Book Title: If I Should Die
Author: Amy Plum
Series: Die for Me #3
Date Started: May 7th 2013
Date Completed: May 9th 2013
Genres: Romance, Fantasy, Thriller, Action
Rating: Four stars
Review:
Despite the fact that I didn't enjoy it quite as much as the second (and first) book in the trilogy, this was a good ending to the Die for Me sequence. And it's obvious to see the skills Amy Plum has picked up through her growing experience of novel writing.
If I Should Die follows directly on from Until I Die (the previous episode in the series) and details how Kate must complete the task of bringing the one she loves back to her. After the dramatic (and quite frankly, impressive) choice of ending for the last book, a great deal has been built on top of the plot line to create the deeper and more thrilling end to Kate and Vincent's story.
Looking back at the first book, the writing has improved an astonishing amount. I've never found Plum's writing at all challenging or overly engaging since the writing style is reasonably simple and the techniques standard.
Yet, in this book Amy Plum has progressed so much from her early works, and I found the text a lot more engaging and interesting to read, as well as the actual story.
Like I first said, I didn't enjoy it as much as the second and first books. This was mainly to do with storyline. Due to the direction the story took, it was very hard to create a story that was similar to the earlier books, which is a good thing - I sometimes find authors get lazy and either repeat or copy stories from various places. This was original.
However, I felt like Plum found herself constricted in what she could do and it therefore resulted in the rejection of a lot of key characters - or rather characters I thought were key and I enjoyed reading.
Continuing on from my point above, I was distraught to find that pretty much all of the characters I particularly enjoyed reading weren't included as much as I'd hoped for various reasons. I can understand how taking Jules out of the picture fitted with the story, but I felt like his character was needed to stop the main relationship from becoming over-done and as another sub-plot.
(If you've read the book, you'll know what I mean when I say I'm very disappointed that element of the books was left completely untied and open. (But I also don't want a follow-up book to resolve it, because I think Plum's run out of plot lines.))
Kate's character has developed a lot through being the protagonist, but I feel like she could have stood up for herself a little more in this book. In Until I Die she was kiss-ass, and although she is in this too, I feel like we didn't see the sarky, demanding side of her until right at the very end. Unfortunately,
Vincent no longer seems that real to me. There is a part, around the middle/two thirds of the way through, where he loses his temper and we see a different side of him. But apart from that, his character doesn't have an awful lot of depth. He would be the perfect boyfriend - I grant that. But I tend to prefer real to perfect.
I am very glad that realism was used and not everyone survived the entire book. I hate it when authors keep all their characters alive - I admire and much prefer books that take risks and end up killing large characters off in order to create a reaction from the reader. It shows maturity, and also demonstrates how Amy Plum has matured as a writer, since I highly doubt she would have taken such a risk in earlier books.
Finally, the plot. The plot was good. Like I said earlier, I felt like Plum was constricted to what she could do because of particular people not being involved. There are also several things I would have preferred to be elaborated on and there are elements of the story I would have liked to be resolved or explained. Having said that, I was impressed at the amount of twists and turns the plot went down. There weren't many parts that were unexpected, but a there's definitely a lot more freedom in the character's stories and their characters, which partly made up for the lack of quality people.
And the final battle met my standards of action requirement. Which - note - are high. (I read a lot of action/thrillers.)
The Die for Me series is one of those series' you have to read in order to understand what's going on and to not ruin the plot. So, if you like the sound of this - I have to admit I've made it seem like I didn't enjoy this book. I did. I enjoyed it a lot. I just got a bit enthusiastic here explaining why I preferred the others - then go check out Die for Me by Amy Plum.
Recommended to anyone who enjoys romance - mainly - but also fantasy and (as I was pleased to see) action. Read the first novels first, but you should check them out if you want an easy read with likeable characters.
