Sleep Like Death might be my new favorite after Cinderella is Dead. The story sucked me in from the very beginning, had me all in my feels and I couldn’t read fast enough to see how it would all play out. I’ve been reading Kalynn Bayron since her debut and she has NOT missed! If you are a fan of fairytale novels definitely check this book out.

Thanks to NetGalley and Bloomsbury YA for an advanced copy of Sleep Like Death by Kalynn Bayron to review!

This book is less like a retelling and more of a reimagining. However, I loved it. I love seeing the reimagining of stories like this with Black FMC. Im not a huge fantasy reader but I really wanted to check out this book becuase I heard great things about the author and their works. I will say while it didnt pull me to the fantasy side, this was a really good read.

Thank you Bloomsbury and Netgalley for providing me with an e-arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This was SO good. Better than I remember Cinderella is Dead being, and I enjoyed that a lot too.

But it feels strange to call it a Snow White retelling. Yes, a big part of the second half is clearly inspired by Snow White, but there’s so many elements of other known fairytales in here like Rumplestiltskin as well as a whole load of things entirely original to this story. I think people expecting a Snow White retelling may be disappointed.

That being said, I enjoyed every moment of this book despite it being nothing like I’d expected. Eve is such a headstrong, smart, vibrant MC and I loved her so much. All the characters in this book are actually brilliant and I had such a great time getting to know them all. Especially Junior. Gosh, I loved Junior.

The plot had me hooked from the start. I was immediately engaged and curious and I loved seeing where this went. It strays so far from any of the original tales it’s inspired by that it kept me on my toes.

The only real let down for me was the romance. I could feel there was an attraction between Nova and Eve, and I liked watching that slowly bloom, but for them to suddenly be IN LOVE with each other at the end…look, I know it’s a fairytale retelling and in those, they fall in love in an instant, but the shift from potential feelings to LOVE was jarring for me. Insta-love would have worked better than this slow burn then sudden shift.

Nonetheless, I definitely recommend this to anyone looking for a fun, thrilling YA fantasy.

THOUGHTS

This book... was so incredibly disappointing to me for a book that isn't really all that bad. I've just seen so much love for Bayron's other books from readers I respect that this book was quite a let-down. I'm hoping it's just a fluke, because I'd be sad to find out I don't jive with Bayron's writing in general. This book was, unfortunately, a fairly generic fairytale that lacked any of the bite it reads like it is supposed to have.


PROS
Devilish Dealings: The follow-through might not have been up to my (particularly gory) tastes, but I'm always a sucker for a Mephistophelian deal. Who doesn't like a good deal-with-the-devil premise? Sure, everybody knows they really shouldn't be making these wishes, but... sometimes it's hard to resist, right?

Cool Powers: Bayron doesn't hold back from giving her heroine some really wicked magic powers. She can summon the power of the heavens. She can create a cloak of the night skies. Lightning, fire, and ice come to her call, and she's trained to use it all, too. And I appreciate that.

Fresh Take: You know what's usually a bland fairy tale? Snow White. Don't come at me for saying that if you love Snow White. Everybody's got their own tastes, and even if it isn't my favorite tale, I'm always a sucker for retellings. (I did write a whole thesis about feminist fairytales, after all.) I appreciate that this book weaves a bland tale into something inherently new. It's got all the familiar playing pieces, but the story unfolds in a way that's hard to predict, even when you know the plot beats in advance. And there's something to say about that.


CONS
She's Not Like Other Girls: As wicked as Eve's powers might be... she did feel a little "not like other girls," if you know what I mean. She's tough, prickly, and standoffish. Oh, and she's not a fan of babies. This is a sort of classic twist on a fairytale princess, and honestly, I'm kind of tired of it. Not all girlbosses need to above-it-all tough, you know? Girlbosses can be strong and independent and also like kids, dresses, dancing at balls. Why make a girl choose? It's not necessarily a Bayron-specific problem. This "strong female character" archetype has become all too common, and I'm just kinda tired of it.

