Review: Die for Me by Amy Plum

Title: Die for Me
Author: Amy Plum
Publisher: HarperTeen
Pub. Date: 5.10.2011
Genre: Paranormal YA
Keywords: Zombies, Revenants, Romance, Undead, Mystery
Pages: 352
Description (from Goodreads):
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.


Amy Plum's DIE FOR ME has a gorgeous Parisian setting, a unique mythology, and engaging characters.


I'd read that DIE FOR ME did not feature zombies in the traditional sense, so I prepared for what I found, but I think it's a bit unfair, or at least difficult, to classify this novel as a 'zombie book.' I feel that, in ways, it's being promoted as such, which is really too bad because I think revenants are actually a bit more interesting than zombies. Plum's zombies revenants are paranormal beings that save the lives of humans by dying in their place and then return to life days later, making them, more or less, immortal.


I've come to find that I have a bit of a thing for books set in Paris... or maybe just richly historic settings with a romantic atmosphere... Either way, I think the Parisian setting had a distinctly positive effect on my feelings toward this novel. I would have liked it regardless, but the setting was definitely captivating.


I did, however, dislike some aspects of this novel. I suppose you can only do YA paranormal romance so many ways before you run out of unique twists, but Vincent and Kate's romance held very little magic for me. It was predictable and, at times, cheesy. I'm hoping for more depth in the next book, but the romance was not an aspect of the novel that shone for me.


Also, some of the dialogue seemed a bit off. There was one scene in particular, a fight scene, where the two opponents exchange various insults. The fighting and whatnot was great, but the back and forth was almost painful for me to read. To me, it read like one of those scenes where the writer is poking fun at Shakespeare and the verbal parrying that always accompanies his characters into skirmishes - except I'm pretty sure this scene wasn't meant to be funny...


Despite my complaints about this novel, I really did enjoy it. It's one that I'll be adding to my bookshelf. I'll be reading Plum's subsequent novels as well... I feel that the issues I had with this first installment will fade away in the next books.