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Dead Beautiful

(Dead Beautiful #1)

Yvonne Woon (Goodreads Author)

3.95 · Rating details · 12,317 ratings · 1,365 reviews

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 funera ...more

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Hardcover, 464 pages

Published September 21st 2010 by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers

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Jun 28, 2011 DayDreamer rated it did not like it

Vain. Vain. Vain.

Seriously, does character depth not exist in teen books anymore?

For one, I hated how the author kept starting with the word "Startled" and other words, such as:

"Slowly, I..."
"Confused, I..."
"Later, I..."
"Startled, I ..."

Then you have Dante Berlin. He's described as a God. So what the hell is Renee doing with him if she's an "average girl"? The words used to describe him made me want to vomit. Get real, Woon, no one looks like that. She didn't even describe ONE flaw to him (out ...more

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Jun 16, 2012 Merary rated it it was ok

Shelves: i-was-expecting-better, paranormal, mystery-and-or-murder, boring-bland-main-characters, ya, cheating-partners, abusive-relationships, bored-me-to-death, fantastic-fantasy, cheesy-cute-romance

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Jul 20, 2011 Shaunna McLaren added it

I came across Yvonne Woon’s Dead Beautiful when scanning Amazon for some new paranormal romances to read, to hopefully refresh my love of the genre after starting and, unusually for me, not finishing a series by another author that I found to be rather disappointing. With that in mind, I started this novel with rather low expectations, my love for the genre a bit bashed; I started to feel like I’d maybe finally outgrown YA paranormal romance.

As most YA romances are, the novel was set in a school I came across Yvonne Woon’s Dead Beautiful when scanning Amazon for some new paranormal romances to read, to hopefully refresh my love of the genre after starting and, unusually for me, not finishing a series by another author that I found to be rather disappointing. With that in mind, I started this novel with rather low expectations, my love for the genre a bit bashed; I started to feel like I’d maybe finally outgrown YA paranormal romance.

As most YA romances are, the novel was set in a school, the protagonist was a female in her mid-teens with something bad going on in her life, and the love interest was mysterious and ‘devastatingly gorgeous.’ However, I must say – at this point I have to stop lumping it in with similar books from its genre, because Dead Beautiful was, for me, a breath of fresh air.

The novel’s dark opening sets a foreboding atmosphere, and it’s almost impossible not to become curious as to what happened to Renee’s parents – a question which seems to hover in the reader’s mind through a large portion of the novel, making us desperate to find out what really happened. Dead Beautiful is also a rather big book at just over 500 pages, and yet not once did I skip a page; not once did I get bored. Woon writes in such a style, introduces such compelling ideas and builds suspense in a way that leaves you desperate to find out more – so much so, that I found myself desperate to finish my shift at work so that I could get home and finish reading it!

Of course, also very worth commenting on, is the relationship between the novel’s protagonist, Renee, and her love interest Dante Berlin. As in the majority of YA paranormal romances, Dante is the strange, mysterious character; the one who is instantly attractive to those around him, yet seems to keep his distance from the rest of the school. Also similar to many other novels, Renee has an initial bad encounter with him, and ends up sitting beside him in one of her classes. However, what sets the relationship between Renee and Dante apart from many other relationships in other YA novels is the believability. There’s no instant, “OH I SUDDENLY LOVE YOU LET’S BE TOGETHER FOREVER!” - instead, this relationship builds naturally into something beautiful and completely heart-wrenching. I completely loved both of these characters, as well as being desperate to find out what made Dante so different and to know how it would affect his relationship with Renee.

What did make Dante different was an idea that was really rather fresh, and it was presented in an interesting way, so that we slowly piece things together at the same time Renee does. This made finding out a great deal more exciting, and made the latter part of the novel quite thrilling.

All in all, I completely loved this book. It has most definitely reawakened my love for the genre, and I’m incredibly excited for the sequel. This book is definitely a must-have for any fans of the genre, and Yvonne Woon is definitely someone to keep your eyes on! ...more

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Feb 12, 2011 Wendy Darling rated it did not like it

Shelves: annoying-main-characters, paranormal-general, pn-vampires, read-2011, heroines-wimpy, young-adult

A predictable plot, with characters dead in life and in spirit. Really brings nothing new or interesting to the genre.

