About the Book:

After Renee Winters discovers her parents lying dead in California’s Redwood Forest in what appears to be a strange double murder, her grandfather sends her off to Gottfried Academy in Maine, a remote and mysterious high school dedicated to philosophy, “crude sciences,” and Latin: the Language of the Dead. It’s here she meets Dante, a dark and elusive student to whom she feels inexplicably drawn.

As they get to know each other better, Dante can’t seem to control his attraction either, and their desires gradually deepen into a complex and dangerous romance. Dangerous because Dante is hiding a frightening secret. A secret so terrible, it has him fearing for Renee’s life.

Dante’s not the only one with secrets, though. Turns out Gottfried Academy has a few of its own… Like, how come students keep disappearing? Why are the prefect-like Monitors creeping around campus during the night? And what exactly are the Headmistress and Professors really up to? Renee is determined to find out why.

Dead Beautiful is both a compelling romance and thought-provoking listen, bringing shocking new meaning to life, death, love, and the nature of the soul.

My Thoughts:

I came across this book by chance and decided to give it a try! I was pleasantly surprised and quite happy that I liked it. At first I was not very clear on what was happening, but as the story progressed, it was easier to understand.

Dead Beautiful follows Renee Winters as she deals with the death of her parents, having to suddenly live with her grandfather, moving to a new school and trying to understand the weirdness of the place. Gottfried Academy has quite a few secrets to which only some are privy including Renee’s grandfather as she eventually finds out.

I found the concept and plot to be intriguing and a pleasant change from only reading vampire and/or werewolf based fantasy fiction novels. There’s romance, friendship that lasts and a whole lot of secrets and mysteries to uncover. The first is the truth behind Renee’s parents’ deaths. Another mystery is the death of a student at Gottfried previously that is eerily similar to how Renee’s parents died. Of course we also have to find out the truth behind Dante, gorgeous as he may be!

The characters are pretty standard and well crafted, but not everyone is as they seem. I think this is what made it more interesting. Each character is unique. I also enjoyed reading about Renee’s relationship with her grandfather and how it evolves.

I enjoyed the book and the twists at the end. I honestly did not see it coming and I am looking forward to reading the next books in the series.