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Grimrose Girls #1
The Grimrose Girls
Four friends, one murder, and a dark fate that may leave them all doomed ...
After the mysterious death of their best friend, Ella, Yuki, and Rory are the talk of their elite school, Grimrose Académie. The police ruled Ariane's death as a suicide, but the trio is determined to find out what really happened.
When Nani Eszes arrives as their newest roommate, it sets into motion a series of events that no one could have predicted. As the girls retrace their friend's final days, they discover a dark secret about Grimrose--Ariane wasn't the first dead girl.
They soon learn that all the past murders are connected to ancient fairy-tale curses ... and that their own fates are tied to the stories, dooming the girls to brutal and gruesome endings unless they can break the cycle for good.
After the mysterious death of their best friend, Ella, Yuki, and Rory are the talk of their elite school, Grimrose Académie. The police ruled Ariane's death as a suicide, but the trio is determined to find out what really happened.
When Nani Eszes arrives as their newest roommate, it sets into motion a series of events that no one could have predicted. As the girls retrace their friend's final days, they discover a dark secret about Grimrose--Ariane wasn't the first dead girl.
They soon learn that all the past murders are connected to ancient fairy-tale curses ... and that their own fates are tied to the stories, dooming the girls to brutal and gruesome endings unless they can break the cycle for good.
384 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 26, 2021
659 people are currently reading
38080 people want to read
About the author
Laura Pohl
55 books534 followersLaura Pohl is the New York Times best-selling author of The Grimrose Girls. Her debut novel, The Last 8, won the International Latino Book Awards. She likes writing messages in caps lock, never using autocorrect, and obsessing about Star Wars. When not taking pictures of her dog, she can be found curled up with a fantasy or science-fiction book or replaying Dragon Age. Her favorite Disney princess is Cinderella, and her favorite Disney prince is Kylo Ren. A Brazilian at heart and soul, she makes her home in São Paulo.
She is represented by Kari Sutherland at Bradford Literary.
She is represented by Kari Sutherland at Bradford Literary.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 2,005 reviews
September 22, 2022
I think I’m in love. This book was so beautifully intense, so aesthetic, and just so good. Fantasy thrillers should be much more popular, because they’re fucking amazing.
The premise of this book automatically let me know that it was something I needed in my life, and I was right. Following the death of Ariane, best friends Rory, Ella and Yuki are left with unanswered questions and a growing suspicion. Ariane’s death was ruled a suicide; why else would Ariane, who couldn’t swim, be found in the lake?
Then Nani arrives at Grimrose Académie, the prestigious school they attend. The new girl and the three old are forced together as they uncover a string of dark secret hiding behind the perfect facade of their beautiful school.
Also, did I mention that this is dark academia with fairy tale retellings?
The Grimrose Académie was exclusive not only in name, but also in reputation. Its location in Switzerland and the exorbitant price ensured that only the richest and most powerful were able to attend. It sat on one of the Alps’ most beautiful hills and boasted a giant fairy-tale castle with four towers and white marble, gardens extending up to the mountains that surrounded them, and a crystalline lake to complete the view.
Studying at Grimrose was a guarantee of your future. When you studied at Grimrose, nothing could ever go wrong.
This plot was so addictive and so amazing, I read it in about 26 hours and couldn’t put it down within that time. I am not lying when I say this book was one of the best I’ve read this year. I was hooked.
“They are an allegory of what happens in real life. Girls get beaten up and die. It’s a warning, to live chastely. That if you’re a good girl, you get to live.”
The aesthetic and atmosphere of this book were absolutely incredible. First of all, I live for dark academia. Especially when it’s fantasy. And the atmosphere was so tense and yet magical and captivating and I was obsessed. This is one of the things that made me so immersed in the book from the beginning.
Also, just the fact that this book was fairy tales? If you know me, you know I'm obsessed with fairy tales, mythology and retellings. Combined with everything else in the book I was already going to be in love, but Laura Pohl really had to throw in DARK FAIRY TALES??? Is this woman TRYING to kill me?
“Red Riding Hood is eaten by the wolf,” Nani added. “Cinderella’s sister’s eyes get pecked out by birds, and they cut their feet off. Hansel and Gretel both get devoured by the witch. Snow White’s heart gets eaten by her stepmother. They’re fun.”
Rory kept looking at Nani. “That’s your definition of fun?”
The writing was definitely a key factor for me. I loved how it just matched with each character, but simultaneously retained this eloquent, gorgeous tone to it through the whole book. It was so beautiful, rich and mysterious.
Fairy tales were history in a manner of speaking, and history repeated itself. They all shared the same elements in a hundred different cultures. Cultures that had never been in contact with one another, but the reflection still rippled: mistreated girls who fled their homes, the dangers lurking in the wilderness, the wit and kindness needed to survive. They were different tales, but they held the same truth in them for hundreds of years.
One of my favorite things about the book - as always - was the characters. I am in love with these girls. It’s insane.
Ella was such an incredible character in that she had this ferocity, but it was so quiet and so understated that you couldn’t really see it was there. She was introverted and kind and gentle and always the peacemaker. She liked cooking and cleaning and was so patient. She was empathetic and creative.
She was also hardened and traumatized. There was this power about how she was someone who’d been through so much and yet chose to keep fighting in the nicest way possible. Ella is that character who chooses love and gentleness over war, and that’s so underrepresented and so beautiful.
Ella’s cooking wasn’t art, nor her sewing dresses, nor her cleaning. They were things women were expected to do since forever, since they couldn’t be allowed to do anything else. Now they were allowed, and they made beautiful, amazing, world-changing things, and Ella did her things quietly, because when people were out making the world more beautiful, they had to have a safe place to be themselves in. A good home to thrive in.
Ella’s art was making everyone comfortable, so they could be free to go and make the best thing possible with their own special skills.
She’s the kind of girl that people would mistake for passive if they didn’t know any better. And I love that we’re immediately told from the beginning that we have no choice but to know better than that.
No one was going to save Ella. Because her only way out was if someone else offered a hand, a way to save her, a way to forget all the hurt. She’d kept being kind, kept trying to compensate for every single of her traumas, being the best person she could be despite it all. Because one day, someone was going to come and save her, and she couldn’t give them a reason to turn her away.
Yuki was so personally relatable and so complex. She wanted the best for everyone but didn’t know how to get it, and knew how to present herself but now how to be herself. She was, on the outside, this cold and logical person who never let things show, but only because that’s what she needed to be.Her development and character arc was so personal to me and I don’t know why. She was just so memorable, so strong and intense in her own way.
Yuki took a deep breath, because she did not lose her composure, because she was always, always, the image of perfect, no matter what happened, and she was not going to lose her cool today.
Even though she made choices that I disagreed with it was impossible to be annoyed about it because she was just so understandable. Yuki was just that girl, that everyone thinks is perfect when no one knows what the hell goes on in her life, and her mask as well as her perspective was written so amazingly.
She wouldn’t lose her composure. She was the headmistress’s stepdaughter, after all. Her behavior would always be examined first.
Rory was so relatable and stubborn and I loved that she was just this headstrong, willful, aggressive tomboyish girl who did her best to be unapologetic. She was brash and arrogant at times and did her best to go against all the preset expectations for her - a pretty, rich girl with overprotective rich parents.
I loved that she was openly flawed and incredibly proud, and refused to let things get the best of her no matter what. She was a sarcastic and aggressive mood. She could be oblivious and annoying but did so in an open way.
Out of all the notorious students in the castle, Rory Desrosiers was probably the one most used to living in one. Not that she would ever admit to such a thing, because living in a castle was stupid, and the fact that she had lived in not only one, but three, seemed like something that counted less as a curious fact and more like boasting.
Nani was an absolute queen. She was sarcastic and defensive, curious and nerdy, and her narrative was absolutely iconic. She wanted to focus on her goals - aka to find her father after being led to Grimrose - but then decided that she might as well help her new roommates solve a mystery while she was there.
I loved that despite feeling out of place, she refused to be cowed. I found it so relatable that she would rather be reading a book than interacting with people and I loved the way she saw things in the school. She was snarky and did her best to be detached, but also connected with the environment around her.
Nani didn’t like the happy endings of the usual fairy tales. They failed to acknowledge what Nani thought was most important in the story: the path, the darkness that they had been through. Happily ever after never covered what came after that, how half the heroes could be scarred for the rest of their lives. It was a falsehood sold to keep little girls dreaming about something that didn’t exist.
These girls were so layered and developed and each one of them was unique, but incredibly relatable and personal.
The banter between these characters was also incredible. I live for sassy interactions and this book did not disappoint.
“He’s French!” Rory protested.
“You’re half French,” Ella pointed out.
“So I should know!” Rory exclaimed. “It’s okay to be French in like, fiction, but not in real life. I know you’re a sucker for redemption arcs, Ella, but this is going too far.”
“I’m not—” Ella said.
“It’s a fatal flaw,” Rory continued. “Sometimes people are evil or French and can’t be redeemed.”
“Step aside. While you were busy being heterosexual, I studied the art of the blade,” Rory said, taking out one of her smaller training swords from her backpack and jangling it against the lock until half the door broke down. “There you go.”
“None of us are heterosexual,” Ella said, and Rory turned to look at Nani, raising an eyebrow.
“Don’t look at me,” Nani grumbled.
“Thanks for destroying the door,” Yuki added.
“For fuck’s sake, it was destroyed already.”
“None of us are heterosexual” is iconic.
Was he…flirting with her?
Ella had no idea what to say, opening her mouth and then closing it again like an idiot. “I’m sorry, I…” Well, she tried, but words still eluded her, apparently.
“Speechless in my presence, eh? I have that effect on people. It’s usually because I say incredibly stupid things, but I’ll take what I can get.
God. He was flirting. With her.
She was almost seventy-five percent sure.
The romance was also amazing.
Ella and Frederick were MLW (Ella being either bi or pan) and they were so cute, so fluffy and yet so strong with Ella’s healing arc and their bonding. They weren’t an absolute ship for me, but they were definitely adorable.
Frederick stopped in his tracks. “Ella, you deserve the entire world. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.”
Ella looked up at him and wondered what she’d done to deserve this. Perhaps she only had to be patient, because in the end, her happy ending would be waiting for her.
She wouldn’t have to change anything at all.
Rory and Pippa were absolutely amazing. The tension, the angst and the yearning was so clear-cut and I literally was obsessed with any scene where they made eye contact. What more could you want past these two aggressive sword lesbians?
Pippa, over the course of three years, had gotten to know Rory more than she had allowed anyone else to. She knew how to get around Rory’s defenses, and not only with a sword.
Nani and Svenja were also WLW, Svenja being a trans girl. And they were amazing. From the developing feelings to the long conversations and the “you’re the only person I can talk to like this” vibes, I loved them. They were absolutely the greatest ship for me in the book.
Nani’s frown deepened, not catching on. “Why are you angry with me?”
“I’m angry because you’re an idiot.”
“I can’t help being an idiot.”
Honestly, queer rep was perfection in this book. Characters were casually open about their sexualities and preferences and I was in love with how effortless it all was. Yuki was aroace, Ella was either bi or pan, Rory was lesbian, Nani was bi or pan, and a lot of the side characters were also queer. I loved it. It was so subtle but done so well and that’s exactly how it should be.
The diversity and representation as a whole was incredible.
This is the first book I’ve read where a character has chronic pain not caused by an injury - Rory has fibromyalgia and has struggled with it all her life. This is also one of the only books I’ve read where a character has diagnosed anxiety. Ella has OCD and her mental health is such a strong aspect of her character.
Nani specifically stood out to me as a racially/physically diverse character, being Hawaiian and explicitly stated as fat and plus-sized. And her perspective was so openly critical and opinionated and she said everything that I want to say.
Nani remembered her name now. Michaella or Mickaylee or something equally full of unnecessary letters.
I was also in love with the mental health rep, not only with Ella’s OCD and the grief from Ariane’s death. But also the trauma that came from their separate childhoods, some more severe than others. For example, Ella’s stepmother and stepsisters were extremely toxic and abusive at times, and Ella’s perspective reflected that so well.
What I also loved was Yuki’s perspective. Just from the expectations piled on her, the things she’s dealt with and the struggle she faced every day - no explicit traumatic events, but a still-struggling mindset that I think deserved so much validation and representation. This book served.
Empty was a good word for how Yuki felt.
Empty, trying to fill herself with words and gestures that weren’t her own.
Empty, because no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t hold on to anything for herself.
She wondered, for a minute, what would happen if she’d let all fall away. Let them see what Yuki looked like underneath, the color of her longing, the shape of her want.
The problem was Yuki didn’t even know what she longed for.
What she wanted.
What she was afraid of.
She was hungry for the taste of the world, to run free, to break free from the bonds she’d been caged in and all the things that people expected when they looked at her.
Yuki was none of those things.
She was not gentle. She was hungry.
And if her hunger cleaved her open, she’d let the world break in two.
I loved the lessons and stories this book carried. Everything about it was beautiful and addictive, but not in the way that deviated from the plot. It was just such an aesthetically immersive book. It came across strong and relevant, with points about feminism and racism and inclusion, but everything was included perfectly in the story so that it didn’t seem like one of those books written to make a point.
“No one is better because they’re not angry, because they don’t hurt people. It’s just what you need to do to cope. You do whatever it takes. Whatever you have to do to survive.”
Overall, I pretty much loved every aspect of the book. The characters and their development, the writing, the story, the representation, and the aesthetic. Everything about it just worked perfectly together. I binged it within 26 hours and I have no regrets. I just couldn’t put it down.
It was so gorgeous and exciting and intense. I didn’t know how well fairy tales and boarding school murders would gel, but now I wish this was a whole genre. Everything about this book is just iconic.
