Customer Reviews

Beautiful Dead Book 1: Jonas

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Reviewed for MonsterLibrarian.com

Darina thinks she's going crazy. She's seeing her dead boyfriend everywhere and having visions of beating wings and death's head masks. But if she's off, the whole town is too. Four teens have died suspiciously in the past year in her town, the most recent was her boyfriend Phoenix who was stabbed during a fight. But while the teens have died they haven't left, returning to a strange house in the woods as the Beautiful Dead.
Less traditional zombie and more like J. O' Barr's The Crow series, the Beautiful Dead have come back for answers to their untimely deaths and Darina, trying to get as much time with Phoenix as possible, has agreed to help them. First is Jonas, who died in a motorcycle accident that also paralyzed his girlfriend Zoey. With only a few days until Jonas' time on earth is done for good Darina must help find out what exactly happened to Jonas and Zoey on the road.
Beautiful Dead: Jonas is full of beautiful prose, a good mystery, plenty of emotion and a rather intense love story. The zombies are as far removed from the Romero classics as Edward Cullen is from Dracula. In fact between the intensity of the love story and the juxtaposition of the morbid and dark with a lovely setting and the lovely writing it bears a semblance to the Twilight world and is very likely to catch the interest of Twilight fans. Recommended for YA collections, for sure, curators should keep in mind that with the high number of mystical powers and lack of appetite of the book's zombies it's more appropriate for lovers of dark fantasy and paranormal romance than hard horror fans.

A short quick read this book kept me entertained. Despite an underlying tone of sadness there was still a general feeling of hope throughout. Particularly in the romantic areas involving both Darina and Jonas.

I have to say that what made this book the most for me was how the undead were portrayed. These zombies weren't shuffling, mindless, flesh dripping brain eaters. They were angelic and human and supernatural in nature. Not to be feared in the traditional sense they were, however, quite powerful. Able to exert mind control and invade the personal space of of our thoughts and emotions.

The love story between Phoenix and Darina is as tragic as one would expect but the love they shared in his after life was equally endearing. At times I could feel the longing between them jump off the page. The same hold true for Jonas and the young girl he let behind. Both bursting with love for each other but unable to act on it. It was heartbreaking yet inspiring at the same time.

I found the story of Darina been the human connection that allowed the Beautiful Dead to properly investigate the circumstances surrounding the reasons for remaining in limbo to be an interesting take on the zombie story. It made complete sense and it tied her to the group realistically. Sadly, this made the ending somewhat predictable (mainly because we know there are more books to come). Thankfully, for me, the story is much more about the journey to get to that end than what the actual ending was.

It was a journey that I enjoyed. It was emotional and loving while still somewhat thrilling and in some cases surprising. It's certainly a journey I'm interested enough in taking again in book two.

Eden Maguire introduces us to our protagonist, Darina, who is dealing with the deaths of four students from her high school within the past year; Jonas, Arizona, Summer, and Phoenix. The last one hit home, Phoenix being her boyfriend of two months. But, in Darina's depressed state, she thinks she sees Phoenix alive, so she follows him...and discovers the world of the Beautiful Dead.

The Beautiful Dead is actually the four students, along with four other people, who have died within the past year. At the head is a man named Michael, who is cold and distant to Darina. They try to control her mind and make her forget, but her love for Phoenix is too strong, so she makes a deal. In order to retain knowledge of their little zombie state, she has to help each on of them take care of unfinished business so they pass on.

And so the story unfolds. We are met first with Jonas, who died when he crashed his motorcycle, severely wounding his girlfriend, and a former friend of Darina's, Zoey. Darina begins to delve into the mystery, all the while trying to cope with only seeing Phoenix in small time frames, and dealing with some other not-so-nice townsfolk.

The first half of the book did not impress like I thought it would. There was an info dump (which was a one-time thing, thankfully) and the romance between Darina and Phoenix was already established, so it kind of felt flat. The only concept I found new in their love was that both people were equally devoted, and while it had TWILIGHT shadowing, Phoenix is never abusive or cruel or monstrous. He still shows love and affection like a normal teenager who is entrapped by the bindings of true amour. The characters were pretty good, but nothing spectacular. And the plot was interesting, if somewhat ripping off Ghost Whisperer.

It was somewhere around a certain plot revelation that the story began to speed up, and change for the better. Darina was a nice character, but Zoey really had my attention. She wasn't too amazing as a character, but she was interesting, and I loved reading about her lost love with Jonas. It appealed to my romantic side quite well. And it was near tear-inducing despite the cliche of the situation. I also enjoyed the mythos added to the book involving the Beautiful Dead - they become slightly darker and troubled. And that really sets it apart from the light paranormals we see. This book deals with death. With people dying. And it doesn't shy away from it. Which is cool, and welcomed, especially among the almost too happy paranormal books we see today.

