DIE FOR ME by Amy Plum [review]

Die For Me (Revenant #1) by Amy Plum


Published: May 10th, 2011 | HarperTeen
Age: Young Adult, Paranormal
Pages: 341
Acquired: Won from a contest.
Overall: ½

After their parents are killed in a car accident, 16-year-old Kate Mercier and her older sister Georgia, each grieving in her own way, move to Paris to live with their grandparents and Kate finds herself powerfully drawn to the handsome but elusive Vincent, who seems to harbor a mysterious and dangerous secret.

Review:
Kate and her sister are basically forced (boo-hoo) to move to Paris with their grandmother and grandfather after a tragic accident takes the life of their mother and father. Though, Kate would enjoy a new look, she can't get out of her slump. I mean, how do you after losing both of your parents at the exact same time?
When Kate decides to venture out into the great outdoors, she sits at a little café and catches the eye of a cute boy and his friend across the street.
The strange attraction never leaves her mind and she can't seem to get away from, no matter how hard she tries.

Vincent is a boy with a lot to hide and I loved finding everything out as I read. I've never really read a "zombie" book, and though Vincent and his pals are considered Revenants... it's really just a glorified name for zombie. This isn't your gore, blood & guts type of book... which I like. I'm not very into those types of books.
This is a sweeter book that has the strength and depth of something worth remembering.
I enjoyed Kate's character and how she fought for herself and the ones she loved. Never forgetting her parents but not putting the ones who are here for her now out of her mind.
The relationship she develops with Vincent and his friends is amazing. And seems to be quite easy, enviable on any level. Real life, or in a book. I'd love that type of friendship with boys, girls, family, whoever.

I can't wait for the next book and hope that we get more of Kate's relationship with her sister and Paris.
I have a feeling about a little battle within the Revenant house, but I'm actually looking forward to it. If it were to happen!
I'll probably purchase the second book as soon as it comes out. So far, this series is hardback worthy! :)

Plot: ½
Characters:
Ending: ½
Writing: ½
Cover:


________________________________________________________
Author Info:
Amy Plum grew up in Birmingham, Alabama before venturing further afield to Chicago, Paris, London and New York. An art historian by training, she finally traded a tiny apartment in Brooklyn for a rambling farmhouse in a village of 1300 people in the French countryside. She lives there with her French husband, two young children and big red dog Ella, and spends her time writing in a tiny ancient stone house in her garden.

Die For Me is her first novel.

Check out Amy on her: website | twitter | facebook | goodreads

THE UNBECOMING OF MARA DYER by Michelle Hodkin [review]

The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin


Published: Septemper 27th, 2011 | Simon & Schuster
Age: Young Adult
Pages: 452
Acquired: Bought from BookDepository.com


Overall:

Mara Dyer doesn't think life can get any stranger than waking up in a hospital with no memory of how she got there.
It can.
She believes there must be more to the accident she can't remember that killed her friends and left her mysteriously unharmed.
There is.
She doesn't believe that after everything she's been through, she can fall in love.
She's wrong.

Review:
 With the very vague summary, I didn't know what to expect when reading this book. I honestly bought the book for the cover. I chanced it. Before reading, I had to ask someone else who had already read what genre it was. She said "paranormal".... Even throughout the book, it didn't seem very paranormal to me. It just seemed like a girl who was crazy, seeing things. Possible coincidences.... Then, the ending came. Yeah, quite paramoral. The best kind!

Mara moves to Florida after she loses her two best friends and boyfriend in a building collapse. Though she can't remember exactly what happened, she still feels terribly guilty and hates being surrounded by their memory. Florida seems like a good idea at first, and then not so much... And then she meets Noah.

Ah, Noah! I loved that bloke (he's British). At first, I honestly did not see much of a connection between the two and though I didn't see it, I wanted him to stay in the book! So glad he did.

I was genuinely surprised by how this book made me feel the emotions I was supposed to feel. When Mara was anxious, I felt her anxiety. When she was scared, I was scared along with her. When she felt like she was going insane, I thought she was going insane.
One of the best parts about this book was that I was as clueless and left in the dark as Mara was. This is a prime example why 1st person POVs are my favorite to read!

I sometimes read the last sentence or two in a book before I actually begin it. Boy am I glad I didn't this time. That ending held it all. And it was so aggravating and shocking. I actually stared at the page for a few minutes after finishing wondering how the hell could it end like that!? The next book could come out tomorrow and it would not be soon enough! I will be pre-ordering it as soon as it's available.

Mara's relationship with her brothers and the way she handles her friends is actually actually heartwarming. And the comedy in this book is dark, but hilarious. Little things, but I laughed so hard. In the next minute I was anxious and excited to see what would happen next.

READ IT! Buy it. Hardback worthy. (I mean, GAWD that unbelievably gorgeous cover!)

Plot:
Characters:
Ending: 1/2 (Just for that ending.... I'm still just... ugh!)
Writing:
Cover: (yeah, that's six stars)



______________________________________________________

Author Info:
Michelle Hodkin grew up in South Florida, went to college in New York, and attended law school in Michigan. When she isn't writing, she can usually be found prying strange objects from the jaws of one of her three pets. The Unbecoming of Dara Myer is her first novel.

Check out Michelle on: website | twitter | blogger | goodreads