The Infinite Review: Kai

Book: The Infinite

Author: Lori M. Lee

Series: Gates of Thread and Stone

Standing: Book 2

POV: 1st person by Kai, past tense

Setting: Ninurta, Lanathrill

Genre: YA fantasy

Source: Physical copy

Publisher: Skyscape

Pages: 387

Release: May 10th, 2015

The walls of Ninurta keep its citizens safe. Kai always believed the only danger to the city came from within. Now, with a rebel force threatening the fragile government, the walls have become more of a prison than ever. To make matters worse, as Avan explores his new identity as an Infinite, Kai struggles to remind him what it means to be human. And she fears her brother, Reev, is involved with the rebels. With the two people she cares about most on opposite sides of a brewing war, Kai will do whatever it takes to bring peace. But she’s lost her power to manipulate the threads of time, and she learns that a civil war might be the beginning of something far worse that will crumble not only Ninurta’s walls but also the entire city. In this thrilling sequel to Gates of Thread and Stone, Kai must decide how much of her humanity she’s willing to lose to protect the only family she’s ever known. (Goodreads)

                         ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭

This book took me by surprise, much like the first book!

This book picks up a few months after the last events of Gates of Thread and Stone. Kai is struggling to come to terms with her actions in the last book, and trying to figure out how to help reclaim Avan's memories before he becomes too much of an Infinite and loses all his humanity. With Kahl Ninu having been dispatched, the city of Ninurta is slightly restless as the city adjusts to the new Kahl's rule, with murmurs of a civil war. And the make matters worse, there's talk of there being more outside the Outlands...

Kai is the kind of girl I picture myself being. I identified with her very much, from her love for her brother and her frustration of trying to get Avan to remember her. And Kai's power of manipulating the threads of time? Loved it. Kai's character arc in this book dealt with guilt, but it wasn't your the typical guilt character arc. For one, she wasn't completely obsessed with it. It was more of a subconscious guilt, one that haunted her when she was unconscious. Her guilt and horror didn't affected her actions, as she remained headstrong the entire time, but you could see the small details in her life being changed. We also begin to see Kai's change in mindset regarding the Infinite, and what it means to become and Infinite. There are definitely perks of having powers, but with powers comes the ability to both become overtaken by them, and to use them for the wrong cause.

"Talk over me again, and I will take my 'sorry lot' and leave your country to the chimera."

Avan was quite the interesting character. He's so much different than the first book, but he still retains some part of the old him. He stills feels strongly for Kai (completely ship-worthy), but he's not the same. Avan's struggle to find his identity made him both trustworthy and untrustworthy, as his actions didn't always match up...

I definitely came to like Reev a lot more in this book. Unlike the last book, he was more present, and we got to see just how much he wants to be able to protect Kai, and how he feels about her trekking everywhere looking for him in the last book. His reaction to Avan and Kai was both parts endearing and suspicious. Of course he would have issues with Avan kissing his little sister. But at the same time, you can't help but wonder whether or not Reev's slight dislike of Avan is rightly placed, since Avan isn't the same person we use to know. He's practically a stranger in some ways, which would put anyone on edge... Add to fact that he has some seriously scary sword skills, and you have the best big brother in the world.

"My sturdy, invincible brother. What would I do without him? Even though we weren't related by blood, he was more family to me than Kronos would ever be."

Mason. Ladies and gentlemen, may I introduce to you my next crush. We got to see a bit of him in the first book, and though I liked him quite a bit, in this book, I ended up loving him. Mason was just an overall good guy with humour and some great fighting skills, and he was able to help Kai regarding her harbouring guilt. Plus he's a whiz at escaping imprisonment, so yes, I really like him.

We really got to see more of the world in this book. Originally, it was just the city of Ninurta and the Outlands, with Irra's secret hiding place somewhere there. In this book, we're introduced to two completely new cities, each dealing with their own issues and having their own stance and opinions on the Infinite and magic.

I loved Kai's journey. I think that by having Kai go out alone, away from Reev and Avan, she really got to grow a lot. Rather than getting hung down by Reev and Avan, she had more immediate and dangerous matters to deal with, events which allowed her to grow. Kai didn't grow because she came to realizations about people; she grew because she came to realizations about herself.

"Because my magic is real, not a poor imitation of whatever remains in the Void."

There were so many events I didn't see coming. The author did a brilliant job in warming me up in some characters and events, and then flipping the switch and throwing everyone into turmoil. Unexpected attacks, unexpected betrayals, unexpected revelations, unexpected powers, unexpected everything. I was yelling in disbelief multiple times, because I couldn't comprehend what just happened.

Another great thing about this book was the ending. Instead of an epic showdown like the finale of the last book, we got a tease of a war, with the next book promising a full-out battle with everyone involved. I can't wait for the next book!

At the bottom, I added, "Don't patronize me by giving me roundabout answers like you always do. Tell me the facts or I'll come back to Ninurta just to yell at you."