If I Should Die

My Fast and Furious Take: Amy Plum’s Revenants trilogy comes to a wonderfully satisfying conclusion in If I Should Die. Balancing romance, action and humor, Plum keeps the pace brisk while introducing new characters, expanding the roles of old favorites, and bringing it all together in an action-packed finale that reveals the fates of Kate, Vincent and the entire revenant world. Though not without a few disappointments, If I Should Die was an exciting entry in the series and left me with no questions unanswered. Amy Plum’s revenants take their rightful place among my young adult paranormal favorites.

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Digging Into the Details: Picking right up from the massive cliffhanger of Until I Die, If I Should Die has Kate show more and Vincent’s revenant “family” devastated by Vincent’s demise at the hands of the traitorous Violet. With his spirit still bound to the mortal realm, however, efforts soon turn to discovering a way to replace his physical form. Meanwhile, the danger posed by Violet and the numa has never been greater as Violet continues her attempts to absorb the powers of the Champion so she can destroy the bardia forever. The action increases a bit in this final installment of Amy Plum’s trilogy, but romance is still the name of the game. Will Vincent’s spirit find physical form again? If so, will he and Kate be able to live out their lives in peace without the threat of Violet – or Kate’s own mortality – hanging over their heads? Who will triumph and who will fall along the way?

Just from the nature of this trilogy, I think you can deduce the answers to most of the above questions on your own. But author Amy Plum threw some interesting touches into the journey to get to those answers, even moving the setting from Paris to New York City for a portion of the tale. There was an opportunity to meet new revenants, such as Theodore Gold from the New York branch and members of the German group that Charles joined in the last book, while familiar secondary characters such as Papy and Mamie took on more prominent roles. Plum also explored the revenant and guerisseur mythologies in more depth, with the rise of the Champion, an expansion of Bran’s role, and the introduction of a young numa named Louis who had a pivotal role to play in the final battle. There was a lot of story to tell, which kept the pace brisk and gripping.

Romance remained at the forefront, with the chemistry between Kate and Vincent as strong as ever. It was nice to see the possibility of a happily-ever-after for Charlotte and that the attraction between Arthur and Georgia was right on track; even the Gaspard and Jean-Baptiste relationship was played up more than in the past. Jules’s feelings for Kate were also touched upon a lot more than in the previous two books (although the novella Die For Her really spells that part of the story out). Romantics have plenty to savor and enjoy.

There were a couple more action sequences than the previous books, all leading up to an all-out battle at the end that had a couple shockers mixed in. The reveal of the Champion was a wee bit more violent than I anticipated, but it was handled well – even if it wasn’t all that surprising. With the race on to place Vincent’s spirit in an actual body and to thwart Violet’s evil schemes, the tension was ratcheted up while the humor was pulled back. However, Georgia was always good for a laugh with her strategic pursuit of Arthur and her attempts at self-defense. Amy Plum really does an excellent job of keeping all the different elements in balance, moving smoothly between the romance, action and humor.

Creating interesting and sympathetic characters is one of Amy Plum’s strengths, and I really enjoyed the way she gave Kate’s grandparents – especially Papy – a more significant role in If I Should Die. After discovering Vincent’s secret in the last book, Papy is totally against Kate getting mixed up in that world. Of course, it’s too late now to pull her back so he has to learn to deal with what her life has become. Soon he is drawn into the revenant world with his intimate knowledge of historical artifacts, and is key to uncovering a necessary component for Vincent’s possible resurrection. I loved the way Plum used the whole Vincent story line to punch up Papy’s role and bring in the new character of Theodore Gold (what Papy is looking for, Gold actually has), even using it to move the action from Paris to New York for a brief period to give a chance for Kate to come to terms with her past so she can look toward her future. It also allowed Plum to explore how the guerisseurs fit into the revenant mythology, by expanding on Bran’s role as a healer and the VictorSeer – the only one with the ability to recognize the Champion. All of this kept the story from sagging in the middle (as stories sometimes do) and really fleshed things out; Plum even managed to throw in a dark secret from the revenant past that had consequences in the present and made everyone look at a beloved character in a new light.

I also really liked the new character of Louis, a very young/new numa who shakes up some long-held revenant beliefs and shows there are shades of gray even in the black and white world of bardia vs. numa. With the introduction of Louis and a few other intriguing threads left open, Plum leaves herself some room to revisit the revenant universe in the future if inspiration strikes.

