Book Review: Kill Me Softly by Sarah Cross

By: Sarah Cross

Published by: Egmont USA

Released on: April 11th, 2012

Source: ARC from ALA Midwinter

4 Stars: I Enjoyed It

Purchase from: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | IndieBound

Mirabelle's past is shrouded in secrecy, from her parents' tragic deaths to her guardians' half-truths about why she can't return to her birthplace, Beau Rivage. Desperate to see the town, Mira runs away a week before her sixteenth birthday—and discovers a world she never could have imagined.

In Beau Rivage, nothing is what it seems—the strangely pale girl with a morbid interest in apples, the obnoxious playboy who's a beast to everyone he meets, and the chivalrous guy who has a thing for damsels in distress. Here, fairy tales come to life, curses are awakened, and ancient stories are played out again and again.


But fairy tales aren't pretty things, and they don't always end in happily ever after. Mira has a role to play, a fairy tale destiny to embrace or resist. As she struggles to take control of her fate, Mira is drawn into the lives of two brothers with fairy tale curses of their own . . . brothers who share a dark secret. And she'll find that love, just like fairy tales, can have sharp edges and hidden thorns. -quoted from Goodreads

If you love twisted fairy tales, than this is a book you'll want to pick. Kill Me Softly is a mix between the dark tales of the Grimm Brothers and a little bit like that of the t.v. show Once Upon A Time. Sarah Cross has created something unique and entirely all her own. This story is most likely not like the ones you were told as a child and they're definitely not like the beloved Disney fairy tale classics you grew up with. Sure this story has it's romances, it's Knights' in shinning armor (yes, Prince charming has brothers), fairy God mothers, but it's also full of curses, evil fairies, ill fated love, heartache, and given a real edgy feel to it which works well for this story's setting. Every character in this story has a curse that they're destined to fulfill, whether they want to or not. This story will have you rooting for it's colorful cast of broken characters, and the romance that may or may not kill Sleeping Beauty in the end.

Sarah Cross has created a world that's intriguing, dangerous, and alluring. Not only did I want to find out more about her characters, but I wanted to know more about the setting, and this mysterious town that left all it's residences destined to live out some ill fated fairy tale. Which by the way they're not allow to tell anyone about their curses. Though this was a bit frustrating to Mirabelle, the story's main character, it definitely created a mystery I wanted to get to the bottom of. Like Mirabelle, I had hope that there would at least be some sort of happy ending for a few of the characters. Though there's much I would love to discuss about this book, I can't for the sake of giving away spoilers. Let me just say, not all things are as they seem. Some things are better left alone, and other things are better left uncovered.


Here's one of the many quotes I loved in this book: "You couldn't hide from bad things and pretend they didn't exist–that left you with a dream world, and dream worlds eventually crumbled. You had to face the truth. And then decide what you wanted.” 

One of the things I loved getting to see uncovered more as the story goes on is Blue. He's the broken boy who does all he can to chase Mirabelle out of his town, a place outsiders aren't welcome to hang around in. There's so much more to him than his frankness, and attitude. He's a character I wanted to know more about, and someone I wanted to help. Mirabelle and Blue have this chemistry that I just loved. They both push each other in ways that get under each other's skin, but really you want to just tell them to stop deny the feelings they have for each and kiss already. The way their relationship is developed worked well for this story. They both slowly, but surely peel away the layers of each other, their pain, their heartache, and of course some of the mystery surrounding the curses of the town of Beau Rivage. 

Oh the mystery, the twists and the danger that lie within the pages of this story. It's so good! I liked that Sarah answered many of the questions I had while reading Mirabelle's story and turned the few frustrations I had with her into insightful understanding by the time this story ended. I'm hoping there will be sequel! I need more answers and I of course need to know what's in store for a few of the characters. There's a few choices a few characters made that I'm guessing will have dyer consequences in the next book, if there is one. Kill Me Softly is definitely not a fairy tale you're mother would read to you at bedtime. It's a fairytale older YA fans and adults will enjoy. There is some mild language, and a well written sensual scene.