Kill Me Softly by Sarah Cross

Release Date: April 10, 2012

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.

Have you ever read real fairy tales? I bought a "Fairy Tale Treasury" book for my four year old for this last Christmas, and I didn't flip through it before purchasing. I just figured, hey! fairy tales! yay! So you can imagine my surprise when I was reading him a bedtime story from it and quickly discovered how morbid *real* fairy tales are. C'mon--Rapunzel's love gets his eyes pecked out by birds, a young girl is so mesmerized by watching matches burn that she freezes to death one night when she loses track of time staring at them, crazy stepmothers are constantly trying to kill their step daughters. It's creepy.

Anyway, just last week I was at book club and someone asked what I was reading. At the time, I was about 10% into this book (according to my Kindle) and I was really struggling. To be completely honest, I hated it. I've gotten to a point in my old age (ha!) that when I don't like a book, I am okay calling it a good effort and shelving it. A few years ago, I would have struggled through it and been miserable the entire time. Needless to say, I was surprised with myself when, the morning after book club, I decided to keep reading this book instead of moving on. I am so glad I did!

I really liked this book! I did have a hard time at first, but then I couldn't put it down. The concept for the story was actually very good. It was one of the most original books I've read, which is funny considering it's based on tales that have been around for ages. It was an interesting take on a fairy tale I don't think I even know existed (that I will not spill the beans and tell you about).

The only thing that bothered me was how young Mira was. The book takes place during the days leading up to her sixteenth birthday and she gets involved with a twenty one year old. Hello, can you say statutory? It never gets very physical, but it still seemed highly inappropriate.

This book was released this week and it is definitely worth reading. If the story seems overly slow or hard to get into at first, keep reading! It gets better and better as you go. If you're a fan of fractured fairy tales, this book is for you! Enjoy!

Happy Reading!

**I received this egalley from the publisher for the purpose of review.