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apendragon's review against another edition
4.0
There's the occasional boring part in this book, but aside from the sickening romance (seriously, could all of it be any more dramatic/Twilight-esque?) the plot is interesting and original.
missbookiverse's review against another edition
2.0
The Beautiful Dead series consists of 4 books. Jonas is book one and introduces Darina whose boyfriend Phoenix just died. He returns to earth in shape of a “Beautiful Dead” together with 3 other kids who all died in the past year. Now it’s up to Darina to help them figure out how they died so they can move on. In book 1 Darina deals with the mystery of Jonas’s death. The follow up books are named after the other characters (Arizona, Summer and Phoenix) and will most likely deal with their deaths.
The whole concept of the Beautiful Dead who are a form of revenants/zombies with tons of super human powers was enjoyable. It wasn’t completely new but it was presented in a fresh enough way. I liked Darina and the love she felt for her dead boyfriend was both sad and sweet.
In general this book was just there. It wasn’t terrible and kept me entertained for two days. I’ll probably even read the sequel but I won’t strongly recommend it to anyone in the future.
What put me off was the ending. First of all there wasn’t much logic to it.
Also the mystery about Jonas’s death is not really a mystery at all. Darina gets on the right track after about half the book. After that there are no unexpected twists or revelations.
Don’t be fooled by the marvellous cover. Yes it looks stunning in your bookshelf but it only contains an average story.
One last question: Why the names “Phoenix” and “Arizona”? I would have been fine with one of them but two city/country names in one book? Maybe book 2 – [b:Arizona|6434104|Arizona (Beautiful Dead, #2)|Eden Maguire|http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51zaaiQWpsL._SL75_.jpg|6623610] – will bring this to light.
The whole concept of the Beautiful Dead who are a form of revenants/zombies with tons of super human powers was enjoyable. It wasn’t completely new but it was presented in a fresh enough way. I liked Darina and the love she felt for her dead boyfriend was both sad and sweet.
In general this book was just there. It wasn’t terrible and kept me entertained for two days. I’ll probably even read the sequel but I won’t strongly recommend it to anyone in the future.
What put me off was the ending. First of all there wasn’t much logic to it.
Spoiler
Near the end Hunter decides to take Darina and Matt back in time to figure out what really happened when Jonas died. Why hasn’t he done that before? Why get into all this trouble of turning Darina into some kind of spy when they can just travel back in time and check for themselves what happened? It didn’t make sense.Also the mystery about Jonas’s death is not really a mystery at all. Darina gets on the right track after about half the book. After that there are no unexpected twists or revelations.
Spoiler
What really annoyed me is that Matt – the boy who is responsible for Jonas’s death because he tried to race him on a motorcycle which got him into a deathly accident – gets killed by Jonas’s dad Bob. It happens like this: Darina, Matt, Bob and other people drive on their motorbikes to honour the anniversary of Jonas’s death. Darina tells Bob that Matt killed Jonas. Bob does not questions this, he freaks out, races Matt, kicks him off a cliff and Matt dies. After that Bob drives of the cliff as well and dies. SERIOUSLY??? I know what Matt did was wrong and horrible but you can’t just let a devastated dad kill another teenager!Don’t be fooled by the marvellous cover. Yes it looks stunning in your bookshelf but it only contains an average story.
One last question: Why the names “Phoenix” and “Arizona”? I would have been fine with one of them but two city/country names in one book? Maybe book 2 – [b:Arizona|6434104|Arizona (Beautiful Dead, #2)|Eden Maguire|http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51zaaiQWpsL._SL75_.jpg|6623610] – will bring this to light.
sohxpie's review against another edition
4.0
Re-reading for a good bit of high school nostalgia and to actually finish the series as I never read the final book in the series. Obviously I am much older now than when I first read the books but I still really enjoyed it. I don't know if I found Darina this annoying the first time round or if I'm just getting old. I do love the premise and idea of the novels, the story really catches my interest. I don't think I would actually rate it four stars if this was my first time reading. I think the reason I didn't enjoy it as much this time around is because the whole romance thing is a big part of this story and that doesn't appeal to me anymore, I prefer romance to be a secondary plot in the books I read now.
ameserole's review against another edition
1.0
If I had known that Jonas was going to give me horrible Twilight vibes.. I would have never dove into it. That being said, I didn't know and I still read it. All I'm going to say is that this book and I didn't get along. So it was no surprise that I needed a strong drink while reading this one.
I honestly don't even want to dive into the characters. Mostly because I just didn't like them at all and I didn't even try to find a connection with them either. They were completely dramatic, like overdramatic in every horrible way, and I was just rolling my eyes the entire time. I also think this book did the impossible.. it made Twilight likable. Like a teeny tiny bit. Would I ever dive back into that series? Ha - no. Never.
