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3.47 AVERAGE
3.47 AVERAGE
Expected Publication Date: April 10th 2012
‘Kill Me Softly’ was kindly provided to me by Netgalley.
Interested in more of my reviews? Visit my blog!
I've been extremely interested in finding more fairy-tale retellings after I picked up 'A Long, Long Sleep' by Anna Sheehan and enjoyed it immensely. When I heard this one was coming out I pounced. I had huge problems with the main character and it really affected the story and how much I enjoyed it. I understand she's only 16 and therefore immaturity is bound to happen but her immaturity was bordering ridiculous.
'He'd brought sunglasses, which she thought was unfair, since the bright white of the sun was making her squint; and at the restaurant, she swiped them and put them on, propped her chin on her hands, and dared him to steal them back with her best impassive diva face.'
First is it just me or does that sentence have far too many commas? And two... diva face? You've got to be kidding me. Then on yet the same page:
'She drank so many iced coffees and looked at him so long her blood buzzed.'
Enough with this insta-love. Is romance dead and no one knows how to write a credible build-up prior to when two people fall in love? Sorry, but, it's not enough for this guy to be drop-dead gorgeous. Still doesn't justify the unnecessary amount of swooning and really does nothing except make the main character appear shallow.
Finding out what happened to her parents was the central point of this entire storyline; it's the reason she ran away from home and traveled all the way to Beau Rivage. But when insta-love gets so bad that it completely consumes the point of the story? Bad news.
"I don't believe in coincidence, Mira. I think there's a reason you had to travel here alone. Something you were meant to find."
Maybe it's you, she thought and then had the immediate urge to unthink it. She didn't want to be overeager, immature.
*face palm* Too late honey.
Once I got down to the meat of the story and the reason for the fairy-tale curses I decided to stop because I just wasn't as into it as I had hoped and I didn't see that changing anytime soon. If I had continued it may have gotten better but I wasn't invested enough in this to spend any additional time trying to make this work.
I can see the appeal with this one but it was definitely not for me.
‘Kill Me Softly’ was kindly provided to me by Netgalley.
Interested in more of my reviews? Visit my blog!
I've been extremely interested in finding more fairy-tale retellings after I picked up 'A Long, Long Sleep' by Anna Sheehan and enjoyed it immensely. When I heard this one was coming out I pounced. I had huge problems with the main character and it really affected the story and how much I enjoyed it. I understand she's only 16 and therefore immaturity is bound to happen but her immaturity was bordering ridiculous.
'He'd brought sunglasses, which she thought was unfair, since the bright white of the sun was making her squint; and at the restaurant, she swiped them and put them on, propped her chin on her hands, and dared him to steal them back with her best impassive diva face.'
First is it just me or does that sentence have far too many commas? And two... diva face? You've got to be kidding me. Then on yet the same page:
'She drank so many iced coffees and looked at him so long her blood buzzed.'
Enough with this insta-love. Is romance dead and no one knows how to write a credible build-up prior to when two people fall in love? Sorry, but, it's not enough for this guy to be drop-dead gorgeous. Still doesn't justify the unnecessary amount of swooning and really does nothing except make the main character appear shallow.
Finding out what happened to her parents was the central point of this entire storyline; it's the reason she ran away from home and traveled all the way to Beau Rivage. But when insta-love gets so bad that it completely consumes the point of the story? Bad news.
"I don't believe in coincidence, Mira. I think there's a reason you had to travel here alone. Something you were meant to find."
Maybe it's you, she thought and then had the immediate urge to unthink it. She didn't want to be overeager, immature.
*face palm* Too late honey.
Once I got down to the meat of the story and the reason for the fairy-tale curses I decided to stop because I just wasn't as into it as I had hoped and I didn't see that changing anytime soon. If I had continued it may have gotten better but I wasn't invested enough in this to spend any additional time trying to make this work.
I can see the appeal with this one but it was definitely not for me.
I enjoyed the concept of this story, which is a lot like [b:Ever After High: The Storybook of Legends|18053786|Ever After High The Storybook of Legends (Ever After High, #1)|Shannon Hale|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1377633526s/18053786.jpg|25338957] but with a more solid thought through world building behind it. It is a retelling of "Sleeping Beauty" and "Bluebeard" combined, which in itself is genius. Who would think to combine those two??? And I really wanted to love it, but I had too hard of a time liking the main character, Mira. When EVERYONE you meet is telling you that a guy is dangerous stay away, he runs a shady casino, and is a little too suave, maybe you should pay attention. Her stubbornness regarding this, particularly once she knew what was going on was more than I could buy into. Another thing that bothered me was the Felix plot thread left dangling at the end. Where was he? What was he planning? I did like Blue's character a lot, and the dialogue and interactions between him and Mira. The other supporting characters were also enjoyable and I would be happy to read more of their stories set in the town. Particularly Freddie's story now that is hero act is over and Layla's story because I love "Beauty and the Beast" and I loved her.
