Book Review: DIE FOR ME and UNTIL I DIE by Amy Plum

Books:  Die For Me and Until I Die
Author:  Amy Plum
Publisher:  HarperTEEN
Category:  YA Paranormal Romance

2 books in 2 days.. That's how fast i went through Amy Plum's Die For Me and Until I Die.  Here are the official book descriptions:

DIE FOR ME

".........thank you for being here, my beauty. Mon ange..."- Vince

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.

UNTIL I DIE

"Kate, I've spent a lifetime waiting for you. Before i saw you, I hadn't cared for anyone for the good part of a century and it felt like my heart had been permanently disconnected.  I wasn't even looking anymore.  And without expecting anything...without any hope at all, suddenly you were here.....I don't know what i'd do if i lost you now.  i love you too much."- Vince

Kate and Vincent have overcome the odds and at last they are together in Paris, the city of lights and love.

As their romance deepens there’s one question they can’t ignore: How are they supposed to be together if Vincent can’t resist sacrificing himself to save others? Although Vincent promises that he’ll do whatever it takes to lead a normal life with Kate, will that mean letting innocent people die? When a new and surprising enemy reveals itself, Kate realizes that even more may be at stake—and that Vincent’s immortality is in jeopardy.

Via Wikipedia:  A revenant is a visible ghost or animated corpse that was believed to return from the grave to terrorize the living. The word "revenant" is derived from the Latin word, revenans, "returning"

***********SPOILER ALErt ***********SPOILER ALERT************

This is refreshing in that Amy plum created another world, a different creature from the usual vampires, ghosts and werewolves that have become so popular this past decade.  

Author Amy Plum

In her book, Revenants are former human beings who die trying to save other people.  They reanimate after three days and can live forever as long as their bodies do not get consumed by fire.  These revenants live like normal people in that they look alive, they are able to eat real food and do everything else except to sleep.  They also age like normal people, however once they sacrifice themselves for another (which is often since they get strong urges to do so), no matter how old they have gotten, they reanimate the same age as when they first died. In between sacrifices, they lie dormant for three days every month. And so goes the cycle.

In Die For Me, Kate is devastated and depressed.  She just lost her parents in a car accident and has moved to Paris, France with her sister Georgia to stay with their grandparents.  

In one of her few sojourns outside their apartment, she sees a gorgeous young man with whom she feels an immediate connection. He is Vincent Delacroix, a revenant.
Vincent and Kate fall in love and she learns all about his life...or lack thereof since technically, he is an undead.  Despite his monthly "death", Kate forges on simply because she loves Him.  Though Kate is supposedly plainly human, they find out that she can hear Vincent when he is Volant or a roving spirit while his body is in the process of reanimation.

On one of his dormant nights, Lucien, the head of the Numa (the revenants’ ancient enemy), Forcibly enters the home of the revenants by using Georgia as bait. He attempts to destroy both Kate and Vincent's still dead body.  But Vincent's volant enters Kate's body as host and destroys Lucien.

(2^nd book, Until I Die)
Months later, Vince is in search of a miracle.  Something that will stop, or at least control, his natural urge to die for humans, thereby letting him go through a natural aging process and in effect, he will be with Kate for as long as she is alive looking the same as her.  

Kate is also searching on her own for hope.  And she finds it in the healer whose existence the Numa did not know until Kate. 

Meanwhile two very old revenants, Arthur and Violette, have transferred to Vince’s group after Lucien’s attack. Though Violette goes out of her way to be friendly with Kate, Arthur is the exact opposite. 

Kate finds out about an old prophecy that says one among the revenants will become The Champion who will spell the end for the Numa.  However if killed, his power will be transferred to his murderer.  And it is believed among them that Vince is the champion since he can communicate with Kate and is stronger than the average revenant. And his life is in danger.

I like the way the book was written.  It did not drag nor get too sappy with declarations of undying love. The pace was just right with enough action to kick it back up after the “love” parts.

Kate and Vince are fine characters with just the right amount of sweetness between them.  Among the supporting characters, the one that stood out for me was Jules, Vince’s friend and fellow revenant.  His quips and non-stop flirting with Kate are funny.  It’s like a subtle love triangle that isn’t. I also like Georgia for her loyalty and willingness to support Kate no matter what.

Amy Plum has a winner in this trilogy.  The last book is supposed to come out early next year and that’s months too long.  The suspense, the cliffhanger, particularly at the end of Until I Die is an absolute killer.  So if you’re into YA romances, you will definitely like this. Read it!