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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?
Boy meets Girl. Boy turns out to have a deep—nay, otherworldly—connection to Girl despite being the loneliest member of a family of immortal, sexy, good-hearted monsters.
Newly-orphaned Brooklynite Kate Mercier is now living in Paris with her grandparents and sister. She's grateful for anything that breaks the constant tyranny of her depression, even the weird obsession she's developing with Vincent, a hot Parisian she's seen in her favorite café. Vincent is equally obsessed with Kate, but after a few dates his secret is revealed: Vincent is a revenant, driven by some mystical force to give his life to save others again and again, constantly reborn as an 18 year old with rippling "rock-hard abdominal muscles." Along with his revenant family (one father figure, several extremely sexy pseudo-brothers and a teenage girl to be Kate's friend), he rescues at-risk Parisians while fighting off the revenant's evil counterparts among the undead. Kate and Vincent are, of course, drawn to each other, miserable with despair when apart. When they are together, it takes all Vincent's willpower not to molest his beloved; readers of Twilight and its ilk know the drill. But wait! Evil is afoot, and perhaps it will spice up their love life!
Those obsessed with paranormals won't dislike anything here, but everyone else should give it a miss. (Paranormal romance. 12-14)
Amy Plum spent her childhood in Birmingham, Alabama, her twenties in Chicago and Paris, and several more years in London, New York, and the Loire Valley. Now she lives in Paris and swears she'll never move again. Die for Me and Until I Die are the first two novels in a trilogy about revenants.
NinaJ
Posted May 13, 2011
We don't need to see the Edward/Bella romance over and over and over again. Seriously. We've already seen it. It was called Twilight. They even made a movie about it. We don't need to see Bella with fallen angels and we don't need to see Bella with zombies. Especially when the fallen angels and zombies are carbon copies of Edward. Does Vincent have godlike good looks? Check. An aura of danger? Check. Is he a virgin immortal? Check. Has he lived without love for decades? Check. Does he fall in love with our heroine for no apparent reason? Check. Is he a stalker? Check. Doesn't sleep? Check. Has a "family" of other immortals, including a Manic Pixie Dream Girl who becomes the heroine's best friend (Alice/Charlotte), one who resents the heroine and isn't thrilled with their immortal existence (Rosalie/Charles), an older figure who mentors/protects (Carlisle/Jean-Baptiste), an irreverent extrovert (Emmett/Jules), and one who trains the others in battle techniques (Jasper/Gaspard)? Check. Is Kate an introvert? Check. Has she moved away from home? Check. Does she fall in love with the hero because of his looks? Check. Does she rhapsodize constantly about how gorgeous he is? Check. Does she sound more like a forty year old woman than a sixteen year old girl? Check. Does she have any interests outside reading? In a wild fit of originality, the author does give Kate another hobby: sitting around in museums staring at paintings until she goes into an art trance. Luckily, since that hobby is a Mary Sue author intrusion (Amy Plum is an art historian) and in no way resembles something an actual teenager would do, Kate's still on track to grow up and be Bella. Kate doesn't understand what Vincent sees in her. Sound familiar? This insecurity is based on the fact that he's the handsomest handsome of all the handsomes there are. Sound familiar? She has a "special" ability most humans don't have. Sound familiar? She fits in great with the immortal "family", most of whom adore her. Sound familiar? She and Vincent have chaste sleepovers. Sound familiar? He's all she thinks about. Sound familiar? He slows her down sexually. Sound familiar? Vincent thinks he should leave her alone for her own good, but is an empty shell without her. Sound familiar? The plot consists of Kate and Vincent falling in love, smooching, and talking endlessly about their relationship until a rushed and predictable action sequence at the very end. Sound familiar? The villain gets to Kate through a family member. Sound familiar? He's sooooooo good-looking. Sound familiar? You wouldn't believe how good-looking he is. Sound familiar? That Vincent sure is one good-looking dude. Sound familiar? Vincent is perfect. Sound familiar? Obsessive love. Obsessive love. Obsessive love. Sound familiar? I'm making a plea to all the authors out there. Please do something original. Please. Is your creativity so MIA that you can't create a fresh love story, believably flawed characters, and a plot we haven't seen five thousand times before? Bonus points if you create a villain who's not a cartoon. I'll say this about Stephenie Meyer: she explored the whole obsessive teen love thing THOROUGHLY. She used hundreds and hundreds of pages to do this trope, so YOU don't have to replicate it. Do your own thing. Give us a love story that surprises and delights. Give us something we haven't seen before.