“What, you’re going to tell me you’re a magical cat too?” Nani asked it, eyebrows raised and hands on her hips. “If you’re gonna talk, you better start.”
Nani stared at Mephistopheles. Mephistopheles stared at her.
The premise of this book automatically let me know that it was something I needed in my life, and I was right. Following the death of Ariane, best friends Rory, Ella and Yuki are left with unanswered questions and a growing suspicion. Ariane’s death was ruled a suicide; why else would Ariane, who couldn’t swim, be found in the lake?
Then Nani arrives at Grimrose Académie, the prestigious school they attend. The new girl and the three old are forced together as they uncover a string of dark secret hiding behind the perfect facade of their beautiful school.
Also, did I mention that this is dark academia with fairy tale retellings?
The Grimrose Académie was exclusive not only in name, but also in reputation. Its location in Switzerland and the exorbitant price ensured that only the richest and most powerful were able to attend. It sat on one of the Alps’ most beautiful hills and boasted a giant fairy-tale castle with four towers and white marble, gardens extending up to the mountains that surrounded them, and a crystalline lake to complete the view.
Studying at Grimrose was a guarantee of your future. When you studied at Grimrose, nothing could ever go wrong.
This plot was so addictive and so amazing, I read it in about 26 hours and couldn’t put it down within that time. I am not lying when I say this book was one of the best I’ve read this year. I was hooked.
“They are an allegory of what happens in real life. Girls get beaten up and die. It’s a warning, to live chastely. That if you’re a good girl, you get to live.”
The aesthetic and atmosphere of this book were absolutely incredible. First of all, I live for dark academia. Especially when it’s fantasy. And the atmosphere was so tense and yet magical and captivating and I was obsessed. This is one of the things that made me so immersed in the book from the beginning.
Also, just the fact that this book was fairy tales? If you know me, you know I'm obsessed with fairy tales, mythology and retellings. Combined with everything else in the book I was already going to be in love, but Laura Pohl really had to throw in DARK FAIRY TALES??? Is this woman TRYING to kill me?
“Red Riding Hood is eaten by the wolf,” Nani added. “Cinderella’s sister’s eyes get pecked out by birds, and they cut their feet off. Hansel and Gretel both get devoured by the witch. Snow White’s heart gets eaten by her stepmother. They’re fun.”
Rory kept looking at Nani. “That’s your definition of fun?”
The writing was definitely a key factor for me. I loved how it just matched with each character, but simultaneously retained this eloquent, gorgeous tone to it through the whole book. It was so beautiful, rich and mysterious.
Fairy tales were history in a manner of speaking, and history repeated itself. They all shared the same elements in a hundred different cultures. Cultures that had never been in contact with one another, but the reflection still rippled: mistreated girls who fled their homes, the dangers lurking in the wilderness, the wit and kindness needed to survive. They were different tales, but they held the same truth in them for hundreds of years.
One of my favorite things about the book - as always - was the characters. I am in love with these girls. It’s insane.
Ella was such an incredible character in that she had this ferocity, but it was so quiet and so understated that you couldn’t really see it was there. She was introverted and kind and gentle and always the peacemaker. She liked cooking and cleaning and was so patient. She was empathetic and creative.
She was also hardened and traumatized. There was this power about how she was someone who’d been through so much and yet chose to keep fighting in the nicest way possible. Ella is that character who chooses love and gentleness over war, and that’s so underrepresented and so beautiful.
Ella’s cooking wasn’t art, nor her sewing dresses, nor her cleaning. They were things women were expected to do since forever, since they couldn’t be allowed to do anything else. Now they were allowed, and they made beautiful, amazing, world-changing things, and Ella did her things quietly, because when people were out making the world more beautiful, they had to have a safe place to be themselves in. A good home to thrive in.
Ella’s art was making everyone comfortable, so they could be free to go and make the best thing possible with their own special skills.
She’s the kind of girl that people would mistake for passive if they didn’t know any better. And I love that we’re immediately told from the beginning that we have no choice but to know better than that.
No one was going to save Ella. Because her only way out was if someone else offered a hand, a way to save her, a way to forget all the hurt. She’d kept being kind, kept trying to compensate for every single of her traumas, being the best person she could be despite it all. Because one day, someone was going to come and save her, and she couldn’t give them a reason to turn her away.
Yuki was so personally relatable and so complex. She wanted the best for everyone but didn’t know how to get it, and knew how to present herself but now how to be herself. She was, on the outside, this cold and logical person who never let things show, but only because that’s what she needed to be.Her development and character arc was so personal to me and I don’t know why. She was just so memorable, so strong and intense in her own way.
Yuki took a deep breath, because she did not lose her composure, because she was always, always, the image of perfect, no matter what happened, and she was not going to lose her cool today.
Even though she made choices that I disagreed with it was impossible to be annoyed about it because she was just so understandable. Yuki was just that girl, that everyone thinks is perfect when no one knows what the hell goes on in her life, and her mask as well as her perspective was written so amazingly.
She wouldn’t lose her composure. She was the headmistress’s stepdaughter, after all. Her behavior would always be examined first.
Rory was so relatable and stubborn and I loved that she was just this headstrong, willful, aggressive tomboyish girl who did her best to be unapologetic. She was brash and arrogant at times and did her best to go against all the preset expectations for her - a pretty, rich girl with overprotective rich parents.
I loved that she was openly flawed and incredibly proud, and refused to let things get the best of her no matter what. She was a sarcastic and aggressive mood. She could be oblivious and annoying but did so in an open way.
Out of all the notorious students in the castle, Rory Desrosiers was probably the one most used to living in one. Not that she would ever admit to such a thing, because living in a castle was stupid, and the fact that she had lived in not only one, but three, seemed like something that counted less as a curious fact and more like boasting.
Nani was an absolute queen. She was sarcastic and defensive, curious and nerdy, and her narrative was absolutely iconic. She wanted to focus on her goals - aka to find her father after being led to Grimrose - but then decided that she might as well help her new roommates solve a mystery while she was there.
I loved that despite feeling out of place, she refused to be cowed. I found it so relatable that she would rather be reading a book than interacting with people and I loved the way she saw things in the school. She was snarky and did her best to be detached, but also connected with the environment around her.
Nani didn’t like the happy endings of the usual fairy tales. They failed to acknowledge what Nani thought was most important in the story: the path, the darkness that they had been through. Happily ever after never covered what came after that, how half the heroes could be scarred for the rest of their lives. It was a falsehood sold to keep little girls dreaming about something that didn’t exist.
These girls were so layered and developed and each one of them was unique, but incredibly relatable and personal.
The banter between these characters was also incredible. I live for sassy interactions and this book did not disappoint.
“He’s French!” Rory protested.
“You’re half French,” Ella pointed out.
“So I should know!” Rory exclaimed. “It’s okay to be French in like, fiction, but not in real life. I know you’re a sucker for redemption arcs, Ella, but this is going too far.”
“I’m not—” Ella said.
“It’s a fatal flaw,” Rory continued. “Sometimes people are evil or French and can’t be redeemed.”
“Step aside. While you were busy being heterosexual, I studied the art of the blade,” Rory said, taking out one of her smaller training swords from her backpack and jangling it against the lock until half the door broke down. “There you go.”
“None of us are heterosexual,” Ella said, and Rory turned to look at Nani, raising an eyebrow.
“Don’t look at me,” Nani grumbled.
“Thanks for destroying the door,” Yuki added.
“For fuck’s sake, it was destroyed already.”
“None of us are heterosexual” is iconic.
Was he…flirting with her?
Ella had no idea what to say, opening her mouth and then closing it again like an idiot. “I’m sorry, I…” Well, she tried, but words still eluded her, apparently.
“Speechless in my presence, eh? I have that effect on people. It’s usually because I say incredibly stupid things, but I’ll take what I can get.
God. He was flirting. With her.
She was almost seventy-five percent sure.
The romance was also amazing.
Ella and Frederick were MLW (Ella being either bi or pan) and they were so cute, so fluffy and yet so strong with Ella’s healing arc and their bonding. They weren’t an absolute ship for me, but they were definitely adorable.
Frederick stopped in his tracks. “Ella, you deserve the entire world. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.”
Ella looked up at him and wondered what she’d done to deserve this. Perhaps she only had to be patient, because in the end, her happy ending would be waiting for her.
She wouldn’t have to change anything at all.
Rory and Pippa were absolutely amazing. The tension, the angst and the yearning was so clear-cut and I literally was obsessed with any scene where they made eye contact. What more could you want past these two aggressive sword lesbians?
Pippa, over the course of three years, had gotten to know Rory more than she had allowed anyone else to. She knew how to get around Rory’s defenses, and not only with a sword.
Nani and Svenja were also WLW, Svenja being a trans girl. And they were amazing. From the developing feelings to the long conversations and the “you’re the only person I can talk to like this” vibes, I loved them. They were absolutely the greatest ship for me in the book.
Nani’s frown deepened, not catching on. “Why are you angry with me?”
“I’m angry because you’re an idiot.”
“I can’t help being an idiot.”
Honestly, queer rep was perfection in this book. Characters were casually open about their sexualities and preferences and I was in love with how effortless it all was. Yuki was aroace, Ella was either bi or pan, Rory was lesbian, Nani was bi or pan, and a lot of the side characters were also queer. I loved it. It was so subtle but done so well and that’s exactly how it should be.
The diversity and representation as a whole was incredible.
This is the first book I’ve read where a character has chronic pain not caused by an injury - Rory has fibromyalgia and has struggled with it all her life. This is also one of the only books I’ve read where a character has diagnosed anxiety. Ella has OCD and her mental health is such a strong aspect of her character.
Nani specifically stood out to me as a racially/physically diverse character, being Hawaiian and explicitly stated as fat and plus-sized. And her perspective was so openly critical and opinionated and she said everything that I want to say.
Nani remembered her name now. Michaella or Mickaylee or something equally full of unnecessary letters.
I was also in love with the mental health rep, not only with Ella’s OCD and the grief from Ariane’s death. But also the trauma that came from their separate childhoods, some more severe than others. For example, Ella’s stepmother and stepsisters were extremely toxic and abusive at times, and Ella’s perspective reflected that so well.
What I also loved was Yuki’s perspective. Just from the expectations piled on her, the things she’s dealt with and the struggle she faced every day - no explicit traumatic events, but a still-struggling mindset that I think deserved so much validation and representation. This book served.
Empty was a good word for how Yuki felt.
Empty, trying to fill herself with words and gestures that weren’t her own.
Empty, because no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t hold on to anything for herself.
She wondered, for a minute, what would happen if she’d let all fall away. Let them see what Yuki looked like underneath, the color of her longing, the shape of her want.
The problem was Yuki didn’t even know what she longed for.
What she wanted.
What she was afraid of.
She was hungry for the taste of the world, to run free, to break free from the bonds she’d been caged in and all the things that people expected when they looked at her.
Yuki was none of those things.
She was not gentle. She was hungry.
And if her hunger cleaved her open, she’d let the world break in two.
I loved the lessons and stories this book carried. Everything about it was beautiful and addictive, but not in the way that deviated from the plot. It was just such an aesthetically immersive book. It came across strong and relevant, with points about feminism and racism and inclusion, but everything was included perfectly in the story so that it didn’t seem like one of those books written to make a point.
“No one is better because they’re not angry, because they don’t hurt people. It’s just what you need to do to cope. You do whatever it takes. Whatever you have to do to survive.”
Overall, I pretty much loved every aspect of the book. The characters and their development, the writing, the story, the representation, and the aesthetic. Everything about it just worked perfectly together. I binged it within 26 hours and I have no regrets. I just couldn’t put it down.
It was so gorgeous and exciting and intense. I didn’t know how well fairy tales and boarding school murders would gel, but now I wish this was a whole genre. Everything about this book is just iconic.
“What, you’re going to tell me you’re a magical cat too?” Nani asked it, eyebrows raised and hands on her hips. “If you’re gonna talk, you better start.”
Nani stared at Mephistopheles. Mephistopheles stared at her.
November 13, 2021
The Grimrose Girls expertly weaves together some of the world’s most beloved fairy tales into a gripping story of destiny and the power of taking control of your own narrative. Both familiar and utterly unique, this book has all the trappings of a gripping mystery, while also exploring friendship and identity.
The original darker versions of the fairy tales we all know and love have always fascinated me and so getting to explore them through The Grimrose Girls was a joy. I am in awe of Pohl’s ability to weave them into the story and modern setting. They form the backbone of the novel and are so thoroughly, naturally entrenched in the makeup of the characters that it never felt like the story had to contort itself to fit so many references. Guessing which characters fit each fairy tale was really fun and they were often so cleverly and subtly woven together that it kept me guessing right until the reveal, at which point everything made perfect sense and fit together beautifully.
The Grimrose Girls has four narrators and I enjoyed reading from all of them equally. THey were all individual, fleshed out characters with unique voices. I loved reading about their friendship and seeing Nani (the new girl) slowly become part of the group. All four of our heroines are gloriously queer (lesbian, bi and aspec rep) which I of course adored. I also really appreciated how Ari’s death impacted each of the girls in different ways and how this influenced their decisions throughout the book. The only thing I would critique is that for their best friend dying only days before the book begins, it didn’t really feel like we got to see the girls grieve that much.
The mystery of this book was really engaging and I really didn’t know where it was going at any time. It was very cleverly crafted and I felt that it was paced well. I went into this book thinking it was a standalone and while it did have a satisfying ending, I can’t wait to continue delving into this mystery and to spend more time with these characters. I am so excited to see how they will continue to grow and how their relationships will develop.
If a mystery set in an elite boarding school featuring four reimagined fairy tale heroines seizing their own fate appeals to you then you need to pick The Girmrose Girls up.
