I thought the writing itself was really beautiful, but I didn't understand the setting at all. And I was stunned to realize that the girls were all 17, they read much, much older. Overall, it was fine, I liked the overall message of reclaiming power and femininity, but the actual logistics of the story bog it down.

This was not a book for me. I was not a fan of the characters or the plot. I think this just a case of my type of book.

Let me first start this by saying, if you liked the cosmic and whimsical vibes of Good Omens, but want to combine it with sisters - then you have to read The Sisters Grimm. With a framework of being children of Wilhelm Grimm, these sisters not only have to figure out their own origins, but each other. This multiple POV story delivers an atmosphere of whimsical magic. Magic that infuses the fabric of our reality, but sometimes we can't put a finger on what or how. The Sisters Grimm walks this line of being founded in magic and, at times, being quite subtle about it.

There's plenty of mystery on all levels - personal, familial, and world building. It's incredibly fast paced not only being multiple POV, but also chronicling their lives and days until their 18th birthday. So it's easy to get lost in the characters, to want to keep reading. My favorite part of The Sisters Grimm is, unsurprisingly, the characters. While there were some moments that dragged a bit, largely it's a book about them discovering their potential and family.

Wow was this book a chore to try to get into. It was all over the place with the characters and I was finding myself bored. The story was not how I thought it would be either. I put this down a quarter of the way in. Will not be recommending at all.

Purchased this title for the home library, and recommended to county system for purchasing in multiple formats.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for my copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. All opinions expressed here are my own.

I received an advanced digital copy of this book from the author, publisher and NetGalley.com

The Sisters Grimm is a chore to read. I set it aside 3 times before I could finally finish it. It drags on with multiple POVs that don't really add to the story.

1 out of 5 stars. Do not recommend.

I honestly did not enjoy this book at all, I did not like the concept of it or the storyline, or any of it to be exact, I only picked it up because of its title because I thought it was going to be like the Grimm brothers and the actual fairytales that they talked about and put a hate darker twist on. And but that's not what this was

Opinions: All I need to say is that there is a reason why it took me so long to read and review The Sisters Grimm. In my opinion, the book progressively improved but only enough that I notice this pattern having finished the book; reading was a chore and it took me much longer to finish The Sisters Grimm than I had anticipated. There simply wasn't enough vigor to keep me engaged! Although it may be my fault I began reading with such high expectations due to the title's juxtaposition with the Brothers Grimm, I believe the author/publisher/etc should've taken into account that readers would have high hopes for this exact reason. For your information, The Sisters Grimm is NOT a retelling of the original fairytales. It is new, chiq, and very unique. In short, The Sisters Grimm was not what I was expecting nor would I have picked it up if I knew what I would be getting into.

My Favourite Thing: Despite my general disliking of The Sisters Grimm, I must applaud the diversity of the characters and themes! The journey is led by four kick-ass heroines who shed enough light over the dodgy writing style to earn the book a few stars. If Menna van Praag had not dedicated as much time into producing the sound, consistent themes of bravery and gallantry, The Sisters Grimm would not dispense the same magic and atmosphere as it does.

My Least Favourite Things: Get ready for an information dump! In my opinion, the narrative was incomprehensible due to the rapidly changing perspectives, and subsequently, I cared less about the individual sisters because readers aren't provided with enough insight about any of them to form a relationship. Switching POVs every few chapters made it difficult to care about any of the character's feelings. Complimenting this, and I'm fully aware this makes me sound like a bad feminist, I believe van Praag tried too hard to make this a girl-power book. In my opinion, just because the Brothers Grimm exist doesn't mean there must be the Sisters Grimm! I wouldn't consider the four sisters Mary Sues, but they certainly only exist to show that women can do just as much as men. I believe this is a fair reason to write a book but if you don't have a reasonable plot to go with it, the intention becomes very transparent. Last but not least, The Sisters Grimm is not for teenagers but it has a YA tone that, on top of adult themes and content, makes it undesirable.

These are all my opinions. I sincerely hope you enjoyed The Sisters Grimm more than I did!

