Die For Me: Die For Me: Book 01 [Paperback]

I got this book on a bit of a whim because I liked the look of the cover, while the blurb was quite interesting and I'm usually a sucker for a bit of romance. Typically of a YA paranormal romance, it has a fairly sweet heroine and a strong, handsome hero. Untypically, it is neither about Vampires or Werewolves - a definite plus in my view because I think I've read one too many of those now. One of the book's strengths is when you discover exactly who/what Vincent is so I won't give anything away! Brownie Points for originality!

I liked Kate, the main character, a lot to start off with as she had lost both of her parents in a tragic accident and so automatically I was very sympathetic towards her. I also felt like I could relate to her in how she was independent and was content with losing herself in a book or visiting the many museums that Paris has to offer, while in contrast her sister, Georgia, was a social butterfly and a party-goer. However, as the book progressed sometimes my sympathy for Kate swayed. To be honest, I just think that she cried way too much and it was getting a bit irritating. Often she would state that she did not like to cry infront of anyone but I think by the end of the book she had cried to almost every character at some point. Also, I felt that she became a bit Bella Swan-esque in the way her life suddenly revolved around her love interest, although to be fair as her parents had both died I think she had more of an excuse to feel sorry for herself!

Vincent, her love interest was also another character I couldn't decide upon. He was very handsome and a rather sexy Frenchman and I liked his light-hearted humour and caring attitude. The only problem with him was that he didn't have a single, little imperfection! Sounds a bit backwards I know and some of you might think this is a good thing but he just seemed too unbelievable! He had no flaws and I felt a bit let down because the narrator described him to start with as to having some sort of "bad-boy" vibe - wrong because he turned out to be utterly perfect! The whole romance between Kate and Vincent started off much too quickly as well and it was basically a "love at first sight" kind of thing. I am not a huge fan of this kind of love story and I would have preferred a bit more of a build up to make their relationship seem much more realistic.

On a more positive note the setting was absolutely superb. Paris was an excellent choice for this type of novel and I am now going to keep an eye on any other YA books set in Paris! It improved the romantic element of the story, and although a love story in Paris might seem to be a bit of a cliche, in this instance I think it worked because of the paranormal twist. Another plus was the action in the novel which slowly worked it's way up to an interesting fight-scene, but a downside was the villain. Lucian had so much promise to be a great villain but the author didn't seem to include him enough for me. There was definitely scope for a bit more!

Overall, there were good things and bad things about Die For Me which made it both easy and enjoyable to read and quite annoying at the same time. The author's style of writing was relaxed and uncomplicated which suited the fast-moving pace of a plot that peaked at a tense though slightly predictable climax. I felt it was a bit Twilight-like and some of you may see this as a positive while others a negative. I'm of the latter group and so I gave it a 3 out of 5! It's not amazing but it's not rubbish either, so if you're looking for a light-hearted read that's not too complex then you've found it in this book.

Kate and her sister Georgia move to Paris after the death of their parents, to stay with their grandparents. They both deal with their grief in opposite but realistic ways. Kate retreats into herself, whilst Georgia goes out, keeping up her party girl lifestyle from New York. This was a really interesting part of the story for me, because Amy Plum managed to describe these two pretty standard coping mechanisms without them seeming cliche or OTT, which I thought was very clever. Georgia's character was also very stereotypical, but done in a way that it to wasn't at all cliche, and you really liked her and sympathised with her even though it would have been really easy for her to be mis-written slightly and hated.

Kate eventually gets pushed by Georgia and her 'Mamie' to start going out more, and so begins to visit museums and read outside cafes, in very typical Paris fashion. I loved all the descriptions of the cafes and art galleries etc that Kate visits, they were all done very well, it gave you a really vivid snapshot of Paris, without feeling like Amy Plum was driving home the point that she'd set her book somewhere different, which I liked. Cue Vincent, the love interest. What I liked about this book the most was Kate's reaction to Vincent. It was so realistic. She was obviously attracted to his good looks, but at the same time she was wary enough to not go falling for him in an instant. I loved their sarcastic banter, it was a really great way to show their flirtation and the development of their relationship. In fact, I love the way Amy writes full stop, honestly I think it's fantastic, I just can't put my finger on exactly why, which I think is a good thing. There's something about some authors that means their writing just pulls you in from the word go, and Amy is one of these authors. Kate could be a bit paranoid at times, but then, most girls would be when faced with a beautiful and mysterious stranger. To me, it felt a bit like Amy wanted to re-write the Twilight Romance, but from a more believable, more three-dimensional, less annoying angle. It's not instant love at first sight, it's an attraction that develops, which was nice to see, and it was also nice to see the male being the more dependent for once.

I really loved the whole concept of the Revenants too, it was a refreshing and interesting idea. I loved all their individual backstories, which again reminded me a bit of Twilight, but yeah, better. It really helped you connect with the characters, and feel for them, but it was done in a nicely subtle way not an obvious "I want you to feel sympathy for these characters so I'm just gonna thrust their sob stories on you and hope for the best". Out of all the Revenants we get introduced too I really liked Charlotte, she was a fantastic character, really likeable. I loved Jules as well, I think I actually prefer him to Vincent-and I'm hoping their *may* be a bit of a love triangle developing there...