A few disappointments, however, kept If I Should Die from being a full five-star review. I wasn’t terribly impressed by the “getting Vincent back” part of things; the journey to get there was very well done and kept the narrative from lagging, but the ceremony itself seemed a bit over the top. I know this is fantasy, but somehow I wasn’t able to completely suspend my disbelief on this point since it basically came out of left field and required additions to the already established revenant mythology. Maybe I was spoiled by Cassandra Clare’s rather brilliant solution to the Jem issue in Clockwork Princess, but I wish Plum had come up with an answer that was already built into the revenant mythology instead of bringing in something new. Other than the Vincent story thread, things played out rather predictably; I would have appreciated a few more twists and turns to leave me gasping. Finally, I’m still unconvinced by the whole Jules loves Kate scenario. There is zero romantic chemistry between the characters, but if it served some higher purpose in the story I wouldn’t be so negative about it. Instead, it feels like it was just an expected plot point (“Oh, it’s a young adult paranormal romance, we must have a second love interest.”) instead of necessary to the story.

Other than these nitpicks, however, If I Should Die brings Amy Plum’s Revenant trilogy to a highly satisfying conclusion with its wonderful blend of action and romance. Some live, some die, and a window is left open for a future spin-off if inspiration strikes. For lovers of paranormal romance, this is one trilogy you want on your bookshelf. show less

I am extremely impressed! After the Until I Die sort-of-fiasco, I thought the series was going downhill. Kate has redeemed herself and, surprisingly, wasn't an idiot, Vincent is still lovely, Ambrose and Charlotte give me life and GOD DAMN IT GIVE ME A LOUIS NOVELLA. My two complaints? 1. Jules; 2. Jean Baptiste. And an epilogue would have been great as well, BECAUSE LOUIS. And Bran. BUT MOSTLY LOUIS.
I'm pleased. Very pleased.

"If I should die...," I begin to say.
Vincent cuts me off.[...]"Whatever happens, remember I will love you forever," he says.

What an amazing final book in the Revenants series.

Although I saw this plot from a mile away (called it in book 1,really) it was just amazing to read it all play out. All the amazing steps, some so so so sad - and so hopeful and inspiring and exciting. The good with the bad.

I can finally let Kate and Vincent go on their way...I know where they are now, and it's all good. I love it!

I don't know if I'm the only one who does this, but sometimes when the last book in a series I've loved releases, I kind of hesitate to pick it up. Not because I'm not dying to know what happens, but because I don't want it to be over! I like thinking that the series will go on forever. Well, considering a huge chunk of my favorite titles have ended this last year, I should just get over it, but this was one of the worst when it came to putting-it-off-so-it's-not-really-over. Still, I did pick it up, and I loved it. I knew I would. Even though I'd seen the "twist" coming from book one, I still enjoyed it. It probably has something to do with the setting in Paris (I seriously, seriously want to go back to Paris...with Vincent :). Other show more than the romantic love story, which is just yummy, I particularly love the relationship between Kate and her sister and grandparents. It's so sweet, and rather refreshing actually. Anyhow, I've gushed about this series before, and I definitely recommend picking them up if you get a chance! show less

Hmm… I have mixed feelings about this one and I don’t really know what to say. I think this was the weakest book in the series, which is sad since this is the finale…

There was lot of going on, maybe too much. I haven’t thought Kate to be whiny before but now she spent far too much time pining for him, wanting to hold him etc… I get that she thought she was losing him but still.

And oh Jules… There were hints before that he loves Kate but he didn’t want to “steal” his best friend’s girl. I was happy that there wouldn’t actually be love triangle. But now? He decides that he has to leave because he can’t be around Kate and Vincent. Really?! Why did you have to make things go that way!

I did enjoy this but I can’t show more deny that this was little too predictable at times. show less

I'm really, really sad that this series is over, guys. At least we got a novella in between books 2 and 3, but still. We have closure at the end of this book, and we're given a lot of room to think about what might come next for Kate, Vincent, and everyone else, but I know that I'm still going to be pining for more adventures from Plum in the future. If you want a finale that's got pretty much everything for everyone, I highly suggest you check out the final book in the "Revenants" series, "If I Should Die". Note, there are some spoilers for the previous books in this review, so if you haven't read book 2, you may not want to read this review until after you've read it.