I also talk about books here: youtube | instagram | twitter
*eARC received in exchange for an honest review via Netgalley*
The original darker versions of the fairy tales we all know and love have always fascinated me and so getting to explore them through The Grimrose Girls was a joy. I am in awe of Pohl’s ability to weave them into the story and modern setting. They form the backbone of the novel and are so thoroughly, naturally entrenched in the makeup of the characters that it never felt like the story had to contort itself to fit so many references. Guessing which characters fit each fairy tale was really fun and they were often so cleverly and subtly woven together that it kept me guessing right until the reveal, at which point everything made perfect sense and fit together beautifully.
The Grimrose Girls has four narrators and I enjoyed reading from all of them equally. THey were all individual, fleshed out characters with unique voices. I loved reading about their friendship and seeing Nani (the new girl) slowly become part of the group. All four of our heroines are gloriously queer (lesbian, bi and aspec rep) which I of course adored. I also really appreciated how Ari’s death impacted each of the girls in different ways and how this influenced their decisions throughout the book. The only thing I would critique is that for their best friend dying only days before the book begins, it didn’t really feel like we got to see the girls grieve that much.
The mystery of this book was really engaging and I really didn’t know where it was going at any time. It was very cleverly crafted and I felt that it was paced well. I went into this book thinking it was a standalone and while it did have a satisfying ending, I can’t wait to continue delving into this mystery and to spend more time with these characters. I am so excited to see how they will continue to grow and how their relationships will develop.
If a mystery set in an elite boarding school featuring four reimagined fairy tale heroines seizing their own fate appeals to you then you need to pick The Girmrose Girls up.
I also talk about books here: youtube | instagram | twitter
*eARC received in exchange for an honest review via Netgalley*
June 19, 2022
The Grimrose Girls was disappointing. That’s the best way I can describe it. The characters were lukewarm, the plot was simplistic, and the fairy tale connections I was looking forward to failed to inspire any epiphanic moments for me.
This book was a very emotionless journey. The main characters’ arcs felt rushed and padded with filler that could have been removed in favor of making the plot more understandable. The most important parts of the story itself were never explained (for example, everything to do with magic, which everyone eventually accepted and moved on from without explanation). The somewhat vague plot twist makes less sense the more I think about it.
All the side characters existed only to give motivational speeches to the main characters or to die when it fit the plot. I couldn’t tell you anything about their traits or personal lives besides their roles in helping the MCs. For example, Svenja would show up randomly to say things that are supposed to be intriguing but made me roll my eyes aggressively. After her first encounter with Nani, where she led her to her room, she asked for a secret in exchange for being SO generous in that act of basic courtesy. I understand that really rich people act a lot differently, but the characters still need to feel like actual people, not walking plot devices.
The atmosphere fell short of the darkly magical vision I expected. There was an attempt at creating a mysterious and almost pretentiously philosophical aesthetic, but ultimately, it felt totally aimless. (See: Svenja.) Some books have esoteric dialogue with a purpose that adds to a backstory or develops a character’s trajectory. Some books have philosophical exchanges that build a haunting and alluring atmosphere successfully. This book… does not.
One of the major selling points for me about The Grimrose Girls was that there was supposed to be a really deep and meaningful friendship between the main characters. But I didn’t get that. They hardly communicated and acted cold and distant around each other most of the time. I know they were fighting a lot during the events of the book, but if I don’t have any context of how they act when their relationship is stable, how am I supposed to believe they even have this deep friendship? And when Nani joined the group, none of her on-page interactions with the others revolved around anything except the murder, so her sudden friendship with them wasn’t believable to me.
I have a couple of minor gripes that won’t really affect my rating but annoyed me anyway:
I would have really enjoyed The Grimrose Girls if a bit more time had been spent on developing the things that made it unique. I am unable to care about anything if it’s not developed enough to give me a reason to care. Otherwise the drama has no stakes. All of the elements are present that would make The Grimrose Girls exceptional. But I didn’t spend enough meaningful time with any of them.
2 stars
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This book was a very emotionless journey. The main characters’ arcs felt rushed and padded with filler that could have been removed in favor of making the plot more understandable. The most important parts of the story itself were never explained (for example, everything to do with magic, which everyone eventually accepted and moved on from without explanation). The somewhat vague plot twist makes less sense the more I think about it.
All the side characters existed only to give motivational speeches to the main characters or to die when it fit the plot. I couldn’t tell you anything about their traits or personal lives besides their roles in helping the MCs. For example, Svenja would show up randomly to say things that are supposed to be intriguing but made me roll my eyes aggressively. After her first encounter with Nani, where she led her to her room, she asked for a secret in exchange for being SO generous in that act of basic courtesy. I understand that really rich people act a lot differently, but the characters still need to feel like actual people, not walking plot devices.
The atmosphere fell short of the darkly magical vision I expected. There was an attempt at creating a mysterious and almost pretentiously philosophical aesthetic, but ultimately, it felt totally aimless. (See: Svenja.) Some books have esoteric dialogue with a purpose that adds to a backstory or develops a character’s trajectory. Some books have philosophical exchanges that build a haunting and alluring atmosphere successfully. This book… does not.
One of the major selling points for me about The Grimrose Girls was that there was supposed to be a really deep and meaningful friendship between the main characters. But I didn’t get that. They hardly communicated and acted cold and distant around each other most of the time. I know they were fighting a lot during the events of the book, but if I don’t have any context of how they act when their relationship is stable, how am I supposed to believe they even have this deep friendship? And when Nani joined the group, none of her on-page interactions with the others revolved around anything except the murder, so her sudden friendship with them wasn’t believable to me.
I have a couple of minor gripes that won’t really affect my rating but annoyed me anyway:
❃ Nani being Beauty from Beauty and the Beast doesn’t match to me. She loves books, but does she really? It’s only stated and not shown. She sees this giant library and walks right past it. Her connection to her own fairy tale feels like an afterthought. And also, if she’s Beauty, doesn’t that imply that Svenja, the one transgender character, is the Beast? That’s uncomfortable.
❃ Ella is a scholarship student, which is a big deal at Grimrose because everyone is filthy rich and privileged. But she doesn’t seem to have any plan for her future. I assume she worked really hard for this scholarship, so wouldn’t it align better with her character if she were the one taking all the electives and focusing on job opportunities? Especially since she wants to get away from her stepmother. It doesn’t make sense to have her just drift around with a vague plan to escape when she turns eighteen but no actual drive to accomplish that.
I would have really enjoyed The Grimrose Girls if a bit more time had been spent on developing the things that made it unique. I am unable to care about anything if it’s not developed enough to give me a reason to care. Otherwise the drama has no stakes. All of the elements are present that would make The Grimrose Girls exceptional. But I didn’t spend enough meaningful time with any of them.
2 stars
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October 26, 2021
This was a fairy good time. I interrupted my Halloween reading list to get back to a few ARC’s, this book being one of them. It was no hardship as this was another one of my more anticipated reads of 2021. I love reading retellings. I especially love sapphic retellings of fairytales, fables, myths and what have you. I love seeing the twists on such classics and especially how someone can put a more modern spin on them. I had a feeling this book would be right up my alley, and I’m happy to say that I really enjoyed it. And while I actually looked at this book as a break from my Halloween reads, this book has this underlining ominous feeling and darkness to it that it actually fits pretty well into this time of year.
This book is YA, magical realism, mystery, and a retelling all wrapped into one. I’m not really going to go into how that all works because part of what makes the book fun is figuring everything out. This is a story about three best girl friends who used to be four. Everyone assumes that the death of their friend was suicide, except them since they know she would never leave without saying goodbye. But if it wasn’t suicide or an accident, it means something much more sinister happened. With the help of a new girl, the group will do whatever it takes to find the answers before it’s too late.
This is my first book by Pohl, -although I have her book The Last 8 and now cannot wait to read it- and I was pleasantly surprised by how quickly I was hooked into this story. It was so easy to keep turning the pages and I ended up reading it in one sitting. The book was super queer and I loved that fact. The characters are lesbian, bi, pan, asexual, and trans and everyone had their own unique voice. While I felt like I connected more to some characters over others –it’s a big cast so that was bound to happen- but I still appreciated that all the characters had their flaws and no one was too perfect. I would not really say that this book had romance in it, but there are two wlw and one m/f couple that all have some feels brewing.
The mystery of the story was pretty entertaining. There are actually two big mysteries. What happened to their friend and what is happening in general. While the mysteries are not the hardest to figure out, it is still really fun as a reader finding out if there is a real killer on the loose or is something magical and unknown going on? It was quite the ride and I enjoyed how it all came together. I also was really happy that while the main storyline was finished, the story as a whole is only just beginning. The way it was done is nice because it is not really a cliffhanger so you can read this first book now without waiting, but there is so much potential of where this story could go that you will be excited to read a book two
TLDR: A fun YA, mystery, retelling. If you are a fairytale fan, than this story really is a must. It has a wonderfully queer cast of characters. While some characters were better developed than others, they all had their personal flaws which made them more relatable and enjoyable to read about. While the mysteries might be on the easier side to figure out, it is more of the journey of the mystery that made the story so much fun. This is a bit darker than I expected so it could actually fit into your Halloween read list. The main story is complete, but I'm really excited to see where book two takes us since there is so much good potential here. I will absolutely be reading it.
A copy was given to me for a review.
This book is YA, magical realism, mystery, and a retelling all wrapped into one. I’m not really going to go into how that all works because part of what makes the book fun is figuring everything out. This is a story about three best girl friends who used to be four. Everyone assumes that the death of their friend was suicide, except them since they know she would never leave without saying goodbye. But if it wasn’t suicide or an accident, it means something much more sinister happened. With the help of a new girl, the group will do whatever it takes to find the answers before it’s too late.
This is my first book by Pohl, -although I have her book The Last 8 and now cannot wait to read it- and I was pleasantly surprised by how quickly I was hooked into this story. It was so easy to keep turning the pages and I ended up reading it in one sitting. The book was super queer and I loved that fact. The characters are lesbian, bi, pan, asexual, and trans and everyone had their own unique voice. While I felt like I connected more to some characters over others –it’s a big cast so that was bound to happen- but I still appreciated that all the characters had their flaws and no one was too perfect. I would not really say that this book had romance in it, but there are two wlw and one m/f couple that all have some feels brewing.
The mystery of the story was pretty entertaining. There are actually two big mysteries. What happened to their friend and what is happening in general. While the mysteries are not the hardest to figure out, it is still really fun as a reader finding out if there is a real killer on the loose or is something magical and unknown going on? It was quite the ride and I enjoyed how it all came together. I also was really happy that while the main storyline was finished, the story as a whole is only just beginning. The way it was done is nice because it is not really a cliffhanger so you can read this first book now without waiting, but there is so much potential of where this story could go that you will be excited to read a book two
TLDR: A fun YA, mystery, retelling. If you are a fairytale fan, than this story really is a must. It has a wonderfully queer cast of characters. While some characters were better developed than others, they all had their personal flaws which made them more relatable and enjoyable to read about. While the mysteries might be on the easier side to figure out, it is more of the journey of the mystery that made the story so much fun. This is a bit darker than I expected so it could actually fit into your Halloween read list. The main story is complete, but I'm really excited to see where book two takes us since there is so much good potential here. I will absolutely be reading it.
A copy was given to me for a review.
October 26, 2021
This modern-day reimagining of classic fairytales was such a delight to read. The Grimrose Girls is a story about a group of friends who try to solve the death of their best friend Ariane.
Set in Switzerland, The Grimrose Académie for Elite Students accepts students primarily of wealthy and privileged backgrounds. When one of the most-beloved students is found dead in the lake on the school’s property, it sends shock waves throughout the school. When the police rule it a suicide, Ella, Yuki, and Rory refuse to believe it, and, together, they make it their mission to uncover the truth.
When Nani Eszes, a reluctant new student of Grimrose, replaces Ariane as the roommate of Yuki and Rory, she soon joins the girls’ investigation. Their desire to find answers sets off a chain of events involving more death, magic, and a mysterious curse.
This book effortlessly incorporates many familiar fairytales, including Cinderella, Snow White, Hansel and Gretel, and many more. The reimaginings more closely resemble the original fairytales by Hans Christian Anderson and the Brothers Grimm rather than the sugar-coated Disney versions.
The chapters are short and alternate between the four girls. They all have very distinct voices.
Ella is a people-pleaser and just trying to keep her head down until she’s of age to move out of her abusive home.
Rory is a strong young woman who has led a very sheltered and private life.
Yuki is an outwardly perfect girl, but inwardly is brimming with ice-cold anger.
Nani is a lonely girl trying to connect with her father.
There is plenty of LGBTQ representation, and it didn’t seem like it was only a checkbox for diversity. There’s also disability rep without any of the cliche inspirational messaging.
I noticed after reading this that the students did almost no schoolwork and hardly mentioned their classes. I still have some questions about the curse and Rory’s background, so hopefully, the sequel will provide more answers.
Thank you to Sourcebooks Fire for the arc provided via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
https://booksandwheels.com
Set in Switzerland, The Grimrose Académie for Elite Students accepts students primarily of wealthy and privileged backgrounds. When one of the most-beloved students is found dead in the lake on the school’s property, it sends shock waves throughout the school. When the police rule it a suicide, Ella, Yuki, and Rory refuse to believe it, and, together, they make it their mission to uncover the truth.
When Nani Eszes, a reluctant new student of Grimrose, replaces Ariane as the roommate of Yuki and Rory, she soon joins the girls’ investigation. Their desire to find answers sets off a chain of events involving more death, magic, and a mysterious curse.
