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Thursday, February 21, 2013

Die For Me (Revenants 1) by Amy Plum Review

2.5/5 Stars
Details of the Book
Hardcover, 341 pages
Published by HarperCollins Children's Books
Publication Date: May 10, 2011
Buy it: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Book Depository |

Synopsis: 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.

Kate Mercier has just moved to Paris permanently with her sister Georgia, to move in with their grandparents after both of their parents are killed in a car accident. Leaving her old life back in Brooklyn, Kate struggles to assimilate back into a normal life while her sister enjoys the City of Light. She meets Vincent, an immortal being, a revenant, that after she falls for him, she realizes that she can never have a normal life again.

If you like the Twilight saga, you will like this book. The plot is very similar to Twilight in the sense that Vincent is gorgeous, rich, immortal, and lives with a make-shift family of other immortal beings. This is one of the reasons that this book lost points for me, because I value creativity and I felt that it was too similar to Twilight. Maybe it's because I have read a lot of these types of books lately but I found that there was nothing special about this book. Kate is the typical Mary Sue character, everyone thinks she's beautiful but she has low self esteem, she is into literature, her sister outshines her in looks and social life.

I wouldn't say that I didn't enjoy this book, but it definitely wasn't anything to squeal over. What makes this book special to me is its setting, and that's only because I have seen some of the locations mentioned in this book in person so I can really put myself in the main character's shoes.

Strengths/Likes:

1) The descriptions of Paris are beautiful and I feel like that Amy Plum accurately describes Parisians and Paris itself.

2) I liked the action scene at the end of the book, although I had a hard time not laughing hysterically about who was actually fighting and in what body. I'm trying not to give too much away, I'm sorry if I spoiled this for anyone.

3) Jules character is hysterical but I hope that this does not turn into a love triangle.

4) The idea behind being a revenant is very interesting. Even though I think they are very similar to the Cullen family, it's still an interesting and new idea. I'd like to know more about the process of becoming a revenant and how each of the characters came to be that way.

Weaknesses/Dislikes:

1) This book was too short for the plot line. There is a lot of detail that goes into being a revenant and I felt like that information was rushed. Also, I felt that the relationships, dramatic, and action moments suffered from how short the book was because they ended up feeling rushed and melodramatic.

2) Vincent and Kate's relationship doesn't make any sense to me. I'm not sure when, where, or how they became so attached together. I know the point was instant attraction but I feel like that doesn't make a strong relationship. I would have liked that the author developed that relationship more instead of Vincent taking Kate on a couple of dates and then suddenly they are head-over-heels for each other.

Relationship development in general in this book was a problem. I knew that I was supposed to be attached or feel bad for certain characters but because I knew so little about them I wasn't so involved and found myself not caring if certain people lived or died.

3) There are a lot of similarities between this trilogy and the Twilight Saga. Vincent's family was very similar to the Cullen family. To me, Charlotte was very similar to Alice. Ambrose personality wise was just like Emmett. Also in the way that they all came together as a family in a similar way that the Cullen came together.

Favorite Quotes/Moments: 


1) "We stood there, looking out at the City of Light together for a few euphoric moments before he leaned his head down and whispered, 'The answer to your question of where I was taking you would be… to the most beautiful place in Paris. With the most beautiful girl I have been lucky enough to set eyes on, and who I desperately hope will agree to meet again. As soon as possible'" (145).

2) "I thought of how, after all that loss, I had found someone who loved me. He hadn't said it, but I had seen it in his eyes, and read it in the words he had written. My normal world was gone, in more ways than one. But I had a chance for happiness in a completely new one. A world better suited to science fiction and horror films, perhaps, but also one where I could find tenderness, friendship, and love" (276).

3) "I cried for the loss of a former life. For the days when I would wake up in my old room, walk down the stairs, and see my mother and father sitting at the breakfast table waiting for me. I cried because I would never see them again, and my life would never be the same" (276).

4) "The first time I had seen the statue in the fountain, I had no idea what Vincent was. Now, when I looked at the ethereal beauty of the two connected figures--the handsome angel, with his hard, darkened features focused on the woman cradled in his outstretched arms, who was all softness and light--desperate. Obsessed, even. But also tender. As if he was looking to her to save him, and not vice versa. And all of a sudden, Vincent's name for me popped into my mind: mon ange. My angel. I shivered, but not from the cold" (1). 

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