This book was hyped up a little at my local library, but when I read it I wasn't impressed. The writing was decent, but I felt that the characters lacked that special something that makes a good book great. The idea was fun but not executed as tightly as I would have liked...it took an effort to suspend my disbelief, and I don't like having to work to believe what I'm reading. The genre (fairy tales in the real world, fractured fairy tales, etc) is hugely popular right now, but this one is not on the list of books I'd recommend.
The other thing that bothered me about it was that it is obviously geared towards teens--we have a fifteen-year-old narrator with friends her age as the protagonists, and yet the book is full of content more suited for a mature audience. The language was severe and the sex content was way too mature for a young-teen audience. I wouldn't let my little sister read this book.
Overall, disappointed.
The other thing that bothered me about it was that it is obviously geared towards teens--we have a fifteen-year-old narrator with friends her age as the protagonists, and yet the book is full of content more suited for a mature audience. The language was severe and the sex content was way too mature for a young-teen audience. I wouldn't let my little sister read this book.
Overall, disappointed.
SPOILER ALERT!!!!
What can I say about this particular book.......
Nothing really that good.
I love the concept of the story and the layout of the characters. But the fact that this is a 15 year old girl... Venturing off on her own... Against her godmother's wishes... To find herself in a place she doesn't know.. is unsettling. She falls in love with a dangerous boy THREE DAYS after she gets there. AND.... among other things she shouldn't be doing, she finds out truths about her parents and blues mother, which is never resolved or mentioned. I would have like to see the ending of her meeting her parents, or blues mom returning, or him finding her now that he can love her properly. And I wish I couldn't have had an answer to Felix and what happened to him...
Over all... Not happy with this book.
It could have been done in a much better way.
What can I say about this particular book.......
Nothing really that good.
I love the concept of the story and the layout of the characters. But the fact that this is a 15 year old girl... Venturing off on her own... Against her godmother's wishes... To find herself in a place she doesn't know.. is unsettling. She falls in love with a dangerous boy THREE DAYS after she gets there. AND.... among other things she shouldn't be doing, she finds out truths about her parents and blues mother, which is never resolved or mentioned. I would have like to see the ending of her meeting her parents, or blues mom returning, or him finding her now that he can love her properly. And I wish I couldn't have had an answer to Felix and what happened to him...
Over all... Not happy with this book.
It could have been done in a much better way.
It's a great twist to the modern day fairytale.
I would honestly hate to have their fates, because they are sealed to it. No matter what they try to do to avoid it. I love how careless Viv (Snow White) is. She hates her stepmom with a burning passion.
I would honestly hate to have their fates, because they are sealed to it. No matter what they try to do to avoid it. I love how careless Viv (Snow White) is. She hates her stepmom with a burning passion.
Mirabelle is tired of her 'secret childhood,' she wants to return to the place where her parents died, the place of her birth, the place her godmothers have forbidden her from going. A week before the sixteenth birthday she runs away to Beau Rivage, where people are not what they seem and living a fairy tale life is a curse. Mira is part of it too, but she refuses to give up and simply accept her destiny. Curses, villains, knights, and damsels in distress, Kill Me Softly will enchant you with this very original twist to the original fairy tales we all know and love.
Sarah Cross brings to light the true dark nature of the original fairy tales. Her creativeness absolutely blew my mind, and I was immersed in a world where fairy tales do come true but you really wouldn't want them to. When Mirabelle runs away from home, the last thing she expects is to find out her life is a fairy tale and she's destined for something she doesn't really want. I liked Mira's attitude towards this. She declares that she won't just accept her fairy tale, and she actively looks for ways of changing her fate. However she was also very naïve about other things. Like she didn't think twice about accepting Felix's offer of staying at the Dreams Hotel for free, and silly enough she's in love with him the day after. I thought this could have been part of Felix's curse magic, but that made no sense because Mira resists Blue and he has the same curse. Also, later on, she also just sort of accepts the whole fairy tale curse thing easily. I was expecting either a freak out session or something, but she takes it in stride and that's it.
