adarian. He’s the elder Malachai and evil to the core. If there was ever a father more deserving of Father of the Year, it would be him. Yes I’m being sacarstic, it’s so thick you can cut it with a knife. 😉 Adarian wants Nick dead before he comes into his full powers, or else Adarian will die at the hands of his son. Since the Malachai thrives on anger, evil intent, despair, etc he’s been quite content to live in a jail cell hiding from his enemies, namely Noir, all well biding his time to take out his son and consume his powers.

As the story begins chaos once again has erupted on the school grounds. Seriously, if I were attending that school, I think I’d be dousing myself in holy water and wearing crucifixes at all times. LOL!!! Someone has it out for the students in the school and has set up a website that is posting doctored pictures and false information about fellow classmates. At the time of this attack no one, not even Nick, Kody or Caleb realize it’s due to demon possession. Nick, Kody, and Caleb with the help of their friends Bubba and Mark over at the Triple B are working at finding out who this person is. Along the way however, trouble just seems to follow Nick in one form or another, literally. At one point Nick is being severely beaten by a fellow classmate who’s been possessed by a lower class demon and left for dead. Thankfully Kody is able to track him down and get him medical aid. Well Nick is unconscious he has no protection against his demon DNA and winds up visiting the one place Ambrose warns him about, Azmodea in the Nether Realm. At first this is a funny scene as Nick meets another demon Asmodeus, but it quickly turns dangerous for him. He learns where he is and hasn’t a clue as to how he got there. It’s during this little jaunt into Azmodea and a visit with Thorn that we witness Nick begin to tap into his Malachai powers, and see just how powerful he can be. At one point Nick lights up like a human torch and manages to fry some demonspawn. With the help of Thorn, Caleb and Asmodeus in the Nether Realm and Kody back in the human realm she manages to wake Nick up in time and bring him out of the Nether Realm. Later on in another unconscious trip to the Nether Realm we get to see Nick in all his Malachia glory, from his true form to his unlimited powers. It’s during this scene where Kenyon gives us hope for Nick’s future in his actions towards Kody. The scene had me sitting on the edge of my seat wondering what Nick would do, all well begging him to do the right thing.

Even though this book takes us down a darker path as Nick’s Malachai powers keep growing there are many bright spots along the way. We get to see more of Nick’s relationships with Kody, Caleb, his mother Cherise, Ash and Kryrian. There are many emotional moments with Nick and his mom and we get to see what Cherise went through well pregnant with Nick and then his birth. Their relationship and mother/ son bond is unbreakable and very touching. If it wasn’t for his mother there wouldn’t be any hope for Nick at all. Another bright spot in the book is meeting Bubba’s mother and getting more insight into his background and relationship with Nick. Bubba’s mom also played a vital role in Nick’s earlier life that we didn’t know about before. It’s these relationships and ties to humanity that I feel will all be beneficial to Nick if he’s to stay on the good path and beat his father and his Malachai heritage.

All in all this was an excellent book for both new readers and old(those who have read the Dark Hunter series) There are little snipits of information along the way that allow us faithful Kenyon minions to see where she is beginning to overlap the two series and bring certain storylines together. At one point I had a major AHA moment, but this moment didn’t come about right away. It was through a discussion I was having with a fellow Kenyon fan and the light bulb went off. Like I said earlier there are times I feel like a ping pong ball wondering how is she going to do that, can she rewrite that portion of the Nick’s life, etc. She keeps me guessing and wanting to read on. I know I’ve just finished Infamous, but I want to read Inferno now, I want the story to keep going.

READING ORDER for The Chronicles of Nick by Sherrilyn Kenyon

1.  Infinity
2.  Invincible
3.  Infamous (March 2012)
4.  Inferno (March 2013)

Reviewed by Marcie