I love really enjoyed all the other Kaylnn Bayron books I've read. Unfortunately Sleep Like Death isn't one of them. I tried several times to get into and eventually had to walk away.
Still giving a middle rating of 3 stars due to enjoying her other books.

Sleep Like Death is a retelling with a Black female MC, which is all I needed to request this book. Eve is a gifted and skilled warrior that is able to use the elements around her. This is a coming of age story with a fantastical, gothic element.

The characters and the world that Bayron has created were captivating and fascinating. Eve is brought up in a mostly sheltered world but stand tall and isn't afraid to speak her mind or go against the grain.

While I enjoyed the characters and this world, there isn't much about this story that I would consider it a Snow White retelling. There are some magical elements that I wish had more explanation/understanding. While Eve is a strong character, she comes off as selfish and always putting others at risk- which was very frustrating as a reader. The pacing was somewhat off as well, as some parts of the story were very faced paced and others were not only slow, but boring.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bloomsbury for allowing me to read this ARC. My opinions are my own.

I absolutely loved this book! I have always enjoyed Kalynn Bayron’s work and her incredible commitment to inclusion and diversity. This is by far my favorite of hers. The fairytale retellings were set up nicely with Cinderella is Dead, but this story took that so much further and I cannot wait to see what comes next. There were some twists I really did not see coming, and others I was able to guess at but was still surprised by the execution. One of the best retellings I have ever read.

Eve, is a strong and determined heroine on a mission to defeat an ancient monster known as the Knight. She has unique abilities to communicate with animals and conjure weapons from nature, Eve faces the challenge of saving her family and kingdom from the Knight’s corrupt deals.

I enjoyed the storyline and found Eve to be a realistic and relatable teenager, marked by moments of defiance and frustration. The writing in this book is stronger than Barron's previous works, with a well-crafted setting and atmosphere that adds a touch of grimdark to the narrative. Overall, this was a fun and engaging read, showcasing Barron's growth as an author.

Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with an ARC for this story.
SPOILERS TO FOLLOW

I didn't like this story as much as I hoped. DON'T GET ME WRONG, I ADORED EVE AND NOVA. The plot itself too wasn't bad until literally the epilogue. I don't know why but the epilogue just felt WRONG to me. Almost forced in a way with how different fairytales (unrelated to the original Snow White story) were brought up. I think I would have liked it more if it had stuck a little closer to the original plot. I didn't need a reason as to why The Knight was the way he was and I also really don't believe that he'd leave a loophole in Nova's curse the way he did. I enjoyed Cinderella is Dead SO MUCH (and I don't even like Cinderella) so I hoped I'd feel the same about this novel and I don't unfortunately. I also really didn't like that two specific characters died (I think they were the only ones who did if I'm not mistaken). Their deaths only served as plot devices to move Eve into action which was really sad. I also thought that the father of the first person would seek revenge from Eve. Based off her last interaction with him, I thought he was going to go to the Knight and wish for something terrible but nothing happened. Maybe in the final copies everything is wrapped up better though.

This would have been a great novella. It had the story beats of a novella but it was stuffed with a whole lot of nothing. Scenes dragged, characters had the same conversations over and over, the banter between the FMC and MMC was stiff and their chemistry was nonexistent, 30% of the book is seemingly spent traveling from one place to another but there’s nothing particularly relevant about the act of traveling.

Bayron writes movement/action (her horror books and short stories are a great example!) and mother-daughter relationships (This Poison Heart) so well but this book only skimmed the surface. It felt like we were told (instead of shown) Eve’s close relationship with her mother and expected to be shocked when everything fell apart. The stuff with the “who is the fairest in the land” came out of left field because we just didn’t understand their relationship beyond what Eve told us in exposition (and even Eve was confused by mom’s supposed vanity).

It just felt so surface level, and I’m lowkey devastated.

The beginning of this book was very slow. In fact it was choppy and disjointed. The writing style in all honesty is not for me, there were a lot of very short cut off sentences that felt very jarring. I didn’t quite get the Snow White vibes, or maybe I just haven’t read enough retellings? This was my first retelling and in all honesty it might not be the type of stories for me. Decent enough book but I wasn’t in love with it. And it was an adult book I think but Eve was much more YA in nature. Very impulsive and immature.