87 out of 126 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.MaZilla
Posted May 19, 2011
I have not started this yet but come on guys...twilight is huge because of the movies...but you cant compare every romance involving vampires to it. I mean come on...there were vampire romance novels out way before twilight...so unless youre comparing twilight to those and sayimg its a ripoff of those then please stop...
32 out of 36 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Menolly11
Posted May 13, 2011
A poor copy of Twilight. The author wanted to write another Edward/Bella story (she actually tells us this in the FAQ page on her website) but cleverly realized she couldn't use vampires. What's a newbie author to do? Create a new monster, of course! And thus are born the revenants, not out of any genuine world-building but only to set up the exact same romance that exists in Twilight. Kate/Bella is an ordinary, insecure girl in a new place who doesn't know how pretty she is and likes to read old-fashioned books. Vincent/Edward is a gorgeous undead guy who's actually much older than the teenager he appears to be. She can't understand why this uber-handsome dude with his aura of danger would ever be interested in little old her. (The reader doesn't either, as Kate's character is flat and uninteresting). He's torn between believing she'd be better off without him and the fact that he can't stay away from her. The hero loves the heroine obsessively and stalks her. In Twilight, Edward has a vampire "family". In Die For Me, Vincent has a revenant "family". There's no plot to speak of until page 285, when we have some mind-bogglingly predictable action sequences featuring the most obvious cartoon villain ever. I kept expecting him to twirl a mustache as he delivered the lamest evil banter I've read in quite some time. In general, Plum's writing doesn't evoke emotion. There are loads of beginner writing mistakes: overuse of adverbs, cliched metaphors and clunky sentence structure ("The city was lit up like a Christmas tree, and its bridges illuminated with spotlights that made them appear majestic and otherworldly"), stilted and awkward dialogue, lots of passive verb structure. But what it comes down to is the fact that I didn't feel anything when I read the book. The narrator's voice, which is weirdly formal and old-fashioned, distanced me from everything. Also, holy info dump, batman. If the characters had one more Q & A session to allow the author to explain the rules of her revenant mythology, my brain would have just given up. Due in no small part to the endless conversations (including several between Kate and Vincent that managed to rationalize the romantic tension right out of their relationship) the pacing of the first 285 pages of this book was slow as molasses. The book also contains the weirdest kiss description ever. "Then he raised his hand to brush a lock of hair back from my face, tucking it gently behind my ear as he lifted my lips to his." He lifted her lips? Just her lips? Hmm. It's a very odd choice of words, and most unfortunately makes me think about actual zombies, whose body parts are, of course, detachable.
29 out of 57 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.First off I need to say that I received this book as an arc e-book from Harper Teen through NetGalley. This in no way affected my review.
This is an amazing debut by Amy Plum. I had been wanting to read this for a while and when I got the chance I was really excited. This is definitely a 5 Star rating if not more. The cover is gorgeous by the way. I fell in love with this while reading it and I read it every chance I got.
It starts off with these two sisters who are living in Brooklyn when they parents are killed. They decide to move to Paris, France to live with their grandparents after the funeral. Georgia has no problem fitting right in the party scene as soon as they get there. Kate on the other hand prefers to read and hang out at cafes. She is still dealing with her parents death. One day while reading at her favorite cafe she sees this gorgeous guy Vincent. He comes off as a jerk at first. Then later Kate and Georgia are out walking one night and see something strange happen. From then on Kate and Vincent keep running into each other. They become friends at first and then start dating. Vincent then shares with Kate what he really is. He is an immortal called a Revenant. They save humans and even die sometimes while saving a human. The catch though is that after three days they come back alive, the three days they are in a coma like stage.
I just loved this story. It was well thought out, the characters were strong and the environment was just gorgeous. The way the author described Paris it was as if I was right there with the characters seeing what they were experiencing. We got to find out some of the background of each of the characters which was nice. I loved how Kate and Vincent took their time with their relationship. The scenes were well written. The ending was beautiful, Kate's birthday and Vincent's gifts to her. This had it all suspense, action and my favorite romance. I cannot wait to read the sequel and anything else in the future from this author. I am recommending this to everyone who loves paranormal romance. It's SO GOOD!
22 out of 28 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.I love this book! Amy, thank you for the romance in Die for Me. I always look for books that have an amazing love story, and this one has it! Looking forward to the second book in the Revenants series.
15 out of 18 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Beguiling, unique, and full of swoon-worthy romance, Amy Plum's Die for Me not only introduces an absorbing new voice to YA, but also a series that is sure to capture many fans as it continues. Die for Me begins the story of Kate, a girl who has not had the best of luck lately. For one, after a tragic accident leaves her sister, Georgia, and her orphans, they are off to leave with their grandparents in the beautiful city of Paris. Lonely and full of bitter feelings, Kate truly feels like life will never get better, that she will never stop missing her parents every second of each day...then she meets Vincent. Secretive, alluring, and sweet, Vincent captures her heart the first time she meets to him. However, Vincent is hiding a major secret, one that could tear him and Kate apart, or make their relationship stronger than ever. Which will occur- will Kate find the love of her love within Vincent, or will she run away from him? Only time and more pages will tell in this deeply engrossing tale of one girl's path to finding herself once again. One of the best aspects of this would was the setting. Ms. Plum did a fantastic of allowing the setting to jump right of the page with her descriptions, allowing the reader to get a true taste and feel of the Paris right along with Kate as the story progressed. The characters of this were also full of fun and intrigue, making the story even better. For one, I loved Kate. She was a main character I clicked with from the start. Her feelings and thoughts were easily relatable, and I loved that she was strong- never letting anyone or anything get in her way one bit. Her relationship with Vincent was another high point. A common problem I have with YA books is a weakly developed main romantic relationship. However, that was not at all the case with Kate and Vincent. Built on plenty of getting-to-know the other moments, their relationship truly did feel believable when it finally did bloom. More importantly, I really enjoyed all the drama, twists, and turns that come with it, and I am sure many will agree with me on that. The secondary characters of this were also well developed. Some of my favorites included Kate's sister Georgia, whose zest and attitude constantly brought plenty of funny moments to the novel, as well as Vincent's friends- Charlotte, Charles, Jules, and Ambrose. One of the things that originally attracted me to this book was the premise, and I have to say the execution was even better than I expected. I thought the idea of "revenants" was fantastic, and more importantly, Amy Plum did a great job of fully fleshing out the idea to the fullest potential possible. I also adored all the twists and turns it added to the novel. From the fight scenes to the fear it brought to Kate and Vincent's relationship, there truly was not a moment where I was not on the edge of my seat, quickly flipping the pages, dying to know the conclusion. I will admit, though, I was a bit put off by some small similarities Die for Me shares with Twilight in the beginning, but by the end of the book Amy truly made this idea and series her own with her world building as well as writing. Full of fun, drama, and romance, Die for Me is, without a doubt, one of my favorite reads of this year- a book I will be suggesting repeatedly come its release in May. Grade: A-
14 out of 19 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.okay soo at first i was afraid to read this thinkin that it was another twilight. But boy was i wrong. I loved it, it had romance, it had shock, it had action, it had sadness it had everything. I recommen it to all except for the twilight lovers sorry but ur not gonna get it here :)
12 out of 14 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted June 30, 2011
Best book ever ! i highly recommend this book to people who love paranormal romance. Don't listen to the people who think it's like twilight, because it's not. IT'S BETTER THAN TWILIGHT.
12 out of 14 people found this review helpful.
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Posted September 14, 2011
The beginning of the book was a little unusual but as you read on and found out more about what is going on you start to love it. The only thing i didnt like was that it ended and the second book doesnt come out till next year. But very good read.
7 out of 9 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.nik_nak2727
Posted September 2, 2011
After finishing Die For Me, I realized that I couldn't wait until the next book comes out. It really was a wonderful read that made me keep wanting to turn the page.
5 out of 6 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Loves_BooksCS
Posted September 20, 2011
A beautiful story told in a beautiful city.... Love, Mystery, Humor brough together in this story.... Can't wait for the next book
4 out of 5 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.USA_Reader
Posted November 1, 2011
Die for me by Amy Plum
Reviewed by Moirae the fates book reviews.
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? (Synopsis provided by goodreads)
I LOVED this book, so much that I went as Kate for Halloween! I found the idea of the remnants to be unique, original and refreshing. (This is a book I gush about).
I love everything about this book, the characters are very dynamic and their interactions all felt real. I really liked Vincent. (He's my new book crush!) I loved Kate, she felt really real and true to me, the type of character I would be friends with. I liked how Plum showed us how Kate was dealing with her Mom and Dad's death. Plum is a shower not a teller.
I really loved chapter 6, I thought it was very sweet!
Vincent felt different then other love interests in YA novels. He wasn't perfect and that's refreshing.
The description of Paris and the homes were amazing. It's the first time I have wanted to visit Paris over any other city in the world. This is a series and author to watch!! This is one of my top 10 books of the year!
This was such a rich and beautiful story I encourage everyone to read it. I can't wait till book 2!
* Reading level: Ages 14 and up
* Hardcover: 352 pages
* Publisher: HarperTeen; First Edition edition (May 10, 2011)
* Language: English
* ISBN-10: 0062004018
* Author: Amy Plum
* Cover Art: I LOVE it!
* Overall rating: ***** out of 5 stars!
* Obtained: My personal bookshelf.
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Die For Me is a book you will instantly fall in love with. With an intriguing concept, family love, action, sexy boys, and a perfect romance Die For Me is sure to keep the pages turning. Plus, I adore the cover! With the boat, river, an bridge it's just perfect for the book!
We start off with Kate and her sister Georgia who are forced to move to Paris after the death of their parents. Kate is distraught and keeps to herself while her sister Georgia continues to stay in the lime light. Kate finally falls into a routine of days at the Cafe and there she meets sexy Vincent, but little does she know he's a revenant, forced to continually die and come back to life. As Kate starts to fall for Vincent and trouble starts to stir, Kate will have to decide where her heart truly belongs.
I really loved this story! I loved Kate who started off so lost finds herself and grows so strong. She's a smart girl and makes smart decision and follows her heart. Georgia is hard not to like, she carries such a care-free light in her. I loved their grandparents too; they're such caring people! Next the revenants.. I loved them all!! Vincent is such a good soul. He is sexy with a kind heart and a sense of humor. And Jules, artist (swoon!), I really liked his character and can't wait to read more about him!
This concept of revenants, I have never read about before and I really enjoyed it! This is only the first in the series so I can't wait to read more about it! Also, the Paris aspect was beautiful! I loved the scenery, the cafes, and museums! Overall, fabulous book and I cannot wait for the next one! :)
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.writeawaybliss
Posted May 8, 2013
I gave Die for Me 4.5 out of 5 stars
Die for Me was an impressive story from beginning to end. Set in Paris, Kate and her sister Georgia find themselves orphans and coming to live with their grandparents. The story was well-paced with an interesting plot that I hadn’t seen beaten to death. There were no vampires or werewolves. There was a romance but it was a gradual and slow development which made for a nice read.
I find that the story explores a side of ghosts that the YA reader hasn’t often been exposed to. Amy Plum creates a world within our own, explaining Revenants (ghosts) and offering fantastical elements within a realistic setting. Though the story is magical it feels real. Die for Me also has a heart with well-defined characters and even a strong glimpse into Vincent’s mysterious life. I was glad to see character growth for both Kate and Georgia throughout the story as well.
The only gripe I had with the story was the evil, arch nemesis. Yes every story has a bad guy but his name made it easily identifiable who he was very early on. I realize a characters name is an important aspect of defining a character but if you’re trying to add the element of surprise, it’s taken away by using a recognizable “bad guy” name. If you haven’t read the story, I won’t tell you the name but just think about it.
I would recommend Die for Me for ages thirteen and up. Die for Me is the first in the Revenants series.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Posted May 8, 2013
While reading the reviews, i found some posts that said Amy plum invented revenants. Actually they have been around for many many years. Some believe that they are real like big foot or nessy.
Do your research.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Posted May 8, 2013
Excellent book series! I highly recommend it for anyone who loves paranormal and romance! Great Great book series!
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Posted April 29, 2013
Loved the characters, felt they were really developed. The last 40 pages were truly page turning. I think the next book will be even better since we have the characters and don't have to spend tons of time getting to know the "who's, why's and where's" of the storyline. Excellent read.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Posted April 25, 2013
Read the Fallen series next. Its really amazing!! Angels and demons are included it may drag at first, but trust me it gets so much better.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Posted February 28, 2013
i like it but the fact that hes a living dead guy kinda has been over used i like the way she describes the way vincents new immortal status came to be and in france !! even better
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Posted February 11, 2013
If you want to read a paranormal romance with a twist...READ THIS SERIES. This was honestly one of the best books i have ever read. I cant seem to get it off my mind! Loveeee it.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Overview
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...