Dead Beautiful (Dead Beautiful)

by Yvonne Woon

At Gottfried Academy, just one kiss will take your breath away. Desire. Danger. Destiny. Little did I know that this is what I would find at Gottfried Academy. Coming from sunny California, the mist-shrouded Academy was a shock, with its strange customs, ancient curriculum and study of Latin - the language of the dead. Then I discovered that the school has more than one dark secret...I also discovered Dante. Intelligent, elusive and devastatingly gorgeous, most people can't decide whether they love, hate or fear him. All I know is that when we're together, I've never felt more alive - or more afraid.

• ISBN10: 1409530248
• ISBN13: 9781409530244
• Publish Date: 1 May 2011 (first published 21 September 2010)
• Publish Status: Out of Print
• Out of Print: 21 July 2021
• Publish Country: GB
• Imprint: Usborne Publishing Ltd
• Format: Paperback (B-Format (198x129 mm))
• Pages: 512
• Language: English

Reviews

[Linda]

*I received a free ARC of Dead Beautiful from Disney-Hyperion via Netgalley in exchange of an honest review*

Dead Beautiful is pretty much a predictable YA story, where not that many things happens. I was not drawn in neither by the characters nor the story.

This and all my other reviews are originally posted on my blog (un)Conventional Bookviews

[tweetybugshouse]

Wow! This book has a stunning cover. The main reason I requested it from Netgalley was the story summary had me very intrigued. The entire time, I kept guessing what was going to happen next and what really was going on with the mysterious Dante. Boy, was I in for a shock when he was not what I had guessed! With all the hints and clues, it totally did not prepare me! It almost made me laugh out loud as to what my husband would think of this kind of “Zombie” story.

I loved how I created my own ideas about what was really going on, and then was totally thrown for a loop when I was “like I totally know the answer” but I really didn’t. I am excited to read the next book in the series.

[KitsuneBae]

This review first appeared on my blog at: Thoughts and Pens

Okay, you may want to scoff at me if I tell you that I only picked up Dead Beautiful from NG because it was free and I’ve seen it on almost every bloggers’ STS posts. Hahahaha. And I don’t even know what it’s all about since the synopsis is really vague. So you can say that I went into it blindly and without any expectations. And after reading it, I have to CONGRATULATE myself big time because I’ve just read my first zombie book. Bwahahahaha.

So what can I say about my experience with Dead Beautiful? Well, I can’t deny that it was really slow. Half of the book was dedicated to giving us an elaborate walkthrough of Renee’s life before going to Maine and after she got enrolled in Gottfried Academy. And there’s also a very detailed narration of her day to day life as a new student of the school. However, I was surprised that the story managed to engage me until the end. I love Renee’s voice. I love how she told the whole story that never for once I lost my patience reading Dead Beautiful. I even found myself enjoying attending their strange lessons.

Aside from Renee, the other characters are also adorable and they managed to absorb my attention all throughout the story. The only thing that infuriated me was that Renee sometimes loses herself when she’s obsessing over Dante. But still, she’s generally a likable person most of the time.

I must tell you though that the greatest asset of Dead Beautiful was its plot. As I’ve mentioned, I never had an idea that it’s a zombie book and I only got an inkling after reading 60-75% of story. The mystery was gradually revealed building tension as the story advanced. And when everything has unfolded, I was creeped out and at the same time, sad… sad for Renee and Dante. The romance was also nicely crafted and never became overbearing. But I have a suspicion that it’s going to be the major plot driver for books 2 and 3.

Though the mysterious events mostly occurred in Gottfried Academy, I think it’s the perfect setting for the story to unfold. It’s just like Harry Potter where the most exciting things happen inside the school.

Though I enjoyed Dead Beautiful a lot, I have two regrets about it. One is that, it doesn’t have a lot of gore. Hahaha. I mean, it’s a zombie book, right? Things should be extremely bloody and gross. And second, there aren’t a lot of action scenes to make me pant. Am I right to assume that zombie books should have a lot of adrenaline pumping scenes?

