Monday, January 13, 2014

Review: If I Should Die by Amy Plum

From Goodreads: I will not lose another person I love. I will not let history repeat itself. Vincent waited lifetimes to find me, but in an instant our future together was shattered. He was betrayed by someone we both called a friend, and I lost him. Now our enemy is determined to rule over France’s immortals, and willing to wage a war to get what they want. It shouldn’t be possible, none of it should be, but this is my reality. I know Vincent is somewhere out there, I know he’s not completely gone, and I will do anything to save him. After what we’ve already fought to achieve, a life without Vincent is unimaginable. He once swore to avoid dying - to go against his nature and forsake sacrificing himself for others - so that we could be together. How can I not risk everything to bring my love back to me?

My Rating: 3.5 hearts 

Thoughts on the Novel: Though the cliffhanger ending of Amy Plum’s Until I Die seemed ominous, I had a feeling that the revenants would somehow find a way to make things alright in If I Should Die. I guess this is where I was disappointed by the pacing of If I Should Die. Not only did it seem a little too easy for Kate to uncover the mythology that had been lost to the revenants for centuries, but too much time was also spent on trying to deduce its interpretation. As a result, that left Plum only about 20% of the book to squish in a huge showdown between the numa and the revenants and to somehow conclude the Revenants series.

Another reason I was disappointed by If I Should Die was because of the lack of resolution with Jules, one of my favourite characters from the trilogy. It was kind of obvious through the series that he developed some feelings for Kate, but I always assumed it was more of a crush. Falling in love with Kate though seemed a bit out of character for him. Admittedly, I haven’t read the novella Die For Her so it’s entirely possible that his change in feelings are more believable there.

While it may seem so far that I didn’t like If I Should Die, that’s actually not the case. I thought the romance was still sweet, and continued to enjoy the presence of the other revenants. I also really liked the greater inclusion of Kate’s family into the revenants' affairs. It’s just that in comparison to Die For Me and Until I Die, the finale was slightly underwhelming. 

If I Should Die was released by HarperTeen in May 2013. 

Comments About the Cover: I like it better than the cover of Until I Die, but don’t think it’s as pretty as Die For Me’s. Also, I think the model’s pose is a bit weird. 

4 comments:

  1. I've only read the first IF I DIE book--I think my reactions to the book were pretty mixed overall, but I'm glad to hear that you were overall pretty satisfied with the ending. It's disappointing when those final books let you down a little and aren't as great as you'd hoped, though--that happened to me several times last year. :/

    Wendy @ The Midnight Garden

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  2. Aww, sorry the finale of this series was a bit anticlimactic for you, Z.

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  3. Jules' feelings were made pretty clear and believable in his novella, but I was still sorry about his heart being broken. Other than that, though, I enjoyed this one, although it wasn't nearly as good as the second book.
    Great review.

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  4. I really liked Jules too so that's crappy to leave it unresolved. I haven't read this one yet and it's been so long since I read book 2 that I think I'd need a refreshed first.

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