Image Source: http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ijSLaASNUZM/UIloJtJk05I/AAAAAAAAMBA/
A5eyhK8Kv4o/s1600/If+I+Should+Die+-+Amy+Plum.jpg
Despite the fact that I didn't enjoy it quite as much as the second (and first) book in the trilogy, this was a good ending to the Die for Me sequence. And it's obvious to see the skills Amy Plum has picked up through her growing experience of novel writing.
If I Should Die follows directly on from Until I Die (the previous episode in the series) and details how Kate must complete the task of bringing the one she loves back to her. After the dramatic (and quite frankly, impressive) choice of ending for the last book, a great deal has been built on top of the plot line to create the deeper and more thrilling end to Kate and Vincent's story.
Looking back at the first book, the writing has improved an astonishing amount. I've never found Plum's writing at all challenging or overly engaging since the writing style is reasonably simple and the techniques standard.
Yet, in this book Amy Plum has progressed so much from her early works, and I found the text a lot more engaging and interesting to read, as well as the actual story.
Like I first said, I didn't enjoy it as much as the second and first books. This was mainly to do with storyline. Due to the direction the story took, it was very hard to create a story that was similar to the earlier books, which is a good thing - I sometimes find authors get lazy and either repeat or copy stories from various places. This was original.
However, I felt like Plum found herself constricted in what she could do and it therefore resulted in the rejection of a lot of key characters - or rather characters I thought were key and I enjoyed reading.
Continuing on from my point above, I was distraught to find that pretty much all of the characters I particularly enjoyed reading weren't included as much as I'd hoped for various reasons. I can understand how taking Jules out of the picture fitted with the story, but I felt like his character was needed to stop the main relationship from becoming over-done and as another sub-plot.
(If you've read the book, you'll know what I mean when I say I'm very disappointed that element of the books was left completely untied and open. (But I also don't want a follow-up book to resolve it, because I think Plum's run out of plot lines.))
Kate's character has developed a lot through being the protagonist, but I feel like she could have stood up for herself a little more in this book. In Until I Die she was kiss-ass, and although she is in this too, I feel like we didn't see the sarky, demanding side of her until right at the very end. Unfortunately,
Vincent no longer seems that real to me. There is a part, around the middle/two thirds of the way through, where he loses his temper and we see a different side of him. But apart from that, his character doesn't have an awful lot of depth. He would be the perfect boyfriend - I grant that. But I tend to prefer real to perfect.
I am very glad that realism was used and not everyone survived the entire book. I hate it when authors keep all their characters alive - I admire and much prefer books that take risks and end up killing large characters off in order to create a reaction from the reader. It shows maturity, and also demonstrates how Amy Plum has matured as a writer, since I highly doubt she would have taken such a risk in earlier books.
Finally, the plot. The plot was good. Like I said earlier, I felt like Plum was constricted to what she could do because of particular people not being involved. There are also several things I would have preferred to be elaborated on and there are elements of the story I would have liked to be resolved or explained. Having said that, I was impressed at the amount of twists and turns the plot went down. There weren't many parts that were unexpected, but a there's definitely a lot more freedom in the character's stories and their characters, which partly made up for the lack of quality people.
And the final battle met my standards of action requirement. Which - note - are high. (I read a lot of action/thrillers.)
The Die for Me series is one of those series' you have to read in order to understand what's going on and to not ruin the plot. So, if you like the sound of this - I have to admit I've made it seem like I didn't enjoy this book. I did. I enjoyed it a lot. I just got a bit enthusiastic here explaining why I preferred the others - then go check out Die for Me by Amy Plum.
Recommended to anyone who enjoys romance - mainly - but also fantasy and (as I was pleased to see) action. Read the first novels first, but you should check them out if you want an easy read with likeable characters.
Image Source: http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ijSLaASNUZM/UIloJtJk05I/AAAAAAAAMBA/
A5eyhK8Kv4o/s1600/If+I+Should+Die+-+Amy+Plum.jpg
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