I wanted to like this book more then I did. It was a little all over the place with the different perspectives, but the world building was fantastic!

The repetitive nature up until the end of the book was part of the slow pacing for me.

Maybe if it was broken up into two books with more...fleshing out it would've been better.

New fantasy fiction from the author of The House At The End Of Hope Street and The Dress Shop of Dreams. This is a bit of a departure from her previous novels, but still an engaging magical adventure.

The Sisters Grimm is a new fantasy novel by Menna Van Praag. The entirety is told through the point of view narration of five protagonists, the four sisters; Goldie, Liyana, Scarlet and Bea, and Leo, a sort of spiritual brother to them, who must also kill one of them.

I’ll start with a few positives so the reader can make their own decisions. The characters are diverse, that’s nice. They all come from different ethnic and class backgrounds, Liyana’s relationship with her girlfriend was cute. The otherworld (spirit world? Hell?) of Everwhere was nicely described. There’s a lot of nice language.

Now for the downsides.

The main word I would use to describe this book is “unclear”.

https://thefuriousgazelle.com/2020/04/22/menna-van-praag/

I've enjoyed some of Menna van Praag's earlier books, and the premise of this book sounded wonderful, but it left me with mixed feelings.

The individual characters were interesting and their individual stories intrigued, but I feel like I spent half of the book being entirely confused. The changes in the multiple points of view threw me the most because I was always confused about who was speaking and had to go back to the chapter title to keep people straight. Maybe their voices were too similar in the story-telling, maybe it was the jumping around - usually, I'm good with time switches and character changes, but something here just didn't click.

I loved idea of the Grimm and choosing between good and evil. The writing was descriptive, and at times really lyrical and visual, but I did like the characters, but I really struggled to follow what was going on at times,

I wasn't able to read the book but it will be featured in a series called "I Wish I'd Read That'. Text below:

The Sisters Grimm sounds like the kind of magical dark fantasy that’s easy to get lost in. Between the promised cast of closely knit characters, a mystical other world, and a sense of impending doom, I was excited to dive right in. I wasn’t able to get to this one but with comparisons to some of fantasy’s top authors, I’m sure it’s a must-read. I’d love to hear what all of you thought of the world-building and character work! Read more about the author and book below, or purchase a copy for yourself. And of course, a big thank you to Harper Voyager for the free review copy!

Despite the pacing being a bit choppy and the timeline being a bit difficult to follow at times— this dark, imaginative story of four sisters realizing and recognizing their strengths really latched me in. Adding in the Grimm Brothers’ was the cherry on top.

I love the premise of this book, but I just can’t say I really liked it. It was interesting and there were parts that were really captivating. However, l overall I spent so much of the book being entirely confused that I don’t feel like I just read a whole story. I feel more like the parts I enjoyed were short stories from the lives of these characters. I think a lot of this had to do with the changes in time in addition to the multiple points of view. I never could quite put my finger on who had what information when and where on the timeline I was. The characters, though they had some differences, were very similar in a lot of ways, which made it very difficult to remember who was speaking when. There are definitely moments that were lyrical, gritty, and beautiful, but for me those were swamped with confusion.

i really enjoyed reading this book, the characters were great and I really enjoyed the plot. It felt unique to me and I really liked the way the author writes.

This book was such a girl power read with so many fantastic female leads. The world and magic in this book was out if this world I liked everything about it.

I loved the concept of this novel and the characters involved. Such a great concept, it had a lot of potential for drama and action. Unfortunately, the constant perspective switching and lack of progress in the storyline makes for a difficult read. It is truly a dark story, gritty, and deals with a lot of very deep, dark issues. The sisters are very engaging and draw you into their world and trials, but the lack of progress and the sheer volume of unneeded material can bog down reading progress.

Wow! Wow! Wow!!! A true delight this magical read was just perfect! Finding the light among the darkness and not giving up hope. These sisters will fight for what is right even if it costs them everything! A must read ! Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for my ARC copy in exchange for my honest opinion!