Author: Eden Maguire
Releases: March 1st 2010 by Sourcebooks Fire
Copy Provided by: Publisher
Summary: (from Goodreads)Something strange is happening in Ellerton High. Phoenix is the fourth teenager to die within a year. His street fight stabbing follows the deaths of Jonas, Summer and Arizona in equally strange and sudden circumstances. Rumours of ghosts and strange happenings rip through the small community as it comes to terms with shock and loss.
Darina, Phoenix’s grief-stricken girlfriend, is on the verge. She can’t escape her intense heartache, or the impossible apparitions of those that are meant to be dead. And all the while the sound of beating wings echo inside her head…
And then one day Phoenix appears to Darina. He tells her that she must help Jonas – the first of the four to die – right the wrong linked with his death. Only with her help can Jonas finally rest in peace. Will love conquer death? And if it does, can Darina set it free?
Beautiful Dead an interesting tale of loss, love, and redemption. To be honest, in the beginning, I did not believe that this was a novel that I was going to be able to finish. The first chapter is one of the choppiest I have ever read. Every instance where I was beginning to become adsorbed in the story… bam, a transition. And these were not always easy transitions. They sometimes made no sense… unless, the writing is somehow related to Darina’s feelings. In this case, it is easier to understand its usage, but it is still overly choppy. And the reader may have a hard time making that possible connection.
Once the novel began to progress, I found the writing to be much easier to follow. Is this because I became accustomed to Maguire’s writing style… I do not know. But what I do know is that I was able to enjoy the novel a lot more. The characters are interesting, and for the most part, I liked them. The only downside, there cannot be a lot of character growth when 85% of the main characters are already dead. And unfortunately, the reader only gets so many descriptions in regards to each character… hair and eye color, some other physical descriptions, and maybe a few personality traits, but that is about it. I for one am hoping that as the other novels progress, I will get to learn a little bit more about each character and flesh them out better in my mind.
However, what made this book so interesting for me, is the story behind the Beautiful Dead. I was intrigued with this idea of people who are angels, but not. (Unfortunately, this is a hard concept to describe without spoilers, so I am just going to leave that statement at that.) I loved how Maguire took two seemly unrelated topics and made them blend together so well. It really made me think, “Wow, this actually makes sense.”
Despite a few missteps, I throughly enjoyed this novel. And at 279 pages (ARC copy), I breezed through this read in a matter of a few hours. This is a great read for paranormal fans who like a touch of romance added in.
I couldn’t finish it. The first chapter was just too choppy for me.
I’ve been hesitant on this one but it’s sounds too good to miss now. Knowing about the choppy start is helpful and since it’s a quick read, I’ll feel so accomplished!
Great review, I really hope I like it..
I think this sounds pretty good but all the reviews I’ve read say it’s horrible.
Fab review!
I would like to give this a try…I have heard some good and some bad things about it…sounds like if you can make it past the first chapter you will be able to get into the story.
Awesome review – this sounds like an amazing book – I have been looking to see where I can buy it, but I cant find it anywhere – UGH pain!
Thank you for the awesome review!
Thanks for your review!
Sounds interesting, I would definitely like
to give it a try.
I’m currently reading this and agree with the first chapter thing. It also introduces to many characters at once. Nice review!
I really liked your review and it was very helpful. It’s good to know that the book got better for you after the first chapter. I would hate to miss out on the possibility of a good book because I gave up too soon. It sounds like an interesting concept. Thanks!
ITZ AMAZING OMG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I IMAGED THE GUY TO LOOK LIKE CHASE CRAWFORD
BUT IT AINT BETTER THAN TWILIGHT OR THE HOUSE OF NIGHT SERIES
I really loved this book. It was a new concept-different from anything out there that I’ve read. I didn’t notice the choppy beginning. Maybe because I was feelinig empathy for Darina and just understood how disjointed she’d be. And, I thought there was more to the characters, even though they were dead. For Darina to do what she must, she has to dig into the lives of the people that are dead and she finds out everything she can about them. Through that, the character is developed. In their current state, no, there is no development, but in the digging into the past, that’s where you learn what type of person Jonas was.
I just wondered if anyone noticed that the story is told in single quotes ‘ ‘. Why? I’ve read Arizona’s story and Summer’s story and they were both good and I’d have to say Summer’s was more surprising than the others. I’m really looking forward to the next one.