Bland Fairytale Worldbuilding: The worldbuilding here is particularly fairytale, in a bad way. In a way that doesn't make sense in a full-fledged novel. Why do we have somebody with a title living in a cottage? Titled nobility doesn't usually, you know, live in a cottage. This sort of thing happens in fairytales without explanation. In a full-length book, I really do need to know how this came about. And when you're dealing with devilish wishes as a plot device, the twists do need to be unpredictable and dark. Every one of the unexpected "twists" on the wishes in this book just felt like something anybody with common sense would have seen coming. We need a touch more logic if I'm committing to 350+ pages. In a fairytale, you can get away with a lot more than in a book, and there were just a lot of loose ends here that I couldn't get past.

Family Matters: If I was supposed to care about the family that takes Eve in--father and seven sons--well, I really didn't. I mean, we spend hardly any time getting to know them. The characterization was nonexistent except where it was nonsensical, because there's no way a 17-year-old girl is thinking of a 16-year-old boy like a little brother. Not when she's just met him. And she does kind of treat all the boys like little brothers, even when some of them are pretty close to her in age. [MILD SPOILERS AHEAD!] This family also comes with a tragic backstory which, yeah, is regrettable because it stems from a stupid wish made. But also, in the history of history, motherless children aren't really all that uncommon. Do we really need dark magic to explain the tragedy of dying in childbirth? [END SPOILERS] Anyway, the dynamic was off. I was obviously meant to care about them, and when I didn't, the impact of the last quarter of the book just didn't land like it should. Which is, you know, unfortunate.


Rating

⭐⭐⭐⭐
4/10
Fans of Rosamund Hodge's Cruel Beauty will like this new fractured fairytale featuring devilish dealings. Those who enjoy a fresh twist on Snow White like the one found in R.C. Lewis's Stitching Snow will love diving into this new world of compromises and queens-next-door.

This book was an amazing read! An instant 5 out of 5 stars. I have read several books by Kalynn Bayron and she never fails to deliver an amazing book with a dark twist on a normal fairytale that we all know and love. Finding the subtile Snow White references were actually pretty fun and I was super excited when I read it and understood the reference. When you saw the reference though you know that it was not a complete ripoff from the original fairytale story but something to showcase it differently. The plot was amazing and it kept me engaged over and over and over again. I am happy the story ended the way it did, and I cant wait to see what this author will do next.

The Knight is only for those who are absolutely desperate to change their lot in life. He is an ancient monster who turns wishes into curses. Non knows this better than Eve, who has lived her entire life training to defeat the Knight. With her ability to speak to animals and conjure weapons from nature, she seems like the only one has the ability to defeat him.

As more people are harmed by the Knight’s deals, Eve decides that it might be finally time to defeat him. But when the queen starts actly strange, Eve has to figure out if she truly has the power to defeat the Knight.

Thanks to NetGalley and Bloomsbury YA for an advanced copy of Sleep Like Death by Kalynn Bayron to review! I have thoroughly enjoyed all of Bayron’s books since reading Cinderella Is Dead, and this book sees us return to that world. If you like fairytale inspired books and haven’t read her books yet, definitely pick them up.

I will say, this isn’t necessarily a retelling; it feels more like a Snow White inspired book. The characteres are all well developed; Eve is such an interesting main character; she is willing to take her own destiny into her hands, and not afraid to confront conflict. In general, the characters were what made this book for me. In addition to Eve, there’s a wonderful cast of side characters that help her on her journey.

However, I was as drawn into the plot in this one as I have been in other Bayron’s books. There are quite a few different plot lines happening at the same time, and I think that slows down the book slightly. Pairing some of those down would have made the book even more engaging.

All in all, not a bad fairytale retelling, but maybe not my favorite of Bayron’s books thus far.

This. Is . What. I'm Talking. About. When. I. Say. We. Need. More. Black. stories. I ate this up. Give me more more more more more more more.