This book effortlessly incorporates many familiar fairytales, including Cinderella, Snow White, Hansel and Gretel, and many more. The reimaginings more closely resemble the original fairytales by Hans Christian Anderson and the Brothers Grimm rather than the sugar-coated Disney versions.
The chapters are short and alternate between the four girls. They all have very distinct voices.
Ella is a people-pleaser and just trying to keep her head down until she’s of age to move out of her abusive home.
Rory is a strong young woman who has led a very sheltered and private life.
Yuki is an outwardly perfect girl, but inwardly is brimming with ice-cold anger.
Nani is a lonely girl trying to connect with her father.
There is plenty of LGBTQ representation, and it didn’t seem like it was only a checkbox for diversity. There’s also disability rep without any of the cliche inspirational messaging.
I noticed after reading this that the students did almost no schoolwork and hardly mentioned their classes. I still have some questions about the curse and Rory’s background, so hopefully, the sequel will provide more answers.
Thank you to Sourcebooks Fire for the arc provided via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
https://booksandwheels.com
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June 15, 2021You can now request Grimrose Girls on Netgalley! https://www.netgalley.com/catalog/boo...
This is my next book! I'm so excited you'll be able to read the adventures of four girls who are reimagined fairytale princesses trying to figure out what happened to their best friend, and willing to do anything to get their happy ending.
It has:
🌟4 fairytale retellings
❤️f/f romance
🍰an acearo protagonist
🏰boarding school shenanigans
⚔️swords
📚magic and murder mystery
Content warnings for the readers who would like them: suicide mention, depiction of anxiety and OCD, parental physical/emotional abuse, mention of parental death, light gore.
This is my next book! I'm so excited you'll be able to read the adventures of four girls who are reimagined fairytale princesses trying to figure out what happened to their best friend, and willing to do anything to get their happy ending.
It has:
🌟4 fairytale retellings
❤️f/f romance
🍰an acearo protagonist
🏰boarding school shenanigans
⚔️swords
📚magic and murder mystery
Content warnings for the readers who would like them: suicide mention, depiction of anxiety and OCD, parental physical/emotional abuse, mention of parental death, light gore.
![Profile Image for julia ☆ [owls reads].](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fi.gr-assets.com%2Fimages%2FS%2Fcompressed.photo.goodreads.com%2Fusers%2F1636739475i%2F5520447._UX200_CR0%2C0%2C200%2C200_.jpg&w=128&q=75)
December 4, 2021
The Grimrose Girls was one of those rare books I knew I wasn't going to like right from the beginning. I came into it with very high expectations since the premise sounded wonderful, but the opening scene already made it evident that there was a lack of emotion to the writing. I knew it wasn't going to get any better from there since that first chapter was supposed to introduce and set up a few of the most important people and facts in this story and it failed spectacularly for me.
I do want to say that I very much appreciated how diverse this was, though. It was refreshing, in that sense, to read a book with no heterosexuals lol that sadly wasn't enough to carry everything else for me.
The story was told in multiple POVs and... I think that was a mistake. There wasn't enough time for each character to be developed when the perspective kept shifting and that contributed to my feeling of experiencing this as an emotionless story. We met each one of the girls while they were grieving, but that was very quickly moved to second--and sometimes third--plane in favor of introducing secondary characters and/or have the girls interacting with each other or others.
The plot was also not my favorite and that was because of the leaps of logic from the girls so that the story could move where the author wanted it to move. None of the magic bits were explained in any way, shape, or form and it was never ever clear why things were happening the way they were. The girls just accepted them as reality and moved on from there as if no discussion was needed.
The book also ended in a bit of a cliffhanger and I, in no way, felt like I got any answers at any point about anything. I understand this is the first installment of the series, but that lack of something solid to hold on to in regard to world-building didn't work for me.
*
ARC provided via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
I do want to say that I very much appreciated how diverse this was, though. It was refreshing, in that sense, to read a book with no heterosexuals lol that sadly wasn't enough to carry everything else for me.
The story was told in multiple POVs and... I think that was a mistake. There wasn't enough time for each character to be developed when the perspective kept shifting and that contributed to my feeling of experiencing this as an emotionless story. We met each one of the girls while they were grieving, but that was very quickly moved to second--and sometimes third--plane in favor of introducing secondary characters and/or have the girls interacting with each other or others.
The plot was also not my favorite and that was because of the leaps of logic from the girls so that the story could move where the author wanted it to move. None of the magic bits were explained in any way, shape, or form and it was never ever clear why things were happening the way they were. The girls just accepted them as reality and moved on from there as if no discussion was needed.
The book also ended in a bit of a cliffhanger and I, in no way, felt like I got any answers at any point about anything. I understand this is the first installment of the series, but that lack of something solid to hold on to in regard to world-building didn't work for me.
*
ARC provided via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
February 6, 2023
¿VAS A MORDER LA MANZANA🍎?
DIME, ¿qué harías si alguien te ofreciera leer un dark Academy con su dosis de misterio por resolver? ¿Lo leerías? ¿Te dejarías tentar🔥?
Y, si además, ¿esa persona te dijera que hay rituales de magia, grimorios y bibliotecas? Y ¿si añadiera que es un RETELLING DE LOS CUENTOS CLÁSICOS, con representación LGBTI y enfermedades mentales? Y si ¿también te dijera que tiene su punto de romance y un grupo de amigas muy diferentes entre sí pero que están muy unidas❤️?
Y, ¿si esa persona no te contara todo lo que esconde esta historia y se guardara para sí lo más importante?
DIME: ¿Rechazarías la manzana o la morderías🍎?
DIME, ¿qué harías si alguien te ofreciera leer un dark Academy con su dosis de misterio por resolver? ¿Lo leerías? ¿Te dejarías tentar🔥?
Y, si además, ¿esa persona te dijera que hay rituales de magia, grimorios y bibliotecas? Y ¿si añadiera que es un RETELLING DE LOS CUENTOS CLÁSICOS, con representación LGBTI y enfermedades mentales? Y si ¿también te dijera que tiene su punto de romance y un grupo de amigas muy diferentes entre sí pero que están muy unidas❤️?
Y, ¿si esa persona no te contara todo lo que esconde esta historia y se guardara para sí lo más importante?
DIME: ¿Rechazarías la manzana o la morderías🍎?
December 31, 2021
Well color me impressed! I did not to expect to love this book as much as I did. It was just a blast for me. Is it a flawless piece of writing? Of course not. Did you have to suspend a lot of your disbelief and just kinda let it do its thing? Yeah, and once I did I was having so much fun. I’ve seen a bunch of comps thrown around for it: Pretty Little Liars, The Descendants, Once Upon a Time, Riverdale, and to all of those I say yes! Correct! Spot on! It’s just as insane yet strangely compelling as all of those.
Four has now become three, as friends Ella, Yuki and Rory attempt to cope with the sudden death of their friend and classmate Ariane. The students of the elite Grimrose Académie are accustomed to a certain level of access and freedom moving about their prestigious campus, and most seem ready to accept that what happened to Ariane was nothing more than an unfortunate accident.
But Ella and Rory have a hard time accepting that, and between Arianes’s death and the arrival of Grimrose’s newest student, Nani Eszes, there seem to be a lot more questions lurking around these old halls than answers. Their search for clues turns up an old book, a bloody legacy and an increasing amount of danger. And in order to survive these Grimrose girls will have to work together to save themselves and their peers from a curse looking to swallow their school whole.
I think the best part of The Grimrose Girls for me was reading it with someone else. Being able to swap theories and cross-reference our own fairytale knowledge was not just great for guessing what may happen, but an incredibly fun way to engage with the story. If you’re a fan of looking for Easter eggs in media or like thinking through potential references across interconnecting stories, then you’ll have a ball with The Grimrose Girls. Seriously—Marvel fans, Swifties, millennials addicted to Buzzfeed quizzes that says what kind of Disney Princess you are based on your three favorite breakfast foods—this is the book for you!
I’ve seen a number of lower ratings peppered throughout this page, and sorry to all you nerds but you are joyless! C'est la vie, nerds!!!!!! I’m mostly kidding, but I do think you’ve gotta go into The Grimrose Girls with the right mindset in order to get the most out of it. Like every teen drama on tv, they’re not going to be doing homework. Sometimes the rules exist and sometimes they don’t. There’s magic! The perspectives jump around a lot and the entire plot moves quickly. Also not everything is explained in detail in this book because it’s ~part of a series~. But none of these make something inherently bad, and all of it just worked for me as it was.
I’m absolutely desperate for the sequel. I can’t wait to solve the cursed-princess-castle-murder-mystery-party and feel more vindication for correctly guessing the corresponding fairytales being referenced. Just a straight shot of endorphins. Love it, Pohl has found a new fan in me.
*Thanks to Madison (@momandmadread), Paige (@paigethroughbooks) and Sourcebooks Fire for my giveaway copy!!
**For more book talk & reviews, follow me on Instagram at @elle_mentbooks!
Four has now become three, as friends Ella, Yuki and Rory attempt to cope with the sudden death of their friend and classmate Ariane. The students of the elite Grimrose Académie are accustomed to a certain level of access and freedom moving about their prestigious campus, and most seem ready to accept that what happened to Ariane was nothing more than an unfortunate accident.
But Ella and Rory have a hard time accepting that, and between Arianes’s death and the arrival of Grimrose’s newest student, Nani Eszes, there seem to be a lot more questions lurking around these old halls than answers. Their search for clues turns up an old book, a bloody legacy and an increasing amount of danger. And in order to survive these Grimrose girls will have to work together to save themselves and their peers from a curse looking to swallow their school whole.
I think the best part of The Grimrose Girls for me was reading it with someone else. Being able to swap theories and cross-reference our own fairytale knowledge was not just great for guessing what may happen, but an incredibly fun way to engage with the story. If you’re a fan of looking for Easter eggs in media or like thinking through potential references across interconnecting stories, then you’ll have a ball with The Grimrose Girls. Seriously—Marvel fans, Swifties, millennials addicted to Buzzfeed quizzes that says what kind of Disney Princess you are based on your three favorite breakfast foods—this is the book for you!
I’ve seen a number of lower ratings peppered throughout this page, and sorry to all you nerds but you are joyless! C'est la vie, nerds!!!!!! I’m mostly kidding, but I do think you’ve gotta go into The Grimrose Girls with the right mindset in order to get the most out of it. Like every teen drama on tv, they’re not going to be doing homework. Sometimes the rules exist and sometimes they don’t. There’s magic! The perspectives jump around a lot and the entire plot moves quickly. Also not everything is explained in detail in this book because it’s ~part of a series~. But none of these make something inherently bad, and all of it just worked for me as it was.
I’m absolutely desperate for the sequel. I can’t wait to solve the cursed-princess-castle-murder-mystery-party and feel more vindication for correctly guessing the corresponding fairytales being referenced. Just a straight shot of endorphins. Love it, Pohl has found a new fan in me.
*Thanks to Madison (@momandmadread), Paige (@paigethroughbooks) and Sourcebooks Fire for my giveaway copy!!
**For more book talk & reviews, follow me on Instagram at @elle_mentbooks!
March 23, 2022
I have genuine hatred in my heart for this book.
There are a lot of emotions inside of me right now, mainly absolute loathing, some disgust but mostly an overwhelming sense of crushing disappointment. This was the recipe for a perfect book for me, encapsulating everything I love: Queer, dark academia, gothic boarding school, fairy-tales and murder mystery, I should have loved it, and yet, it was one of the worst things I have ever had the misfortune of reading.
To summarize, this story tells the tale of a group of teen girls: Yuki, Rory and Ella, who are studying at Grimrose academie in Switzerland who are also grieving the loss of their best friend, Ariane, who was found drowned in the lake, in which was ruled a suicide, even though the girls don’t agree. With the arrival of a new student, Nani, the dark secrets of Grimrose begin to resurface and puts the lives of the girls at risk, and not all of them will have their happy ending.
Do you understand how amazing that sounds? Do you know why I was so excited?
To start the long list of reasons why I would add this to my list of ‘books not worth reading’ is the characterisation. Among objectively bad writing, there was the inclusion of harmful stereotypes and the lack of distinct personality for any character in the book. Despite being split into four perspectives to tell the story, it was impossible to distinguish who was who. Every character was incredibly bland and one-dimensional which not only made for a tiresome reading experience but it meant I spent the majority of the novel flicking back and thinking ‘whose narrative is this again?’. If they had unique voices, mannerisms that were individual to them, catchphrases, then maybe they would have some sort of complexity but alas, they did not. Will I forget their names in a few days? Probably. Will I lose any memory of the details of their characters by tomorrow? Definitely.
Let’s not even mention the side characters - what were their names again?
To get the main criticisms out of the way and the component which annoyed me the most was the lazy, misinformed and downright insulting representation. Firstly, Ella has ‘severe’ OCD and anxiety, which is introduced to the reader when someone else asks if she’s taken her medication because she seemed off. If you happen to not know much about obsessive-compulsive disorder, allow me, a sufferer, to educate you. The World Health Organisation ranks OCD as one of the top ten most disabling illnesses in the world, with a life impact more severe than diabetes. It is a disability in which causes an individual to be plagued and tortured by brutal and egodystonic intrusive thoughts of various natures which could include: harm, paedophilia and incest, as well as the more well-known obsessions such as: contamination and symmetry. This causes the person to be overwhelmed with so much fear, panic and anxiety that they perform often illogical rituals (also known as ‘compulsions’) to alleviate the terror, which could be absoutely anything but may be things such as: tapping, cleaning, counting, repeating phrases or words or moving objects. This does not bring the sufferer any sort of pleasure or satisfaction, the entire ordeal is horrifying and a personal type of hell. Why is this relevant? Well, Ella displays none of this, despite her diagnosis said to be severe. If this was the case, then it is a disability in which she would be debilitated by. She wouldn’t be able to function like a healthy person, she would be riddled with constant anxiety and every aspect of her life would be disrupted by her crippling urge to perform compulsions to diminish the fear. Yet, it’s barely mentioned? It is purely brought in for diversity points and forgotten again for plot convenience. It is painfully obvious that the author knows absolutely nothing about this disease and she shows Ella counting a few times in the entire book, with no attention to the cognitive symptoms (despite it being a MENTAL illness), only a few visible actions. Why bother including it? To seem educated? From someone whose life is ruined because of this horrific disorder, the inclusion of it did a lot more harm than good.
