Until I Die - Amy Plum

Okay, normally I'm not a huge fan of Paranormal Romance and I get very annoyed if the whole story just becomes about the romance rather than the supernatural element. Thankfully, Amy Plum has managed not to do that: certainly the story does focus around the romance, but the supernatural is by no means lost amidst all the fluffiness.
I originally picked up the first of this trilogy, Die For Me, a year ago when I was short of things to read. I thought it would be interesting but not necessarily my cup of tea. How wrong I was. It seemed to tick all my boxes while still being mainly a romance: there was action, there was mystery, danger, a wondefully constructed romance (obviously), fun characters, witty exchanges - the lot. Overall I wouldn't say I was completely overwhelmed by it, but I certainly enjoyed reading it and was eager for the next installment.

Sadly, despite an awful lot of searching, I didn't manage to find a copy of Until I Die until nearly two months after it was released (which lost me the chance to win a signed bookplate). My heart nearly leapt out of my chest when I finally spotted a copy, standing on a shelf in Smiths next to Die For Me. Needless to say, I grabbed it before any other pesky reader could. Within half a hour I'd found a cafe and started reading.
The stakes had definitely been upped in this book and you got quite a few shocks as you went along. I started off fairly certain that the book would go in one direction, but then it veered off in a completely different one. The characters are just as I remembered from the previous book, exactly how I liked them, and I got to hear new stories from some of them while I learned about the new characters as well. The new characters were intriguing and - until a certain twist - you grow to love them (or dislike them) along with the protagonist.
Kate, the main character, is still a normal girl that you can relate to, but she is slowly but surely coming into herself and you can see the kick-ass heroine beginning to emerge. Vincent is as charming as ever and I really wish he was real at times. Jules and Ambrose are ever the flirts, and Jules is still being wonderful by keeping tight-lipped about his feelings for Kate.
The book ends on a massive cliff-hanger that left me gasping for more, but sadly I'm going to have to wait until May next year to get my answers. It's clearly setting up for the sequel, leaving plenty of questions, but is still a fantastic book in its own right.
Thank you, Amy. I can't wait for If I Should Die.