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Apr 02, 2012 Ferii rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Dead Beautiful is a beautifully written young adult paranormal romance novel. The characters are unique, although there may be a few cliches around, I found it enjoyable and interesting to read. There were so many mini mysteries throughout the whole book, and it leads you to form your own theories and answers about what's going on because you just get so curious. I love that feeling though.

It's not like one of those books where everything is really predictable. The plot wasn't rushed ,it ran th ...more

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Feb 22, 2015 Sophia Sardothien rated it it was ok

Ehh this book is fine, the world building is great but the plot hmm not so much. The biggest problem I have with this book is the flat characters and their relationship, it too unrealistic (view spoiler) Overall it wasn't bad by all means but I'm still hesitating to read the final one or not ...more

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Nov 05, 2014 Ben Alderson rated it it was amazing

the ending was amazing

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Oct 12, 2010 Librariann rated it really liked it

Shelves: contemporary, 2010, supernatural

Ages 11+ (no language, kiss romance, death)

Are you looking for a book that slavishly adheres to the Twilight formula yet has a dash of Harry Potter? Let me count the ways:

- Parents of attractive teen girl die in a MYSTERIOUS fashion
- Attractive teen girl transfers to boarding school
- Where she is paired up as lab partners with sexy, mysterious, silent Dante
- But also must take Herbology - erm, I mean HORTICULTURE - with Professor Mumm!
- Dante is cryptic and OLD!
- They begin a romance but must ...more

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Nov 26, 2010 Sarah Mac rated it liked it

Shelves: mary-sue-puke-bucket, read-regifted, zzz-2014, zzz-departed-ya, reviewed, reviewed-snarky, zzz-2014-leftovers-completed

Look, a YA paranormal romance! Shall I poke it with sticks?

Caveat: I'm well aware that YA PNR is a niche every bit as stringent as Steampunk or Regency. I've got no issue with judicious use of recycled tropes, at least in theory -- that's what genre fiction is, after all.

...But this book could've been so much better.

As far as Twilight imitators go, Dead Beautiful isn't awful. It's competently written. It successfully conveys a mysterious, macabre atmosphere. It has some rather dark underpinning ...more

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Jul 08, 2020 Elena Salvatore rated it it was ok

Shelves: 1st-person-pov, academy-boarding-school, secret-society, annoying-protagonist, plot-twist, death, easy-read, enjoyed-but-no-reread, ended-abruptly, female-author

Dead Beautiful by Yvonne Wonn, was published right at the "Twilight hype" era. You can definitely tell from the tone of the book that it was published around the '10's, where vampires were the most popular supernatural creatues and the most portrayed by the media.
While this book never uses the term "vampire", to describe the undead, it's pretty clear on what they're based on.

Basically you have all the usual troped for YA books at the time.
In no way does that mean that I didn't enjoyed reading it ...more

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Sep 30, 2010 Caitlin rated it liked it

www.cjmariee.tumblr.com
It’s rare to come across something different and original. Well, almost original. We have creepy/ weird boarding schools with wealthy students. Dangerous, loner, beautiful boy meets new girl. Dead parents. Yada yada yada. But each aspect is unique in its own way. Classes consist of Philosophy, Crude Sciences, Survival skills etc. The beautiful boy, isn’t cold and stuck up. He’s actually really sweet. Woon gives each thing her own twist which makes things nice. Even the plo www.cjmariee.tumblr.com
It’s rare to come across something different and original. Well, almost original. We have creepy/ weird boarding schools with wealthy students. Dangerous, loner, beautiful boy meets new girl. Dead parents. Yada yada yada. But each aspect is unique in its own way. Classes consist of Philosophy, Crude Sciences, Survival skills etc. The beautiful boy, isn’t cold and stuck up. He’s actually really sweet. Woon gives each thing her own twist which makes things nice. Even the plot, mythology (or should I say philosophy?)—the heart of the story is different and interesting.

The best part about the book, it kept you guessing. Out of the five of surprises, three I saw coming. The rest—I was like, WHOA, that’s cool. Lately tons of YA books have been easy to guess, so it was nice to actually be shocked.

There are tons of things I loved about the book, but yet it has it’s downfalls. Woon falls under the slow paced categories. For the first half of the book, it feels like we’re on a rollercoaster that’s climbing and climbing and climbing…a drop would be nice any day now? Now, I can’t blame her. When your character is dealing with deaths, new school, and friends, you have to make your character go through certain things. But she could have done it better.

