Review: Kill Me Softly by Sarah Cross

Kill Me Softly

By: Sarah Cross

Pub. Date: April 10, 2012

Publisher: Egmont USA

Pages: 314

Source: Netgalley

True love’s kiss just may prove deadly....

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.

A few days before Mira turns 16, she runs away from home. Her entire life her godmothers forbade her to go to Beau Rivage, the place where she was born and her parents were killed. This alone completely intrigued me! Then you add cute boys, mystery, and fairytale retellings! There isn't anything to not love about Kill Me Softly!

The first night in Beau Rivage, Mira meets two brothers-Blue and Felix. Blue is around her age and a complete ass. His older brother is kind, helpful and upon their first meeting is willing to do anything to help Mira. While Mira finds nothing wrong with Felix being so kind to her, Blue keeps telling her to stay away from him, and even kidnaps her to keep her away from him!

Blue and his friends completely intrigued me. They all have curses placed on them. Cinderella, The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast and even Snow White, are just some of the fairytales mentioned. But this isn't your Disney version fairytales. There's blood, torture and death involved in these curses. The reader doesn't learn what Blue and Felix's curse is until closer to end, but boy, is it a good one and completely sucky for Mira!

I thought all of the characters were really well written. Felix is supposed to be the "evil" one but I couldn't help but love him too. Blue was my favorite though. He's the classic, "I am an ass to push people away" character! I felt so bad for Mira. Even though she has had a good life with her godmothers, she wants to know about her past and where she came from. She just wanted to visit her parents grave once. I felt for her, and wanted her to find what she was looking for.

The secondary characters were awesome and consisted mostly of Blue's friends. I wish I could have been friends with all of them. They were so much fun! They all had their issues and their curses to deal with and I loved learning about every single one of them.

The ending definitely set us up for a second book, and I really hope that happens. I can't wait to see everyone again!

Also, can we just discuss how beautiful the cover is! If the synopsis doesn't hook you, this cover definitely will!