Dead Beautiful (Dead Beautiful #1) by Yvonne Woon
Format: Paperback
Publisher: Usborne
Published: 1st May 2011
Pages: 505
Main Characters: Renee, Dante
Date Started: 6th May 2012
Date Finished: 12th May 2012
Rating Given: ****
Blurb from Goodreads:
After Renee Winters discovers her parents lying dead in California’s Redwood Forest in what appears to be a strange double murder, her grandfather sends her off to Gottfried Academy in Maine, a remote and mysterious high school dedicated to philosophy, “crude sciences,” and Latin: the Language of the Dead. It’s here she meets Dante, a dark and elusive student to whom she feels inexplicably drawn.
As they get to know each other better, Dante can’t seem to control his attraction either, and their desires gradually deepen into a complex and dangerous romance. Dangerous because Dante is hiding a frightening secret. A secret so terrible, it has him fearing for Renee’s life.
Dante’s not the only one with secrets, though. Turns out Gottfried Academy has a few of its own... Like, how come students keep disappearing? Why are the prefect-like Monitors creeping around campus during the night? And what exactly are the Headmistress and Professors really up to? Renee is determined to find out why.
Dead Beautiful is both a compelling romance and thought-provoking read, bringing shocking new meaning to life, death, love, and the nature of the soul.
I had been after this book for such a long time that the more I was left waiting the more I wanted to read it and finally at Christmas I was given it but it has taken me awhile to actually read it but now that I have read it I loved it just as much as what I thought I would have. I am also kind of glad that I have left it for a while as now the second book is out so I should be able to remember what has happened.
The cover I am not too sure about as it's not the best cover that I have seen but I do like the way that it has a eerie look about it which I think ties into the eerie feel of the actual story. I like the way that it has that particular tag line on top of the cover as that really did capture my interest and kind of gives you a clue to what you would expect from the book. Every chapter had a few moths around the top part which I really did love the way that it looked. What I didn't like about the chapters was how long that they where as I prefer short chapters as I feel like I can read the book quicker whereas with this book felt like it took a bit too long to read but I can forgive this book because the story was interesting enough to make me continue through the chapters and also there was little gaps between each chapter where I could stop if needed.
I loved the way that something big happened in the first chapter as it made me intrigued to what was going to happen to the character next. Although it did slow down after the first chapter and did take a little while to get going again. I did find it a very interesting book that was full of mystery but I do wish that we found out what was happening sooner. I am looking forward to the next book as the build of this one was great and left me wanting more. There was bits of what was happening that reminded me of Twilight so I was expecting something different to what we actually got which I am glad about as then it made it different to the other books that I have read and I am sure it will get more unique as the story continues.
The characters was likable enough but I just wanted them with a bit more fire in their bellies. Renee was an interesting character as you just know that there is something different about her and the same goes for Dante. She was a bit too obsessed with Dante for my liking but by the end I got the obsession so I didn't mind what she was like at the beginning. Apart from that flaw she did seem like a strong person that has gone through a great ordeal and I have a feeling that it isn't going to stop there. Dante was very mysterious for the most of the book and didn't get the attraction to him straight away but by the end I did find him a sweet guy. There was a couple of other side characters that seemed really nice but I was expecting them to be not as nice as they seemed so I could never truly like them.
Overall a great start to a story that I think will just get better and better and I can't wait to find out more!