Besides all of that, this was highly predictable and completely cliché. So in other words, this was not my cup of tea. Maybe next time I will actually read the other reviews before I make my own assumption (in this case).
I honestly don't even want to dive into the characters. Mostly because I just didn't like them at all and I didn't even try to find a connection with them either. They were completely dramatic, like overdramatic in every horrible way, and I was just rolling my eyes the entire time. I also think this book did the impossible.. it made Twilight likable. Like a teeny tiny bit. Would I ever dive back into that series? Ha - no. Never.
Besides all of that, this was highly predictable and completely cliché. So in other words, this was not my cup of tea. Maybe next time I will actually read the other reviews before I make my own assumption (in this case).
whatemmaread's review against another edition
1.0
Don't waste your time or money on this book. It was AWFUL.
vikingwolf's review against another edition
2.0
Darina is mourning her boyfriend Phoenix, the fourth student to die in mysterious circumstances in a short period of time. Then she finds out that the dead kids are still 'alive' as beautiful zombies for a short time as they try to solve their own murders. Darina agrees to help so she can continue to see Phoenix, and the first one she needs to help is Jonas, who appeared to die in a road accident.
This is a short, light read for teenagers but it wasn't a bad story. It could make an interesting film or TV series. Darina starts to quiz the suspects who might have a reason to hurt Jonas and soon comes up with a suspect. It wasn't really hard to guess the bad guy here but I doubt it was meant to be a big whodunnit anyway. She isn't the smartest girl in the world and she is a bit obvious in her investigations to the point of being a bit annoying at times. The big bike fest at the end to expose the killer was nicely done though.
It was ok, nothing fantastic.
This is a short, light read for teenagers but it wasn't a bad story. It could make an interesting film or TV series. Darina starts to quiz the suspects who might have a reason to hurt Jonas and soon comes up with a suspect. It wasn't really hard to guess the bad guy here but I doubt it was meant to be a big whodunnit anyway. She isn't the smartest girl in the world and she is a bit obvious in her investigations to the point of being a bit annoying at times. The big bike fest at the end to expose the killer was nicely done though.
It was ok, nothing fantastic.
cleah's review against another edition
5.0
Darina is still reeling from the death of her boyfriend Phoenix, the last of four kids to die within the same year. And it's not just her - the whole town seems to have a gray cloud of misery hanging over it. But then Darina starts to see Phoenix around town, visions which are accompanied by the sound of a thousand beating wings. Darnia soon learns that Phoenix is one of the Beautiful Dead - the lucky chosen few who get to come back and attempt to bring some justice to the manner in which they died. Darina is also lucky. She has been elected to help the Beautiful Dead in their missions, starting with Jonas.
Though there are many topics in this series - love, friendship, paranormal powers - it is first and foremost a series about grieving for those we love. My hear ached for Darina when she was trying to accept that she would never see Phoenix again, and then again when she was granted more time with him. The whole concept is quite an titillating little fantasy, especially being the only one who can see/help the Beautiful Dead. I was not sure how, exactly, Eden Maguire was going to pull this off, but there were never any moments when I couldn't understand. The paranormal elements were well thought out. And the ending was a complete page-turning climax! Next up is Arizona's story, and I can't wait!
Though there are many topics in this series - love, friendship, paranormal powers - it is first and foremost a series about grieving for those we love. My hear ached for Darina when she was trying to accept that she would never see Phoenix again, and then again when she was granted more time with him. The whole concept is quite an titillating little fantasy, especially being the only one who can see/help the Beautiful Dead. I was not sure how, exactly, Eden Maguire was going to pull this off, but there were never any moments when I couldn't understand. The paranormal elements were well thought out. And the ending was a complete page-turning climax! Next up is Arizona's story, and I can't wait!
ashleighmacro's review against another edition
1.0
I should warn you now that this review is not the most positive review I’ve ever written. In fact, it’s more like a rant. So for those of you who don’t want to listen to me whinging on about Beautiful Dead I’ll give you a quick summary: this is quite possibly the worst book I’ve ever read.
Still with me? You’re brave.
I really did try to enjoy this book. Even when I’d read more than half of it and was desperate to shelve it and never pick it back up again, I still continued with the belief that it couldn’t possibly be so bad the entire way through.
Perhaps the ending would make everything better, or the characters would all of a sudden become believable. But, as I’m sure you’ve already guessed, neither of those possibilities came to light. Instead, when I finally made it to that last word, I realised I’d just wasted several hours of precious reading time on a book I still can’t believe actually managed to be published.
Now, I don’t want to sound like a complete and utter bitch about this (I fear I might be too late for that. I’m not normally this mean, honest!). After all, the author spent time and effort crafting this novel and seeing it through to publication, and that’s an achievement I can’t say I’ve managed.
