If I Should Die

Written by Amy Plum

Narrated by Julia Whelan

If I Should Die delivers a stunning, deeply satisfying conclusion to the international bestselling Die for Me series by Amy Plum. VOYA raved, "There is plenty of romance, danger, and unpredictable turns against a backdrop of Paris. Those looking for something beyond the Twilight series will enjoy these fast reads about immortals."

Kate is devastated. Her boyfriend, Vincent, is a revenant who has waited lifetimes to find her. But once he did their future together was shattered almost immediately. They were betrayed by a trusted ally who killed Vincent and destroyed his body so that he could not be reanimated. Now Vincent is doomed to roam the earth as a spirit. But Kate isn't willing to accept life without her true love. She'll risk anything to save him, even as their friend-turned-enemy begins to wage a war to rule over France's immortals.

Amy Plum created an intricate, original mythology for this young adult paranormal series. The books, set in the City of Lights, introduce readers to revenants, undead beings who must sacrifice themselves again and again to save the lives of strangers.

This paperback edition also includes a never-before-seen epilogue, a Q&A with the author, the official If I Should Die playlist, discussion questions, a preview of Amy Plum's next novel, and more!

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperCollins
• Release date: May 7, 2013
• ISBN: 9780062279460

Amy Plum

Amy Plum is the international bestselling author of the Dreamfall series, the Die for Me series, and the After the End series. She spent her childhood in Birmingham, Alabama, her twenties in Chicago and Paris, and several more years in London, New York, and the Loire Valley. Now she lives in Paris and swears she’ll never move again. You can visit Amy online at www.amyplumbooks.com.

Reviews for If I Should Die

[Bridget McCullough · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

The main character is so God awfully unaware of the obvious, it drove me insane. When she finally put it all together I was literally screaming at her out loud. The writer makes it so obvious what is going on and the character is just completely oblivious.

[eomalley_2 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

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.**********************Digging Into the Details: Picking right up from the massive cliffhanger of Until I Die, If I Should Die has Kate 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.

[tjsjohanna_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This was a satisfying conclusion to the series. My only complaint about the story as a whole is that things have a way of working out just a little too easily. Hence the description of fantasy, I guess. Still, a fun read.

[elysianfield_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

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 deny that this was little too predictable at times.

[mrsdanaalbasha · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

[Wednesday, October 9, 2013] The Parisian Revenants have been betrayed by their trusted ally, Violette. Now Vincent is dead and Violette has destroyed his body so that he cannot reanimated. Refusing to give up on her lover, Kate searches for a way to reincarnate him in time to prevent an all-out war between the Bardia and the Numa.

I had many assumptions before reading the final book in the revenants series... and I had hopes as well. I am glad to say that all my assumptions were true... but even as they happened as they should, I felt sad.

Kate's death and turning into a revenant reminded me of Bella turning into a vampire. It's just sad to be undead. To never grow. To never be anything else than what you were made to be.

I don't know. I'm sure everyone thought it was a happy ending... but to me, I felt it's a sad ending, with so much blood and lose.

Somewhere around the middle, I wish Vincent with dimension and maybe Kate could be with Jules or even a normal human.

But all in all, it was a great book, a great series, that I'm sure I will reread again. A must read really for lovers of romance, Paris, life and the afterlife.

The world Amy has created was so beautiful with all it's laws and creatures. It makes me hoping for a contentions series for the champion and other places like New York and Germany... though I prefer Paris... always :) Salute!

[annesanse · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I really enjoyed this third book in the Revenant series. Although it definitely was a tad predictable, I just really enjoyed the story. I love the world Amy Plum has created for these characters! I love the idea of Paris and like the whole story behind the Revenant.Like I mentioned earlier, I can handle a little bit of predictability. When you read A LOT, things tend to look similar, and stories can't help but be easier to figure out. However, what I don't really like is when things are just too convenient for the characters. Not that I'm saying that nothing bad happens or anything, just that no matter how strange or unique the problem they're facing is, there is always a perfect solution. Also, there was one situation where I just do not believe that a character would do what they did. (And if they hadn't, the problems wouldn't have been fixed so easily.) As I said, I really did enjoy this book. I'm guessing it's the last in the series (could be wrong) and think it was a good way to end the story. I listened to the audio version of this series and highly recommend them! Being able to hear the accents is so much better. :)

[emmyson · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I love, love, love this series! Definitely a favorite.

[marandaray · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This was another rollercoaster ride of emotions, with a nice catharsis that left me all warm and fuzzy. I can not say I enjoyed the end too much because of the slight cheese of continued vilgilance and struggle that is implied, but otherwise it was beautifully done.A new favorite quote of mine is what Vincent tells Kate"My Kate, who was mine, who is no longer mine,becuse she belongs to fate" gives me chilles every time. especially when I read it in French!

[lexiechan-1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

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 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.

[meradeth · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

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 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!

