Die for Me- Amy Plum

Pages: 344

Published: May 10th 2011, Harper Teen

Genre: Y.A/ Paranormal

Format: Paperback

Acquired: My own copy

Date Finished: 19th August 2012

Synopsis

My life had always been blissfully, wonderfully normal. But it only took one moment to change everything.

Suddenly, my sister, Georgia, and I were moving to Paris to live with my grandparents. And I knew my life would never feel normal again. Then I met Vincent.

Mysterious, sexy, and unnervingly charming, he put me in danger of losing my heart all over again. But I was ready to let it happen . . . until I realized that Vincent Delacroix is no normal human--that he has a terrifying destiny and enemies who are determined to destroy him and all of his kind.

Can I risk everything for love?

Thoughts/ Review:

My first thought about Die for Me is that I wish I had of picked it up sooner, my second is that I am so glad I didn’t because I would have had to wait painfully for the next book to be published and my third is that I wish I could keep reading this book and it would never end because I am in love, but I am getting ahead of myself and should go back to the start.

I seem to be having mixed luck with Y.A fiction the past few months. So I was a little hesitant to pick this book up, but that feeling left immediately, pretty much over the space of a few pages and I for one was ecstatic that out there in the world of hideous fiction there could still be a few gems worth digging into and exploring. Die for me is easily one of the most effortless books to read, a pure enjoyment all the way through. There was not one moment in the book that I was bored, wanted the story to end, felt nothing for the characters and was rolling my eyes.

Now there has been a little talk of it sounding like twilight, and I will own up and say there were few similarities where I could see that comparison being made. But I strongly feel this story was told so much better and the romance was stronger than a lot of books I have read, adult and Y.A alike. Vincent and Kate blew my mind. I loved them, their dynamic the way they worked together. Here are two characters who are mature beyond their age and have seen such tragedy in their lives that it's hard not to understand that connection, but it grows much deeper than that. Kate is no mary sue, she is sixteen years and has that freedom to act her age but by god she was fantastic to read about. She is family oriented, she has passions and dreams. She knows when to negotiate and how not to jump into things so quickly. She thinks before she does, which is what I love in a female character and while she does fall in love with Vincent there is a plausible love story there that I can believe. And the fact that she loves coffee shops and carries around a bag of books most of the time only added to my little girly crush. Through grief she blossoms and is able to stand on her feet and explore what life means after death. I think here progression made the story what it is and took it a giant leap outside the typical girl meets boy story- because lets face it folks, there is an actual story here.

It’s fair to say I loved Vincent too, as well as his laughable and lovable Kindred. Yes, he falls for Kate pretty fast and you might think that he is a little bit of an obsessed stalker, but god damn it Amy for weaving into the story such intricate subplots and allowing me as a reader to see every aspect of Vincent, past, present and into the future. His own story and his life as a revenant is rich in detail and such a joy to divulge. I like that he wasn’t possessive, that he gave Kate options and always offered her those hard choices to make with honesty and understanding. The way he interacted with his kindred and Kate’s family always left me with a smile on my face as did joining the team as they fought, drank coffee and joked around like a normal family. I also relished in the cheeky banter between Kate and Vincent and the hilarious pop culture references mixed in with their constant teasing.

I laughed, I grew teary and I stayed up way past my bedtime on several occasions not wanting to put the book down. It was one of those novels where it was just one more page, one more chapter and when it ended I wanted to go back to beginning and start all over again. Amy Plum’s atmospheric and decadent descriptions of Paris made me long for that sunshine and beauty, not to mention made my mouth water with all the talk of tasty food. Reading Die for Me, felt like a wonderful vacation; spent by the river, browsing galleries, sipping coffee and drinking up the culture that was France alongside the characters. The story in whole was amazing to me. It was such a welcome treat to be taken away and to fall in love. If you haven’t already picked up this book yet then I certainly recommend you do so asap. I cannot wait to get my copy of Untill I Die in the mail and I look forward to reading more by Amy Plum in the future.

I am giving this:

★★★★★

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