Dead Beautiful by Yvonne Woon

Title/Author: Dead Beautiful (Dead Beautiful #1) by Yvonne Woon
Publisher/Date published: Hyperion Books, September 21st 2010
How I got this book: own it

Goodreads summary: "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 funeral Renée’s wealthy grandfather sends her to Gottfried Academy, a remote and mysterious boarding school in Maine, where she finds herself studying subjects like Philosophy, Latin, and the “Crude Sciences.”
It’s there that she meets Dante Berlin, a handsome and elusive boy to whom she feels inexplicably drawn. As they grow closer, unexplainable things begin to happen, but Renée can’t stop herself from falling in love. It’s only when she discovers a dark tragedy in Gottfried’s past that she begins to wonder if the Academy is everything it seems.
Little does she know, Dante is the one hiding a dangerous secret, one that has him fearing for her life."

Okay, so you guys know how I complain about insta-love, right? This is probably one of the only books that has a GOOD and acceptable explanation for it. I'm not going to delve into the details, cause it's major spoilery, but seriously. And I kind of guessed it, but still.

I really liked Renée. She lost her parents and obviously she's mourning them, but she doesn't go around whining about it, she just grieves. One thing I didn't like was that she had a falling out with her best friend from back home. I get that their lives are going separate ways, but well, it almost felt like their friendship wasn't all that good to begin with.

And yeah, I could see the plot twist coming from a mile away. I mean, a blind monkey could have seen it coming. But I did like it and it leaves me wondering what will happen next. Because YES, this is another series, and I'm not sure if it's just two books or if there'll be more. But I think this story isn't finished yet and I'm dying to know how it ends. I didn't fall in love with Dante, but who knows, maybe in the sequel?

SPOILER ALERT!! Light up to read!
So seriously, what annoyed me: HOW did Renée NOT figure out sooner Dante was dead?? Seriously?!

I thought the whole lore behind this was really interesting. And creepy. You know what creeps me out in horror movies? When it's the kid that's evil and is doing the EVIL!
The classes Renée takes are interesting as well, I'd LOVE those classes!

My rating: 3,5 stars