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kaitmary 's review for:
If I Should Die
by Amy Plum
This book was a hard one to rate. There are parts I'd give a 5 and parts I'd give a 2. The story is great and thrilling at points, but the main problem is that Amy Plum doesn't like to flesh things out. There are a lot of points at which something that should be a major moment is brushed over quickly and it felt like a major disappointment. Surprisingly, it's usually the gooey, heartfelt moments than the other books portray so spectacularly that are skimped out in this one.
The characters' consistency threw me off in this book. Mamie and Papy, for example, were supposed to come off as conflicted, but came off as really lousy family members instead. Kate is allowing herself to connect back to the person she was before Paris and talks about being healed, but we never see that new perspective in action. Charlotte decides to "get over" her problems and just DOES, suddenly becoming a badass. There's a new character, Louis, who has a really unique role that is NEVER fully explained or resolved.
And the Jules thing? Let me say that I'm glad it's NOT a love triangle situation, but I really don't think there's grounds for his big revelation because he and Kate barely develop as friends. Also, leaving his friends on the brink of war, then showing up in the middle of the war, then IMMEDIATELY leaving without saying a word to anyone because you're too caught up in your own emotions is just plain stupid. Poor character development there.
One character related upside: Charles' return with his crunchy punk clan from Berlin. Those characters totally made me smile. Such a plus!
On the whole, the plot is predictable. What's going to happen to Vincent is not a hard guess. It's very easy to guess who The Champion is. We know things are going to come to a head against the numa. In between moments, like discovering more about the revenant history and the guessieurs were the more interesting moments.
I wish more time had been spent discussing the post-battle fate of the kindred, but the book was good overall.
The characters' consistency threw me off in this book. Mamie and Papy, for example, were supposed to come off as conflicted, but came off as really lousy family members instead. Kate is allowing herself to connect back to the person she was before Paris and talks about being healed, but we never see that new perspective in action. Charlotte decides to "get over" her problems and just DOES, suddenly becoming a badass. There's a new character, Louis, who has a really unique role that is NEVER fully explained or resolved.
And the Jules thing? Let me say that I'm glad it's NOT a love triangle situation, but I really don't think there's grounds for his big revelation because he and Kate barely develop as friends. Also, leaving his friends on the brink of war, then showing up in the middle of the war, then IMMEDIATELY leaving without saying a word to anyone because you're too caught up in your own emotions is just plain stupid. Poor character development there.
One character related upside: Charles' return with his crunchy punk clan from Berlin. Those characters totally made me smile. Such a plus!
On the whole, the plot is predictable. What's going to happen to Vincent is not a hard guess. It's very easy to guess who The Champion is. We know things are going to come to a head against the numa. In between moments, like discovering more about the revenant history and the guessieurs were the more interesting moments.
I wish more time had been spent discussing the post-battle fate of the kindred, but the book was good overall.