Another thing that drove me CRAAAZZZZZY at times, was the main character Renee. At times I loved her for her outward attitude. She questioned everyone/thing, skeptic, even humorous at times. But when it came to important things like, “LOOK THIS MAY BE IMPORTANT AND IF YOU CATCH THIS YOU’RE SMART,” she never would catch it. It drove me crazy at times. She’s smart one second and completely oblivious the other. This is something that happens in other YA novels, but it’s the authors fault. They make there characters ignore or refuse to acknowledge something when it’s in there characters nature to notice things.

But honestly, I like it. The romance between Renee and Dante was perfect. Not over done, another can’t live without kind, but still. It was sweet and believable. Dante was a sweet guy and I didn’t find myself snoring when he talked but I didn’t find myself swooning. He would be someone I would befriend, but not chase after.

Liked the book. If there’s a sequel—there’s defiantly room for a sequel (A few unanswered questions could create an amazing part two) then I’ll be sure to pick it up. ...more

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Jan 06, 2011 Ruby rated it did not like it

Shelves: angel-stories, boarding-school

Originally posted on http://rubysreads.com[return][return]I bought this book because I saw its beautiful cover one night when I was searching Amazon for books I might like to read. Then I read the description and I thought, Score! Romance, snobby private schools and me. It s a menage-a-trois made in heaven.[return]Sadly, this is one book that does not live up to its cover. It started out okay. The narrator, Renee, was likable enough. But the book s description pretty much gives away the plot. In Originally posted on http://rubysreads.com[return][return]I bought this book because I saw its beautiful cover one night when I was searching Amazon for books I might like to read. Then I read the description and I thought, Score! Romance, snobby private schools and me. It s a menage-a-trois made in heaven.[return]Sadly, this is one book that does not live up to its cover. It started out okay. The narrator, Renee, was likable enough. But the book s description pretty much gives away the plot. In fact, it pretty much tells the first third of the book. Could ve saved myself a hundred or so pages worth of reading and I d've been spared the winy, complainy, selfish mess that Renee disintegrates into.[return]At the beginning of the book, Renee has it all. She has a best friend, loving parents and a possible boyfriend. All of this changes when her parents die. Admittedly, a sad, sad event, but I never really felt that Renee s grief was real. I didn t share in her angst. It was more like she had broken up with them than that they had died.[return]Anyway, after her parents deaths, Renee s grandfather shows up as her guardian. Renee doesn t know her grandfather well because he has been estranged from her parents for a number of years. It s at this point that Renee begins her transformation from potentially enjoyable character to obnoxious teenager. She sulks and shouts and nobody understands her. Some of this I get. If both of my parents died at the same time, I d probably act like a brat even if it happened today. But Renee s brattiness doesn t read like it comes from the deep well of grief and unhappiness that you would expect. She s just, well, a brat.[return]And she only gets worse. On the top of my list of Obnoxious Things Renee Does is that she purposely does poorly in Latin so that the Cute Boy of the story (Dante) will have to continue tutoring her. Blech. That still leaves a bad taste in my mouth. I mean, yes, we ve all done something embarrassing in the hope of getting a guy s attention. But risking your GPA crosses a line into no self-respect. Or maybe that s just me.[return]So, I didn t like Renee. What about the other characters? Renee s best friend, Annie, her almost boyfriend, Wes, and her grandfather, who feature so prominently in the first part of the story? Well, they fade into the background. To be fair, Grandpa does make a reappearance later in the novel for some important exposition. But he s sort of like the hair tie you keep in the bottom of your gym bag: You only pull it out if you have no other options. However. With Annie, Wes and Grandpa out of the way, that leaves the field free for some new characters: roommate Eleanor, geeky boy Nathaniel, and hot, mysterious boy-with-a-secret, Dante. Eleanor and Renee become good friends and joint conspiracy theorists. Nathaniel is merely a prop and never becomes much more than the geeky boy who serves as a nonthreatening male friend who is also a naysayer.[return]With Eleanor and Nathaniel out of the way, you ll have guessed who the most important new character is. If you haven t wait, seriously, you haven t? Well, it s Dante. The introduction of Dante into Dead Beautiful is basically this novel s downfall. Dante has some suspiciously familiar character traits. He s a loner. He s really, really beautiful. He doesn t talk to anyone except the heroine. When Dante and Renee are partnered in their Crude Sciences lab, I nearly guffawed. That was before the two touched and Dante has an over-the-top negative reaction and stops speaking to Renee for several days. By the time Renee reflected on how cold Dante s skin is and his remarkable ability to heal instantaneously, I was grimacing in disbelief.[return]Is any of this sounding familiar? Please tell me you re following my train of thought.[return]If you haven t caught on yet, maybe you re one of the two people left in America who hasn t read Twilight. Or seen the movie. I don t know if the similarities between Dead Beautiful and Twilight are intentional or if the author meant her book as an homage, or the publisher thought that a story so similar but with just enough differences would appeal to the audience that spawned a nation-wide teenage obsession. I don t really care. I m just disappointed I fell for it. I mean, I didn t even like Twilight that much the first time.[return]Let me quickly address the plot. It was predictable. I guessed what Dante s secret was by process of elimination. I knew he wasn t a vampire so my options were pretty limited. There are also plenty of hints. I confess I didn t know all of the details and you probably won t unless you read a lot of French philosophy.[return]As for all the deaths, yeah, I figured out what happened there too. I hope you re not reading this as a brag, because it s not. I d rather be kept guessing until the last page. That s part of the fun of reading a mystery. That doesn t mean I don t crow when I guess right but where s the fun in knowing too easily? The best right guess is the one you were never 100% certain of.[return]I don t think I ve ever said this, but this is one cover that deserved a better book. ...more

