Mundie Moms

Thursday, April 12, 2012

Book Review: Kill Me Softly 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. 

TMI/ID Unidentified Snippets & More


This lovely snippet was posted yesterday and I'm really curious as to who said this: 

“You’re in my bones and my blood and my heart,” he said. “I’d have to tear myself open to let you go.”

I'm guessing this is from Infernal Devices. It sounds like something Jem, Will or one of the guys from ID would say.


“Wet again,” Will said, glumly.



Check out the newest image from the manga chapter of Infernal Devices! This one is of Will and Tessa. Not only do I love this scene in the book, but I'm looking forward to seeing more images from this book.

TMI Movie News: Putting the Jamie/Jace Rumor To Rest


Rumors have always seemed so silly to me, because they're just that, rumors. There have been a lot of rumors flying around Jamie playing Jace in the upcoming TMI movie. No matter how many times both Cassie and Jamie have discussed this rumor, it continues to fly around. Hopefully Cassie's post yesterday have put those rumors to rest once and for all. 

Here's Cassie's latest post: Jamie is Jace

Because my ask box is crazy full of questions about this — yes, there have a few (well, one that I know of) articles saying Jamie Campbell-Bower isn’t attached to the City of Bones movie any more.


Jamie is perplexed.
I was perplexed by the rumors as well but I wanted to take the time to check them out completely; I knew they were negotiating Jamie’s contract, but I can tell you after major thorough checking — yes, 100% he is Jace; Lily is ecstatic, I am, the whole team at Constantin is; Jamie has a trainer, he’s been working out six days a week and drinking protein shakes and by all tales told to me looks terrific.
Soon he will look like this.


[i am JUST KIDDING. This will not happen. Breathe.] Here’s Jamie actually talking about his training regimen at 8:50 in this video: 




Stephanie, our casting director, is actively casting the rest of the roles — that means auditions, lists of actors, the whole shebang; I got a peek at some lists and was really excited. You never know how things will shake out, but there were some great actors suggested. I’m excited they’re going to audition.
In sum: Jamie is Jace, nothing has changed, sometimes there are weird rumors on the Internet, I try to be there for you to confirm or deny when I can — if I don’t answer right back it’s because I don’t know and I’m checking.


I don't know about you guys, but I'm really looking forward to hearing more exciting movie news, like who the rest of the cast will be!! I can't wait to see this movie on the big screen!

Freedom To Read Giveaway Hop Sign Up

I'm looking forward to teaming up with Kathy from I Am Not A Writer for a fun giveaway hop we're hosting in July! I know this is a couple months out, but Kathy and I wanted to start spreading the word about it now. 


Hosted by I Am A Reader, Not A Writer & Katie @ Mundie Moms 
June 29th to July 5th


  • You must host a giveaway on your site, you are responsible for obtaining a prize for giveaway and taking care of the shipping charges. 
  • You must giveaway something a reader, author or blogger would enjoy. 
  • Your giveaway post must include the hop image & linky (or links to the host's sites if you can't get the linky to work). 
  • Please only 1 mandatory entry - all others must be optional - Keep It Simple! No long lists of things for people to do. If you have dozens of things for people to do I will delete your blog from the linky. 
  • Your post must be live by 12:01 EST on June 29th. (That is 9 pm June 28th if you live in California) 
  • The giveaway must be specifically for this hop. 
  • Your site must be family friendly - no erotica or 18+ sites. Your site & giveaway must be free of steamy images and book covers. If it would embarrass me to have my teenagers see it, it can't be on your site. 
  • It is your responsibility to check the linky on June 29th to be sure you are still on the linky and that your link is accurate. Please send me a direct link to your post when it goes live. 
  • If you are using Rafflecopter set it to begin on JUNE 28th and to end on JULY 6th. Do not use the Point Values +4, +5, +10 or +25.
To sign up to host a giveaway add you blog to the linky. Please include your shipping info in parenthesis following your blog name (US) (US/Can) (INT) - if you don't include shipping info I will assume you are shipping to US only and edit the linky for you.

Thoughtful Thursday: Teen Lit Day / Rock The Drop!

Its Teen Lit Day and in support of today's events, I wanted to spread the word about ROCK THE DROP! In awesome event that unites YA book fans all over the globe and encourages them to go out into their communities and leave a book or books in areas around town where teens can pick them up. This drop beats an Easter egg hunt. What's more fun than going around town to find free books! This nice thing is that EVERYONE can get involved. Per Readergirlz, here's what you need to do:



Rock the Drop 2012


Once again, Readergirlz and Figment are going to ROCK THE DROP in honor of Support Teen Lit Day on Thursday, April 12th. We can't wait! Here's how you can get involved:



Snag the above bookplate, created by the uber-talented David Ostow (who blogs hilarious cartoons here), and add it to your blog and social networks, linking back to this post to share the love. Proclaim that you will ROCK THE DROP!
Print a copy of the bookplate and insert it into a book (or 10!) that you'll drop on April 12th. Drop a book in a public spot (park bench, bus seat, restaurant counter?) Lucky finders will see that the book is part of ROCK THE DROP!
Snap a photo of your drop and post it at the readergirlz Facebook page. Then tweet the drop at #rockthedrop with all the other lovers of YA books. 


Visit the readergirlz blog for more news and pictures before, during, and after the event!

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If you're not able to take part in this, don't worry, there's a lot of things you can do to support Teen Lit Day! You can donate books to your local library, local school's library, teen shelters and more. Reading is empowering! All it takes is for one person to a book into the hands of a teen who needs it to help change their out look and possibly their feature. There's so many books out there waiting to be read and so many teens waiting for that one story that connects with them, makes them realize they're not the only ones and helps them discover they can achieve anything they put their mind to. ROCK THE DROP!!

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