I am an absolute sucker for fairy tale retellings and reimaginings so I was really excited to read Bayron’s take on Snow White. It took a bit for the story to really get going and the Snow White story doesn’t really take effect until about 50% in, but I liked where it went! Eve, our FMC, was a little judgmental and stubborn for a good part of the book, but she grew on me and I loved her character journey, especially once she meets Claude and his sons. I did think the details of the plot as far as the wishes went felt a little convoluted at times, but it was a cool way to combine a few other fairy tales too. I liked Nova as a character a whole lot, but I didn’t really feel the romance between him and Eve. It felt a little underdeveloped. The story was certainly exciting and kept me very interested to see how it would play out. Overall, I liked it and hope Bayron does more fairy tale stories in addition to this one and Cinderella is Dead!
Mini spoiler: the dog doesn’t die!
CW: animal death, violence, infant death, death of a spouse, child death

Thank you to NetGalley and Bloomsbury for an advanced digital reader’s copy in exchange for an honest review.

Sleep Like Death is the newest fairy tale re-imagining from the author of Cinderella is Dead. This books follows Eve, a princess whose land is terrorized by the Knight. The Knight grants wishes in exchange for bargains that always end terribly and it is Eve's lifelong mission to kill him and save her people. When Eve's mother begins acting strangely, it sets off a series of events that completely change Eve's life and everything she knows.

I really enjoyed how original this story was, despite all of the callbacks to the original tale. Eve was a very rootable character and the writing was very consumable. While I wasn't overly attached to the characters, I was invested in the story line and the mystery surrounding the Knight and his deals. I will definitely be going back to read this author's other works and I'm excited to see what other fairy tales she tackles in the future!

Kalynn Bayron is a queen when it comes to twisting classic fairy tales. She’s done it again with Sleep Like Death. This is not the fairy tale we all grew up! Twisty, full of magic and intrigue. The perfect read for anyone who wants a twisted fairy tale that also has themes of current social justice issues. I hope she continues this writing trend.

I didn't enjoy this book as much as I did Cinderella is Dead, but I did enjoy it! Any book by Kalynn Bayron, and any fairytale retelling is going to be an auto-buy book for me, and I enjoyed this book!

3.25 stars, rounded down
——————

I’ve been a fan of Kalynn Barron since reading This Poison Heart and I was so excited to read an early copy of this one. This book follows Princess Eve and her quest to bring down The Knight, a blight on her people, making wishes into curses. While the idea of this one was certainly interesting, I found that I was just not as enamored with the story as I wanted it to be.

This book was a great take on Snow White, incorporating various other fairytales along the way. It gave the book a unique edge. The Knight was a brilliant edition to the story to counter the lack of evil stepmother. I enjoyed the love between Eve and her mother, and the twist on loving mothers. This was the perfect balance of character and plot driven.

It’s hard to pinpoint exactly what I didn’t enjoy with this one. I found that the overall events of the book felt a little jumbled. There felt like too much was happening instead of narrowing down plot points and elaborating on them further. The characters felt a little surface level, despite their importance to the story.

I wanted to enjoy this so much more than I did.

4 stars

I was so excited to receive an e-ARC of this book. I loved Cinderella is Dead, so I was excited to read another fairytale retelling by Kalynn Bayron. This had such a fun premise, I only wish it were more fast paced and that we got to see Eve use her powers more. Overall, this was an entertaining read.

Thank you to NetGalley for sending me an e-ARC of this book!

I knew going into this I was a big Kalynn Bayron fan and Sleep Like Death did not disappoint! This author really excels at YA writing. Sleep Like Death is a very loose Snow White retelling - I would consider it more Snow White inspired. I wasn't sure about it even being Snow White related until about halfway in, but that didn't affect my enjoyment.

The pacing started a little slow for me, as I didn't connect with any characters immediately, but definitely picked up with that magical Bayron character development. So it was worth sticking with. I appreciated the world building, lore, and twists, and the way that the author weaves together the whimsical of the fairytale with the very dark aspects from their original versions is brilliant.

