Title: Tear You Apart (Beau Rivage #2)
Author: Sarah Cross
Publisher: Egmont USA
Publication Date: January 27, 2014
Genre: Young Adult // Retelling // Romance
Format: eARC
Source: Publisher // Netgalley
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.
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 sacrificing the love that might kill her (goodreads)?
I completely adored Kill Me Softly so I knew that I had to get my hands on this one! Even though Tear You Apart started off a bit slow, it made me lose sleep and feel the feels!
Plot: Vivian has a Snow White curse and her "it's complicated" boyfriend/not-boyfriend has the Huntsman curse. Tear You Apart opens with the author exploring Viv and Henley's relationship and Viv's attempt to keep her stepmother, Regina, at bay. Like Kill Me Softly, the heart of this novel is in the characters. The book starts off slowly as to ensure that the reader gets a good look at all of the characters and their motivations, then BAM. It gets real. Once the action picked up, I was HOOKED. I couldn't put the book down until I finished it (at 1AM) and then I just had to reflect on everything that happened.
Characters: Like I said, Tear You Apart is amazing because of the heart that Sarah Cross puts into her characters. We get a glimpse of Viv in Kill Me Softly but it didn't prepare me for all of the drama in her life. I honestly don't know if I like Vivian, she is so flawed and self-serving, but I rooted for her from page 1. The story mostly follows Vivian, so we only get a few snippets of Henley that aren't from Viv's point of view. I wish that we could have seen more of Henley, because he is in one of the trickiest positions: he is destined to kill the girl he loves, and her stepmother keeps putting daggers in his hands. Other characters from Kill Me Softly make an appearance as well and make a great supporting cast. We even get some Mira/Blue scenes which made me happy because I ADORED their love story.
World Building: Tear You Apart takes place in both Beau Rivage and The Underworld. The Underworld was so descriptive that I was easily transported to a lair of darkness and decay. I completely adore Cross' writing and I hope she continues to explore more areas of Beau Rivage.
Short N Sweet: Tear You Apart is a beautiful story about changing destiny and doing whatever you can to get your love back. I adored this novel and I (impatiently) look forward to Sarah Cross' next installment!
