Review: Until I Die by Amy Plum

Author: Amy Plum

Publisher: HarperCollins

Page Count: 357 pages, Hardcover

Date Published:  May 8th 2012

  Goodreads Blurb:

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.

In Die for Me, Amy Plum created a captivating paranormal mythology with immortal revenants and a lush Paris setting. Until I Die is poised to thrill readers with more heart-pounding suspense, spellbinding romance, and a cliff-hanger ending that will leave them desperate for the third and final novel in the series.

My Thoughts: THE ENDING. OH, THE ENDING. WHY? WHY?!?!? 

Yup... There's a cliffhanger. And oooh boy is it a big one. Get ready, you're gonna maybe need some tissues, and not just cause of allergy season.

Until I Die is yes, a middle book. But it's a good middle book. It definitely didn't suffer from second-book-syndrome and I was so glad. We learn so much about the revenants and their mysterious backgrounds, it was a nice eye opener into more of their world. The Paris setting is still magical and romantic, just like Kate and Vincent's romance. I really enjoyed the fact that though it wasn't the same as the first book, their relationship didn't suffer in the way that some do in the second book of a series. You can tell they love each other with all their might and only want to do what will protect one another. The book revolved a lot around Vincent trying to find a way to stop him from suffering from not dying for other people and Kate attempting to find a healthier way for him to do that. I actually really loved this in the book... It was sweet how though Vincent was saying he had everything under control, Kate knew he didn't really and went and took it under her own hands. Their love for each other was actually so much more clear in this book, compared to the first. The fact that Kate couldn't keep a secret from Vincent warmed my heart. Their relationship blossomed and was in my opinion more mature. It was enchanting, in a word.

We also get a couple of new characters come in, while Charles and Charlotte move out.  Violette and Arthur are added in and while the latter is stiff and a bit of a drag, Violette is quite a lot of fun to read about, though she's very mysterious. The other supporting characters were great as well. I continue to love Jules who is still as sweet and funny as ever. His protectiveness of Kate is amazingly cute and I really hope he can find love soon. Georgia, Kate's sister is spunky and witty as ever but she is in on the revenant secret now. She's a really fun character that loosens up the book a bit, giving some great humor. I really enjoyed her interactions with the revenants... Especially Violette and Arthur!

Then we come to the end. Seriously, the entire book is mostly about finding a way to keep Vincent alive and learning more about revenants, blah blah blah.  Then, BOOM. NUTSO ENDING. Yeah, you can kind of see it coming, but that doesn't stop it from coming as this huge surprise. It's sad and it's shocking and it's a little bit... Chilling. But I loved it. It left my jaw dropped and I am craving the next book in the series terribly. The writing in Until I Die  has improved. It's still simple and an easy read, but the vocabulary has come a ways and I really enjoyed the french in it. Oh yeah, that's another thing. I LOVE books like this, where it's in another country so you know they're speaking a different language, but sometimes they're actually speaking English and when that's made clear it comes as a bit of a shock. Being fluent in French, I was actually kind of reading it in both languages. When Kate stated she was speaking to say, a merchant in French, I'd automatically translate the words from English. I'm not sure how to explain it that well, but let's just say I really enjoyed the fact that I speak French. 

I would definitely recommend reading this series if you haven't already. It's a refreshing take on paranormal, with a 'creature' that we don't see very often in YA literature. Plus, it is filled with sweet romance that is satisfying but not overbearing. Until I Die was really good, but the last bit of it was pretty mind-blowing. I couldn't believe the author did that to us after such a sweet conclusion to Die For Me! So now, I am DYING (excuse the pun) for the third and final book, If I Should Die, which is set to be released in May 2013. What did you think of the sequel? Satisfactory? Incredible? Disappointing? Let me know in the comments below!

Have a great day/night everyone!
-Kristy