Speaking of horrific representation, it just gets worse. I’m sure the author was playing ‘stereotype bingo’. Nani, a lesbian, is portrayed as mean and nasty, she’s half-Black and half-Native and her storyline revolves around the fact she has an absent Black father. Additionally, Yuki, who’s Japanese, is under constant pressure from her Asian parents to overachieve academically. The story is about the characters being fairy-tale characters and Nani (spoiler ahead, skip to the next paragraph), is meant to be Belle, which is obviously from Beauty and the Beast, which means Nani is Belle and that makes her love interest, Svenja, a Hungarian trans girl, the beast…Pohl fully implied that the trans character is an ugly monster. Yikes.
Moreover, Rory is said to have fibromyalgia, which causes her chronic pain, something that again, disappears when it’s not relevant to the plot. The only decent thing Pohl managed was making Ella biromantic and demisexual, and Yuki aromantic and asexual, the only identity readers from those groups have said is alright. It’s like the author threw those words into the book to seem ‘woke’ and appeal to a wider demographic, not because she actually cared about representing those groups accurately and allowing them to see themselves in the characters. That is sickening.
Other than the dreadful stereotyping, the writing wasn’t any better. Clunky and repetitive, it was a chore to move through. Within the first chapter (all of which were very short) the author mentions Ella’s full name not once, not twice but three separate times. It felt weird, impersonal and unnatural, especially as Ella referred to herself with it? Strange.
Furthermore, as if the lack of voice and repetition wasn’t enough to knock down the rating substantially, the prose was abysmal. It was plain, in desperate need of editing and other than the rare beautifully-constructed line, came across that it was trying too hard, pretentious and endeavoring to say something profound yet failing miserably.
The dialogue was unnatural and uncomfortable to read, the characters were as dry as unseasoned chicken and the prose was appalling. All around, a pretty horrible book.
But wait! There’s more! I know, how could it possibly get worse? Well, the plot was extremely convoluted and nonsensical. Not in a fascinating way which engages the reader’s attention and keeps them guessing, just in a way that screams out that it hadn’t been proof-read. What could have been a remarkable, original and creative storyline, drawing on what is familiar and twisting it with something completely new, was lazy and ludicrous. It made no sense of how the characters got to the conclusions they did, or why the events of the book were happening, they just were. What was the history behind the curse? How did they become the fairy-tale characters? What is the connection to Grimrose? The author insinuated that potentially the answers would be revealed in a later book but surely some of the loose-ends needed to be tied up in the conclusion, otherwise isn’t that just bad storytelling?
On top of this, the pacing was also appalling. It took 150 pages to get to the point and the first part of the book was spent saying so little with so many words. Nothing was achieved, the characters weren’t fully fleshed out, the foundations of the story weren’t cemented. Nothing. After the mystery starts to play out, the pacing is ridiculously messy. It’s horrendously slow but everything kicks off in the last fifteen pages? It packs an absurd amount of action right at the end yet achieves nothing other than confusing the reader with the whiplash of being nearly bored to death until the last five percent shoving in as much unexpected drama as possible.
In conclusion, this is one of the worst and most badly written books I have ever suffered through reading. From the offensive stereotypes, misinformed and lazy representation, unnatural dialogue, atrocious characterisation, terrible writing and some of the worst storytelling I’ve ever encountered, the book fully deserves a rating of zero, but alas that is not possible, so I give it one, small star.
There are a lot of emotions inside of me right now, mainly absolute loathing, some disgust but mostly an overwhelming sense of crushing disappointment. This was the recipe for a perfect book for me, encapsulating everything I love: Queer, dark academia, gothic boarding school, fairy-tales and murder mystery, I should have loved it, and yet, it was one of the worst things I have ever had the misfortune of reading.
To summarize, this story tells the tale of a group of teen girls: Yuki, Rory and Ella, who are studying at Grimrose academie in Switzerland who are also grieving the loss of their best friend, Ariane, who was found drowned in the lake, in which was ruled a suicide, even though the girls don’t agree. With the arrival of a new student, Nani, the dark secrets of Grimrose begin to resurface and puts the lives of the girls at risk, and not all of them will have their happy ending.
Do you understand how amazing that sounds? Do you know why I was so excited?
To start the long list of reasons why I would add this to my list of ‘books not worth reading’ is the characterisation. Among objectively bad writing, there was the inclusion of harmful stereotypes and the lack of distinct personality for any character in the book. Despite being split into four perspectives to tell the story, it was impossible to distinguish who was who. Every character was incredibly bland and one-dimensional which not only made for a tiresome reading experience but it meant I spent the majority of the novel flicking back and thinking ‘whose narrative is this again?’. If they had unique voices, mannerisms that were individual to them, catchphrases, then maybe they would have some sort of complexity but alas, they did not. Will I forget their names in a few days? Probably. Will I lose any memory of the details of their characters by tomorrow? Definitely.
Let’s not even mention the side characters - what were their names again?
To get the main criticisms out of the way and the component which annoyed me the most was the lazy, misinformed and downright insulting representation. Firstly, Ella has ‘severe’ OCD and anxiety, which is introduced to the reader when someone else asks if she’s taken her medication because she seemed off. If you happen to not know much about obsessive-compulsive disorder, allow me, a sufferer, to educate you. The World Health Organisation ranks OCD as one of the top ten most disabling illnesses in the world, with a life impact more severe than diabetes. It is a disability in which causes an individual to be plagued and tortured by brutal and egodystonic intrusive thoughts of various natures which could include: harm, paedophilia and incest, as well as the more well-known obsessions such as: contamination and symmetry. This causes the person to be overwhelmed with so much fear, panic and anxiety that they perform often illogical rituals (also known as ‘compulsions’) to alleviate the terror, which could be absoutely anything but may be things such as: tapping, cleaning, counting, repeating phrases or words or moving objects. This does not bring the sufferer any sort of pleasure or satisfaction, the entire ordeal is horrifying and a personal type of hell. Why is this relevant? Well, Ella displays none of this, despite her diagnosis said to be severe. If this was the case, then it is a disability in which she would be debilitated by. She wouldn’t be able to function like a healthy person, she would be riddled with constant anxiety and every aspect of her life would be disrupted by her crippling urge to perform compulsions to diminish the fear. Yet, it’s barely mentioned? It is purely brought in for diversity points and forgotten again for plot convenience. It is painfully obvious that the author knows absolutely nothing about this disease and she shows Ella counting a few times in the entire book, with no attention to the cognitive symptoms (despite it being a MENTAL illness), only a few visible actions. Why bother including it? To seem educated? From someone whose life is ruined because of this horrific disorder, the inclusion of it did a lot more harm than good.
Speaking of horrific representation, it just gets worse. I’m sure the author was playing ‘stereotype bingo’. Nani, a lesbian, is portrayed as mean and nasty, she’s half-Black and half-Native and her storyline revolves around the fact she has an absent Black father. Additionally, Yuki, who’s Japanese, is under constant pressure from her Asian parents to overachieve academically. The story is about the characters being fairy-tale characters and Nani (spoiler ahead, skip to the next paragraph), is meant to be Belle, which is obviously from Beauty and the Beast, which means Nani is Belle and that makes her love interest, Svenja, a Hungarian trans girl, the beast…Pohl fully implied that the trans character is an ugly monster. Yikes.
Moreover, Rory is said to have fibromyalgia, which causes her chronic pain, something that again, disappears when it’s not relevant to the plot. The only decent thing Pohl managed was making Ella biromantic and demisexual, and Yuki aromantic and asexual, the only identity readers from those groups have said is alright. It’s like the author threw those words into the book to seem ‘woke’ and appeal to a wider demographic, not because she actually cared about representing those groups accurately and allowing them to see themselves in the characters. That is sickening.
Other than the dreadful stereotyping, the writing wasn’t any better. Clunky and repetitive, it was a chore to move through. Within the first chapter (all of which were very short) the author mentions Ella’s full name not once, not twice but three separate times. It felt weird, impersonal and unnatural, especially as Ella referred to herself with it? Strange.
Furthermore, as if the lack of voice and repetition wasn’t enough to knock down the rating substantially, the prose was abysmal. It was plain, in desperate need of editing and other than the rare beautifully-constructed line, came across that it was trying too hard, pretentious and endeavoring to say something profound yet failing miserably.
The dialogue was unnatural and uncomfortable to read, the characters were as dry as unseasoned chicken and the prose was appalling. All around, a pretty horrible book.
But wait! There’s more! I know, how could it possibly get worse? Well, the plot was extremely convoluted and nonsensical. Not in a fascinating way which engages the reader’s attention and keeps them guessing, just in a way that screams out that it hadn’t been proof-read. What could have been a remarkable, original and creative storyline, drawing on what is familiar and twisting it with something completely new, was lazy and ludicrous. It made no sense of how the characters got to the conclusions they did, or why the events of the book were happening, they just were. What was the history behind the curse? How did they become the fairy-tale characters? What is the connection to Grimrose? The author insinuated that potentially the answers would be revealed in a later book but surely some of the loose-ends needed to be tied up in the conclusion, otherwise isn’t that just bad storytelling?
On top of this, the pacing was also appalling. It took 150 pages to get to the point and the first part of the book was spent saying so little with so many words. Nothing was achieved, the characters weren’t fully fleshed out, the foundations of the story weren’t cemented. Nothing. After the mystery starts to play out, the pacing is ridiculously messy. It’s horrendously slow but everything kicks off in the last fifteen pages? It packs an absurd amount of action right at the end yet achieves nothing other than confusing the reader with the whiplash of being nearly bored to death until the last five percent shoving in as much unexpected drama as possible.
In conclusion, this is one of the worst and most badly written books I have ever suffered through reading. From the offensive stereotypes, misinformed and lazy representation, unnatural dialogue, atrocious characterisation, terrible writing and some of the worst storytelling I’ve ever encountered, the book fully deserves a rating of zero, but alas that is not possible, so I give it one, small star.
April 7, 2022
Rich kids doing completely unrelatable shit with aesthetic background.
The only reason this wasn't DNFed was for I needed answers but guess I've to read yet another book to maybe have them.
✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧✧･ﾟ: *✧
Dark and eerie. Highly aesthetic. No heterosexual character. Diverse. Shit plot. Shitier magic system.
All the diversity in the world can't make me like a book if the plot goes haywire. The story begins with four Gilmore Girls grieving for their dead friend but it felt superficial.
I feel nothing for the characters. I just don't. Meh.
Coming to the magic. What was even that, Laura Pohl? There is no explanation, no answer, no rule.. absolutely no info about the magic system. It's like 10 y/o me telling stories to my 1 y/o baby brother, making random things as I went on. I have 99 questions and this miss didn't answer one! The magic system is so out of loop, it's laughable.
The most anti climactic, most rushed climax I've ever read (Books read: 182).
Nothing makes sense. It's so stupid. Two stars only for that heavenly aesthetics.. It's dark academia seasoned with dark fairy tales. I really like Miss Pohl's writing style but not what she writes.
The thing is so simple, without explanation that I don't even have points to criticize. A dish needs to have ingredients to be criticised. How do you point out flaws in plain cottage cheese?!
April 05, 2022
The only reason this wasn't DNFed was for I needed answers but guess I've to read yet another book to maybe have them.
✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧✧･ﾟ: *✧
Dark and eerie. Highly aesthetic. No heterosexual character. Diverse. Shit plot. Shitier magic system.
All the diversity in the world can't make me like a book if the plot goes haywire. The story begins with four Gilmore Girls grieving for their dead friend but it felt superficial.
I feel nothing for the characters. I just don't. Meh.
Coming to the magic. What was even that, Laura Pohl? There is no explanation, no answer, no rule.. absolutely no info about the magic system. It's like 10 y/o me telling stories to my 1 y/o baby brother, making random things as I went on. I have 99 questions and this miss didn't answer one! The magic system is so out of loop, it's laughable.
The most anti climactic, most rushed climax I've ever read (Books read: 182).
Nothing makes sense. It's so stupid. Two stars only for that heavenly aesthetics.. It's dark academia seasoned with dark fairy tales. I really like Miss Pohl's writing style but not what she writes.
The thing is so simple, without explanation that I don't even have points to criticize. A dish needs to have ingredients to be criticised. How do you point out flaws in plain cottage cheese?!
April 05, 2022
December 18, 2021
I may be a sucker for sapphic stories but crappy rep and harmful stereotypes definitely ruin the vibe for this one. No thanks
September 26, 2021
The Grimrose Girls by Laura Pohl, first in the Grimrose Girls duology is an fairytales retelling about four school girls - Ella, Yuki, Nani, Rory. Ariane, their friend died recently and Nani was called by his father who works at the school.
Nani finds a mysterious book in Ariane's closet and soon things become very dark and difficult for these girls. They develop a plan in order to find out the truth behind the book. The book is filled with dark elements, thrilling plot and a very unique magic system.
I must say I enjoyed this book way more than I thought I would. The plot was just perfect and it kept me hooked. The fairytale retelling aspects, the diary or the book and the twists in the story just kept me hooked till the last page. I highly recommend these to YA thriller readers.
