Review for Dead Beautiful by Yvonne Woon

"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." I’ve wanted to read this book ever since it first came out in the US based solely on all the praise it was receiving. So when I found out that it was being published in the UK and the lovely people at Usborne offered to send me a copy for review you better believe I was on it! And oh did I love this book! It’s been a long time since I was surprised by a book. A lot of the time now after reading so much of the same thing I know what to expect and going into the book I know roughly what’s going to happen. However Dead Beautiful is a very welcome breath of fresh air. Yvonne Woon had instead of following everyone else and the hype created her own type of paranormal creature- the Undead- and no their not the vampire or flesh eating zombie kind! In a totally plausible, clever way Woon spins a hidden, ancient tale on these beings and how they have become the world’s very own forgotten supernatural creature. This book for me was a complete joy to read. It reminded me of reading Twilight for the first time. I had that feeling when you’re completely new to a supernatural being and uncover this dark and delicious secret that you actually believe in because the author makes it feel so real. I loved how original this book was and learning the rules of this long lost ancient way of life. Dead Beautiful is a big book reaching a grand total of 505 pages. I’m not a fan of larger books simply because after a while I easily tire of the same story but never at any point did I get bored with Dead Beautiful. It really felt like the book was the length it needed to be to tell Renee and Dante’s story. Not once did it feel like Yvonne Woon was waffling on or padding the book out with pointless scenes so kudos to Yvonne for keeping this reader constantly enthralled. It’s rare that I would describe a novel as interesting but that word really sums Dead Beautiful up. I became fascinated with the use of Latin and all the old mythology and rituals Yvonne used to shape this world. I for one would love to go to Gottfried Academy because Renee seriously has some of the coolest classes ever. I loved the relationship between Dante and Renee and find their situation to be very intriguing. This book ends on a huge cliff-hanger in so many ways and I closed the book with a hunger to know more and a slightly broken heart as I can honestly see no way that these two can ever be together. If you like your forbidden love stories this is up there with the best and most tragic! I didn’t really know much about this book going in to it and I think that’s the best way to read it so the only thing I’ll say about it is that it will be like nothing you’ve read before! There are also plenty of plot twists to keep you entertained and guessing, together making Dead Beautiful a fresh and compelling debut. I am so in love with this story and honestly think that Yvonne is a little bit genius. This is the second young adult novel published by Usborne and Dead Beautiful along with Angel is quickly setting them up as the go to publisher when you need a riveting read. As for Dead Beautiful if you’re looking for an original, gothic, romantic, all around fantastic read this is the book for you. I loved every minute of it and it comes with the highest of recommendations from me. My Rating 4.5/5 stars Thanks go to Usborne for sending me this book to review Synopsis taken from Usborne website

If you enjoyed this review and are interested to learn more about Dead Beautiful be sure to stop by the blog on Monday for my Dead Beautiful tour stop! For anyone interested in following this tour here is a list of blogs participating.

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