Epic Review: Kill Me Softly by Sarah Cross!

Book: Kill Me Softly
Author: Sarah Cross
Series: N/A (Mimi is working to change this!!)
Release Date: May 8, 2012
Publisher: EgmontUSA
Pages: 331
Source: bookstore
Links: Goodreads | Amazon | Amazon CA | The Book Depository | Chapters
Stars: 5 (million kajillion billion trillion!)/5

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.

(summary taken from Goodreads)

MY THOUGHTS:
 

**MY FAVOURITE BOOK OF 2012!**

Warning: This will not be your average review. I loved it too much for that.

Kill Me Softly is Brilliant with a capital B, Adorable with a capital A, and PERFECTION in all caps! It's easily my favourite book of the entire year. I loved it so much that, when I went back to skim a few passages to write this review, I ended up re-reading the entire book! Let me just show you what my copy looks like right now: 

I never, ever put sticky notes in a book — I just never have the time! (Being a blogger and all.) That's how you know that I have to love a book to EPIC proportions to want to take the time to go back, re-read it, and mark up my copy like this. ♥

So instead of attempting to be professional about this (in which I would fail), I'm going to list Five Epic Reasons why Kill Me Softly deserves to be read by everyone! :)

1. The World

This is not your average fairytale re-telling, and it doesn't deal with your average Disney fairytales either. It's based on the original Grimm fairytales, where Cinderella's stepsisters cut off parts of their feet to fit into the glass slipper, and happily ever afters are uncommon things. 

In Beau Rivage, the people are cursed with a fairytale. They know their fate before it happens. Some are meant to fall into an enchanted sleep; some are cursed to cough up jewels; others are forced to do unspeakable fairytale things. It's addicting and enchanting and utterly enthralling. It's the most original portrayal of fairytales that this fairytale-loving girl has read in a long time! :)

2. The Breathtaking Storyline

Kill Me Softly starts with Mira running away from the home of her godmothers to find her parents's grave in Beau Rivage. All on her own, she meets two brothers: One snarky bad boy who all but harasses her into leaving (Blue), and one kind and sweet boy who offers her a place to stay (Felix). Of course she's going to trust the nicer one.

But first impressions mean nothing in Beau Rivage. 

Everything is unbelievable and believable at the exact same time. Unbelievable because some things are so bizarre, so out-of-this-world, so how-did-she-come-up-with-this worthy that it blows your mind... yet believable because Sarah Cross writes it in a way that makes you think, "Oh yeah. Having a kiss that kills? It happens every day in Beau Rivage!" 

There are so many things I didn't expect... and so many things to love! ♥

3. Mirabelle Lively & Co.

Mirabelle — also known as Mira and fantastic girl extraordinaire — is not your average fairytale heroine. She's stubborn and determined and can hold her own in a game of knee-slapping snark. Mira brought smiles to my face and an ache to my heart. I loved her so much!

I know some people were having problems with some decisions she makes, but I thought it was all in her character that made her real. With all the circumstances surrounding her sheltered past and everyone around her unable to tell her what was going on, her frustration was completely justified and her aching was palpable.

     "At home," she began haltingly, "when my godmothers were gone, I used to pretend that my parents were there. I'd imagine them doing normal things, like cooking, or watching old movies with me, or asking what I did at school. I guess because... I felt less lonely that way. I could pretend there wasn't a hole in me. But when I'm with you, I don't need them. I want what's real." (page 143)

And I love love LOVED all of the other cursed characters too! They argue like crazy, but their banter is hilarious and their friendship is genuine. Freddie was a personal favourite. Even though his fairytale role was to be Mira's awakening prince, he was never really a love interest. But he was too adorable and sweet and innocent to not be loved! Birds followed him around for a reason, you know. ;) 

4. The Writing

Reading Sarah Cross's writing is like a dream. It's beautiful; it's fluent; it's picturesque; it's, quite honestly, like finding my home all over again! Just when I thought that first person narratives were starting to become my favourite, she pulls me back with this gorgeous third person prose that steals my breath away. I've never read a book with so many quote-worthy passages in my life.

Beautiful P-E-R-F-E-C-T-I-O-N, that's what it is!

5. Blue Valentine ♥

Yes, Blue deserves his own whole point!

My mom thinks I'm crazy for wanting a house with a blue garage and purple shingles, so I can't imagine what she'd say if I wanted to marry a boy with blue HAIR. (But I do, I absolutely do!)  

Cursed with a horrible fate, Blue Valentine uses his snarkiness and attitude to keep people at an arm's length. He seems like your average I'm-a-jackass-to-protect-you sort of guy, but he's not. He's so much MORE, and there are certain times when you see how vulnerable he is, how much he loves Mira, how much his curse is killing him, and it just about rips your heart out. 

He has so many hilarious one-liners or quotes that show off how sweet a bad boy he is, but I want to show you a quote that reveals his other side, his heartbreaking side: 

     "You know, I don't usually know the girls he likes. Not like this. I look the other way most of the time. But I met you first. I knew you first. I wanted you first." (Blue to Mira about his brother Felix, page 208)

With Kill Me Softly being my favourite book of the year, Blue is easily my favourite book boy! ♥

In Conclusion...

Maybe this is my weakness for fairytales talking; maybe it's my soft spot for gorgeous writing, brilliant ideas, breathtaking romances, and boys who rip my heart out. Or maybe this is Sarah Cross's brilliance shoving itself in my face that makes me declare this one of my favourite books of all time!  

Read-worthy, buy-worthy, and totally swoon-worthy, Kill Me Softly is a bundle of creativity that surpasses authors like Cassandra Clare for me! It's hilarious, and brilliant, and adorable, and heartbreaking, and totally and completely beautiful in a way that hardly exists in YA. It's exactly the kind of book I've been looking for my whole life! 

In case you can't tell, I LOVE THIS BOOK SO MUCH — and until Sarah Cross writes a sequel, I don't think another book will be topping it anytime soon!

BUY or BORROW?: This entire review was basically an answer to this question: BUY THIS BOOK. It's not breaking my semi-coherent-book-review streak for nothing! ;)  

-Mimi