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Dec 02, 2013 Mizuki rated it it was ok

Shelves: bad-bad-bad-romance, it-is-okay, young-adult-books

It's a 'not so bad but it could have been better' 2.5 stars

If you intended to read this book, please be careful of the following eyesore:

(1) Twilight ripoff romance.

(2) The heroine keeps blushing for countless of times whenever she's around the love interest.

(3) Same-old, same-old 'new girl in new school getting the attention of the most beautiful boy in school' setup.

(4) A lot of things not being convincingly and finely explained. (There're explanations, but I don't think they're done well)

Stil ...more

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Mar 16, 2010 ~Tina~ rated it really liked it

Shelves: read-2012, young-adult, paranormal

TBR Reduce Challenge #34- 2012(Olivia)

Renée Winters had a wonderful life. She has a best friend named Annie and a hot boyfriend named Wes. She's just about to start her sophomore year and made it on the varsity lacrosse team. But everything changed when Renée spotted her dad's car on the shoulder of Redwood forest. Panicked, Renée raced inside, almost like something was propelling her to where she could find them and sure enough, there on the forest floor are her parents, cold and motionless wit ...more

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Mar 16, 2012 Booknut rated it really liked it

Shelves: gorgeous-guys, books-i-love-dearly, undeadishness, soul-suckers, kleenex-tissues-required

what the hell is that? Pictures, Images and Photos

This was my first and final thoughts on this book. I mean, don't get me wrong I was in fangirlish awe for most of it - the middle bit was good, the murders and missing students was the highlight and Dante (what a hot name!) was hotter than a boiling pot of chilli in Mexico. But the beginning and the end made me want to break out into Avril Lavigne's "What the Hell".

I loved Rene. She is an awesome heroine, though a tad odd. She's perfectly ok with the fact that her best friend is crushing on ...more

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Sep 17, 2010 Savannah (Books With Bite) rated it it was amazing

Ok, what a great and intriguing read. And the twist! I certainly did not see that coming. Beautiful Dead is a great read. Everything in it was perfect.

So as I started to read this book, I was thrown into a whirlwind of surprises. Poor Renee, always going through some many unexpected tragic things. I felt sorry for her, but was glad that she prevailed.

Renee arrived at this new school and her rebellious attitude has me giddy from the start. I immensely enjoyed her smart mouth, know it all attitude ...more

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Jan 08, 2011 Amara Luciano rated it liked it

My Thoughts: *Note: May not be spoiler-free.* Dead Beautiful truly lives up to its name... The story itself is fascinating, ingenious really! I loved learning about Gottfried Academy, the myths, the history behind its founders and the reason for its opening... Basing the story around the Latin language, referring to it as "The Dead Language" and its significance to the story was intriguing in itself... Fitting the pieces together that make up the story was a fantastic process, simply because whi My Thoughts: *Note: May not be spoiler-free.* Dead Beautiful truly lives up to its name... The story itself is fascinating, ingenious really! I loved learning about Gottfried Academy, the myths, the history behind its founders and the reason for its opening... Basing the story around the Latin language, referring to it as "The Dead Language" and its significance to the story was intriguing in itself... Fitting the pieces together that make up the story was a fantastic process, simply because while you thought you pieced the whole big, seemingly unsolvable mystery behind the plot, new variables and uncovered information popped up, preventing the reader from truly grasping the entirety of the puzzle before the author was ready. Woon's descriptiveness, her imagery evoked wonder and amazement, granting me a clear picture of all that surrounded Renee. But, that was where my fascination ended...

