Author: Amy Plum
UK Publisher: Atom
UK Publication Date: May 2011
Genre: Paranormal YA
Summary: My life had always been blissfully, wonderfully normal. But it only took one moment to change everything. Suddenly, my sister, Georgia and I were orphans. We put our lives into storage and moved to Paris to live with my grandparents. And I knew my shattered heart, my shattered life, would never feel normal again. Then I met Vincent. Mysterious, sexy and unnervingly charming, Vincent Delacroix appeared out of nowhere and swept me off my feet. Just like that, I was in danger of losing my heart all over again. But I was ready to let it happen. Of course, nothing is ever that easy. Because Vincent is no normal human. He has a terrifying destiny, one that puts his life at risk every day. He also has enemies...immortal, murderous enemies who are determined to destroy him and all of his kind.
Review: Written from Kate's perspective following the death of her parents, she and her sister Georgia move to Paris to live with their grandparents. There she meets a dangerous nineteen year old who she falls for but struggles to come to terms with his immortality. Vincent is the perfect young guy: handsome, caring, sensitive, and in love with Kate. His good looks and flawless character, make him feel a little too perfect, despite being immortal.
Sisters Kate and Georgia are very different characters, with Kate being the more introvert bookworm with little experience with boys and Georgia being the party loving extrovert. Kate falls instantly for Vincent which I can relate to, however a little more build up and tension before their initial first date/encounter would have worked better for me.
The other characters in the revenant family are interesting and well developed, particularly Charlotte and Jules. We see the struggle they face not being able to share their existence with other humans, and how they enjoy Kate’s company as a rare opportunity to interact with others outside of their group.
We discover Vincent is part of a group called the Revenants: immortals who come back to life after dying to save another. Their immortlity is defined by a compulsion to continue dying to save others, always returning back to life at the same age as their first, original death. Their arch enemies are the Numa, immortals who first died betraying others, and who are compelled to keep on killing others. This an interesting twist on the popular immortal theme and although there is little science behind the phenomenon of Revenants and Numas, this isn’t a problem to start. However as more quirks pop up, and Kate and Vincent share an unprecedented breakthrough in human/revenant interaction, more questions arise for me that aren’t really answered.
There feels to be little action in the plot, and what action there is, the outcomes are predictable. Rather, the story follows Kate’s emotional ups and downs - her depression after the traumatic loss of her parents, the high of meeting Vincent, and the low of deciding whether to stay with him.
Set in Paris, Die for Me creates a beautiful backdrop in the city of lights, and is obviously a place Amy Plum is very passionate about and familiar with. For me this was the highlight of the story – there was so much descriptive detail of the Parisian landmarks and architecture, you really felt like you were there yourself basking in the beauty of the cities surroundings. With all the twinkling lights and secluded spots, this helps add a romantic and exciting element to the encounters between Kate and Vincent.
Over the past few years, there have been a string of books about the girl who falls for an immortal guy. For me, this is one of the good ones, but not one of the best.
Rating: 3.5*
The other characters in the revenant family are interesting and well developed, particularly Charlotte and Jules. We see the struggle they face not being able to share their existence with other humans, and how they enjoy Kate’s company as a rare opportunity to interact with others outside of their group.
We discover Vincent is part of a group called the Revenants: immortals who come back to life after dying to save another. Their immortlity is defined by a compulsion to continue dying to save others, always returning back to life at the same age as their first, original death. Their arch enemies are the Numa, immortals who first died betraying others, and who are compelled to keep on killing others. This an interesting twist on the popular immortal theme and although there is little science behind the phenomenon of Revenants and Numas, this isn’t a problem to start. However as more quirks pop up, and Kate and Vincent share an unprecedented breakthrough in human/revenant interaction, more questions arise for me that aren’t really answered.
There feels to be little action in the plot, and what action there is, the outcomes are predictable. Rather, the story follows Kate’s emotional ups and downs - her depression after the traumatic loss of her parents, the high of meeting Vincent, and the low of deciding whether to stay with him.
Set in Paris, Die for Me creates a beautiful backdrop in the city of lights, and is obviously a place Amy Plum is very passionate about and familiar with. For me this was the highlight of the story – there was so much descriptive detail of the Parisian landmarks and architecture, you really felt like you were there yourself basking in the beauty of the cities surroundings. With all the twinkling lights and secluded spots, this helps add a romantic and exciting element to the encounters between Kate and Vincent.
Over the past few years, there have been a string of books about the girl who falls for an immortal guy. For me, this is one of the good ones, but not one of the best.
Rating: 3.5*
1 comment:
I tried something a little different with my review of this book yesterday, but I'm not sure it worked well for me. Your review, however, is spot on. One of my big questions while reading was - why Kate, what makes her so special for Vincent? But we never really find out.
Great review.
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