Rate: 4 out of 5 stars
Synopsis:
An edgy fairy tale retelling of “Snow White” set in the world of Kill Me Softly for fans of Once Upon a Time and Grimm.
If you want to live happily ever after, first you have to stay alive.
Viv knows there’s no escaping her fairy-tale curse. One day her beautiful stepmother will feed her a poison apple or convince her on-again-off-again boyfriend, Henley, to hunt her down and cut out her heart before she breaks his. In the city of Beau Rivage, some princesses are destined to be prey.
But then Viv receives an invitation to the exclusive club where the Twelve Dancing Princesses twirl away their nights. There she meets Jasper, an underworld prince who seems to have everything—but what he really wants is her. He vows to save her from her dark fate if she’ll join him and be his queen.
All Viv has to do is tear herself away from the huntsman boy who still holds her heart. Then she might live to see if happily ever after is a promise the prince can keep. But is life as an underworld queen worth sacrificing the true love that might kill her?
Faced with a possible loophole to her “Snow White” curse, Viv goes underground, literally, to find the prince who’s fated to rescue her. But is life safe in the Underworld worth the price of sacrficing the love that might kill her?
POP CULTURE CAN’T GET ENOUGH OF TWISTING FAIRY TALES: ABC’s Once Upon a Time and NBC’s Grimm continue to pull in high ratings. And with the anticipated Angelina Jolie Maleficent (2014), the film adaptation of Stephen Sondheim’s Into the Woods (2014), and Kenneth Branagh’s Cinderella (2015), Hollywood is infected with fairy tale fever.
CAMEOS FROM FAVORITE CHARACTERS: Viv, who first appeared in Kill Me Softly trailed by her brooding boy-toy Henley, takes center stage in this new Beau Rivage tale. Other familiar characters including Blue and Jewel are back to help her defy her destiny.
TEENS LOVE THIS FAIRY TALE WORLD: Kill Me Soflty was a 2013 YALSA Teens’ Top 10. Readers have been clamoring for a sequel.
A FRESH TAKE ON THE FAMILIAR: Drawing on “Snow White,” “The Twelve Dancing Princesses,” and “Rumpelstiltskin,” Tear You Apart is very conscious of the way these stories have pervaded pop culture, twisting known tropes into an exciting new story that can stand on its own.
(I received a free copy of this book in exchange for a review).
(This review may contain spoilers).
Even before Once Upon a Time and Grimm, I was always interested in fairy tales. Any kind of old legends, really. So when I saw the blurb of this book, I was really quite excited at the prospect of reading it.
I thought the idea was quite an original spin on the old fairytales. I would have liked a bit more information about how the more mundane/non-Cursed people handled the knowledge of this. Was it occurring in just one town, or all over the world? I think I just would have liked to see a bit more of the world-building in this.
I did like Vivian as a character, at least to a certain extent. Although there were times it looked like she was using Henley, I did feel that the situation they were both in was a pretty awful one and I could understand why things were so difficult between them. At the same time… well, she wasn’t a nice person for some of the book.
I especially liked reading about the different types of curses and seeing the aftermath of them. It was interesting to see that the happily ever after didn’t necessarily work out like that. For instance, the Beast who seemed to come across as a lech… and the Sleeping Beauty who ended up dating a different person. At the same time, though, it was nice to see that there were some stories that had worked out well for those involved.
It was kind of sad to see how, in Vivian’s memories, Regina had been different to the wicked stepmother from Snow White. It was quite sad to see the way the curse had twisted someone who’d had a good relationship with Vivian to begin with.
I found the twelve dancing princesses interesting and I would have liked to see more of them and some of the other cursed people. I felt sorry for Jasper at first, but he quickly became an irritating character.
I would really like to read the first book in this series at some point in the future, as well as any others. This is a unique idea and with heroines who are more likable, I think this series could do really well.
“Not your vanilla retelling, Kill Me Softly combines the darkness of the original Brothers Grimm, a modern cast of characters, and just a twist of whimsy that makes the whole town of Beau Rivage feel so wrong. You know, the good kind of wrong.”—Aprilynne Pike, #1 New York Times best-selling author of Wings
“Smart, romantic, and inspired, Sarah Cross’s Kill Me Softly is storytelling at its finest. She breathes new life into familiar tales, twisting them in fantastically unexpected ways. This book blew me away!”—Carrie Ryan, author of The Forest of Hands and Teeth
“Incorporating suspense and romance, this contemporary, edgy, Grimm-based novel is an entertaining and well-written entry in a popular genre.”—Booklist
“A girl struggles to escape her fairy-tale fate in this suspenseful fantasy…Clever fun.”—Kirkus Reviews
“A paranormal romance that has the girl choosing the nice guy over the broody bad boy is a rare gem these days.”—The Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books
“This modern fairy-tale mash-up will appeal to fans of urban fantasy and is a solid choice for any collection.”—School Library Journal
“After the Ball” is a short story set in Beau Rivage, a city where fairy tales come to life, and ancient stories are played out again and again. You can read more about the cursed fairy-tale characters of Beau Rivage in Sarah Cross’ novel
Kill Me Softly.
Sarah Cross is the author of the fairy tale novels Kill Me Softly and Tear You Apart (coming January 2015), the superhero novel Dull Boy, and the Wolverine comic “The Adamantium Diaries.” She loves fairy tales, lowbrow art, secret identities and silence.
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Ink of Blood 
Thanks for the giveaway! I would live in Beauty and the Beast because it was my favorite. Can’t wait to read Tear You Apart. 🙂
I can definitely understand Beauty and the Beast. I always liked that, since I’m a big fan of redeeming love. Thanks for commenting!
Cinderella
Cool. Any particular reason why?