Renee as a heroine didn't bode well with me. There was no connection between her and I. She didn't provoke any feelings of sympathy, happiness, or any real solid or tangible emotion. Instead, she basically annoyed me. She was really all about herself: finding out more about Dante, spending time with Dante, discovering the secrets lurking behind her parents deaths and the correlation to other student's deaths who died similarly. Never once did she show genuine concern about her other friends, the ones back home or the new ones she made at the academy. They were more like her personal walking sound boards, where she could dump her feelings and thoughts on them, but never consciously willing to return the favor. I'll be honest, that alone annoyed the hell out of me. The fact that her parents died right in the early chapters of the story, and that she was the one who located their bodies, didn't make me feel sorry for her, upset, or any other emotions really. Because there simply was no connection. Zip. Nada. I didn't get how she was feeling, being that I couldn't relate to her, and ultimately couldn't form a relationship with while reading as her story unfolded.

And Renee wasn't the only character I felt a sense of disconnect with. Her other friends, Eleanor, Nathaniel, and Annie, didn't scream, Know me! Love me! Hate me! When I meet new characters, I like to feel something for them. Anything. (Apart from annoyance, obviously.) If the bad guy's bad, I want to dislike him/her, get angry at him/her. And vice versa. And like with Renee's friends, I couldn't care less about the bad guys because of that automatic detachment. Worse yet, I didn't care too much about the good guys, so why would it matter if the villains hurt them? I didn't feel attached to any of them, so why be upset if something goes wrong for the good guys? So, while the cast in this book was developed, I wouldn't sat they are enjoyable or necessarily fun to read about.

Even Dante, while ethereally beautiful, sadly, was not everything I had hoped. And I don't think he did anything wrong... But, again, there was this disconnect from me the reader and him. I didn't really learn about him, there wasn't much of a personality to him to fall for. So, I guess that explains why I didn't fall head over heels for him like I was so expecting to! Many times, when I read, there's that magical, instant love that takes place between the two main characters. And while that's fine and dandy, and I believe it exists, I want to see these characters fall for what's inside too. Know each other. Talk to each other. Connect. And even though along the way they might have in the array of conversations they have that the reader isn't privy to, that's just it. I want to be aware of them getting to know each other. That's probably the best part of a romance. It's definitely great to read about the mind-boggling, soul-searing kisses/makeout sessions/hot embraces, but in reality, a full on relationship doesn't last, doesn't survive on that alone... I need a little realism to my romance, so sue me!

The ending was... really bizarre. I must admit I'm at the point of confusion intermingled with dissatisfaction. (SPOILERY!) So, Dante could resist kissing Renee, but she can't? And he wants to die for her, wasting the soul she just went through serious pains to give? Seriously?

I mentioned that Dead Beautiful firmly lives up to its name. Because it did. While the plot and the storyline were fantastic and beautifully written, the other aspects of it that would have made it great were flat, rendering it an okay read.

Favorite Scene:

"'Why do you keep staring at me?' she muttered under her breath.
Her voice was soft and low, and I was surprised by how forthright she was. How could I not stare at her? Even here, the afternoon sun shone through the glass ceiling, illuminating her face in a warm, rosy light, as if she were an otherworldly being, something sent to me by fate. No, she could never know that I had watched her, wanted her, loved her from that very moment" (448).

Thanks for reading!

Also posted at Paranormal Indulgence. ...more

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Mar 30, 2011 Susanna rated it it was ok

Shelves: 11-spring, reviewed, 1st-p, girl

Guilt is responsible for the second star here. I knew going into this book that I wasn't going to like it and that if I finished it, I'd be ridiculing it the whole way. It was kinda the point, actually. Even so, if I take my guilt over that out of the equation, this was a bad book. It doesn't fail as badly as Hush, Hush and Personal Demons (which would be one star books for me only because Goodreads has no negative five star options), but in no way would I recommend it to anyone except as laught ...more

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Mar 20, 2011 Casey Ann Books rated it it was amazing

God. Where do I start describing how AMAZING this novel is. I truly am speechless. Dead Beautiful is a compelling, heatbreaking, and heart frenching novel that I couldnt put down.