So, there is a bit of a predictability factor when it comes to Kate show more and Vincent's respective fates in the book - which lowered things from an initial 4.5 to 4 stars. But otherwise, this is a really great book in every way. We get a lot of tension from every possible side and every possible person in Kate's life - all of the revenants, her grandparents, her sister, and their enemies. Vincent isn't gone forever (but I won't spoil further on why or how that happens), and Plum digs deeper into the guirsseur/revenant joint history and relations in a very academically fascinating way. And it isn't a tiny part of the book, either - Bran's given a much bigger role compared to book 2, and I was happy to see him get it. We also find out more about how the numa and revenants/bardia split, and how the numa have actually been behind some of the worst pieces of human history (which I felt was a very delicate but awesome touch). The world expands so much with this book, which makes me all the more sad to see the series end.

In terms of character development, I feel like Kate develops the most (and grows the most) out of everyone in these three books. Once the reality of how serious Vincent's most recent death sinks in, she really puts on her big girl panties on, which made me really happy. She stood up, took responsibility, and was generally more of a badass. I was most disappointed in Jules - for reasons which I won't disclose here because it's just way too much of a spoiler, but I will say - read the novella, "Die For Her", which is from Jules' POV. And it explains a lot. I like that Plum could have gone into love triangle territory concerning Jules' actions in this book but didn't. Many authors would have done it because it's the easy thing to do, but I'm so glad she didn't. The torture that everyone goes through, the way that Jules' departure (along with the revelations of JB's previous dealings with the numa) really kind of breaks up the family right when they need to be the most united. With Jules, it also leaves some new headcanon space for the fans concerning his feels for Kate, which is always nice.

We do get a few new characters in this book - we get our first good look at an American revenant, as well as more of the European bardia that come to save the day with the huge fight that's been brewing since book 2 at the end of the book. I love that Plum didn't overwhelm us with tons of new characters but did choose to show us a few more. I would have liked a few more American bardia included in the mix, as well as other international ones coming to Kate and Vincent's aid for this final battle, but in terms of what I got? I'm pretty happy with it. There's still this sense of incredible paranoia the entire book - can we trust this American revenant? Can we trust our own kindred? Who can we trust at all? - that permeates everything and every encounter, every conversation that everyone has in this book, and I love it when authors can fully do that.

Now to the predictability factor: Kate's fate alone? I kind of saw that coming. As for her ultimate role in the numa/bardia war? That caught me quite pleasantly by surprise. I was a bit disappointed that the grandparents didn't fight this fate hard enough - they gave in a bit too easily for my taste, but at least they fought at all. So much of YA the parents/grandparents/guardians are missing or they don't protest what their kids are doing whatsoever unless it's a contemp book about drug/alcohol abuse. The climax fight with Violette feels a bit anticlimactic, but the ending is still really quite good.

Overall? There's so much action, there's nary a dull moment and it speeds us to that all-important final battle, which is the most important part of all. I loved it, and I'm going to miss these characters and this world so much. "If I Should Die" is out tomorrow from HarperTeen in North America, so definitely check it out when you get the chance - it's one of my favorites of 2013 so far!

(posted to goodreads, shelfari, librarything, and birthofanewwitch.wordpress.com) show less

Pretty pretty cover! :) Just noticed it now. And it'll be released on May 2013?! Aw, man. Last book! Can't wait for this one. Wonder what would happen to Vincent. Since in the second book, it was such a cliffhanger...


Hmmm... If I Should Die is the last book of the trilogy Revenants by Amy Plum. Story was about revenants. Revenants are prettified zombies. Er... The summary is like this, they die to help/save others and then resurrect after a couple of days as long as their bodies are not burned. And of course, there's the Numas. They are the complete opposite of Revenants or the Bardias, they kill people. They murder them in cold blood.

So then the story in this third book, continued without much of a preamble from the ending of second show more book. I think it was just days after Vincent was taken by Violet. The Bardias and Numas believed that Vincent is the Champion. The one who'll save them from Numas.

And Kate, I honestly didn't expect anything from her. I don't expect that she'll be able to save Vincent which leads to me asking for a spoiler about whether Vincent will be back for good in the middle of the book.

The story is good. But a bit boring at some parts. If I will be asked if I enjoyed reading it the answer would be so-so? lol. I mean I still liked it but I do wished that some parts are not that long. Ending's pretty good. Didn't expect some of the twists. Kate's character evolved, I believe. But as usual, the guy is like "Don't do this or that. I don't want you getting hurt." The usual drama of guys who are a bit overprotective. In Vincent's case, I quite understand why he felt that way.

Overall, yeah, story's great. But I feel there's something that is lacking. So 3 stars only. And yes, I'm satisfied with the ending. show less