Description (Goodreads):- On the morning of her sixteenth birthday, Renée Winters was still an ordinary girl. She spent her summers at the beach, had the perfect best friend, and had just started dating the cutest guy at school. No one she’d ever known had died. But all that changes when she finds her parents dead in the Redwood Forest, in what appears to be a strange double murder.
After the funeral Renée’s wealthy grandfather sends her to Gottfried Academy, a remote and mysterious boarding school in Maine, where she finds herself studying subjects like Philosophy, Latin, and the “Crude Sciences.”
It’s there that she meets Dante Berlin, a handsome and elusive boy to whom she feels inexplicably drawn. As they grow closer, unexplainable things begin to happen, but Renée can’t stop herself from falling in love. It’s only when she discovers a dark tragedy in Gottfried’s past that she begins to wonder if the Academy is everything it seems.
Little does she know, Dante is the one hiding a dangerous secret, one that has him fearing for her life.
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.
Review:- I was very excited about this book when I read about it and when I received it, it looked great and sounded great, however when I started it I wasn’t as taken by it. It was quite slow to get into the book and I found it quite similar to Twilight to begin with. The girls sees hot boy, likes hot boy but boy stays away from girl and is quite rude without telling girl why. But there is obviously chemistry between them.
However, once the book got into the school a bit more the story took off, there were up and down, twists and turns and lots of curve balls were thrown. Yvonne created amazing imagery, the school Renée goes to sounds amazing and the classes very unusual and interesting. It is an original take on a paranormal story. There is a lot of mythology and you have to pick up clues as you go along. The book will keep you guessing on what type of power/being Dante and Renée are. You find out the same time Renée does.
You get pulled into the mystery behind the school and the Gottfried curse. Similar deaths to her parents, Renée sets out to find out what happens. I was enthralled by Dante and Renée by the end of the book. They did have chemistry but it didn’t wow me. They were great together and I loved their love for each other. The ending, wow the ending. I was in tears. I won’t spoil it but make sure you have plenty of tissues handy. I cannot wait for book two.
I would recommend this to all young adult paranormal and paranormal romance fans. Once you get passed the slow start, you are in for an exciting and romantic ride.
Disclaimer:- I was sent this book by Usborne Publishing in exchange for an honest review which I have given above.
This post is protected under copyright. SusankMann 2009 – 2014