I really really expected Kate to have some, mystical supernatural power or destiny or something. It seemed to be subtly hinted at through the book. Now either, this is gonna be developed in the later books, or it was a clever ploy by Amy to mislead the reader. Eitherway it was cleverly done. I figured out a few of the plot twists, but I thought the way the whole story of the Revenants was released slowly, bit by bit was really excellently done, because it made you desperately want to keep reading it.

All in all, there were quite a few basic similarities to Twilight; such as the family who wasn't really a family, their traumatic stories of how they became to be who they are, Vincent's lack of previous relationships...plus they were all a bit obsessed with the idea of having a human girl in their midst..except for one. But honestly, the story was so fantastic and so well written, you are only fleetingly aware of these comparisons before you're sucked once again into the story. Kate is a fantastic character, really believable and realistic, and I really applaud Amy Plum on the world and the story she's created. It's so fresh, and vibrant, and new, yet retaining enough about the genre that it can be enjoyed by people who have loved books such as the Wicked Lovely series, the Mortal Instruments and Infernal Devices books, and yes, I suppose Twilight too.

I give this book a well-deserved 5/5 and I really recommend it to fans of YA paranormal romance, especially those who are maybe a bit tired of the standard vampire etc stories.

"Die For Me" is the debut novel from new author Amy Plum. The first thing I noticed was how easy to read this novel was - it sits very comfortably in the young adult paranormal genre and didn't read as a debut. The writing flows very well and I turned the pages with ease, managing to finished it in just a few hours.

"Die For Me" focuses on the life of young heroine, Kate, who has moved to Paris with her older sister Georgia, after losing their parents in an accident. Kate is naturally devastated and is finding it difficult to move on with her life. But after a while she begins to venture out into Paris, even if it's on her own, to the relief of her grandparents. While on one of her many book reading jaunts to her local cafe she meets the mysterious and beautiful Vincent...

I really liked Kate in the first half of the book, and not because she's a total bookworm like me who likes to read in the bath for hours on end, but because she's sweet, intelligent and thoughtful. Her grief of losing her parents is moving and very realistic. Unfortunately after about half way through Kate begins to lose her individuality to become a replica of so many other teenage female protagonists I've read, especially with regards to the choices she makes. The story also travels a well trodden path and Ms Plum opts for safe and predictable rather than fresh and original - a great opportunity lost in my opinion because "Die For Me" started so well.

The absence of teenage angst and bitchy school girls is refreshing, and although Kate does go to school, the story focuses on her life outside the classroom. Of course there are aspects that root it firmly in the YA forum, such as some of Kate's thoughts, feelings and decisions, and the fact that she's 16 years old. For the most part Kate has a good sense of who she is...until she meets Vincent and begins to move towards a character who has to have a boy to make her life worth living, such as this quote demonstrates:

"Although my head and heart were leading me in two different directions, I was certain that I didn't want my life to resemble what it had felt for the last three weeks: a drab existence void of color, warmth, and life".

This quote follows the three week break-up of Kate and Vincent (after only knowing each other a few days). I realise Kate has had an awful, traumatic experience of losing her parents, but Kate has two loving and warm grandparents and gets on well with her sister, who loves her, so it didn't sit well with me that to move forward and live a happy life she had to have Vincent, unfortunately this becomes more common as the story continues. I wish the author had kept Kate on the path of independence.

Overall the characterisation of the supporting cast is pretty good - I liked all the different personalities, especially Jules for his mischievous, naughty behaviour - I think I actually liked him more than Vincent - but I didn't really get to know any them that well as the story focuses mainly on Kate and Vincent - I hope more of the characters play a bigger role in subsequent novels.

I really enjoyed the Paris setting. The author does a wonderful job at describing the Paris lifestyle and nightlife. However, this too gets sadly pushed to one side in favour of Kate's and Vincent's rather unimaginative and uneventful relationship. Although Vincent is described as gorgeous, he didn't make my toes curl. In fact their relationship didn't really set me on sexy "all hot and bothered" fire.

Another aspect which was missing was action! Its absence (until a scene at the end) was disappointing as this kind of story needs it, the relationship between the main characters just wasn't enough. When Kate finds out what and who Vincent is there is a lot if info-dumping too, which was frustrating and rather dull.

With regards to the supernatural aspect, Ms Plum does try and give a fresh and original take on the immortal in the form of "Revenants", who die as humans to awaken as Revenants to sacrifice themselves again and again for eternity to save the lives of mortals. Unfortunately, Ms Plum doesn't seem particularly confident with her explanation of what and who "Revenants" are as the use of other supernatural creatures are constantly used throughout the novel: 'zombie', 'ghost', 'guardian angel', 'demon' - I didn't like that so many supernatural creatures were used to explain just one. The initial description given would have sufficed.

VERDICT:

"Die For Me" is a good paranormal read but not brilliant. I wish there was a lot more action to keep the momentum of the novel moving forward and it was a shame that the story settled for predictable rather than fresh and exciting, an opportunity lost. However, because of the gorgeous Parisian setting and fun and interesting characters, I would still recommend it to those who enjoy young adult literature in this genre.