[neysakristanti-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

"Am I okay? Will I ever feel normal again?"—KateThe first time I've seen this book, I have to admit that I'm not the biggest fan of its cover. The heart-shaped swirl was so goddamn cheesy, and I think it's not really good compared to the first two book. But hell, Amy Plum had made me really curious about the continuation of Kate and Vincent's story I could care less for the cover.If I Should Die begin with Kate as she sat on the river, talking to the volant Vincent, who was minutes from being burned. Desperate to not lose the boy she loved, Kate once again seek help from Bran, the guérisseur who claimed that there was a way to re-animate Vincent's lost body. But when life was lost and the stake became higher, would Kate choose her love, or the survival of the entire Paris?From the plot and the story pacing, this book was really great for me. It started with a conflict, and was really gripping right from the very beginning. The stake was also high and the situation was very dire, and it really helped us to root for Kate.Honestly, when I read this book, I had quite forgotten about who is who and only remember the story in general. But reading the beginning, Amy Plum had neatly summarize what had happened in the previous book on the narration in such a smooth way it didn't feel like an info dump, yet I had no trouble understanding it.One thing I noticed—and loved—from reading this book was its character development. On the first two book, I actually didn't really like Amy Plum's characters and the interesting plot was all that made me keep on reading. In If I Should Die, however, they all showed quite a nice development, especially Kate and Vincent.Kate Mercier, our main character, was shown as a tougher, braver girl than she was previously. And even though she didn't really possessed physical strength, I love that she wouldn't just stand still and act helpless, but rather use her brain to turn the situation somehow. Sure, badass heroine who can jump into action was lovely, but a smart and rational girl was also great to read. I also love that in If I Should Die, Kate's parents—or in her case, grandparents—were not absent, like they usually do in so so many YA novels, but rather played a huge part in making the decisions of Kate's life. It really added a realistic and believable feeling, and also unconsciously, it also helped enhancing the story.Vincent Delacroix, Kate's lover as well as our other main character, in my opinion, was the one who undergo the major characteristic development on this book. I didn't really like him before, because he was just really oh-so-handsome-and-perfectly-ideal and not flawed at all, which made him simply unbelievable. But as the story progress, we actually get to see his soft and human side, that he could cry and feel fear and be threatened as well, while still maintaining his trademark cool demeanor. And I think it really helped on making him more believable and likable.The side character however, such as Jules, Georgia, and Charlotte, were all a little bit flat and two dimensional. They didn't really have any specific characteristic that felt truly 'them', and it kinda hard to connect and relate with them. Some side characters that were memorable and unique enough for me, though, was Ambrose with his trademark funny and easygoing personality. He's always the one with strong characteristic, and he was really believable I could picture him having another life outside the plot.One think I'm not quite fond of this book was Violette, a bardia who changed side and became the numa's leader, becoming Kate and Vincent's main enemy. As our main antagonist and traitor, she was not really brilliant and three-dimensional enough. I mean, I could totally understand her motives for hunting the Champion, but why so obsessed with it if your desire was only to control the numa? If only her desire was backed up with some kind of personal grudge or whatever, I think it would added the realistic feeling—which, in this case, was a bit lacking.Overall, if you've read and loved the first two books of this series, I assure you'll enjoy this one. It has a perfect tension-building, and the characters were getting better than before. If you enjoy reading urban-fantasy and swoony romance, this book might be just what you've been looking for.

[krau0098 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This is the final book in the Revenants Trilogy. It was did an excellent job of wrapping up things nicely. I love how we are finally seeing Kate step up and take action. The book starts exactly where the last book left off (at that horrible cliffhanger!). Kate is determined to find a way to save Vincent even though his fate seems sealed. Meanwhile Violette is gathering more and more numa in Paris in preparation for a final war with the good Revenants.The majority of the story is spent with Kate and company trying to find a way to save Vincent’s soul somehow. This was actually really interesting and I enjoyed the crazy magic Bran performed and how everything worked out. However this led to the whole epic battle between the good and bad Revenants being incredibly rushed, I mean seriously the main portion of the battle happens in 20 pages or something like that. So, that was a bit disappointing. There was a lot that happened in the last little bit of the book and it happened so fast that I was like...woah...seriously rushed here.Kate is an excellent character. She continues to give off a “girl-next-door” type of vibe but she has also become more confident and seems to have found her purpose. Her relationship with Vincent is still a bit too lovey dovey for me. People who are huge fans of Kate/Vincent scenes might be a bit disappointed because they don’t get a ton of page space together...there is just too much else going on.The main storyline was resolved well. It is pretty darn predictable, but there are a couple small twists and turns I didn’t see coming. I was hoping for some big surprises but there really weren’t any. That being said it was still a very engaging story. There was more mystery solving in this book as Kate and crew tried to hunt down a way to help Vincent and less action.Although the main storyline was resolved there were a number of side characters with unresolved issues. The main one of these is Jules. He disappears for large portions of the story and seems to have things going on that we never get to hear about. I predict a offshoot of this series featuring Jules sometime in the future.Overall this was a great conclusion to the series. It was entertaining and well written. I enjoyed the mystery behind trying to save Vincent and enjoyed the strong and capable girl Kate has become. I can’t say much else without spoilers, so I won’t. The story was a bit predictable though and the ending did feel pretty rushed. Still, overall I thought this was a creative series and I enjoyed it so I will definitely read more of Amy Plum’s works in the future. This is recommended to fans of YA paranormal books.

[usagijihen · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

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 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)