About the Book

Return to national bestselling author Devon Monk’s heartpounding House Immortal series, where eleven powerful Houses control the world and all its resources. But now, the treaty between them has been broken, and no one—not even the immortal galvanized—is safe….

Matilda Case isn’t normal. Normal people aren’t stitched together, inhumanly strong, and ageless, as she and the other galvanized are. Normal people’s bodies don’t hold the secret to immortality—something the powerful Houses will kill to possess. And normal people don’t know that they’re going to die in a few days.

Matilda’s fight to protect the people she loves triggered a chaotic war between the Houses and shattered the world’s peace. On the run, she must find a way to stop the repeat of the ancient time experiment that gifted her and the other galvanized with immortality. Because this time, it will destroy her and everything she holds dear.

Caught in a cat-and-mouse game of lies, betrayal, and unseen foes, Matilda must fight to save the world from utter destruction. But time itself is her enemy, and every second brings her one step closer to disaster….

368 pages (paperback)
To be published on March 3, 2015
Published by Roc
Author’s webpage
Buy the book
Buy House Immortal

This book was sent for me to review by the publisher.

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Devon Monk has quickly turned into one of my favorite urban fantasy authors. In fact, I think within a year I’ve read almost all of her books, and she’s on my instant-read list. Every time a new book by Monk is released, I’m there. She’s a hell of a writer, and has a knack for creating deep, interesting characters that grab you and refuse to let go.

Infinity Bell is the second book in Monk’s House Immortal series. It will be published on March 3, which gives new readers enough time to pick up the first book in the series, which is called House Immortal, before starting this one. Trust me, you’ll want to move right on to Infinity Bell without stopping.

Infinity Bell starts off a bare hiccup of time after House Immortal ends. Matilda and company are licking their wounds, trying to find somewhere to hide, and trying to figure out how things from the previous book worked out and how they will fix their immediate dilemma, which involves saving all of the galvanized from their impending deaths.

It’s a lot to have on anyone’s plate, and Matilda shoulders most of the burden to keep those she loves free from her worry and stress. While it doesn’t really work out that way, it’s interesting to see her really grow into herself, and become a strong, capable, and powerful woman despite the political, mental, physical, and emotional odds she’s facing.

If there’s something that sets Infinity Bell apart from House Immortal, it’s the depth and complexity of emotion. This book deals with huge wells of grief, distrust, friendship, love, and fear. The relationships are just about as interesting as the plot itself. Furthermore, the relationships work well toward giving readers new and well-rounded insights into who these people really are.

The plot moves incredibly quickly. It’s quite edge-of-your-seat, and Monk flawlessly keeps all of the parts of this intricate political and personal dance moving forward like a well-oiled machine. There’s a lot of action, and a constant level of tension that will keep you from being able to put the book down. Society is explored, and the political tensions are just half of it. We are introduced to a vast and sprawling black market and underground that gives the world Monk has created a lot more dynamic and appeal. Things aren’t one-dimensional. They never really were, but Infinity Bell absolutely pushes this world into new and fascinating territory.

The ending left me reeling, and I’m incredibly disappointed that I’ll have to wait to see what happens next. That being said, what Matilda has to do to get to that ending felt a bit rushed. So much of the book was buildup for that, and the whole climactic drama only lasted a few pages. They were good pages, but all that buildup for just a few pages left me feeling a bit unbalanced.

And that really is the part of the book that disappointed me the most. So much happened to get to that ending thing (which I can’t really get into because I don’t want to give anything away), and then that ending thing didn’t last that long. The book itself felt like it was exactly the right length, but it did feel a bit unbalanced.

However, that shouldn’t keep you from reading this series. The first book was wonderful, but this book really set its own pace, and made this world and these characters something wholly unique. The pace is breakneck, and the plot is twisted, full of emotions and betrayals. It’ll keep you guessing, and then the ending will leave you reeling.

Devon Monk has done it again. I think it is impossible for this author to do anything but impress me.

4/5 stars