Review: Die for Me by Amy Plum

Genre: Paranormal, Romance
Format: Audiobook
Released May 10, 2011 by Harper Audio
Originally published by HarperTeen
More about the author: Website // Twitter
Goodreads // Amazon UK // Audible

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.

At first, this book felt just like any other insta-love paranormal romance even though it was set in Paris, a fun and different location. What I got as I read further, was something pleasantly surprising. Amy Plum takes the over done template of teen paranormal romance and turns it into a gem. I'm not entirely sure how she does it, but I think it definitely has something to do with her innovative, non-vampire or werewolf ideas.

Amy Plum's world of Revenants is extremely intriguing and left me wanting more. The very idea of self-sacrificing immortals is a seriously cool addition to paranormal fiction. Revenants, especially the romantic interest Vincent, are mysterious, benevolent, and kick-ass to say the least. And yes, you read correctly; there is only one romantic interest in this book. No love triangles!

The protagonist, Kate, wasn't the most unique female lead, but she did have her quirks. She doesn't back into a corner and she's really pretty nosy. This works out well when the reader wants Kate to find out more information or fight for herself and it's never out of character when she does. The side characters really add something to this book. They're funny and endearing and I just want to hug them sometimes!

Overall, this book is really great. The setting is beautiful, especially because the author knows her Parisian landmarks, and the world building is really great. I'd recommend this book to anyone who likes paranormal romance. It's awesome!

*Audio Review*: Being that this book is set in Paris with numerous French characters participating in the dialogue, the narrator has to put on some cheesy French accents. At first this really did bother me. I've taken about eight years of French myself, so I cringed many times when things weren't pronounced correctly. This is hardly something that a normal person would notice, however. I just hope that I read the second book rather than listen to it.