Review: Die For Me by Amy Plum

Book Description via Goodreads:

Hardcover, 341 pages

May 10, 2011, Harper Teen

In the City of Lights, two star-crossed lovers battle a fate that is destined to tear them apart again and again for eternity.

When Kate Mercier's parents die in a tragic car accident, she leaves her life--and memories--behind to live with her grandparents in Paris. For Kate, the only way to survive her pain is escaping into the world of books and Parisian art. Until she meets Vincent.

Mysterious, charming, and devastatingly handsome, Vincent threatens to melt the ice around Kate's guarded heart with just his smile. As she begins to fall in love with Vincent, Kate discovers that he's a revenant--an undead being whose fate forces him to sacrifice himself over and over again to save the lives of others. Vincent and those like him are bound in a centuries-old war against a group of evil revenants who exist only to murder and betray. Kate soon realizes that if she follows her heart, she may never be safe again.

Source: Netgalley (ebook), Erika, Harper Teen & Inkpop (hardcover) (Thank you!)

Note: I’ve read Die For Me last year but wasn’t able to write a review because I couldn’t get past the ‘Wow-I-love-it-phase.’ This month, I participated in the Die For Me Read-a-Long hosted by Revenants Central. I reread Die For Me and loved it as much as I did last year.

My Thoughts:

Kate Mercier lived with her sister, Georgia, and her grandparents in France after the death of her parents. Like with other YA characters, Kate was struggling with the loss, the pain and the empty space left in her chest. But I found Kate’s struggling to be natural. She was suffering but she pushed through the chasm of pain and sadness. She was also a booklover. I found myself relating to her easily. When her life collided with Vincent’s, she was attracted to the handsome guy but she was also hesitant, not wanting to assume things and afraid to be involved with someone. Kate was suspicious because Vincent was involved in some unexplained incidents and he kept things from her.

Vincent was the dark, gorgeous French guy who randomly appeared wherever Kate went. He had a mysterious air about him and true enough, he had secrets and a few surprises up his sleeves. He was a revenant, which meant he was ‘the one who comes back.’ He had the body of an immortal and the heart of a human. His life was a long, difficult, painful and sacrifice-filled one. I was intrigued about him. The desire to know more behind his holding back, his silence and his dark side drove me to flip through the pages madly.

Kate and Vincent’s relationship was a roller coaster ride. They were pulled together like magnets by their attraction and pushed apart by complications and misunderstandings. The shaky, pain-twisting first part of their relationship was really believable for me. The stabs of pain, the weight of being alone and the gap that stretched between them were done well – not too little and not too much, just enough to convince me and make me feel what they were both going through. As Kate entered Vincent’s world, their relationship became smoother but more complicated. They both knew that it would not be easy but they were both willing to make sacrifices and make it work. The couple shared a sweet, romantic and extraordinary relationship. Romance readers will enjoy the cute, heart-stopping moments in Die For Me.

Plum did an amazing job establishing the setting and the ambiance of Die For Me. In my head, Paris was an amazing, romantic place. But that's the end of it. With Plum’s attention to detail, Paris was transformed for a stereotypical romantic city to a city with a rich historical ambiance and an exotic, sweet zing in the air. It was like traveling there and being Kate’s neighbor. The other characters also caught my interest. Jules and Ambrose, two handsome guys who will attract girls, Charlotte and Georgia were among my favorites. They added life to the story with their personalities and their own past and issues.

Die For Me is a fresh and intriguing paranormal debut with a sweet and hot romance, radiant and interesting characters, heart-stopping action that will keep readers entertained and satisfied. I highly recommend this to paranormal romance readers!

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