Overall, it was a pretty good book. The writing was good, and the plot elements were cool despite being a little contrived. The characters were just enough to keep me going, though the myth and the romance could use with a good expanding and fleshing out along the way. Maguire has an interesting series starter, and while it wasn't anything spectacular, it appealed to my romantic side and my love of paranormal stories. Needless to say, I will be picking up book two, because it's an enjoyable paranormal series despite some flaws that come with the territory. And I enjoy the covers. They are cool and Gothic, while at the same time not too insane. But that's just another reason I'll keep reading.

A side note: Maguire talks about influences involving WUTHERING HEIGHTS, and I can really see it well. I think some of it is a little shallow for teen readers, but it's an interesting perspective, and fits with the book's darker atmosphere.

Reviewed by: John Jacobson, aka "R.J. Jacobs"

A-MAZING!! When I Went Into B&N On My Weekly Book Binge I Wasn't There To Pick This Book Up Intentionally, But I Saw The Cover, Read The Back And Had To Have It! This Book Is A Super-Easy Read. Sometimes I Felt Like I Was Reading The Main Character - Darina's Journal. Although This Book Is Very Popular In The UK I Hadn't Really Heard Of It. Boy, Am I Glad I Bought It! Darina Is Going Through A Really Tough Patch. She Just Lost Her Boyfriend, Her Best Friend Isn't Speaking To Her Anymore, Her Best Guy Friend Wants More From Her, And Her Mother Makes Her See A Shrink. To Top It All Off, One Day Of Wandering Around Leads Her To Find THE BEAUTIFUL DEAD. Four Dead Teenagers Being Run By An Overlord Named Hunter. And One Them Is Phoenix: Her Dead Boyfriend. These Four Souls Are Still On Earth To Discover What Happened To Them. How And Why They Died. Darina's Character Is Really Easy To Relate To. I Haven't Lost Anyone Like That, But I Understand What Makes Her Hold On To Phoenix So Tightly. And That's The Fear Of Being Alone. We Don't Really Get To Know More About The Beautiful Dead, Possibly Because Each Character Has They're Own Book. And So Begins A Whirlwind Of Suspense As Darina Tries To Figure Out What Happended To Jonas. The First Teenager To Die Nearly A Year Ago. And Time Is Running Out...
I Highly Recommend This Book!

Darina can hardly believe her eyes when she stumbles upon a gathering in an old barn near an abandoned home way out of town. Drawn to the area because of tales around town of strange sightings there, she is shocked to see Phoenix, her recently dead boyfriend, and three other teens from town who have died in the last year, looking very much alive. An older man is with them, and Darina runs when she thinks he's about to discover her. But the possibility that Phoenix may still be alive draws her back to learn the truth--they are all dead and brought back to earth by Hunter, who protects them. They all have unfinished business to set right before they can rest.

Beautiful Dead, Book 1--Jonas is the first in a new series by Eden Maguire. It imagines a realm where the dead can return, commune with the living, and solve a mystery surrounding their deaths. Anyone living who discovers them has his memory of the event wiped away. Except for Darina. Her strong connection with Phoenix, and her promise to help the group find the answers they're looking for makes her a vital accomplice. She is under a strict vow of silence about what she knows.

Beautiful Dead is full of complex, conflicting relationships. Darina feels ostracized at home because she doesn't get along with her stepfather. Caught in the middle, Darina's mother mostly frets about the right thing to do. Darina is befriended by Phoenix's brother, who has promised to look after her. But many in town question his motives. Darina's old friends aren't sure if they can trust her, and some lash out as she pulls away from them to keep her secret.

As the story evolves, we find that Darina must help each of the Beautiful Dead find out the mystery surrounding his or her death. The first is Jonas, who has been dead the longest. While Darina looks deeper into what happened the day he crashed his motorcycle, she must also deal with the grief, anguish and confusion of those closest to Jonas. And the outrage of one who has something to hide.

Beautiful Dead is imaginative and intriguing. Issues to talk about in a book group include personal feelings of spirituality and what happens after death, the bond between dating teens, jealousy, and mother-daughter relationships. While I found the descriptions of the rules that existed for the beautiful dead the least compelling part of the book, I was able to read past those and enjoy the mystery and the story enough to look forward to reading the second in the series.