___
Thanks to NetGalley for the book!
Nani finds a mysterious book in Ariane's closet and soon things become very dark and difficult for these girls. They develop a plan in order to find out the truth behind the book. The book is filled with dark elements, thrilling plot and a very unique magic system.
I must say I enjoyed this book way more than I thought I would. The plot was just perfect and it kept me hooked. The fairytale retelling aspects, the diary or the book and the twists in the story just kept me hooked till the last page. I highly recommend these to YA thriller readers.
___
Thanks to NetGalley for the book!
June 27, 2022
This is YA as it should be! Laura Pohl gives us a queer mystery featuring a groups of girls whom all represent fairytale princesses or characters. There is so much fun in this; even as the primary theme is about grieving a friend lost too soon.
Easily suitable for 12-year-olds (there is no sex, just some kissing and lusting for one another). The Grimrose Girls takes the well known fairytales (even referring to the Disney versions many times) and changes them up just slightly to fit into modern day scenarios. At the heart of this novel, a book of fairytales where there are no happy endings (and you know I can’t resist a book written about another book).
For our leading gals there is a lot of turmoil; whether it’s being sent away for school, the death of a friend, being new to school, feeling completely ignored by family, or not having control over their own destiny; each scenario is well out together and, while allowing correlations with well known fairytales, keeps you on your toes as details may change. One of my favourite moments is when one of our girls comments that she “didn’t even loose a shoe” as a scene at a party/ball unfolds. Obviously this Cinderella knows her own story well!
At about 25% of the way through the book, when it’s super obvious the reader is being given hints about which of our girls are which fairytale character I started a list. Working out which girl (and occasional boy) was which in different fairytales mentioned, or that I knew on my own. It was super fun! I got most of them correct; but not all. Perhaps the real magic in Grimrose Girls is that it has elements of so many stories tied into one mystery that then links in and explores teen angst and issues from a different perspective.
I don’t want to say too much more as spoilers would be awful to have going into this story. The true magic is in the mystery as it unravels and shows us who each of our lead girls are; or who they aren’t. I really appreciated this one and cannot wait to recommend it to everyone that loves fairytales and YA books. If you have any affinity for the Disney or Grimm/Andersen fairytales and some angsty, queer, teen girls then check this one out.
And read the acknowledgments to be amazed by the fact that Laura Pohl wrote this book in English, her non-native language. Now that is a real feat!
Please note: I received an eARC of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. This is an honest and unbiased review.
Easily suitable for 12-year-olds (there is no sex, just some kissing and lusting for one another). The Grimrose Girls takes the well known fairytales (even referring to the Disney versions many times) and changes them up just slightly to fit into modern day scenarios. At the heart of this novel, a book of fairytales where there are no happy endings (and you know I can’t resist a book written about another book).
For our leading gals there is a lot of turmoil; whether it’s being sent away for school, the death of a friend, being new to school, feeling completely ignored by family, or not having control over their own destiny; each scenario is well out together and, while allowing correlations with well known fairytales, keeps you on your toes as details may change. One of my favourite moments is when one of our girls comments that she “didn’t even loose a shoe” as a scene at a party/ball unfolds. Obviously this Cinderella knows her own story well!
At about 25% of the way through the book, when it’s super obvious the reader is being given hints about which of our girls are which fairytale character I started a list. Working out which girl (and occasional boy) was which in different fairytales mentioned, or that I knew on my own. It was super fun! I got most of them correct; but not all. Perhaps the real magic in Grimrose Girls is that it has elements of so many stories tied into one mystery that then links in and explores teen angst and issues from a different perspective.
I don’t want to say too much more as spoilers would be awful to have going into this story. The true magic is in the mystery as it unravels and shows us who each of our lead girls are; or who they aren’t. I really appreciated this one and cannot wait to recommend it to everyone that loves fairytales and YA books. If you have any affinity for the Disney or Grimm/Andersen fairytales and some angsty, queer, teen girls then check this one out.
And read the acknowledgments to be amazed by the fact that Laura Pohl wrote this book in English, her non-native language. Now that is a real feat!
Please note: I received an eARC of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. This is an honest and unbiased review.
Read
April 10, 2025Thank you so much to Sourcebooks Fire for sending me an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!
A thrilling retelling of classic fairytales filled with twists, magic, and just the right amount of darkness. Think Disney Princesses turned dark academia.
The first two-thirds of this book really struggled with the pacing. It dragged SO MUCH and I don't know if it was an attempt to counteract the feeling of over-exposition or in order to build tension, but either way it made it hard to read and made me almost DNF this read a few times.
HOWEVER, the last third of this book was SO MUCH FUN! It was riveting, properly gorey and spooky and magical in the way I was expecting this entire book to be. It just sucked that I had to get through so much of the text before I was able to experience it.
This book was promised with a lot of diversity, however, there was quite a bit of problematic representation which I will explain below.
(Minor spoilers ahead)
The Asian character struggles with parental pressure to be the very best and have perfect grades and be the perfect daughter.
There is a character who is very clearly the "mean masc lesbian" type.
The half-Native, half-Black character's entire plot line is that she has an absent Black father who abandoned her. She is also stereotyped as a "mean lesbian."
One character has OCD and it is introduced by one of the other characters questioning if she had taken her meds. Her opinions and experiences were also constantly doubted or questioned due to her OCD.
The character that is meant to be Belle from Beauty and the Beast has a trans girl as a love interest (insinuating that the trans woman is a beast).
On that note, the trans girl's fairytale retelling is that she is The Ugly Duckling, explicitly stating that as a trans girl, she has become a swan.
Especially seeing a book written by a queer author, it was sad to see the lack of care put into the quality of the diversity.
My lovely friend Jess also discusses the representation, so I would suggest viewing their review here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
TW:
A thrilling retelling of classic fairytales filled with twists, magic, and just the right amount of darkness. Think Disney Princesses turned dark academia.
The first two-thirds of this book really struggled with the pacing. It dragged SO MUCH and I don't know if it was an attempt to counteract the feeling of over-exposition or in order to build tension, but either way it made it hard to read and made me almost DNF this read a few times.
HOWEVER, the last third of this book was SO MUCH FUN! It was riveting, properly gorey and spooky and magical in the way I was expecting this entire book to be. It just sucked that I had to get through so much of the text before I was able to experience it.
This book was promised with a lot of diversity, however, there was quite a bit of problematic representation which I will explain below.
(Minor spoilers ahead)
The Asian character struggles with parental pressure to be the very best and have perfect grades and be the perfect daughter.
There is a character who is very clearly the "mean masc lesbian" type.
The half-Native, half-Black character's entire plot line is that she has an absent Black father who abandoned her. She is also stereotyped as a "mean lesbian."
One character has OCD and it is introduced by one of the other characters questioning if she had taken her meds. Her opinions and experiences were also constantly doubted or questioned due to her OCD.
The character that is meant to be Belle from Beauty and the Beast has a trans girl as a love interest (insinuating that the trans woman is a beast).
On that note, the trans girl's fairytale retelling is that she is The Ugly Duckling, explicitly stating that as a trans girl, she has become a swan.
Especially seeing a book written by a queer author, it was sad to see the lack of care put into the quality of the diversity.
My lovely friend Jess also discusses the representation, so I would suggest viewing their review here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
TW:
March 19, 2022
I guess repeatedly saying “what the hell” doesn’t count as a review so let’s just say this is one of those stories I’ve been craving for years without knowing it… and also: WHAT THE HELL?!
r a t i n g - o v e r v i e w :
characters: 4/5
writing: 5/5
vibes: 4.5/5
plot: 4/5
enjoyment: 4.5/5
OVERALL: 4.5/5
representation: biromantic/demisexual mc with anxiety and OCD, Japanese/aromantic/asexual mc, lesbian mc with fibromyalgia, half-Black/half-Native Hawaiian/fat/lesbian mc, trans/sapphic side character, black/sapphic side character.
trigger/content warnings: suicide mention, depictions of anxiety and OCD, parental abuse (off-page), parental neglect, parental death, body horror, gore, blood, death of a loved one, murder.
After hearing about this book, the first thing I felt was a deep craving for it. I mean, it has SO many elements I love. My second thought, though, was: this indeed has SO many elements I love and FOUR fairytale retellings… how is the author ever gonna pull that off?
Well, in all honesty, I still don’t know how, but Laura Pohl still did all of that! The Grimrose Girls completely lived up to what it promised (a dark and slightly magical murder mystery about four girls tied to cruel fairytale endings and how they try to change their fate) while slashing the doubts I had.
Laura Pohl’s writing is absolutely stunning and perfect for this book. I really loved the descriptions in general! There’s this constant dark undertone to the prose while there are, of course, also lighter and humorous moments.
I’d say the first third of the book is mostly build-up though. There’s lots of intrigue, but the story really takes off once you get past the 31% mark of this book!
These characters though… I don’t even know where to start. They’re incredibly flawed and their emotions are so unbelievably real. Everything about them just makes sense, to be honest! Their emotional journeys were truly amazing to follow and will definitely be relatable to lots of people!
We have four main characters and I never once confused their storylines with each other, which is… pretty wow! They’re all so different but still fit perfectly together.
Also… the diversity here is UNMATCHED! This is really how it’s supposed to be and my heart is so happy with how most things are actually explicitly mentioned! Say thank you Laura Pohl!
There’s definitely romance in this book (read: three romances, though some are just brewing) and though I loved them and can’t wait to see how they’ll develop in the future, this book has friendship at its heart. It’s beautiful, it’s honest, and I adore it.
But okay… there’s plot too y’all, and it’s so good! I loved how all these storylines were woven together masterfully and how explosive the ending was. It left me screaming because I was just so completely absorbed into the story!
Luckily for me, there’s a lot more to this story left to be told! The sequel has so much potential and I have no doubts that Laura Pohl will blow me away all over again! Hit me with it!
The Grimrose Girls is one of those stories I didn’t know I wanted in my life. This book did not let me go! A dark and intriguing concept, lots of things and storylines to unravel, strong emotional journeys, and, of course, the beautiful friendship… there’s just so much to this one. But, it’s also not over yet so…
I cannot wait to see where this story will take us next!
b o o k - o v e r v i e w :
One-sentence pitch: When four friends try to uncover the mystery behind the death of their friend, it almost seems like the fates of all the students at their boarding school are connected to cruel fairytale endings, but nothing could ever be that wrong at the perfect Grimrose Académie…right?
Definitely read it if: you’re interested in a unique and dark twist on fairytales, you like complicated characters that are discovering themselves (think coming-of-age but with murder and a little bit of magic), you want more books with friendship at their heart.
Maybe skip it if: you don’t like darker tales, you don’t like stories with multiple main characters (in this case four), you are generally put off by murder mysteries.
Thank you to the publisher for providing me with this book in exchange for an honest review! This did not affect my opinions in any way.
All quotes are from an advance copy and may differ in the final publication.
r a t i n g - o v e r v i e w :
characters: 4/5
writing: 5/5
vibes: 4.5/5
plot: 4/5
enjoyment: 4.5/5
OVERALL: 4.5/5
representation: biromantic/demisexual mc with anxiety and OCD, Japanese/aromantic/asexual mc, lesbian mc with fibromyalgia, half-Black/half-Native Hawaiian/fat/lesbian mc, trans/sapphic side character, black/sapphic side character.
trigger/content warnings: suicide mention, depictions of anxiety and OCD, parental abuse (off-page), parental neglect, parental death, body horror, gore, blood, death of a loved one, murder.
After hearing about this book, the first thing I felt was a deep craving for it. I mean, it has SO many elements I love. My second thought, though, was: this indeed has SO many elements I love and FOUR fairytale retellings… how is the author ever gonna pull that off?
Well, in all honesty, I still don’t know how, but Laura Pohl still did all of that! The Grimrose Girls completely lived up to what it promised (a dark and slightly magical murder mystery about four girls tied to cruel fairytale endings and how they try to change their fate) while slashing the doubts I had.
Laura Pohl’s writing is absolutely stunning and perfect for this book. I really loved the descriptions in general! There’s this constant dark undertone to the prose while there are, of course, also lighter and humorous moments.
I’d say the first third of the book is mostly build-up though. There’s lots of intrigue, but the story really takes off once you get past the 31% mark of this book!
These characters though… I don’t even know where to start. They’re incredibly flawed and their emotions are so unbelievably real. Everything about them just makes sense, to be honest! Their emotional journeys were truly amazing to follow and will definitely be relatable to lots of people!
"Let all of it out. Your anger, your fear. This world is pretty messed up already. It can take the weight of your feeling."
We have four main characters and I never once confused their storylines with each other, which is… pretty wow! They’re all so different but still fit perfectly together.
Also… the diversity here is UNMATCHED! This is really how it’s supposed to be and my heart is so happy with how most things are actually explicitly mentioned! Say thank you Laura Pohl!
There’s definitely romance in this book (read: three romances, though some are just brewing) and though I loved them and can’t wait to see how they’ll develop in the future, this book has friendship at its heart. It’s beautiful, it’s honest, and I adore it.
But okay… there’s plot too y’all, and it’s so good! I loved how all these storylines were woven together masterfully and how explosive the ending was. It left me screaming because I was just so completely absorbed into the story!
Luckily for me, there’s a lot more to this story left to be told! The sequel has so much potential and I have no doubts that Laura Pohl will blow me away all over again! Hit me with it!
"Adventure was more than just a promise."