Overall, despite my unfulfilled assumptions for Dead Beautiful, it was undeniably an engaging read. It was creepy, mysterious and heartbreaking. As my first zombie book, Dead Beautiful manage to deliver and made me decide to start picking up a lot of zombie stories in the near future. And it’s one series I would certainly follow until the last instalment. I hope books 2 and 3 will be able to maintain the goodness of Dead Beautiful or exceed expectations.

What about you? What was your first zombie read?

***I received a free e-copy of this book from Disney-Hypersion via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you***

[Kim Deister]

Dead Beautiful is the first of a new series by the same name, a YA novel that centers around the undead.  Not zombies, not vampires, but the Undead.  Having had my fill of vampires for the moment and wondering what being Undead entailed, I was interested!

Renee has lost both of her parents in a mysterious death and is shipped off to live with her grandfather, a man who seems cold and elusive and someone she doesn't even really know.  He ships her off to a very Gothic and exclusive, and mysterious, private boarding school... Gottfried Academy.  This is where Renee meets Dante and the attraction and the mystery and the intrigue begins.
Dante was a great character, but I didn't initially get that Book Boyfriend feel for him, that I wished real guys were like him.  Over the course of the story, though, he grew on me.  For the most part, I enjoyed Renee, although there were times where she came off as so rude and so obnoxious that it was hard to care about her.  

I loved the story and its premise, but there were aspects to it that seemed very "YA paranormal romance" cliché to me which kept me from giving it a full 4 mugs.  It got a little too simpering and sappy for me at points.  There was definitely a bit of the Twilight goes to Hogwarts feel to it.  Although I am a Potterhead, it is a whole different beast when in the context of Harry Potter.  Despite these things, I enjoyed the story enough that I want to read the next in the series, Life Eternal.

Things to love about Dead Beautiful...

   --The Undead versus Zombies.  I have a questionable relationship with zombie fiction... some I love, some I hate, some just creeps me out.  While there are definite zombie aspects to this, it is clearly pointed out that the Undead are not zombies.  

Things I wanted more of...

   --Well-rounded, likable characters.  I wanted Dante to be a bit warmer (ironic, I know) and Renee to be a little more compassionate.

My recommendation:  A good read, but one that I hope is improved upon in the next book,  My rating:  3.5 mugs

[wyvernfriend]

The book starts with our heroine, Renee, finding her dead parents, which leads to her grandfather sending her to a boarding school where the subjects are strange and some of the pupils are stranger. She falls in love but the path to true love doesn't run smooth.

There were times that this story worked for me but there were also times that I just didn't connect well with it. It just didn't resonate well with me and I didn't feel that the characters actually behaved in any real way. Quite readable but puddle deep. It's a bit like a cross between Harry Potter and Twilight with some of the serial numbers rubbed off. The author shows promise and I would be tempted to read her again.

[Jo]

When I first heard about Dead Beautiful, I was really intrigued. Urban fantasy, as most of you know, is one of my favourite genres, and Dead Beautiful sounded right up my street. I was eager to read read it. What I didn' t expect was just how brilliant the story would be.

What I loved about this book was the skill at how Yvonne Woon told Renée's story, how the mythology is such an original take, we don't find out - and find it very difficult to work out - what is actually going on until Renée does. Literally, things will happen, new clues will arise, people will behave strangely, but there's nothing to make you think "this is about such and such a creature, hence all the XYZ things that are going on". I had no idea. There were no conventions of the normal urban fantasy/paranormal creatures about to have any hint. I was kept guessing until we find out. And what's brilliant is that we don't find out until several hundred pages in, yet there is still so much story, so much happening, you're gripped and continually turning the pages, despite having no clue where it could possibly be going. It's fantastic!

The only faults were I didn't have a lit-crush on Dante - I liked him, but he just simply didn't do it for me - and the romance didn't blow me away. It was a little luke warm for my tastes. It wasbelievable, but I didn't connect with it on an emotional level to be swept away by it. I was more interested in what was oing on than I was in the swooning, but that's just me personally.

And I'm sorry to say, I honestly cannot say much more. I can't think of what I could say without spoiling anything. I do love the school though, and all the classes, they sound so much fun! I wouldn't have minded going to a school like that. A fantastic book, and I seriously cannot wait to read the sequel!

From Once Upon a Bookcase - YA book blog