Tuesday, February 21, 2012

Review: Die For Me by Amy Plum

Posted by

Die For Me
Amy Plum
Series: Revenants, #1
Release date: May 10th, 2011
by HarperTeen

Goodreads / Purchase

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.

*This review is part of Zombies vs Unicorns month co-hosted with Literary Exploration, YA-Aholic and YA Bookmark.*

I only had to glimpse at the beautiful cover to know I had to read this book. I didn’t care what it was about. I mean, look at it! I can say that I was not disappointed by what was inside either. It’s fun and romantic, with a gorgeous setting.

The setting, it took my breath away. Set in beautiful Paris, France, we not only get a tour of the city, but we learn and experience the culture as well. It was stunning. I have never been, but I could picture myself in the streets alongside these characters; visiting exotic cafes, museums, homes. I thought it was amazing and perfectly detailed. Learning about the country’s culture was also very interesting. I’m always fascinated by differences with other countries: Sayings, traditions, even fashion. It made me experience Paris while sitting in my own home. This was by far my favorite part of the book.

The characters includes Kate and her sister, then the family of Revenants. Kate is a fun protagonist, although she can be a bit dramatic. She doesn’t always make the best decisions either, but her heart is in the right place which makes it easy to like her regardless. The Revenants- they’re positively charming. I especially loved their fun banter towards one another. They also each have important, defined roles in the story. We’ve got the fun, quirky Jules; hard-bitten Ambrose and lonely soul Charlotte. These are my favorite of the supporting characters. But really, all of them are as important to the story as the main leads, which adds up to giving us a well-rounded, purposeful cast.

Zombies! It is, in literal terms, what Revenants are. They’re undead, but they’re not rotting nor do they crave flesh. They look like regular humans, except they’re immortal with a purpose to save others. Yep, zombie guardian angels! This is definitely an original zombie/paranormal premise. And even though the twists are easily predictable, I found it positively entertaining. The romance, which takes as much center stage as the rest, is not a very strong point however. Both Kate and Vincent are great characters individually, but together they don’t radiate as much passion as the author is suggesting. They do have me rooting for them; the romance is definitely there and I won’t deny the love story is sweet, but we’re intended to feel great ecstasy towards them being together, when it simply falls under cute.

All in all, with a lovely setting and wonderful characters, Die For Me gives us a delightfully fun story that will easily attract fans of YA paranormal romance.

4 Hot Espressos

The following two tabs change content below.

Giselle

Canadian blogger, wife, mother, coffee lover, and sarcastic at heart! She has had a love for all things bookish since before Amazon and eReaders existed *le gasp*. You can also find her organizing tours and other fun things at Xpresso Book Tours.

Latest posts by Giselle (see all)

37 Responses to “Review: Die For Me by Amy Plum”

  1. Agnieszka Nashi

    I’ve seen this one around but I was never really interested because – well because I’m not much of a paranormal romance fan, but the premise does sound intriguing. Undead that are not rotting, hm. 😉 Might have to check it out!

    Thanks for the review. 🙂

    Agnieszka @ Nook of Books

  2. Amy

    I really don’t know why I have kept putting this off. I wanted to read it since before it came out, then it was released and I never bought it. Great review. I think I will have to get this one soon.

  3. Karen

    Ooh, I’m even more excited to read this now! I was also drawn by the cover but it sounds amazing. Paris & zombies is pretty much a guarantee that I’ll at least give something a try. 😀

  4. Mary @ BookSwarm

    I adored the setting but Kate’s drama got a bit tedious (of course, she lost her parents and had to move away from her home so she’s earned some drama time but still). Interested to see where the author takes this story in her next book.

  5. A Canadian Girl

    I’m back and yay, you finally read this one 🙂 I loved Die For Me, especially its setting. Plum does an awesome job of really making you feel as if you’re in Paris. Fabulous review, Giselle!

  7. Giselle

    @Melissas Eclectic Bookshelf: Haha yes but it,s not the traditional zombie book with scary brain-eating zombies! For that I would recommend Carrie Ryan or Rhiannon Frater 🙂

    @Amy: I put this one off for almost a year too! Book 2 is coming out soon! 🙂

    @A Canadian Girl: YAY welcome back! 😀

    @Mary: I’m finishing book 2 and I’m really enjoying it. We learn a lot about the Revenants and their background.