The Grimrose Girls is one of those stories I didn’t know I wanted in my life. This book did not let me go! A dark and intriguing concept, lots of things and storylines to unravel, strong emotional journeys, and, of course, the beautiful friendship… there’s just so much to this one. But, it’s also not over yet so…
I cannot wait to see where this story will take us next!
b o o k - o v e r v i e w :
One-sentence pitch: When four friends try to uncover the mystery behind the death of their friend, it almost seems like the fates of all the students at their boarding school are connected to cruel fairytale endings, but nothing could ever be that wrong at the perfect Grimrose Académie…right?
Definitely read it if: you’re interested in a unique and dark twist on fairytales, you like complicated characters that are discovering themselves (think coming-of-age but with murder and a little bit of magic), you want more books with friendship at their heart.
Maybe skip it if: you don’t like darker tales, you don’t like stories with multiple main characters (in this case four), you are generally put off by murder mysteries.
Thank you to the publisher for providing me with this book in exchange for an honest review! This did not affect my opinions in any way.
All quotes are from an advance copy and may differ in the final publication.
October 27, 2021
This book sunk its teeth into me and it just... did not let go. The Grimrose Girls was an unexpected delight for me - I tend to shy away from darker stories with murder, but this was just incredibly compelling and terrifying and fantastic. Set in a boarding school/castle! SUPER queer! Dark murder mystery! An incredibly unique take on fairytale retellings!
- Told in four perspectives, the story follows four girls: three best friends, Yuki, Ella, and Rory, and the new girl at school, Nani. After the mysterious death of their best friend, the girls are reeling from her shocking death... but they don’t entirely believe that her death was a suicide. Nani's arrival at school sets off a chain of terrifying events, leading the girls on a mission to uncover the dark mystery behind their friend's death and their grim destinies tied to gruesome fairytale endings.
- The characters in this are so wonderful, complex, and fascinating. I'm in awe that all four characters and perspectives had such distinct voices and were so fleshed out. And though the cast have a range of different backgrounds and have different identities, they feel so much *more* than their identities; they feel like realised people.
- My goodness, this was dark. And deliciously so. I loved the places that this story goes - the story explores grief and the spaces left by death, friendship in all its messiness and imperfections, how expectations can be suffocating, isolating, and enraging.
- But it also explores trauma, abuse, insecurities, and rage... and I loved how the story integrates all of this so seemingly into the story.
- I loved how this story intergrate fairytales - and not the Disney kind, but the Brothers Grimm kind where happy endings are far and few in between and are dark. so dark. and brutal.
- The story is a bit slower to start, but once it starts to unfurl, you'll be in for a ride. I could not stop reading 30% onwards - I was glued to the story, wanting to know what happened next. It's tense, eerie, at times the imagery is utterly terrifying, yet so fascinating too?
- I'm so, so, so excited for the sequel; I have a feeling that it'll be even more magical than this one and I can't wait to see where the story goes.
Content warnings: (provided in the book) death, blood, body horror and gore, parental abuse (not explicitly depicted)
- Told in four perspectives, the story follows four girls: three best friends, Yuki, Ella, and Rory, and the new girl at school, Nani. After the mysterious death of their best friend, the girls are reeling from her shocking death... but they don’t entirely believe that her death was a suicide. Nani's arrival at school sets off a chain of terrifying events, leading the girls on a mission to uncover the dark mystery behind their friend's death and their grim destinies tied to gruesome fairytale endings.
- The characters in this are so wonderful, complex, and fascinating. I'm in awe that all four characters and perspectives had such distinct voices and were so fleshed out. And though the cast have a range of different backgrounds and have different identities, they feel so much *more* than their identities; they feel like realised people.
- My goodness, this was dark. And deliciously so. I loved the places that this story goes - the story explores grief and the spaces left by death, friendship in all its messiness and imperfections, how expectations can be suffocating, isolating, and enraging.
- But it also explores trauma, abuse, insecurities, and rage... and I loved how the story integrates all of this so seemingly into the story.
- I loved how this story intergrate fairytales - and not the Disney kind, but the Brothers Grimm kind where happy endings are far and few in between and are dark. so dark. and brutal.
- The story is a bit slower to start, but once it starts to unfurl, you'll be in for a ride. I could not stop reading 30% onwards - I was glued to the story, wanting to know what happened next. It's tense, eerie, at times the imagery is utterly terrifying, yet so fascinating too?
- I'm so, so, so excited for the sequel; I have a feeling that it'll be even more magical than this one and I can't wait to see where the story goes.
Content warnings: (provided in the book) death, blood, body horror and gore, parental abuse (not explicitly depicted)
November 8, 2021
3.5 stars
when i got to know this book was a queer dark academia murder mystery i was instantly hooked! the grimrose girls definitely delivered on the 'dark' part, all the murders were gruesome and caught me off guard. the magical element and fairytales mixed with them made the perfect mix.
i really loved the representation portrayed through the characters; black, asian, lesbian, bi, pan, disabled, anxiety+ ocd, aro-ace, trans. they each had their flaws and unique struggles. the povs of the four girls were intriguing to read about too, as they went through the course of the story and ended up on a conclusion. the twist added to the fairytales to introduce the eerie atmosphere stays throughout the novel
i guess my issue was with the pacing and lack of actually feeling of being eager to uncover the mystery. i was just flowing along with the story, because as it progressed i kind of lost interest. the story has a slow start and it stays slow for a while, and so the build up is pretty slow too. it only changed to be fun in part 3, where the pieces start coming together and the potential for book two is set up.
overall, i really liked the idea behind the grimrose girls! dark fairytale retellings are always a must read for me and i'm glad this held up on that front. but then again, this can be interpreted as very basic. if you're looking for an easy read which is unapologetically queer, with multiple povs and has both murder and magical aspects, this one is for you!
thank you sourcebooks fire and netgalley for the arc!
when i got to know this book was a queer dark academia murder mystery i was instantly hooked! the grimrose girls definitely delivered on the 'dark' part, all the murders were gruesome and caught me off guard. the magical element and fairytales mixed with them made the perfect mix.
i really loved the representation portrayed through the characters; black, asian, lesbian, bi, pan, disabled, anxiety+ ocd, aro-ace, trans. they each had their flaws and unique struggles. the povs of the four girls were intriguing to read about too, as they went through the course of the story and ended up on a conclusion. the twist added to the fairytales to introduce the eerie atmosphere stays throughout the novel
i guess my issue was with the pacing and lack of actually feeling of being eager to uncover the mystery. i was just flowing along with the story, because as it progressed i kind of lost interest. the story has a slow start and it stays slow for a while, and so the build up is pretty slow too. it only changed to be fun in part 3, where the pieces start coming together and the potential for book two is set up.
overall, i really liked the idea behind the grimrose girls! dark fairytale retellings are always a must read for me and i'm glad this held up on that front. but then again, this can be interpreted as very basic. if you're looking for an easy read which is unapologetically queer, with multiple povs and has both murder and magical aspects, this one is for you!
thank you sourcebooks fire and netgalley for the arc!
November 2, 2021
2.75/5
Thank you to FIREreads for sending me an ARC! All opinions are my own.
I was extremely excited about The Grimrose Girls as the premise of the story immediately caught my attention as well as the cast of queer characters. I do agree that this book brought in that Pretty Little Liars element to a fairytale murder mystery. I can tell you that this story does not incorporate the Disney versions of these fairytales but the more gruesome, original fairytales which give it that dark academia feel. The concept of this book is amazing but the execution missed the mark. I wish the entire book had carried the same energy as the last 70 pages. The majority of the book was slower paced. The ending set up nicely for the sequel.
Let me begin by saying that I am one person and my perception will not be the same as everyone else's. The diversity/rep in this book felt very stereotypical and crossed the line several times for me. Parts of it were slightly addressed towards the ending pages but the majority of the parts were left. I received an ARC as mentioned above so most of the sections I took issue with could have been edited and resolved in the final copy.
I can personally speak to how the lesbian, ND, mental illness, and chronic pain rep was explored. When it comes to the additional rep in this book, it is best to listen to own voice reviewers as their opinion will be worth more than mine on the matter.
I did not like how Ella's friends constantly questioned her opinions or actions because of her diagnoses (anxiety/OCD) even going as far as to ask if she was taking her meds because she was knitting more often to cope with her best friend dying. High stress is still going to cause a reaction, medicated or not. Nani and Rory are the mean lesbians. Nani is supposedly Belle and, intentional or not, makes her trans love interest, the beast in her fairytale loop which should've been addressed/changed. Nani is tone policed several times while Rory says and acts however she pleases. Pippa has to remind Rory why it's harder for her on the fencing team as the only black player in a conflict between the two (Rory apologizes). I get Rory has fibromyalgia. however, pain doesn't make it okay to treat people like crap and I say this as someone who lives with chronic pain. Yuki is ace/aro, and seemingly ND. Yuki talks about being alone forever because she will never love but it is addressed in the end. Ace/Aro people are not devoid of being caring people with strong loving bonds. There is a part about putting French people down "like a mad dog". These different comments here and there really added up by the end. It wasn't an enjoyable read for me.
Thank you to FIREreads for sending me an ARC! All opinions are my own.
I was extremely excited about The Grimrose Girls as the premise of the story immediately caught my attention as well as the cast of queer characters. I do agree that this book brought in that Pretty Little Liars element to a fairytale murder mystery. I can tell you that this story does not incorporate the Disney versions of these fairytales but the more gruesome, original fairytales which give it that dark academia feel. The concept of this book is amazing but the execution missed the mark. I wish the entire book had carried the same energy as the last 70 pages. The majority of the book was slower paced. The ending set up nicely for the sequel.
Let me begin by saying that I am one person and my perception will not be the same as everyone else's. The diversity/rep in this book felt very stereotypical and crossed the line several times for me. Parts of it were slightly addressed towards the ending pages but the majority of the parts were left. I received an ARC as mentioned above so most of the sections I took issue with could have been edited and resolved in the final copy.
I can personally speak to how the lesbian, ND, mental illness, and chronic pain rep was explored. When it comes to the additional rep in this book, it is best to listen to own voice reviewers as their opinion will be worth more than mine on the matter.
I did not like how Ella's friends constantly questioned her opinions or actions because of her diagnoses (anxiety/OCD) even going as far as to ask if she was taking her meds because she was knitting more often to cope with her best friend dying. High stress is still going to cause a reaction, medicated or not. Nani and Rory are the mean lesbians. Nani is supposedly Belle and, intentional or not, makes her trans love interest, the beast in her fairytale loop which should've been addressed/changed. Nani is tone policed several times while Rory says and acts however she pleases. Pippa has to remind Rory why it's harder for her on the fencing team as the only black player in a conflict between the two (Rory apologizes). I get Rory has fibromyalgia. however, pain doesn't make it okay to treat people like crap and I say this as someone who lives with chronic pain. Yuki is ace/aro, and seemingly ND. Yuki talks about being alone forever because she will never love but it is addressed in the end. Ace/Aro people are not devoid of being caring people with strong loving bonds. There is a part about putting French people down "like a mad dog". These different comments here and there really added up by the end. It wasn't an enjoyable read for me.
July 22, 2021
This is the first instalment in the Grimrose Girls series.
Ella, Yuki, and Rory have returned to their elite boarding school missing the fourth member of their tight-knit friendship group. Ariane will not be joining them for anything ever again. Whether it was suicide, which the girls highly doubt, or murder, that ended Ariane's short life, the trio become determined to solve just what happened to their friend. And then new girl, Nani, arrives, unwittingly taking the place that Ariane once occupied and bringing with her new revelations to help solve this mystery.
I love any isolated and elite academic setting and so I loved exploring this one. The place was foreboding and alluring, in equal measure, and I wished even more depictions, if anything, had featured to help cement the setting in my imagination.
The characters that featured inside of it were painted in vivid and authentic detail, however. The diversity of the individuals who fronted the story was one of this novel's main driving forces. I loved how many different identities were represented and also how their strengths and vulnerabilities, as well as fully-detailed backstories, were presented to the reader. They stole both my heart and the show!
Another of this novel's forte's was in the fairy tale elements that it also included. It was one of the most creative and unique incorporations of well-known stories that I have ever read about and I loved puzzling out the different hints and clues that were dropped, that related this to them.
The mystery that fronted the book, however, became less intriguing as it progressed. I guessed the final reveal and these other elements, that I so loved about the book, overshadowed what was at the centre of it. I still had a fun time with this though, and am looking forward to continuing on with the series and finding out more about the magic that was sprinkled throughout this first instalment.
I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to the author, Laura Pohl, and the publisher, Sourcebooks Fire, for this opportunity.
Ella, Yuki, and Rory have returned to their elite boarding school missing the fourth member of their tight-knit friendship group. Ariane will not be joining them for anything ever again. Whether it was suicide, which the girls highly doubt, or murder, that ended Ariane's short life, the trio become determined to solve just what happened to their friend. And then new girl, Nani, arrives, unwittingly taking the place that Ariane once occupied and bringing with her new revelations to help solve this mystery.
I love any isolated and elite academic setting and so I loved exploring this one. The place was foreboding and alluring, in equal measure, and I wished even more depictions, if anything, had featured to help cement the setting in my imagination.
The characters that featured inside of it were painted in vivid and authentic detail, however. The diversity of the individuals who fronted the story was one of this novel's main driving forces. I loved how many different identities were represented and also how their strengths and vulnerabilities, as well as fully-detailed backstories, were presented to the reader. They stole both my heart and the show!
Another of this novel's forte's was in the fairy tale elements that it also included. It was one of the most creative and unique incorporations of well-known stories that I have ever read about and I loved puzzling out the different hints and clues that were dropped, that related this to them.
The mystery that fronted the book, however, became less intriguing as it progressed. I guessed the final reveal and these other elements, that I so loved about the book, overshadowed what was at the centre of it. I still had a fun time with this though, and am looking forward to continuing on with the series and finding out more about the magic that was sprinkled throughout this first instalment.
