Die For Me by Amy Plum

Title: Die For Me (Revenants #1)
Author: Amy Plum
Genre: Paranormal Romance, Young Adult
Publisher:  Atom (5th May 2011)
Blurb:

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 out lives into storage and moved to Paris to live with our 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.

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?

A STUNNING NOVEL OF LIFE, DEATH AND THE LENGTHS WE GO TO FOR LOVE.

Rating: ***** (5 stars)

Review:

Die For Me is Amy Plum’s debut novel and the first book in her Revenants trilogy.  In Die For Me we are introduced to Kate, a sixteen-year-old who moves from Brooklyn to Paris with her elder sister Georgia after the death of her parents to live with her grandparents. The death of her parents hits Kate, and her sister, hard. Whilst she is learning to cope with their loss she encounters Vincent.

This book was something of a surprise for me. I didn’t expect to enjoy it as much as I did. The book is narrated by Kate in the first person and begins not long after her arrival in Paris. The death of her parents is something Kate really struggles with, and it is something I think Plum handles really well in the book – and very sympathetically. I found Kate to be a really likable character; she was definitely someone I could emphasise with, and I really felt for her (and her sister) about the death of her parents when they were both so young.

Paris through Kate’s eyes was an experience. I visited Paris on a school trip and thought the place was brilliant, and quite like London in a funny way. But the Paris Kate sees is a beautiful, mundane one. Kate’s Paris is one of cafés and art galleries and museums, and also one of the every day – with school, and traffic, and the metro. There was a definite charm to it, that made me want to revisit the city.

Amy Plum did a brilliant job with the characters, they all come alive on the page. I love the relationship between Kate and Georgia, it is one of the strongest relationships between sisters I have read in a while. Kate’s insight into Georgia was brilliant, and I liked the fact that despite their closeness they still argued and acted liked (how I imagine) sisters.  Mamie and Papy were brilliant, part love-struck teenagers part awesome grandparents. And Vincent really blew me away (as did Charlotte and Jules).

This is an extraordinary book, especially when you consider that this is the first book in a trilogy. It feels like a complete story, and the ending is beautiful. I cannot wait to pick up Until I Die and start reading it. If you are a fan of Paranormal Romance and want to read something a little different, then you should definitely pick up this book and give it a try.