Dead Beautiful in an interesting twist on the teen paranormal romance story. Renee is a strong protagonist, who isn't afraid to speak her mind, even if she gets into trouble as a result. Dante Berlin is the ideal candidate for a mysterious suitor- he's cold to the touch, he literally makes Renee go dizzy with contact, and he won't open up too much about his past.
Things are, of course, not entirely what they seem at Gottfried Academy. I'm still not entirely sure why it took 400 pages to get to the meat of the story, though. None of the characters are as developed as Renee, and nothing is really revealed about any of the rest of the cast. Don't get me wrong- I liked Renee and Dante a lot. I just didn't really get anything from most of the other characters.
It was nice to have gotten a little time between the meeting of Renee and Dante before they realized they were in love. Months went by while they spent time together, studying and getting to know each other. Sure, there was that giant secret that Dante was keeping. Yes, there was a lot of mystery surrounding some of the other students. But there also wasn't the gag-worthy effect of being in love without having spent any time together at all. Too often there is what I've seen referred to as "insta-love," which is kind of a buzzkill for some of us.
What I really disliked, though, was the lack of explanation. Even when Renee is discovering what's really going on behind the scenes with Dante and the entire academy, there isn't enough explanation to satisfy my curiosity. I'd really like to know more about Renee's inherited talents. I'd like to know more about who was causing all the trouble at the school and what happened as a result. I'd like to know more about how the teachers came to be where they were in the story. I'd like to know more about Renee's grandfather (and Dustin, for that matter) and what it is that he does when he's away on "business." There must be a sequel to this book, given the ending, and I intend to read it.
No comments:
Post a Comment