Sunday, February 12, 2012

Review: Die For Me by Amy Plum

Die For Me
By Amy Plum
May 10, 2011
HarperTeen, 352 pgs
GoodReads Description:  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.
While I'm fighting to piece together the remnants of my life, can I risk putting my heart--as well as my life and my family's--in jeopardy for a chance at love?"

Here’s the breakdown: 

Plot: This was a very original take on the forbidden love/paranormal romance that has become so popular and downright common in the last few years. Amy Plum has created an entire mythos for her characters that is fascinating and my only complaint is we weren’t able to dig even further into the back story of the Revenants. Though I’m sure there will be more to come in the subsequent sequels. The “twists” of the story weren’t really all that surprising and I guessed pretty easily what was going to happen involving the villain(s) and the inevitable battle of good vs evil, but it was one of those books where I just didn’t care. I was involved from page one to page 352. I absolutely couldn’t put it down!

Characters: The characters in Die For Me were very likeable and had interesting, developed personalities. Kate started the novel in a state of understandable depression following the death of her parents and I enjoyed watching her open up to Vincent throughout the story and her internal struggle deciding if love is worth the possibility of loss. Vincent was swoon-worthy and I really enjoyed hearing his back story and learning about the horrible losses he had faced and overcome. It definitely made sense to me that Kate and Vincent understood each other as well as they did. It was easy to fall for Vincent. He was kind, gentlemanly, and protective. In the end he may have been too perfect. He wasn't given any real flaws. Another thing that hopefully will be fleshed out in the sequels. And now, I have to rant about the minor characters. I ADORED them! There wasn’t a single cardboard character in the lot and the novel wouldn’t have been nearly as colorful and captivating without them. As far as the romance goes, I think it was much more realistic than most YA paranormals these days. Both characters fought their feelings, but inevitably came back to each other. They didn’t declare their love right away. 

Writing style: Plum’s writing in this her debut novel was refreshing and vibrant. She obviously has plenty of knowledge of Paris and French culture. Her descriptions and detailed settings made the novel come to life. It was easy to get sucked into the story, so much so that I felt like I was living the story along with the characters. 

Verdict: 






This novel included everything I’d want from YA paranormal. It had action, a mostly-believable romance, and a cast of vibrant characters. This will definitely be a re-read!

 

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