This book has got to be the most romantic book I have read in a long time. Each chapter, each page and each line had me crying, sighing and smiling. Ive never had a book touch me in such a way that had me thinking about it days after. The detail that Yvonne has put into this novel is spectacular. You can tell she has w God. Where do I start describing how AMAZING this novel is. I truly am speechless. Dead Beautiful is a compelling, heatbreaking, and heart frenching novel that I couldnt put down.

This book has got to be the most romantic book I have read in a long time. Each chapter, each page and each line had me crying, sighing and smiling. Ive never had a book touch me in such a way that had me thinking about it days after. The detail that Yvonne has put into this novel is spectacular. You can tell she has worked so hard at writing this novel from the amount of detail to the amount of pages.
The plot is something I truly haven't come across and I can see why the awesome people at Usborne publishers published it. You cant compare this plot to anything right now which is amazing. There is so many twists and turns so much mystery that it had my brain running over time thinking what the hell is going on in this Boarding school. It had me at the edge of my seat through out. I love how much the history of death was used in this novel. I learned things that I hadn't even heard about for example why people actually burry the dead in coffins....why they weren't a different shape or why in the ground. All these things had me looking back and actually thinking why do we do these things and its true.... people do forget why.. they just do it. The way Yvonne writes myths and made up things for the plot in this novel were so believerable I had to go and google them just to make sure they were not true.

There is a lot of surprises in this novel. And its really hard not to give spoilers because Its one of those novels you just want to tell someone about straight away and tell them everything. The amount of times it left my jaw hanging open and tears streaming down my face was unberlevable.

The characters in this novel stand out so much not at all two dimentional. Renee is such an amazing character. From her courage and loving personality to Dante the mysterious beautiful lead guy who has a huge secret that I couldnt even comprehed when first reading the book. Elenor the lovley and trusting good friend of Renee coming from the book you could definanlty relate her to one of your best friends. The way Gottfried Acadamey is described in the book is very you could say mysterious. It was once a childrens hospital. It kinda creeped me out sometimes. Dante and Renees realtionship is beautiful so beautiful I loved watching them fall in love. From the staring, to the talking to the holding to the declaring their undieing love for eachother. The quality of writing is fantastic the orginality, the pace, and the fluidity.

The one thing that had me was the ending. And not because it was over because I just wanted it to carry on, no it was how jaw dropping and heart renching and one of those things you didnt see coming. The beautiful way it ended had me in sheds of tears and just knowing that whats going to happen between Renee and Dante. It was truly one of those lose lose/win win situations. Beautiful just beautiful Sighs..... ...more

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Mar 17, 2013 Alisa rated it it was ok

I was going to review Sweet Evil. Then I remembered my friend wanted to try and review it. So, I was like," Sure. I'll find another book." And then I was going to review The Selection. But then, I found this book in my browse through Good Reads. And I was like, "Oh... I remember this book! I read it like a year ago!" So now I'm trying to see if I can remember it enough to write a review about it.

Let's see what I can remember... It was bad. And a copy cat. The overall story was like Twilight. Wit ...more

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Jul 22, 2011 Donna {Book Passion For Life} rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: for-review, ya-paranormal-romance

"... In love, everyone does things that hurt the other person, so there really is no "Right" and "Wrong". You just have to decide what you're willing to forgive"

I honestly didn’t know what to expect when I read this book, with not knowing much about it and reading some mixed reviews before hand but honestly, I was pleasantly surprised by it and I ended up really liked it.

Renee Winters was an ordinary girl, that is until her sixteenth birthday where she finds her parents dead in the woods. Ho "... In love, everyone does things that hurt the other person, so there really is no "Right" and "Wrong". You just have to decide what you're willing to forgive"

I honestly didn’t know what to expect when I read this book, with not knowing much about it and reading some mixed reviews before hand but honestly, I was pleasantly surprised by it and I ended up really liked it.

Renee Winters was an ordinary girl, that is until her sixteenth birthday where she finds her parents dead in the woods. How did she find them; she was drawn to there bodies and that’s something Renee can’t explain. With no other family to speak of, Renee is taken in by grandfather who sends her to Gottfried Academy, a boarding school in Maine were she finds herself studying the dead language; Latin. While at school, Renee comes across the gorgeous Dante Berlin, who for some reason she feels drawn too. When he offers to tutor her in Latin, she realises there is more to Dante that means the eye and that he may be apart of a deadly secret that is happening at Gottfried Academy.

