Book Review: Kill Me Softly by Sarah Cross

**I received this book from Around the World ARC Tours for review**

Synopsis (from Goodreads):  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.

My Thoughts:  Mira is turning 16 soon and there is only one thing she wants for her birthday...she wants to visit the town where she was born, find her mom and dad's graves and learn about herself.

Mira was whisked away from Beau Rivage when she was just a baby by her two godmothers.  Her parents died in a fire during Mira's baptism and that is all Mira knows.  Her godmothers have forbidden her to return to Beau Rivage but she has plans to sneak there and find her parents' graves.

Once in Beau Rivage, Mira meets the rebellious Blue and his very charming brother, Felix.  She also becomes acquainted with Blue's friends, Freddie and Viv.  

Blue insists that Mira leave and never return.  Mira finds him rude and impossible to be around.  Felix, on the other hand, puts Mira up in his amazing hotel, gives her free reign when it comes to room service and offers to help her find the graves of her parents.  

I love that there were so many different fairy tales weaved throughout this story!  They weren't your nice, sweet fairy tales either.  They were a little closer to Grimm's versions of them, dark and slightly twisted.  I loved being able to figure everyone's fairy tale out and I laughed as each character made fun of their curses and the author made little jabs at their curses too (Snow White's Apple logo on her laptop being crossed out is one of many).

The only issue I had a problem with was how quickly Mira went to bed with Felix.  Now, she didn't sleep with him that first night but the fact that she was even contemplating it was bothersome to me.  She had only known him for 2 days and didn't have any experience with men so you would think she would want to get to know him a little better first.  Plus, he was 6 years older than her and at age 15, being that much older makes a difference!

I really enjoyed this book and literally could not put it down!  The twists kept me on my toes and the characters were quirky and funny.  I really hope this becomes a series because there were some loose ends and I would love to read more about Beau Rivage!