All the characters fit so well with the original fairy tales, yet they were unique at the same time. They lead these sort of tragic lives because they already know how their stories end, but they try to make the best of them. The idea of the curses and the categories for each one was very interesting. I can even see a guide being made about the different curses and categories, like the one in the novel. I was hoping though to see more of the curses fulfilled, not just presented. Blue's curse kept me on edge the entire book because we get these flashbacks to the thing he's done that he's hiding. The hiding bit is because of the curse, so be patient when things aren't being explained. It's not because they don't want to, it's because of the curse! It all just added to the mystery and kept me turning page after page. And then knowing the curse was even worse, because really of all the horrible curses out there, his is definitely the most terrible. Blue is so sweet, all the things he does for Mira, and the incredible self-control he has to have around her, made him one of my favorite characters. And the two of them together are just hilarious with their love/hate banter.
Kill Me Softly is definitely the perfect blend of fairy tales with an added touch of mystery, suspense, and romance. This is not the usual happily ever after! I tell you know, I stood up and started pacing at 3am while reading the ending because I could not just stay still while all of that happened! And really the entire novel kept me on my toes. This looks to be a standalone novel, but I really hope Sarah Cross writes more about this amazing world she's created and these wonderful characters she's brought to life!
Sarah Cross brings to light the true dark nature of the original fairy tales. Her creativeness absolutely blew my mind, and I was immersed in a world where fairy tales do come true but you really wouldn't want them to. When Mirabelle runs away from home, the last thing she expects is to find out her life is a fairy tale and she's destined for something she doesn't really want. I liked Mira's attitude towards this. She declares that she won't just accept her fairy tale, and she actively looks for ways of changing her fate. However she was also very naïve about other things. Like she didn't think twice about accepting Felix's offer of staying at the Dreams Hotel for free, and silly enough she's in love with him the day after. I thought this could have been part of Felix's curse magic, but that made no sense because Mira resists Blue and he has the same curse. Also, later on, she also just sort of accepts the whole fairy tale curse thing easily. I was expecting either a freak out session or something, but she takes it in stride and that's it.
All the characters fit so well with the original fairy tales, yet they were unique at the same time. They lead these sort of tragic lives because they already know how their stories end, but they try to make the best of them. The idea of the curses and the categories for each one was very interesting. I can even see a guide being made about the different curses and categories, like the one in the novel. I was hoping though to see more of the curses fulfilled, not just presented. Blue's curse kept me on edge the entire book because we get these flashbacks to the thing he's done that he's hiding. The hiding bit is because of the curse, so be patient when things aren't being explained. It's not because they don't want to, it's because of the curse! It all just added to the mystery and kept me turning page after page. And then knowing the curse was even worse, because really of all the horrible curses out there, his is definitely the most terrible. Blue is so sweet, all the things he does for Mira, and the incredible self-control he has to have around her, made him one of my favorite characters. And the two of them together are just hilarious with their love/hate banter.
Kill Me Softly is definitely the perfect blend of fairy tales with an added touch of mystery, suspense, and romance. This is not the usual happily ever after! I tell you know, I stood up and started pacing at 3am while reading the ending because I could not just stay still while all of that happened! And really the entire novel kept me on my toes. This looks to be a standalone novel, but I really hope Sarah Cross writes more about this amazing world she's created and these wonderful characters she's brought to life!
All of the tragedy, romance, and fantasy of a modern fairy tale. A perfect blend of modern and classic. One of my favorites.
I received this book as a Goodreads Giveaway.
I love the cover art! I loved this story as it mixes old and new. It definitely reminded me of the show Once Upon a Time…
Kill Me Softly is modern day life mixed with fairy tales and full of curses set from birth. We follow Mira who has lived a very sheltered life with her 2 godmothers who have taken care of her since her parents died in Beau Rivage. She is nearly 16 and wants to know about her parents as her godmothers refuse to tell her anything about them. So she decides to run away after coming up with an elaborate plan to throw her godmothers in the opposite direction while she runs to Beau Rivage instead. She meets 2 very different brothers and learns everything is not as it first appears and works to learn who she really is.
I only wish we could have another book following Mira on… The next book follows another character, I believe
I love the cover art! I loved this story as it mixes old and new. It definitely reminded me of the show Once Upon a Time…
Kill Me Softly is modern day life mixed with fairy tales and full of curses set from birth. We follow Mira who has lived a very sheltered life with her 2 godmothers who have taken care of her since her parents died in Beau Rivage. She is nearly 16 and wants to know about her parents as her godmothers refuse to tell her anything about them. So she decides to run away after coming up with an elaborate plan to throw her godmothers in the opposite direction while she runs to Beau Rivage instead. She meets 2 very different brothers and learns everything is not as it first appears and works to learn who she really is.