But honestly, with such an intriguing premise and the potential to become a really, really great series, I struggle to see why it wasn’t completely rewritten from the ground up before hitting the shelves.
First up, there’s the characters. Most of them aren’t likeable or relatable in any way shape or form, with the exception of Zoey and Jonas at a stretch. Why does Darina, the main character in this novel, actually love Phoenix? I never did get it. And why does she address her mum by her first name? She didn’t seem that awful to me.
There are hundreds more questions I have about the characters in this book, but I won’t bore you with them.
Then there’s the zombies. Yes, you heard me. For some completely unknown reason Eden Maguire decided that the supernatural beings in this book would be referred to as zombies, even though they’re nothing of the sort. I’d suggest they’re more like ghosts. As far as I’m aware their bodies have been buried or cremated and are in a cemetery somewhere, so I have no idea why zombies even entered the equation.
And don’t even get me started on the relationship between Darina and Phoenix. It’s absolutely devastating that he died, of course it is. But they were together for just two months and she’s saying she’d rather be dead too than live without him? And when she realises she can still communicate with him, the exchanges between them and her gushing about how much she loves him are both equally vomit-worthy. If there weren’t so many unnecessary moments spent reiterating their love for one another I may even have given this book two stars.
Oh, of course, we haven’t even mentioned the actual plot. Here’s an opportunity to make an awesome paranormal whodunnit, but instead what we get is a completely flat, predictable and dull whodunnit with a truly baffling ending (and that’s not baffling in a good way, I should add).
I really, really do hate being so negative about a book, but I just can’t think of anything good to say about it.
Oh, scrap that. The cover is gorgeous!
I think I’m so worked up and ranty about this book because the concept is so intriguing and could have made an absolutely amazing book. But what we’ve got instead is a book that’s cobbled together for the sake of printing it and it’s a real shame.
I will point out that I have read some positive reviews about Beautiful Dead so there is obviously an audience out there for it, but unfortunately I’m definitely not in it.
Incredibly, there are three more books in this series. I’ve heard they get better but I really don’t think I’m going to risk it.
Still with me? You’re brave.
I really did try to enjoy this book. Even when I’d read more than half of it and was desperate to shelve it and never pick it back up again, I still continued with the belief that it couldn’t possibly be so bad the entire way through.
Perhaps the ending would make everything better, or the characters would all of a sudden become believable. But, as I’m sure you’ve already guessed, neither of those possibilities came to light. Instead, when I finally made it to that last word, I realised I’d just wasted several hours of precious reading time on a book I still can’t believe actually managed to be published.
Now, I don’t want to sound like a complete and utter bitch about this (I fear I might be too late for that. I’m not normally this mean, honest!). After all, the author spent time and effort crafting this novel and seeing it through to publication, and that’s an achievement I can’t say I’ve managed.
But honestly, with such an intriguing premise and the potential to become a really, really great series, I struggle to see why it wasn’t completely rewritten from the ground up before hitting the shelves.
First up, there’s the characters. Most of them aren’t likeable or relatable in any way shape or form, with the exception of Zoey and Jonas at a stretch. Why does Darina, the main character in this novel, actually love Phoenix? I never did get it. And why does she address her mum by her first name? She didn’t seem that awful to me.
There are hundreds more questions I have about the characters in this book, but I won’t bore you with them.
Then there’s the zombies. Yes, you heard me. For some completely unknown reason Eden Maguire decided that the supernatural beings in this book would be referred to as zombies, even though they’re nothing of the sort. I’d suggest they’re more like ghosts. As far as I’m aware their bodies have been buried or cremated and are in a cemetery somewhere, so I have no idea why zombies even entered the equation.
And don’t even get me started on the relationship between Darina and Phoenix. It’s absolutely devastating that he died, of course it is. But they were together for just two months and she’s saying she’d rather be dead too than live without him? And when she realises she can still communicate with him, the exchanges between them and her gushing about how much she loves him are both equally vomit-worthy. If there weren’t so many unnecessary moments spent reiterating their love for one another I may even have given this book two stars.
Oh, of course, we haven’t even mentioned the actual plot. Here’s an opportunity to make an awesome paranormal whodunnit, but instead what we get is a completely flat, predictable and dull whodunnit with a truly baffling ending (and that’s not baffling in a good way, I should add).
I really, really do hate being so negative about a book, but I just can’t think of anything good to say about it.
Oh, scrap that. The cover is gorgeous!
I think I’m so worked up and ranty about this book because the concept is so intriguing and could have made an absolutely amazing book. But what we’ve got instead is a book that’s cobbled together for the sake of printing it and it’s a real shame.
I will point out that I have read some positive reviews about Beautiful Dead so there is obviously an audience out there for it, but unfortunately I’m definitely not in it.
Incredibly, there are three more books in this series. I’ve heard they get better but I really don’t think I’m going to risk it.