Aug092011

GUEST REVIEW: ‘Dead Beautiful’ by Yvonne Woon

by Guest Reviewer • Posted in 2 Star Reviews

Title: Dead Beautiful (Dead Beautiful #1)

Author: Yvonne Woon

Publisher: Usborne (UK) | Hyperion (US)

Publication Date: May 2011 (UK) | Aug 2011 (US)

Paperback: 512 pages

Genre: Paranormal

Young Adult

Source: Review copy from publisher

Guest Review by Dot

Dot Scribbles | @Dot_Scribbles

RATING: 4/10

SUMMARY:

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 it’s 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.

REVIEW:

I’ve got really mixed feeling about this book. I really enjoyed the ideas behind it and I loved Gottfried Academy plus the characters of Renee and Dante were great but their relationship was a little too close to Twilight for my liking. The initial encounter with each other felt just like the one between Bella and Edward. There’s nothing wrong with that scene in Twilight but I think that it detracts from the story in this instance as rather than being carried away by the scene, I felt as though I was comparing them.

“Dead Beautiful” is a paranormal romance but in some ways it is not as predictable as some that I have read. We know from the very start that Renee and Dante share some kind of power but we are kept guessing as to exactly what it is. The reader finds out things just as Renee does and I think this keeps you turning the pages.

Gottfried Academy was probably my favourite part of the book. It is like a more grown up version of Hogwarts and full of mystery and secrets.

VERDICT:

I don’t want to spoil this book for any that haven’t read it and I did enjoy it on the whole; I just thought that it could have done without the Twilight similarities. I’m sure there will be more books to follow this one which is Yvonne Woo’s debut. I will certainly check them out, just so I can find out what happens next in the mysterious world of Gottfried Academy.