I only wish we could have another book following Mira on… The next book follows another character, I believe
I had mixed feelings about this book. On the one hand, Cross does a great job of putting a newish twist on fairy tales, including even an emphasis on the darker side of many of the tales. On the other hand, the "marchen" and the HC Andersen tales aren't the same thing. And in terms of the book itself, Mira's motives and actions were inconsistent and didn't always make sense. I never bought her conviction that he was in "love" with Felix. Why? Was it all enchantment on his part? So, a strong try, but not entirely successful.
Mira, Mira, on the wall, who's the smartest one of all? Well, honey, certainly not you. Good grief. I can't even... argh.
So, Mira is a sheltered 15 year old (pay attention to the age, it'll come in later) orphan girl (raised by godmothers.... wait, you don't suppose they could be fairy godmothers, do you?????) who decides to go off searching for her parents' graves. She goes about this rather cleverly, to be honest, but this is about as smart as she ever gets. Isn't it sad when children's brains plateau at 15? *shakes head*
Anyway, so she runs off to a casino (still not exactly sure how she got in there or why she went there in the first place. Last I checked, people typically aren't buried in casinos) and meets this rude, blue haired boy who tells her to leave (and this is where you should be thinking, "oh, but wait! This can't possibly be just some random rude boy, good golly, no! He must be some poor, heartbroken, damaged, only-a-girl-who's-dumber-than-rocks-can-possibly-fix-me hero who's really very sweet and caring on the inside! She's going to fall in love with him for sure!" It's such a shame when rude people can't just be rude anymore). So she does and then she meets his TWENTY ONE YEAR OLD BROTHER who gets her a room and whatnot.
Well, lo and behold, soon enough she's sharing a room with him (everyone though she secretly loves his brother, the rude one. it's okay, I don't quite understand it, either). Did I mention that she's 15 already? Yes, I think I did. Which is odd, because no one else seems to care about this teeny tiny little detail.
The twist here is that everyone has these fairytale curses, forcing them to reenact the fairytales, which is really fascinating concept. Too bad Ms. Cross couldn't quite back it up.
Plus, the ending was very unresolved. Sure, she and Blue got their fairytale ending, but what about Viv? Henley? Jewel? Freddie? The list goes on. And what about her parents??
Overall, rather yawn-worthy. Dumb heroine, rude hero, love triangle/square, heroine who is so sheltered but apparently feels perfectly comfortable sharing a room with a much older guy and flirting with everyone else under the sun. Been there, done that. Wish it could have been better
So, Mira is a sheltered 15 year old (pay attention to the age, it'll come in later) orphan girl (raised by godmothers.... wait, you don't suppose they could be fairy godmothers, do you?????) who decides to go off searching for her parents' graves. She goes about this rather cleverly, to be honest, but this is about as smart as she ever gets. Isn't it sad when children's brains plateau at 15? *shakes head*
Anyway, so she runs off to a casino (still not exactly sure how she got in there or why she went there in the first place. Last I checked, people typically aren't buried in casinos) and meets this rude, blue haired boy who tells her to leave (and this is where you should be thinking, "oh, but wait! This can't possibly be just some random rude boy, good golly, no! He must be some poor, heartbroken, damaged, only-a-girl-who's-dumber-than-rocks-can-possibly-fix-me hero who's really very sweet and caring on the inside! She's going to fall in love with him for sure!" It's such a shame when rude people can't just be rude anymore). So she does and then she meets his TWENTY ONE YEAR OLD BROTHER who gets her a room and whatnot.
Well, lo and behold, soon enough she's sharing a room with him (everyone though she secretly loves his brother, the rude one. it's okay, I don't quite understand it, either). Did I mention that she's 15 already? Yes, I think I did. Which is odd, because no one else seems to care about this teeny tiny little detail.
The twist here is that everyone has these fairytale curses, forcing them to reenact the fairytales, which is really fascinating concept. Too bad Ms. Cross couldn't quite back it up.
Plus, the ending was very unresolved. Sure, she and Blue got their fairytale ending, but what about Viv? Henley? Jewel? Freddie? The list goes on. And what about her parents??
Spoiler
does she not care that they're alive? What's wrong with her? Why doesn't she find them?Overall, rather yawn-worthy. Dumb heroine, rude hero, love triangle/square, heroine who is so sheltered but apparently feels perfectly comfortable sharing a room with a much older guy and flirting with everyone else under the sun. Been there, done that. Wish it could have been better