See My Full Review Here: http://www.hippiesbeautyandbooksohmy....

First Impressions: I was really excited to read Infamous! I’m a huge fan of Sherrilyn Kenyon and I admire her so much as a writer, plus I am pretty sure I’ve read almost all of her books. The Dark Hunters series is one of my favorites, as is The Chronicles of Nick. She is another author I would love to have the chance to meet someday and have her sign all of the books I have written by her.

First 50 Pages: I feel as though Infamous started out slower than the previous two books in this series, but it quickly picked up the pace just a few chapters into the story. Like with her other novels, Infamous is action packed with a lot of emotion and great quality writing. Nick even begins to grow up a little bit in this book, since he is now (finally) fifteen. I also think that the plot is starting to merge with the adult Dark Hunters books, as more characters from those books are starting to pop up! Yay!

Characters & Plot: I’ll just come out and say it right not that this wasn’t my favorite book in the series so far, and most of it stems from the themes and one particular character, which I’ll uncover in a little bit.

Infamous begins with yet another disaster at the school, with rumors and secrets flying all over the place. There is some major gossip going on as well as some serious cyber bullying. As if zombies and demons aren’t enough to worry about, right? Nick tries and tries to make everything right again, but he keeps getting put into difficult situations he really has no control over. Trouble just seems to follow Nick around like a lost puppy, and unfortunately, he has to deal with the consequences. Let me rephrase that. Nick is forced to deal with crazy-as-a-bat mother.

I know that some people really love Cherise, but she drives me bonkers. Her character is so irritating to me in so many ways. I honestly wish she would just go away, and not just because Infamous featured her and her relationship with Nick so prominently, but because she isn’t a good person and she has zero faith in her son. This novel revolved around Nick and his mother, and by the end of the story, I had had enough of Cherise. The way she speaks down to him is horrible and she acts like he deliberately gets himself into trouble, or she treats him like a baby. I just really do not like this character and I’m not sure how anyone can like her.

Along with the annoying motherly issues, came other issues I found slightly annoying. The themes of this book felt scripted and preachy, something that I didn’t find was a great asset to the novel. Infamous felt like it really wanted to drive home certain points in a non-subtle manner. I’m guessing Sherrilyn Kenyon very much wanted teens to know that drinking, using drugs, and pre-marital sex are super bad and evil. The teen angst in this book was also off the charts, but with Cherise breathing down Nick’s back every two seconds, I can see why he seemed, well, so teenagerish.

Now, all of this isn’t to say that it was a bad book, because it wasn’t. I liked a lot of other things about it too. Like I said before, the plot between the adult books and this series is starting to converge a little bit with the introduction of characters from her other stories. I have a feeling that there is still a few books to go before we really see huge, major changes. Nick also seemed more mature and less childlike in Infamous, much to my delight. I still would like to see him mature a lot more before this series ends, but this book is a step in the right direction.

Final Thoughts: Even though Infamous isn’t my favorite in the series, I would still give it a good recommendation to pick it up and read it. Sherrilyn really is a great writer and The Chronicles of Nick series is wonderful as a whole. I think other people won’t judge Nick’s mother as harshly as I have and its more of a personal preference then a problem with the author’s writing. I am excited to see what Nick does next!