IF I SHOULD DIE by Amy Plum

If I Should Die
Amy Plum

Rating: B
Synopsis:
I will not lose another person I love. I will not let history repeat itself.

Vincent waited lifetimes to find me, but in an instant our future together was shattered. He was betrayed by someone we both called a friend, and I lost him. Now our enemy is determined to rule over France’s immortals, and willing to wage a war to get what they want.

It shouldn’t be possible, none of it should be, but this is my reality. I know Vincent is somewhere out there, I know he’s not completely gone, and I will do anything to save him.

After what we’ve already fought to achieve, a life without Vincent is unimaginable. He once swore to avoid dying—to go against his nature and forsake sacrificing himself for others—so that we could be together. How can I not risk everything to bring my love back to me?

My thoughts on the book:
If I Should Die did not live up to the super high standards I had in place for it, but it was still good. The whole novel just seemed a bit anticlimactic to me, especially after the ending of the second book. The ending itself was satisfying, if convenient, and there wasn't much character development throughout the course of this installment. The plot was intense, but I just couldn't make myself feel that sense of urgency that the past two books had. This is a hard review for me to write because I'm just not sure how I felt about If I Should Die.

Kate doesn't really evolve at all in this novel. She's still the same rash, irrational, stubborn girl that she was in the previous installments. I like Kate because she fights for what she believes in, but the girl needs to learn to control her emotions some and not make such idiotic decisions. Kate is smart, though, and I love that about her. She's also cultured and a researcher. There is more I like about her than not. Vincent is as sickeningly sweet as ever. I like his character, too, but I wish he had at least a bit of a dark side that we could SEE. Kate seems to have blinders on when it comes to him, and that annoys me a bit. I like my heroes to be a bit rougher around the edges than he is. Georgia is still annoying and childish. Mamie and Papy actually do grow some, and I enjoyed getting to know them better. There are a few surprising revelations with some of the secondary characters as well, but I don't want to spoil anything for anyone, so I'm going to leave that alone.

As previously stated, the plot is intense, but I couldn't make myself feel a sense of urgency. Many of the occurrences were much too convenient, and it was blatantly obvious that Plum was manipulating the story to her liking. I don't like when I can see an author's manipulations. The characters are supposed to have trial after trial after trial, not one trial that works out neatly without any mess. One of the glaringly obvious moments is when Kate is looking for something in the dark and the moonlight JUST SO HAPPENS to shine on her necklace and reflect on what she is looking for. Seriously? At least have her feel around and search until she finds it. That'd be more realistic. There are a few moments like that in the book, and those moments pulled me completely out of the story. Regardless, I couldn't put the book down, and I had to know what happened next. I never felt bored. I was invested in the story, even though I wasn't necessarily on the edge of my seat the entire time. In the end, everything wraps up nicely and neatly, and I would have liked a little more mess there, too. However, the ending was satisfying, and I don't feel like the author neglected to complete anyone's story. 

Overall, I'd recommend this book to fans of the series and this series to anyone who wants a less gruesome spin on zombie tales. These zombies are hot, and the world Plum has created is pretty awesome and definitely unique. The first two books in this trilogy are unbelievably amazing, and this one is pretty good as well. 

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