I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to the author, Laura Pohl, and the publisher, Sourcebooks Fire, for this opportunity.
January 7, 2022
Now that I've read this I can certify that this book is just as wonderful as I thought it would be. queer fairytale characters in a dark academia setting. Like, how perfect is this for me!?
The Grimrose Girls follows four main characters: Yuki, Rory, Ella and Nani. The first three have been going to Grimrose Académie for a year. They're coming back for a new year after losing their best friend Ari, whose death was ruled a suicide. But when Nani uncovers a fairytale grimoire in Ari's old closet, the girls are sure there was foul play involved in Ari's death. As the four begin to investigate, they find that Grimrose has hidden a string of murders at its campus.
Y'all this book was soooo good. I just wanna yell about how much I loved it. Throughout the book we get clues onto the students fairytale fates. I've so far figured out everyone except Nani. So I'm like super curious to find out more.
I loved the murder mystery in this! I had no idea how it would come together, but I absolutely loved it. Seeing how things worked on, I'm sure there are still MANY secrets to be revealed. I can't wait for the sequel. I also loved all the relationships in this book. The friendships, the romances, ugh YES. I'm here for it all. I love that our four main girls also don't pursue romantic relationships with each other. I really loved that we got to see the friendship between these 4. Loved it sooo much.
After reading this, I'm for sure adding Laura to my auto-read list.
Rep: Aroace Japanese MC, white lesbian female MC with fibromyalgia, white biromantic demisexual female MC with anxiety and OCD, fat Black-Hawaiian lesbian female MC. Black sapphic female side character, white sapphic female side character.
CWs: Abadonment, blood, chronic illness, death, grief, injury/injury detail, mental illness (anxiety & OCD), murder. Moderate: Gore, racism.
____________________________________________________________
I just finished The Last 8 and was curious to see what else the author had written and came across this book coming out November 2021!! AND LOOK AT THIS REP STATEMENT:
The Grimrose Girls has 4 main protagonists: 2 are lesbians (on page), 1 of them is a biromantic demisexual (doesn't use these labels on page, only mentions having no preference of gender as long as she feels a connection), and the fourth is aromantic asexual (written on the page).
AND
It has:
🌟4 fairytale retellings
❤️f/f romance
🍰an aroace protagonist
🏰boarding school shenanigans
⚔️swords
📚magic and murder mystery
Content warnings include: suicide mention, depiction of anxiety and OCD, parental physical/emotional abuse, mention of parental death, light gore.
I feel like Laura Pohl has answered my sapphic fairytale dreams.
The Grimrose Girls follows four main characters: Yuki, Rory, Ella and Nani. The first three have been going to Grimrose Académie for a year. They're coming back for a new year after losing their best friend Ari, whose death was ruled a suicide. But when Nani uncovers a fairytale grimoire in Ari's old closet, the girls are sure there was foul play involved in Ari's death. As the four begin to investigate, they find that Grimrose has hidden a string of murders at its campus.
Y'all this book was soooo good. I just wanna yell about how much I loved it. Throughout the book we get clues onto the students fairytale fates. I've so far figured out everyone except Nani. So I'm like super curious to find out more.
I loved the murder mystery in this! I had no idea how it would come together, but I absolutely loved it. Seeing how things worked on, I'm sure there are still MANY secrets to be revealed. I can't wait for the sequel. I also loved all the relationships in this book. The friendships, the romances, ugh YES. I'm here for it all. I love that our four main girls also don't pursue romantic relationships with each other. I really loved that we got to see the friendship between these 4. Loved it sooo much.
After reading this, I'm for sure adding Laura to my auto-read list.
Rep: Aroace Japanese MC, white lesbian female MC with fibromyalgia, white biromantic demisexual female MC with anxiety and OCD, fat Black-Hawaiian lesbian female MC. Black sapphic female side character, white sapphic female side character.
CWs: Abadonment, blood, chronic illness, death, grief, injury/injury detail, mental illness (anxiety & OCD), murder. Moderate: Gore, racism.
____________________________________________________________
I just finished The Last 8 and was curious to see what else the author had written and came across this book coming out November 2021!! AND LOOK AT THIS REP STATEMENT:
The Grimrose Girls has 4 main protagonists: 2 are lesbians (on page), 1 of them is a biromantic demisexual (doesn't use these labels on page, only mentions having no preference of gender as long as she feels a connection), and the fourth is aromantic asexual (written on the page).
AND
It has:
🌟4 fairytale retellings
❤️f/f romance
🍰an aroace protagonist
🏰boarding school shenanigans
⚔️swords
📚magic and murder mystery
Content warnings include: suicide mention, depiction of anxiety and OCD, parental physical/emotional abuse, mention of parental death, light gore.
I feel like Laura Pohl has answered my sapphic fairytale dreams.
November 3, 2022
I admit the cover is what caught my eye. I love anything black and red. I could not pass it by.
I enjoyed this read more than I thought I would. Ella, Yuki, and Rory all attend Grimrose Academy. Their friend Ariane died before the first term started. Everyone thinks it's suicide, but Ariane's friends know better. The girls find that Ariane was keeping a secret about the school and it could involve a curse. They need to figure out how to stop it before more deaths occur.
I loved the vibe of this book and how the author weaved in classic fairytales to add to the story. I was able to predict a bit of what happened, but I am not mad about it. I thoroughly enjoyed my time in this book. I will definitely be reading the next one.
I enjoyed this read more than I thought I would. Ella, Yuki, and Rory all attend Grimrose Academy. Their friend Ariane died before the first term started. Everyone thinks it's suicide, but Ariane's friends know better. The girls find that Ariane was keeping a secret about the school and it could involve a curse. They need to figure out how to stop it before more deaths occur.
I loved the vibe of this book and how the author weaved in classic fairytales to add to the story. I was able to predict a bit of what happened, but I am not mad about it. I thoroughly enjoyed my time in this book. I will definitely be reading the next one.
July 2, 2022
i absolutely LOVED how all of the fantasy elements and whatnot were woven into this, especially with all of the different plotlines going on and the amazing queer rep that was effortless and really present so no token gays. that being said, i really do think that there is room for character growth, which i'm very much looking forward to in the next book >:D
all the thanks to era for convincing me to read this in the first place! check out her review here!
all the thanks to era for convincing me to read this in the first place! check out her review here!
October 14, 2021
Wow. The “Pretty Little Liars meets Descendants” pitch had me convinced from the start. But what I wasn’t ready for was the amazing characters Laura created - the four POVs are so well written and you can totally feel how nuanced each character is. The mystery is also really well done and it entertained me from start to finish. I loved all the twists and can’t wait to see how the series will end.
February 13, 2022
i love queer rich private school murder mysteries so this was slay
January 10, 2022
Yikes. That was pretty bad.
I'm usually a sucker for anything fairytale, but this left a lot to be desired. You spend so much time figuring out who is supposed to be who that it takes away from the story, not that there was much there to begin with.
The characters were flat, the plot was boring, the mystery wasn't much of a mystery, and the diverse rep that this was supposed to have was laughable.
Nope. Not for me.
I'm usually a sucker for anything fairytale, but this left a lot to be desired. You spend so much time figuring out who is supposed to be who that it takes away from the story, not that there was much there to begin with.
The characters were flat, the plot was boring, the mystery wasn't much of a mystery, and the diverse rep that this was supposed to have was laughable.
Nope. Not for me.
July 11, 2025
1.5 ✩
this had so so much potential. it’s a dark academia, murder mystery, found family type of book. literally all my favorite things one could put in a book. but it did not live up to my expectations at all. to be fair, i really did like the main plot and the mystery. it was interesting to see how it played out (even if i kind of guessed it). but the writing and the characters are the main things that ruined it for me.
the whole book is basically just a ‘who has it worse?’ competition. there was no depth to any of the characters; their personality consisted only of their traumas. it was really cool to see so many different kinds of characters, but it mostly felt like a diversity check list. none of the characters had fleshed out personalities; instead, they all blurred together.
and don’t even get me started on the writing. it was so choppy and repetitive, it really took me out of the experience (plus way too many typos 💔).
i really wanted to like this, but i just couldn’t bring myself to care. i might try reading the second book, but i don’t think i will. we’ll see.
this had so so much potential. it’s a dark academia, murder mystery, found family type of book. literally all my favorite things one could put in a book. but it did not live up to my expectations at all. to be fair, i really did like the main plot and the mystery. it was interesting to see how it played out (even if i kind of guessed it). but the writing and the characters are the main things that ruined it for me.
the whole book is basically just a ‘who has it worse?’ competition. there was no depth to any of the characters; their personality consisted only of their traumas. it was really cool to see so many different kinds of characters, but it mostly felt like a diversity check list. none of the characters had fleshed out personalities; instead, they all blurred together.
and don’t even get me started on the writing. it was so choppy and repetitive, it really took me out of the experience (plus way too many typos 💔).
i really wanted to like this, but i just couldn’t bring myself to care. i might try reading the second book, but i don’t think i will. we’ll see.
October 26, 2021
TW/EDIT: Throughout the book I couldn’t figure out who Nani was but now that I know I am DEEPLY concerned that Nani’s, whose story is Beauty and the Beast, love interest, who I assume would be “beast,” is the ONLY trans character. To make a trans character be the “beast” is something I am very disturbed and disappointed by.
3.5/5 ⭐️s
Grimrose Girls is the perfect dark academia meets fairy tale retelling. We follow four friends as they try to solve the mysterious death of their best friend that has a strange connection to past deaths at the school.
Each of the chapters alternate between the four girls and I loved seeing the story from each of their pint of views as they all had their own secrets that got exposed in their internal monologues. I will say that I felt the amount of switching between POVs left the characters a bit under developed. While we get a great idea of who each character is, I feel that we don’t get enough time to connect or care about each of them because there isn’t enough time to delve deeper into each character.
I feel that if I wasn’t so in love with dark academia and retellings I wouldn’t have enjoyed this book as much. I think the mystery was a bit under developed and has a pretty slow pacing without many shock factors that I wanted there to be. Another big issue I had was the magic. I feel that it came out of no where without any build up of it and it made it feel unnatural and unnecessary in the story, especially with how late it was introduced in the story.
I loved all the representation in this book. There was lots of LGBTQ+ representation as well as disability and race rep that I appreciated a lot. My only complaint with the representation was that I wish we saw more of the relationships. While they weren’t the focus of the story, it felt that they were basically unnecessary because each didn’t have enough time to develop and they really only showed up at the end of the book anyway.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book!
3.5/5 ⭐️s
Grimrose Girls is the perfect dark academia meets fairy tale retelling. We follow four friends as they try to solve the mysterious death of their best friend that has a strange connection to past deaths at the school.
Each of the chapters alternate between the four girls and I loved seeing the story from each of their pint of views as they all had their own secrets that got exposed in their internal monologues. I will say that I felt the amount of switching between POVs left the characters a bit under developed. While we get a great idea of who each character is, I feel that we don’t get enough time to connect or care about each of them because there isn’t enough time to delve deeper into each character.
I feel that if I wasn’t so in love with dark academia and retellings I wouldn’t have enjoyed this book as much. I think the mystery was a bit under developed and has a pretty slow pacing without many shock factors that I wanted there to be. Another big issue I had was the magic. I feel that it came out of no where without any build up of it and it made it feel unnatural and unnecessary in the story, especially with how late it was introduced in the story.
I loved all the representation in this book. There was lots of LGBTQ+ representation as well as disability and race rep that I appreciated a lot. My only complaint with the representation was that I wish we saw more of the relationships. While they weren’t the focus of the story, it felt that they were basically unnecessary because each didn’t have enough time to develop and they really only showed up at the end of the book anyway.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book!
November 2, 2021
soo this was okay
I didn’t understand the mystery fully bc it was kinda confusing
This wasn’t bad but it just wasn’t for me I wasn’t vibibg with it much
also im now so creeped out bc it dark and some dark stuff happened in the book
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~Currently Reading~
so i only started this bc im so obsessed with the cover, i love it so much.
i only know a tiny bit bout this book, but it seems good right now though ive only read 5 chapters so far.
IT ALSO SEEMS LIKE A MYSTERY SO IM ALSO EXCITED!
also i have never read either of these Once Upon a Time meets Pretty little liars. so i have no idea what expect
I didn’t understand the mystery fully bc it was kinda confusing
This wasn’t bad but it just wasn’t for me I wasn’t vibibg with it much
also im now so creeped out bc it dark and some dark stuff happened in the book
——————————————————
~Currently Reading~
so i only started this bc im so obsessed with the cover, i love it so much.
i only know a tiny bit bout this book, but it seems good right now though ive only read 5 chapters so far.
IT ALSO SEEMS LIKE A MYSTERY SO IM ALSO EXCITED!
also i have never read either of these Once Upon a Time meets Pretty little liars. so i have no idea what expect
October 27, 2021
Okay I need the sequel right now because I have not clue why they are doing this.
Rory and Yuki became my favourite characters right from their first chapter. Rory was just a badass.
I loved her fencing scenes with Poppy and Yuki was just very interesting, especially with her mother.
I really like that the four main girls weren't the only important characters. There were multiple side characters that had a built out background story which is something I love.
When I found out who was involved, my jaw dropped. The entire mystery around Ari's death was very interesting and the clues could have not lead me towards the person at all.
Rory and Yuki became my favourite characters right from their first chapter. Rory was just a badass.
I loved her fencing scenes with Poppy and Yuki was just very interesting, especially with her mother.
I really like that the four main girls weren't the only important characters. There were multiple side characters that had a built out background story which is something I love.
When I found out who was involved, my jaw dropped. The entire mystery around Ari's death was very interesting and the clues could have not lead me towards the person at all.
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