Review: Die for Me (Revenants #1) by Amy Plum

Title:  Die For Me
Author:  Amy Plum
Series:  Revenants Trilogy
Publisher:  HarperTeen
Publication Date:  May 10, 2011
Links:  Amazon | Goodreads
Rating: 

From Goodreads:

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.

In this incandescent debut, newcomer Amy Plum has created a powerful paranormal mythology with immortal revenants. The Paris setting comes enchantingly alive as a relentless struggle between good and evil takes place in its streets. Rich with romance, atmosphere, and thrills, Die for Me will leave readers breathlessly awaiting its sequel.

Review:


This novel really took me by surprise. I'd been wanting to read it since I first heard about it, but I never imagined I'd enjoy it so much. It was such a unique take on ghosts and the walking dead, called revenants in the book. And what a beautiful cover!

The pacing of the story was rather leisurely in the beginning as the reader learns about Kate's life and what it's become since the deaths of her parents and her move to France with her grandparents, and even after she meets Vincent and he explains revenants to her. But the pacing does pick up once the story evolves into something more than just Kate and Vincent, and the reader discovers that there's a danger lurking very near, one that directly involves Vincent and Kate.

I liked that this wasn't insta-love for Kate. Yes, she was taken with Vincent's modelesque beauty instantly, but even once she developed feelings for him, she questioned if she was ready, if she could handle a relationship with him once she knew the truth. I like to believe that love will always prevail in the end, so it doesn't usually bother me when a relationship progresses rather quickly. This story is no different. It actually speaks volumes to me that Kate could accept and even love Vincent, despite how, ah, different he is from other would-be suitors. I try to keep an open mind in life, and I look favorably at the characters in books that can do so, as well.

This novel is a romantic ghost story, but there's plenty of action to be had. It's beautifully told from Kate's POV and the setting is the most romantic city in the world. I couldn't ask for more in a debut novel!

*I won an ARC of this novel from Pitch Dark Books/Harper Teen in their Dark Days of Supernatural promotion.*
 
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