Publisher: EgmontUSA
Publish Date: April 10, 2012
Source: Library
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 a 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 and hidden thorns.
Looking at the cover of Kill Me
Softly you probably aren’t imagining the story inside to be so
dark (despite the blood), but it is. Oh, by golly, it is. Incredibly,
deliciously dark.
The first third of the book wasn’t so
awesome for me. I spent it being astounded by Mira’s stupidity and
unwillingness to question things. I mean, I understand Felix has
magic working on his side, but come on. He’s 21, you’re a few
days shy of sixteen and you just crawl in bed with him after a few
hours spent together? Where is your brain, Mira?! And then when
everyone is telling her he has a curse she’s all “but this is
true love and you wouldn’t understand!” instead of digging a
little deeper to find out exactly what this curse is.
BUT, then things start to clear up.
Then we start learning about the curses and the fairytales, and let
me tell you, it’s pretty gruesome. It’s one thing to read the
fairytales and think they’re dark, but it’s another to think
about applying it to life today. And I absolutely love how Cross
weaved the fairytales into modern life.
Then there’s Blue. Oh, Blue. I kind
of loved him from the start even though he acted like a complete jerk
for a while. The poor guy is just so tortured and selfless. If you’re
looking for a noble knight in hiding, look no further than Blue.
Felix, on the other hand, always just
felt a little slimy to me. And, in my opinion, he is, but I’ll let
you make that decision for yourself without ruining anything ;]
Mira became a much more complex and
likable character by the end of the story which I greatly
appreciated. Instead of continuing on the lovesick puppy path she
starts to actually question things and search out answers.
Spoilers
I’m feeling pretty torn about the
ending, though. On the one hand, I loved it. On the other, well,
let’s break it down:
-- Umm, hello, what about Felix? It
alluded to the fact that he’d need to be killed, but we’re just
going to end the story with him wandering around with his head
intact? Not cool. I was really looking forward to seeing a fight with
him.
-- What about our poor knight, Freddie?
I know he already knew Mira didn’t like him that way, but what is
he supposed to do with his life now? He’s spent years looking for
his princess and when he finds her she runs straight into the arms of
another guy. That definitely deserved some follow up.
-- The elusive parents? I know it’d
be long and complicated to build a relationship between them and
Mira, but all I’m asking for is one little meeting. I just wanted
to meet them!
-- What’s up with her fairy
godmothers saying something about fairy prison? They act like we
should know what rules they broke and what trouble they’d get in
instead of just telling us. Not cool.
I know I can’t have everything, but
that’s a lot of stuff to introduce only to leave unanswered.
End spoilers
The Nutshell: If you love your fairytales dark then you’ll definitely like Kill Me Softly. The story is complex and fascinating and it’ll really make you question right and wrong (at least, it did me).
Pages: 336
Series: No
Rating: Direct Hit
I had no idea this was so dark! Now I want to read it even more. :D I've developed a bit of an obsession with fairy tales lately, so I'll definitely have to check this one out. Great review!
ReplyDelete-Rachel