Tear You Apart by Sarah Cross
Review by Lauren
Source: netgalley copy; all opinions are my own
Official Summary: 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?
Review: I loved Sarah Cross’ book Kill Me Softly (review here) so I was really excited to be accepted on Netgalley to read the companion novel, Tear You Apart. In the town of Beau Rivage, fairies give out curses – both good and bad – to certain people. Viv is cursed to live out the story of Snow White. Her stepmother, Regina, who she used to love and feel close to, has begun to hate her and her beauty and is desperate to be rid of her. After all, if Viv lives, Regina dies. That’s just the way the story goes and everyone cursed has to live out the story to the end.
For Viv, she’s been in love with Henley for years. He always hoped he would be her prince, the one who would wake her up with a kiss and save her from the huntsman after her heart. Unfortunately, he is cursed to be the huntsmen, and now the two of them do not know how to act. They love each other, and Henley swears he won’t harm her, but Viv pushes him away because she knows how the story goes. At the same time, she always runs back to him when something is wrong. For all intents and purposes, he is her prince…until Jasper appears, promising to keep her safe, and happy, but is his happily-ever-after really what Viv wants or needs?
Kill Me Softly introduced us to Viv and Henley and their awful curse, so I loved hearing that Tear Me Apart would really dive into their story. I loved hearing about the other curses in Beau Rivage and I would love to have more books in this series. You have a Goldilocks named Luxe and a Beast named Rafe, but you also get a lot of other stories and curses that I’m not as familiar with, so it’s fascinating to learn more.
I really enjoyed Tear You Apart. I had a feeling how things would ultimately end, but I was still confused on how it would happen. This book is full of twists and surprises, and it was a blast to read!
I confess that I saw it but I didn't ask for it. Now I regret that because it sounds really interesting and it's nic to have a snow white retelling like that. I'm glad you had a good time with it. I thnik I'll have to try!
ooh the concept for this one seems truly fascinating! I definitely want to give this one a go for myself to see how it unravels xD
Fantastic review, Lauren <33
I don't think that I've heard of these books before, but I really do like the sound of them, especially for this one. Thank you for adding these books to my radar, I shall definitely be checking them out!
Glad you had so much fun with this one. I still need to read the first but I totally want to start this after reading your review. 🙂
I really loved this one too! Such a good series.
Oh it was you who recommended Kill Me Softly! I shared it on my FB that it was on sale and I knew someone had recommended it but I couldn't remember who. I didn't realize this was it's sequel!
I liked Kill Me Softly, but this one wasn't as solid. I thought the pace was slow in parts and then the end was so rapid fire and a bit too conveneint, and the romance wasn't my fav either. Still I love the world and the characters.
The twists and turns sound like a fun read to figure out how it would end
There are so many mixed reviews on this one! Wow, so many known references in this narrative: Snow White, Regina (Once Upon a Time), Rafe which is a character in the Angelfall series. Hmm, I can't help but second guess this one :/
Not sure if this would be for me since I don't usually frequent this genre but I'm glad it worked so well for you! 🙂
I haven't read Kill Me Softly but I do own a copy and had been wanting to read i t for so long. I love that this one is a winner, too, though! I love companion novels I find it really gives an extra layer to the whole series when we can get to know other characters. Great review, hun!
Another fantastic review Lauren and I do like these twists to the traditional fairy story – you can't go far wrong with twelve dancing princesses can you?
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Haven't heard of this series, but it sounds fascinating! And what a great cover! Thanks for the heads up, as I've added this one and Kill Me Softly to my wishlist.
Terri @ Alexia's Books and Such…
This sounds like such a great combination of fairy tales! I have a soft spot for retellings so this (and the companion) are already on my wishlist! I hope I get to read them some day, even if it's a bit easy to tell how things ultimately end (sometimes I like that in a book though. Mostly in fluffy books I read when I want something light)
Ohh this sounds fascinating and I'm glad it took the time to really explore the 'traditional tale' while adding so much of its own mythology and characters!
Ooh I love a modern fairytale with a twist – totally want to check this one out!
xx
OOoh I need to read this!
Sweet! I enjoy retellings and I love that this one kept you guessing. So adding this one to the wishlist!
I've been wanting to read this but I didn't realize it was a series. Good to know!
Karen @For What It's Worth
I guess I have to catch up on her books. You make them sound fascinating.
Love ones that can surprise you with it's twists. It's the main reason why I'm always anxious about reading a retelling, because you know the story as such, so it needs that. 🙂
I didn't see this one on NetGalley, now I wish I had. Great review that story sounds really good.
Awesome! I didn't know that this one was a companion book of sorts to Kill Me Softly, but that sounds good now that I recall you enjoyed that one! I'm always such a sucker for these kinds of fairy-tale inspired novels!
I'm already hoping for a happy ending for Viv and her Huntsman! I'm not a huge fan of fairy tales other than Beauty and the Beast, but this does sound interested. Wonderful review, Lauren! 🙂
Ohh I haven't read this series, but if you liked the first one and this one then I suppose I need to pick it up soon!! Great review hun (: