|
Title: Dead Beautiful
Author: Yvonne Woon
Position in Series: First in a series of two
books. Sequel: Life Eternal
Review:
Oh my
goodness. After reading Sweet Evil recently, I didn’t think a book could draw
me in quite as deeply, quite as quickly as that did, but I was wrong. I was so
excited to get my hands on Dead Beautiful, though I can’t really explain why.
The blurb didn’t really give me much clue as to what to expect from the story,
other than a mix of mystery and romance, but it was all a bit vague. Despite
this, something seemed to scream at me to buy this book, and boy, am I glad I
did.
It really
didn’t take long at all for this book to capture me, and I only put it down
once (after my stomach had been growling for hours). The enticing mystery this
book wove kept me guessing the majority of the way through, and when the
mystery was finally solved (about 380 pages in), it was not at all the result I’d
been expecting. There were so many puzzle pieces, both big and small, that
despite all my theories as to what was going on, I didn’t get it right. Not
even close.
Now, I’ve
read a lot of books in my 19 years, and I’m starting to really struggle finding
books with "new” themes. This left me pleasantly surprised when the mystery was
solved, as it was something completely new to me, and I found the end result to
be rather spectacular. Seamlessly weaving science, history and the supernatural
to create a completely believable story world.
To make the
book even better, there’s the characters. At the beginning of the book, you can’t
help but feel immensely sad and hurt on behalf of main character Renee, who
after just having lost her parents under unusual circumstances, finds herself
stuck with her grandfather, an overly strict guardian, who promptly ships her
off to boarding school, away from the only life she’s ever known.
Next you
have Dante, the mysterious and gorgeous boy Renee meets under rather awkward
circumstances on the first day at her new school. And here we have the romance.
But unlike a lot of novels, there’s no unrealistic whirlwind romance where the
characters fall madly in love with each when they first lay eyes on each other.
Renee and Dante are curious about each other at first, and this curiosity stems
to interest, and eventually to love. There are some mystical forces at work,
drawing them together, but you hardly notice. And it’s not until you near the very
end that you even realise there’s actually something mystical going on between
them at all. Even after the mystery is solved, there are more puzzle pieces yet
to fall into place.
I
absolutely fell in love with this book. Not only is it captivating and
believable, but it weaves together a story of great characters with secrets I’ve
never before seen in books. Something completely new. Enchanting and
compelling, this is definitely a read I recommend. And luckily for me, I have
the sequel waiting for me downstairs.
Rating: 10/10 (I’d give it more if I
could!)
|