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 really wanted to like this book, and for the most part I did. It was a fast and easy read. Darina seemed a bit extreme to me at first (maybe I'm growing tired of the love-struck teenager role?). But, she quickly grew on me. She has a lot of backbone for a teenager. I was impressed with the was she handled herself in a lot of the situations. She also seemed genuinely concerned for a friend. She knew that helping Jonas would also be helping her estranged best friend (her name escapes me at the moment). I was not impressed with her parents, but I could see that being normal with a step-parent in the picture(another running theme is teen fiction). The 4 dead teens and their "group" also make for interesting characters. They added humor and definitely some suspense and terror to the story. Although I wonder how they expected to right the wrongs associated with their deaths without Darina. It's almost like they knew she would come help them. I loved the idea of the angel wing tattoos marking them according to how they died. It was an interesting idea to the story.
Now, there were a couple things that bring this book down for me. First, the use of the word zombie. When I think of zombie, I think of the living dead. That's not what these people are. They are more like ghosts with actual bodies. Second, I really disliked the ending for some reason. I was not surprised with the circumstances surrounding Jonas' death. But, I thought he could have been vindicated differently. I understood the feelings behind the extreme actions that brought about the ending. It just left me with a bad taste in my mouth. It felt over the top. Last, but really not important, I wish the book was a little longer. I felt like all the action took place way to fast.

I didn't feel that I could connect to really any of the characters. I could connect to Darina's grief, but it seemed that her relationship with Phoenix was forced. Most of the time, she seemed like such a strong character, but she was so co-dependent with Phoenix. The other characters needed further development. I tried to like the plot, but the fact that the characters were vague and there weren't many other descriptions. The originality in this book could have been made better. It has so many great ideas like the idea of helping save souls of those murdered unjustly and the force field of angel wings that beat you back physically. I think that Maguire could have written a strong book with expanding the character and making the personalities and appearance more decided.

Beautiful Dead was a lot different than I expected, I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed it. The beginning was a little slow, but I had a hard time putting the book down. Darina's unique and fun attitude kept the plot moving and there wasn't a slow moment. There were a variety of sub-plots and Maguire tackled the zombie idea with a new twist. The Beautiful Dead are actually a group of people, well zombies. But not just your average flesh eating zombies, the Beautiful Dead were almost normal looking with special powers. I was at the edge of my seat at quite a few scenes and I really liked the character and plot development. Beautiful Dead started off in what might seem like an awkward place but Maguire nailed it and created a haunting tale that many readers will enjoy. Phoenix was very sweet- I liked the romance in this book and Darina and Phoenix were perfect for each other. Their relationship was realistic and honest. Mystery, romance, and the undead were all tied together in this great debut.

At first, some people might be a little wary as the plot seems a little too unique, but the more you read, the more you get involved in the book. Darina is witty and in control, a refreshing character that added a lot to the novel. I liked the rest of the Beautiful Dead, even seemingly begrudging Hunter. Once you realized his reason for being angry at Darina, readers could feel for him. It was easy in Beautiful Dead to hate the bad characters and love the good ones. I also really liked the character names. They went from a range of unique to common. Phoenix, Arizona, and Darina to Matt, Logan, and Jordan.

In addition, I really like how Maguire is writing this series. The first book is about Jonas, the second Arizona, and so on- very awesome! And of course I really like the covers. They work perfectly with the book. I'm guessing that's Darina on the cover? It looks like I would picture her! Also, the font of the title is very cool!

In the end, Beautiful Dead was an original and well written novel, and I'm looking forward to reading the sequel, Beautiful Dead: Book Two- Arizona!

Rating;

Plot: 9/10

Characters: 9/10

Ending: 8.5/10

Enjoyment: 8.5/10

Cover: 8.5/10

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Overall: 43.5/50 = 87%

This book was a total surprise to me. To be honest, I really had no idea what to expect when I started this book. This was a new author and a new publisher to me, so I was going into this book completely blind. When I finished reading, I was really glad that I had picked up this book and immediately raved about it.

The storyline is really believable surprisingly even with the supernatural elements. Any questions I had about the undead is pretty much answered in the book even the ones that I thought no one else would care about. I could buy Darina and Phoenix's relationship even if they had been only dating for a short time before his death. Her friendship with Zoey was one storyline I really was interested in. I really liked reading how the two girls who had grown apart were able to come back together and make peace.

What's great about the book is even with the zombies and the paranormal element running throughout the book, there is also a really good mystery in the story. I actually got so into finding out what really happened to Jonas that I had to will myself NOT to look at the ending to see what happened. This is really rare for me because if the story is not written well or is too unbelievable I usually flip to the end because I just can't stand it anymore. This time, I really got into the story so I wanted it to play out as I read it and see if I was right.

I really enjoyed reading this book. Even though this book is in a genre I normally don't read, I didn't feel alienated or put off at all by this book. I just don't want to hear that this book did for zombies what Twilight did for vampires. Because even though it's a wonderful book, it's NOT anything like Twilight so comparisons to it would just fall flat. The writing really captures your attention and draws you in throughout the whole story. As soon as I finished, I was eager to read the next book in the series. Honestly I can't wait to read more of this series and see what's going to happen to Darina, Phoenix and the rest of the gang. Even if you don't like any sort of paranormal fiction at all, I really think that you will enjoy this book.