3.75 stars

“That is the nature of grief, it changes you. It burns you up from the inside and then you emerge from the ashes, like the phoenix”

one thing about fairytale retellings is that there is a sense of comfort and confidence in knowing certain details in advance. With Sleep Like Death, there is that sense of comfort but not enough that you will find it predictable. There are plenty of little twists and differences that keep you entertained and not once did I ever feel bored. I love Bayron's writing style, there’s something about it that makes it hard for me to put any of her books down.

I did like the cast characters, however, for me, there was a disconnect. I wasn’t emotionally attached to most of them or interested in the romance. So when they revealed certain backstories it just felt flat. In the beginning, Eve is someone who is very arrogant and thinks she can take on the world by herself but little by little she starts to rely on others and you’ll see other sides of her that are caring and warmhearted. Even with the character developments, I still wasn’t an admirer of the main character or others.

All in all, I still would recommend this book. I had a lot of fun with it and I’m not the biggest fan of Snow White retellings. Definitely give it a try, I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised.

Auto buy author! I loved everything I have rad by her and this was no exception. her writing is Whitty, and fun and I love a good YA book as a pallet cleanser. this did the trick 1000%.

My first foray into a Kalynn Baron story and I was pumped. And I was ready to DNF this one around 40% of the way in. But it gets better and I’m glad I didn’t put it down.
A historic tale, retelling of a Snow White type story, Almost like reading a classic story in literature itself. As our story opens with our Queen and Princess, I found myself thrown into a story of a villain who grants wishes but not as they seem- so an obvious Rumplestiltskin

My first thought of this is it didn’t feel as much as a Snow White retelling but with Queen Regina and a knight along the lines of Rumplestiltskin, my first impression was a fan fiction of the tv show Once Upon a Time. I would consider this a very loose retelling of Snow White until about 50% of the way in. Princess Eve felt more like the hunter herself and I enjoyed the version of the enchanted mirror.

I think the interpretation of the magic mirror Nova was my favorite character development. The relationship between Nova and Eve was the most dynamic, they flowed and bounced off each other naturally. But expect some enemies to lovers. I also enjoyed the Kingfisher sons; it was cute to have the dwarves represented by boys of a teenage-ish age. Even with a little predictably and cheesiness, the author’s a good enough writer I am happy to have read it. If I could give half stars here, I would do 3.5 stars

Thank you Bloomsbury and Netgalley for this eARC, these opinions are my own. I loved this so much! The queendom of Queen’s Bridge is ruled by a kind and caring queen, the only problem is the Knight. He grants people wishes but at terrible prices and the results of their wishes are always skewed. Princess Eve has been raised to be her mother’s sword and she will one day but an end to the Knight. She was born with magic and can form weapons from the elements as well as talk with animals. As she approaches her 17th birthday her mother becomes more sullen and withdrawn. Eve even hears her conversing with someone in her room. Desperate to figure out what is going on with her mother she finds and confronts the Knight but she finds more questions than answers and that she’s not as equipped to defeat him as she thought. Now, with the Knight’s interest in her, she’ll find herself in a difficult position. Can she survive the secrets her mother has kept? Can she find a way to defeat the Knight without destroying Queen’s Bridge and the people in it? A fast paced adventure that had me consuming the book! Eve is a strong, intelligent, black woman, who will do anything for her loved ones and it makes it so easy to love her! A twist on the Snow White story that is entirely its own, but don’t worry readers you’ll still get all the classic aspects just in new thrilling ways! I’ve loved how Kalynn Bayron does these twists on fairytales and would love to see more!

As always I love Bayrons writing and she has become an immediate purchase and read. Her characters are gripping, diverse, and easy to like and want to follow along with.

Thank you to Bloomsbury YA & #NetGalley for allowing me to read a digital ARC of this title.

I absolutely loved Cinderella is Dead, so when I saw that Kaylnn Bayron had written another fairytale reimagining I HAD to read it it did not disappoint!

This reimagining of Snow White is full of dark magic, strong women, fierce family bonds, myths, secrets, mystery and surprising twists all set in a land of fairy tales that are more Grimm than Disney.

Just a few content warnings: grief, murder, death (parent & child) violence, torture, gore.

I cannot wait to get a print copy of this so I can give it to my students.