    Thanks guys! <3

  10. Sam

    Lovely review! I’m glad to see you enjoyed this. I really liked the ideas in this book, especially of the Revenants. I found myself a little bored at times though, so I’m hoping the next book is slightly better! 😀

  11. Alexa

    I really loved this book! I’m so happy I got the opportunity to read it last month. The premise is quite original and I actually really love the romance 🙂

  13. Mimi Valentine

    Oh my gosh, our thoughts are so similar about this book! Like you, I think one of my favourite thing was the Paris setting, and I loved the originality of the zombie concept too! You don’t get a lot of people writing them as the good guys! 😉 But I agree about Kate & Vincent’s relationship, although it has plenty of room to improve in the sequel! 🙂

    Absolutely beautifuil review, Giselle! LOL I was hoping you’d love this one because it’s about zombies, so I’m SO happy that you did! <3

  14. Danny

    Yep very much a Zombie Story! And although I’m not a big fan of Zombie stories *cringe* I enjoyed this one just like you. I agree on the romance, I also wished for a little more spark between them. Anyway, totally liked it!

  15. Missie, The Unread Reader

    Hmm…I’d been wondering what exactly Revenants are, and though I’m still not sure, they do sound very original. And I’m a sucker for gorgeous covers too, that is why I’m surprised I haven’t read this one yet.

  18. Tiffany

    I really enjoyed Die For Me too! The Paris setting is what made me really enjoy the story, the awesome secondary characters were a big part of why I enjoyed the book as well.

    Great review 🙂

  19. Ivy

    I loved this book! I can’t wait to read the sequel when I have time.

    What I liked about this novel is that it’s not a gory zombie book. Gory zombie book is not for me and the relationship between the two characters is simply unexpected.

    I agree with you, this book took my breath away too! 🙂 Great review!

  21. Giselle

    Thanks so much guys! <3 I'm glad so may of you enjoyed this one too!

    @BookishBrunette: Bahaha well it’s very Twilight-y as far as the romance goes. And the zombies are more like regular immortal humans so it’s not your typical zombie book at all. It’s still a fun read. If it wasn’t for the great Paris setting though it’d probably have been a 3-star. Give it a try and see, the reviews are very mixed.

  23. Lexie

    Ah! I need to read this one. I love Paris. Really, really love Paris. O_O Plus, the idea of revenants is pretty awesome. Definitely not one I’ve seen before. 😀 Lovely review!

  24. Rubita

    I was NOT a Die for Me fan. Maybe this was because I went into it with the highest of expectations, but I really found that it fell flat on so many fronts that I was gravely disappointed. The author’s worst sin was the fact that she didn’t properly make use of her setting. I wanted to feel like I was really in Paris…but I never did.

  25. Jen

    I love the idea of the unusual combination of the beautiful Paris with… um… well, zombies. They’re not something I’d ever think to put together!

    Great review!

  26. Natalia Belikov @ Dazzling Reads

    Im so happy you liked this book my dear! I totally love it and is one of my fav 2011 paranormal romances =D Oh VIncent Oh YEAH! huhuhuhu. I agree that is a totally original zombie stuff! I loved that Amy Plum was very smart creating her own kind of sexy good zombie! =P Cant wait for Until I Die!! woohoooooo! =9

    ★Dazzling Reads★

  27. Candace

    I’ve had this since it came out but still haven’t read it! I’m so glad you enjoyed it, I’ll definitely have to try to move it up the TBR!

  28. Melliane

    It sounds so good, I keep hearing amazing things about this book. It’s even in french but I haven’t read it yet. I’m glad you enjoyed it and now I want to learn more about it.

  31. Jennifer

    Maybe this book can get me started into the zombie genre which I’m not too into because I can be a bit of a chicken when it comes to (rotting and flesh craving) scenes. I easily get creeped out lol. But Zombie guardian angels who don’t rot or eat flesh and are in Paris. I am so IN. Great review 🙂

  32. Elodie

    I read this book last summer and I loved it 🙂 !! I’m glad you enjoyed reading this one that much Giselle .. I can’t wait to read Until I Die .. Great review 🙂

  34. Rebecca (Kindle Fever)

    I’m so glad you liked this one! I’ve been real curious since I first stumbled across it, but I never really thought I might enjoy it. Then again, I never thought I’d be falling for a zombie either and here I am loving Dearly Departed, haha! Great review:)

  35. Giselle

    Thanks so much guys! 🙂

    @Jennifer: This one is not gory or scary at all. It’s more like Twilight than Dead of Night 😉

    @Rebecca: You should really try it we seem to like the same books so I’m pretty sure you’d enjoy this. Plus this cover is so perty! 😀

    @Rubita: Sorry you didn’t like it much. I had no expectations at all since I had seen very mixed reviews so I’m sure that changed the way I enjoyed it.

  36. Caitlin

    Die for Me was definitely a book that I truly loved reading. The setting in Paris was perfect. The details were so great it was like site seeing without being there. The romance was also great, I definitely fell in love with Vincent. He was just so sweet and caring and always around when you needed him. Kate was a great character as well. Yes some of what she did was a little crazy but she alwasy meant well and did everything for the people she loved, so yes she was great. I definitely can’t wait to continue this series, it’s one of my new favorites.