I sadly didn’t enjoy this one as much as I was hoping to. I normally love retellings, but I wish it would have stuck to just one story. I felt like the author kept randomly adding in other fairytales all the way until the very end and it started to feel a little pointless. I also felt like the characters made a lot of less than intelligent decisions which made them unlikable and led to unnecessary tragedies. The magic system also wasn’t really explained much and the romance sadly didn’t do it for me either.

I don’t want this review to sound entirely negative - it was a fast paced easy read and it was redeemed a little with some of the side characters, namely Claude and his family. I do think there are people who would enjoy this, like maybe younger readers.

Thank you to Bloomsbury for the ARC!

I loved this book. This author has quickly become and auto read author for me...if she writes it I'm reading it. I enjoyed Eve's character development throught the book. Initially she was a bit single minded and impulsive but as the story unfolded she became more thoughtful and less impulsive as not to engage people she cared about but she never lost her battle skills. I also loved the story within the story. I'm a huge lover of fairy tales and the Grimm Brothers stories I very much geeked over how the author was able weave peices of other well known stories within this one as well as parallel with other well know figures from these stories. I also enjoyed the reversal of the roles with Eve awakening Nova with true loves kiss. I very much enjoyed this book and I'm glad it was a standalone because I was able to get closure by the end. The battle scenes were also very well written and made me feel the tension along with the characters

I have enjoyed this author in the past! But I tried multiple times, weeks apart, to get into this book and I couldn’t do it unfortunately. It just wasn’t for me because of the pacing and writing at the beginning. I’m sad about this! Thanks to NetGalley for an ARC to review honestly.

I LOVED THIS BOOK OMG!!!!!!!!!
Kalynn Bayron is officially one of my auto-buy authors!
I just love her writing style, it is so easy to get into which is amazing. I love how the main characters are written in all of her books.
In this one, at first, Eve is kinda annoying but you warm up to her attitude as she develops as the main character and at how she discovers her flaws.
This book is not really romance focus even though it's a fairytale retelling, there was more action than I thought it would be compared to the other books that I've read from her (Cinderella is Dead and This Poison Heart duology).
I also loved the theme of motherhood and fatherhood and how you deal with the death of a parent. Honestly, I did cry while reading this, so yeah, it is that good in my opinion.
I would like to thank Kalynn Bayron, NetGalley and Bloomsbury for the opportunity to read this book before it hit the shelf even though I will be buying a copy for my shelf at home!

With a spellbinding and poetic prose, this retelling effortlessly transports readers into a world where magic intertwines with reality, breathing new life into Snow White. The damsel in distress is no more. Eve, Snow White, is a strong and powerful fighter.

One of the most remarkable aspects of this retelling is the way Kalynn expands upon the original Snow White story. While staying true to the core elements of the fairy tale, she introduces new layers and complexities to the characters and their motivations.

I absolutely enjoyed every moment reading this and can't wait for it to release on June 25th.

I will try my best to phrase things in a way that is not spoilers but for some points it’s impossible so beware.

I am really sure how to feel about this one. a big part of me is like… what did I just read?? Massive Once Upon a Time vibes, for sure, with the blending of fairytales but make them dark and more dramatic. Ithought it started off really strong but honestly the best parts of this, to me, were the parts that weren’t taken from any fairytale at all. I actually think this would have been a better fantasy without the snow white tie in, which felt tenuous at best. The Knight didn’t have to be [who he was, spoiler redacted] and the rhyming into the mirror felt nonsensical. Without those elements, you have an interesting FMC with powers, dark secrets, an arrogance and naïveté that she slowly grows out of, plus some genuine connections along the way which were interesting. But the way the apple plot was adapted made no sense to me, nor did the big reveal near the end.

Also….were the love interests… siblings?? technically? It is very much giving me the ick to contemplate that but it feels accurate.

Thank you to Bloomsbury and NetGalley for the chance to read an advanced copy of Sleep Like Death by Kalynn Bayron!

If Snow White and Sleeping Beauty had a queer baby, Sleep Like Death would be it!

First, I have to mention the fact that this story takes place in a QUEENDOM and not a kingdom, which is absolutely awesome!

Kalynn NEVER misses. Her characters, writing, and world-building grasp on tight and never let me go. And I am 100% perfectly okay with that. If you love Kalynn's previous work, then you will definitely enjoy this one. Just like her other books, this is a very easy read. I did NOT want to put it down. However, it took me about 20% to REALLY be invested in the story. But, once I was I flew through the last 80%. Stick with it, you won't regret it! Everything pays off in the end. I can't tell you how many times my jaw dropped with the number of twists and turns this story and these characters took. Nothing is as it seems. And I can't go without raving about the beautiful cover. It's absolutely beautiful.