Wow! For some reason I though this book was about Ghosts! Well, you can believe my shock when I found out it’s not about Ghosts but dead people, I guess there kind of like Zombies but better. From page one you’re thrown into a whirlwind of surprises, suspense, mystery and honestly, this isn’t your average paranormal book. The story has exciting twist and turns and the storyline wasn’t predictable at all.

I found myself engrossed from the beginning, I mean come on, you’re thrown into Renee’s life and you instantly feel bad for her situation, losing her parents the way she did. Renee is such a likeable character, one that is well developed, head strong, determined to uncover the truth and that makes her a kick ass heroine in my books. I hate girls that are whiney but no matter Renee’s situation, she’s never lets it drag her down. And Dante is one hell of a guy, a total babe in my book. He made the undead seriously cool and if I found a guy like him, I wouldn’t want to let him go either. I also loved finding out his backstory and the mystery that involved him at the Gottfried.

The only reason I didn’t rate this book 5 stars was because I felt there was some information where Renee was with her classmates was a bit slower than the rest of the book. The book was 500 pages long and I think it could have been cut down a bit. Nonetheless, as you can tell by my review, I still enjoyed it.

Overall, Yvonne Woon has created an exciting new series and one I’m looking forward to finding out what happens next. ...more

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Jan 14, 2011 Jessie rated it really liked it

What a great book! Honestly all it takes to enjoy this book is to get past the slight similarities to Twilight. (But really, what book doesn't share some of Twilight's nonsense these days? :p) So once you get past the fact that yes, she moved from a warm sunny place and yes, she moved to a colder place and yes, the heart throb is a creepy, closed guy who is chilly then this book is AWESOME. I call it the MUCH BETTER version of Twilight. I mean, dead people are so much cooler then vampires, am I ...more

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Aug 25, 2010 Nafiza rated it liked it

Shelves: read-2011

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. So yesterday, while I was in the midst of being a good little worker bee, er, student and writing this awesome paper (okay, I’m not sure if it’s awesome right now but by the time I get done with it, it will be) when I had a stupid idea. What stupid idea, you may ask? Well, I have been “reading” this book for a few days now, you know, a page here, one page there but my idea (the stupid one) was to read this book in the breaks I took from writing said paper.

It was a stupid idea. I believe I have m ...more

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Dec 12, 2013 Dianne rated it really liked it

Shelves: netgalley, 1-in-series, fantasy-romance, dark-fantasy, ya-paranormal-romance, own

After finding her parents dead in the Redwood Forest, sixteen year old Renee is sent to Gottfried Academy by her cold and distant grandfather. Gottfried is an elite private boarding school with a rather unique and unusual curriculum and there is something just “off” about the place, from its students to its faculty. Enter Dante, dark and mysterious, and like a moth to a flame, Renee finds herself drawn to him, in spite of his evasiveness about himself, they seem inexplicably destined to be with After finding her parents dead in the Redwood Forest, sixteen year old Renee is sent to Gottfried Academy by her cold and distant grandfather. Gottfried is an elite private boarding school with a rather unique and unusual curriculum and there is something just “off” about the place, from its students to its faculty. Enter Dante, dark and mysterious, and like a moth to a flame, Renee finds herself drawn to him, in spite of his evasiveness about himself, they seem inexplicably destined to be with each other. Meanwhile Renee is discovering that Gottfried holds dark secrets within its walls, students are disappearing, some dying and the public cause of death feels far too wrong. Will the truth prove too much for Renee? Will her budding romance with Dante be threatened? How is her family connected to Gottfried’s history?

Dead Beautiful by Yvonne Woon is truly an amazing young adult paranormal read filled with a dark sense of foreboding, a secluded setting and a uniquely detailed set of supporting characters that each seem to hold their own secrets. Some are dangerous, some seem completely harmless, but are they? Renee is strong, determined and resourceful, a little overly daring, but a wonderful reprieve form the angst-filled teens so often portrayed. Dante is the mysterious bad boy who isn’t really “bad,” and his protective nature around Renee just screams romantic in a dreamy way! Ms. Woon has carefully concealed the mystery throughout, there is no obvious ending early on, no clear and direct path to the story’s resolution, but an incredibly detailed and inviting trail to follow that forces the reader to become completely immersed in her world! If you’ve ever wondered about destiny, love, life or life after “death,” you need to read this thought-provoking and engaging tale! As the foundation for the Dead Beautiful Series, it promises even greater things to come!

I received this copy from Disney-Hyperion in exchange for my honest review.

Series: Dead Beautiful, Book 1
Publication Date: September 21, 2010
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
ISBN: 9781423119562
Genre: YA Paranormal Romance
Number of pages: 464
Available from: Amazon | Barnes & Noble

...more

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May 25, 2014 A Book Vacation rated it really liked it

To see my full review:

http://abookvacation.com/2014/07/27/r...

Talk about a swift kick in the gut, Woon leaves readers frantic at the end of her engaging novel, Dead Beautiful. Although carrying many similarities to both Harry Potter and Twilight, Woon makes her novel stand on its own with her creation of the undead in a manner unlike any I’ve read about before. Steeped in mythology and lore, the novel really comes to life as Renee learns of her heritage and figures out just what exactly is wande ...more

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Jun 25, 2012 Erin Wynn rated it really liked it · review of another edition

I loved this so much. I mean, it sort of reminded me of Twilight, but all the good parts of Twilight, not the bad parts.

The romance was actually believable. And hurrah, no love triangle! I loved Renee. I loved Dante. I loved Eleanor. I loved Nathaniel. I hated Gideon. It was just one great big emotional rollercoaster and I loved it so much. Interesting take on the Undead, beautiful writing and just a great book. I need the next one now!

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Dec 30, 2013 April (Aprilius Maximus) rated it really liked it

Shelves: 2014

This was crazy!! It was like a mixture of Harry potter and twilight (the good bits). It was a bit predictable at times but at the start and in the middle I had no idea what was going to happen! Loved it!

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May 16, 2011 Lina rated it it was amazing

THE BOOK IS AMAZING.I CANT WAIT FOR THE NEXT ONE.

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Apr 11, 2017 Hem_Ana rated it really liked it

Dont read my review , if you truely want to fully enjoy this book ... provided you like goth background..

I was searching for a goth book for so long.. I enjoyed reading Fallen 1 by Kate Lauren but could not read any of the other books of the series.. (pointless and lenthy)
So I was so delighted to find this book..
Basically this series had 2 kind of beings.....
1) Undeads : Dead people under the age of 21 who weren't buried cum soul suckers
2) Monitors : who control them cum eliminate them.... ...more

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Mar 09, 2011 Sarah BT rated it it was ok

I love YA, but this book was painful to get through!

To me, Dead Beautiful, was pretty much another version of Twilight. There was too much angst, the hero has an old fashioned mysterious name, Dante Berlin and he hangs out with friends that are secretive and the students on campus don't know much about him. He's always brooding and hardly talks, yet Renee is attracted to him from the start. Dante keeps telling her that they can't be together because he'll hurt her and it's dangerous and she's n ...more

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Discuss This Book

topics	posts	views	last activity
YA Buddy Readers'...: Dead Beautiful Series by Yvonne Woon - Reading from 'Dead Beautiful (Dead Beautiful #1)' from August 15th 2019	78	206	Sep 11, 2019 11:41PM
Challenge Corner: Dead Beautiful Series, by Yvonne Woon - Starting August 15th 2019	26	5	Sep 10, 2019 08:23PM
What's the Name o...: SOLVED. Romance Fantasy. Read 3-6 years ago. After a teenage girl's parents die on her birthday, she goes to live with a relative & goes to a school where half the kids are already died & speak Latin. Falls in love with a dude & they can't ever kiss. [s]	3	28	May 29, 2019 06:57PM
Sinopsis en Español // Synopsis in Spanish	1	1	Feb 16, 2015 11:45AM
All About Fantasy!: Dead Beautiful	1	4	Feb 01, 2015 07:08PM
Not what I was expecting	8	57	Dec 10, 2013 04:44PM

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About Yvonne Woon

Yvonne Woon

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Yvonne Woon grew up in Massachusetts. She is the author of the Dead Beautiful series (Hyperion). She has an MFA in fiction from Columbia University, which she mostly uses to concoct plots. She lives in Atlanta, GA.

Other books in the series

Dead Beautiful (3 books)

Books by Yvonne Woon

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Quotes from Dead Beautiful

“Sometimes, you have to look back in order to understand the things that lie ahead.” — 260 likes

“... In love, everyone does things that hurt the other person, so there really is no "Right" and "Wrong". You just have to decide what you're willing to forgive” — 161 likes

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