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.

I’ve been a fan of Kalynn Bayron since Cinderella is Dead and have continued to enjoy her work, so I was excited to read more in that world of Cinderella is Dead. It had that fairy tale element that I was enjoying the Snow White element overall and thought the concept worked with this world. The overall feel worked with everything that I enjoyed and glad it was so well done.

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.

I read this book as a NetGalley ARC. Things I enjoyed about this story include a strong Black female MC, the magic system and the originality of the story as it interweaves with the Snow White story that we know and love. I did, however, feel like this story left much to be desired and lots of open questions. There was a lot of open plot lines that I felt needed to be explored. Example, what really happened with Queen Sanaa and a resolution to her story at the end. Her state was a critical driver for our MCs vengeance and we didn't dive into it? Why? I also felt that this book had a lot of "unnecessary" deaths. Why did so many people have to die for the MC to get out of her own way to defeat the Knight? It was unnecessarily heart breaking. Speaking of the MC, her vengeance story was clouded by ego which made her annoying and it made it hard for us to rest in her rationale, especially as people were dying. There was also a lot of information left out such as Novas story. Would have liked to explore that one more. I feel that Kalynn Bayron had a lot of opportunity, however, she just didn't quite land this story.

Once again Ms. Bayron can't do no wrong in my eyes! This is the second retelling that I've truly enjoyed from her. Cinderella is Dead is still a classic book and one of my favorites! This was a different twist on how Snow White was told, and I enjoyed it! I could really see this into a movie or TV show in the near future. Kalynn Bayron to me is the queen of retellings!

Kalynn Bayron has this magical way of storytelling that takes a story we ae all familiar with and finding the holes in it and tuning those holes into entirely new stories.

Sleep like death is a retelling of Snow White that takes place in a world where all of the fairytales are true. Eve is a princess just before her 17th birthday who has magical capabilities and has been trained her whole life to be a warrior. The kingdom has been tormented for years by a knight who grants wishes. Wishes sound great, but this knight is dark and likes to twist peoples words in a way where he gives them exactly what they ask for in the worst way possible. Eve's mom starts acting strangely just before Eve's 17th birthday, and Eve fears that her mother may have done something that can't be undone.

The pacing of this story was phenomenal and had me on the edge of my seat from chapter one. I loved this cast of characters and I loved the beautiful way this story was told. It was somehow familiar, but also fresh and new. There were moments when I was frustrated by Eve's choices, but then I would remember that she is a teenage girl just trying to figure things out in life.

If you have read Kalynn's other books and enjoyed them, this book is for you. If you like magical fantasy worlds and gripping tales, this book is for you. If you like retellings of classic fairytales told in twisted ways, this book is for you. If you like worlds where no one bats an eye at a kingdom with two queens, this book is for you. And if this book isn't for you, that's ok, because it was for me and I loved it.

Thank you NetGalley for an e-arc of this book!

Kalynn Bayron has done it again! If you loved Cinderella is Dead, you will love this incredible Snow White retelling. The way that Bayron uses the story the we know but changes and adds pieces to make it her own. I absolutely loved everything about this book and how she wove the story together. It definitely didn’t go how I thought and that made it even more enjoyable! I highly recommend!

Kalynn Bayron steps back into a well known fairytale and uses her dark, gothic imagination to twist this story into new shapes.

A little background first…

Our main character Eve is gifted — skilled warrior with the unusual magic to fashion natural elements into fierce weapons. She is known in all of Queen’s Bridge and other kingdom like Mersailles as The Queen, her mother’s fury. Though under the benevolent watch of her just mother, the land is plagued by the crooked dealings of a mysterious magician called The Knight.

The double meanings of his deals always grant the wisher the desires of their heart but end with the user’s deep suffering. As Eve trains to face the Knight, she is confronted with the truth hidden from her. Investigating this information, her mother starts to act strangely and a mysterious mirror appears in her chamber.

My thoughts…

This story wove a tale that I won’t soon forget. Characters with flaws and layers of grief that permeate their journeys. The strength of this novel is the coming of age tale as Eve’s perspective begins to blossoms around the ideas of regret, morality and love.

What I enjoyed most about her fierce and loyal characterization is that she had a level of arrogance that is often discouraged in young women. However, unlike other Bayron stories, she exists in an almost sheltered world when she is thrust into the grips of life. As a black woman, watching a young woman unafraid to speak her mind, defy authority and question the status quo was satisfying.

Trying to toe the line between powerful and nurturing is never put into question with Eve or any of the other women in the story because instead of using masculine elements to hone power, their femininity empowers them. Unlike Cinderella Is Dead that takes place under a harsh regime of patriarchal ego, this story is based in a benevolent matriarchal society that is being imposed by the threat.

Kalynn Bayron’s glorious pen (or typing fingers) crafts a story bore from one that we’ve known as long as stories are told but leaves no elements out on how stories evolve. The added layer of complexity that comes from realizing how the storyteller can editorialize truth to wield their own purpose is addressees delicately.

It made me think of how perspective affects how we deliver and receive information.

I digress, overall, this story gets high marks from me. There were a few parts that lacked transitional support but they were remedied with significant moments that clearly marked the passage of time. This was a fast paced, deeply emotional coming of age story that showed how far a young woman will go for those that see loves and how that journey shapes who she becomes.

It took me a while to get into this one. While I loved the descriptiveness and attention to detail, I didn’t connect with the storyline right away. Something was missing for me that I still haven’t quite put my finger on. Nevertheless, once I connected to the main character’s grief I was locked in. I enjoyed the action as well as the embrace of found family a lot. I also loved how creative the retelling goes with interweaving things we may think we know with new and exciting twists. The imagery was on point. Overall, I’m rating my experience with this book 3.5 rounded up to 4 stars. I enjoyed it and wonder if I will enjoy it more via audiobook. Reading it in the NG app was not the best experience. The print was very small, I was unable to highlight/save comments, and it wasn’t syncing my reading to switch between phone and iPad. In fairness, this may have impacted why it took me so long to get into the book.

The Snow White story has always been one of my least favorite......until now! This story was enthralling, captivating, and just plain GOOD! At one point, my mom was laughing at me cause I was screaming at my kindle. 😂😅 It put such a great twist on this classic story and I am thoroughly happy that I was able to get an ARC of this. (I will be buying a physical copy when it officially releases!)

Added note: if you are hoping for a retelling that fits pretty close to the original storyline, this might not be for you. I quite enjoyed the fact that it felt almost like a completely new story.

NO WORDS.
Kalynn Bayron is the queen of the fairy tale retelling. If you loved " happily ever after: fairy tales for every child" growing up and still seek out black badass heroines, this is the book for you. I am so happy I got to read this book!!!