I really don't want to say anything else because I don't want to give anything away. So, if you love any of the following, PLEASE give this book a shot:

- dark fairytale retellings
- black main characters
- YA fantasies
- lgbt (two queens)
- Dark magic
- Myths
- magical powers
- making deals with evil knights
- curses
- talking mirrors
- twists you will NOT see coming
- badass FMCs

BRAVO KALYNN 👏🏻

Bayron’s Snow White/Rumpelstiltskin mashup adds depth and richness to the classic fairy tales, giving the characters complex motivations that are far more compelling and understandable than those we see in the original fairy tale.

Princess Eve of Queen’s Bridge has been training all her life to take on the Knight, a treacherous foe who roams the countryside in his dark castle, granting wishes to the town’s inhabitants in exchange for terms and payments that ruin their lives, for no other reason than to satisfy his own cruelty. She’s grown up knowing that asking for wishes from the Knight is not done in her family, but when she discovers her family’s secret connection to the Knight, she’s thrown into danger.

After fleeing to the forest for safety, Eve must work alongside the Kingfisher (Bayron weaves in the Fisher King narrative as well) and the Knight’s mysterious liaison Nova to save herself, her mother, and her kingdom. If, that is, their combined forces can uncover the truth behind the rumors of a weakness that will bring the Knight down.

This was a compelling fairy tale makeover that made Princess Eve a strong hero rather than a damsel in distress, and we flew through the pages, eager to see what would happen next. All of the interwoven fairy tales and biblical allusions delightfully worked together to tell a story of hard-won love.

Thank you NetGalley and Bloomsbury USA Children’s Books for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are our own.

Review will be posted at https://threeheads.works/category/blog/ya-books/ on July 1, 2024.

This book was complicated for me to read. It was one of those books where it felt like my heads were in the clouds and I could never quite connect to the characters or story. This was disappointing because I really do love this author.

Sleep Like Death is a Snow White retelling with our formerly helpless heroine now a certified butt kicking fighter and magic user.
Instead of an Evil Queen set on destroying Snow White there is an evil knight plaguing the land with troublesome deals and wishes cast by ordinary folk that have to suffer consequences they could have never imagined.
Thank you to NetGalley and Bloomsbury for the opportunity to read and review this book in exchange for my honest review. Unfortunately, I am not a big fan of this book and found it a bit of a letdown compared to other books by this author.
It felt like there was a big pacing problem with this book, by the time anything interesting actually happened over a third of the book was over and it was too late for me to care what was going to happen to most of the characters.
I think this book will be of interest to some YA readers but it isn’t one that I can highly recommend. This is more of a 3.25⭐️ book for me.

Wow. This Snow White retelling was done so fell. I love how Kalynn does her retellings. She makes the story more inclusive in every way possible and she adds more adventure and higher stakes in her stories. The classic story is still there with the characters but the story has been spun into a modern days fairy tale.

Princess Eve has been training her whole life to defeat the Knight. The Knight is an evil monstrous being that seems to find people when they are at their weakest/broken moment in life. The Knight grants wishes but the price in return is always too high to pay. Time and time again the Knight has destroyed people and Princess Eve and her Queen mother are determined to protect the Queens Bridge from the Knight.
Only destroying the Knight is not as easy as a battle of swords. Princess Eve will have to face many truths in order to save her mother’s Kingdom.

This was a great way to recreate an age old story that will always live on. I definitely say if you are a fan of retellings that are inclusive and even more adventurous than the original, then you will enjoy this book. Another great book from Kalynn Bayron.

I really enjoyed this retelling! I liked that it wasn’t overtly about Snow White from the beginning and that pieces of the fairytale were weaved into the story. I’ve previously enjoyed Kalynn’s work, and I thought that she created a fun universe that was easy to follow and get immersed in. This story is a bit of a quick read, which I enjoyed, and it was easy to jump back into the story after taking a bit of break from it. I enjoyed Eve as a protagonist and thought that she was easy to relate to. I wish we would have seen more at the ending, but it wrapped the story up nicely.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC in exchange for a honest review.

I’d love to interview Kalynn for my podcast. Sleep Like Death was one of the best fantasy books I’ve ever read. It’s a lot of fun to read.