The Grimrose Girls was such a cute and fun read full of murders and secrets.

Dark/light academia meets fairy tales, but not the Disney ones unfortunately, the original ones that don't end with "happily ever after". The book follows a group of girl who just lost one of their best friends, Ariane, and who are trying to figure out what happens. As the girls retrace their friend's last steps, they uncover dark secrets about themselves and their destinies.
I'm a sucker for boarding school settings, especially if it's full of sapphic girls and mystery. The characters were so interesting and loveable, they're all so different with their own personnality, their own strenghts, and fears. I loved them all so much. Their friendship was so great, with ups and downs and doubts. I really liked how all the relationships and feelings were written.
I'm really looking forward to the next book, to see how the story will evolve and how the characters will grow.

Thank you to the publisher, author, and NetGalley for an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

3.5 stars rounded up.

The Grimrose Girls is one of those books I've been hearing a lot of buzz about and was super excited for. What's not to love about a book described as "Pretty Little Liars meets Once Upon a Time" in a dark academia setting with queer/sapphic characters?

While I did enjoy the story overall, it was a bit slow at the start. Nani's POV chapters sometimes felt like they were pasted in from another book. until her story finally started to overlap with the other girls'.

The diversity representation in the book (LGBTQIA+ characters, a character with chronic pain, one with OCD, etc.) was very well done and felt authentic. I also loved that the author chose to included content/trigger warnings at the beginning of the text, and wish more authors/publishers would pick up this practice.

I have a lot of unanswered questions after this book, and am looking forward to the sequel to see how they will be answered.

I was excited to read this book as i thought the premise was really unique and interesting. The book is well written, but I wanted to know more about the curse and how this affected those at the schools. It felt like it was setting up for a sequel, so maybe this will provide more information

I didn't know what to really expect out of this book. All I knew was boarding school + fairy tales + people dying, which all together had me hooked.

I like meeting the four main characters of Ella, Rory, and Yuki (who's best friend Ari was the first death) and Nani (who moves in after Ari's death). Some fairy tales were easier to pair with characters than others, which just made me more interested in what was going to happen next. The way in which the girls worked together, fought, dealt with their separate issues, and just survived at Grimrose was an adventure. The ending was a bit of a surprise and I liked how each girl came to the conclusion of who did the killings (most of them). I can't wait to read book 2!

I just don't know what to feel about this book. I loved the premise of the book but I feel like it lacked world building for me. I wanted to understand and learn more about the world of Grimrose Academie. I still have so many questions and maybe they are coming in other books because I know this is a series but I did not feel connected to this world at all.

There were so many points of view and such short chapters I feel like I couldn't really get to know the characters. which means I felt zero connection to them. Weeks would pass between chapters which left me feeling confused. On top of that each of the girls are suppose to represent one of the princesses in the Grimm Fairy tales. While I heard of the Grimm Fairy Tales I don't know much about them . It isn't clear if we are suppose to know which fairy tale the girl belongs to or not because I did not know.

There was also a lot of side characters that at times I would say, "Who is this again?" These side characters were suppose to have connections with the main characters but the relationships/friends lacked depth.

I loved the LBGTQ rep in this book. That was amazing.

In the end... this was just meh for me. Sadly, I wasn't pulled in enough to feel the urge to continue when future books come out.

Fairytales with violent ends and a race to find out the truth before it’s too late. The Grimrose Girls follows a group of four girls at a private academy after the death of a close friend. Right when you think you have it figured out, everything gets turned upside down. Can’t wait to find out what happens next.

Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Fire for a free copy of The Grimrose Girls for an honest review.
I really loved the premise of this book and was really excited to read it. Unfortunately I did not love the actual story as much as I wanted to. I would have loved more story line that dealt with the curse the girls were dealing with. It felt like this was just background story and the novel was mainly about their personal feelings or lives. I'm sure that it will appeal to many readers but for me it read a bit slow and I would give it 3 1/2 stars.

I feel like this book had the potential to be much better than it was! Overall it was decently written, but I feel there were too many points of view which caused a lack of character development. I could only read about 25% of the book before I gave up because this book just didn't draw me in.

I love a good dark academia book with some murder in it. But I have...mixed feelings about this book. I'm gonna give it a 3.5...maybe a 4? The main reason I feel conflicted is that this book did not have me in the first half. That first hundred or so pages felt like the audience was more middle school rather than upper YA. But by the end of it, I was confused because of the gruesome content and language used it just threw me off.
However, once the plot really started to get going this was no longer an issue for me. I was INVESTED in this story, I love the whole concept of the fairy tales and the unhappy endings. The diversity in this book did not feel like a checklist and the experiences didn't feel like tokenism. I enjoyed the characters, I found that each of the POV girls had their own identities but at times it felt like there was one aspect and one aspect alone that made up their personality. For the larger part, the characters felt static and most development happened off page. The twists and vivid descriptions literally had me asking what in the world just happened.
All in all, I did enjoy this! It fell a bit flat for my expectations but I'm going to pin that on me not being the intended audience for it.

Thank you Netgalley for sharing an ARC with me in return for an honest review

The Grimrose Girls by Laura Pohl should be at the top of your TBR pile. The characters, setting, and twists kept me turning page after page. It has been a while since I have read a YA novel, so I was unsure if this one would be able to captivate my attention. However, I was pleasantly surprised when I fell in love with the tone of the character's narration and Pohl's storytelling ability. I was fascinated with how the characters illustrated their fairytale counterpart. Each character was nuanced and original despite being modern examples of fairytale characters. The bonds between the characters are authentic and intriguing. Pohl's writing was enchanting and the dark gothic setting only made the words more impactful. I can't wait to see what this author does next; I will be first in line for pre-order.

**I read an e-arc of this through the "read now" section on NetGalley!**

“Four friends, one murder, and a dark fate that may leave them all doomed.”

The Grimrose Girls is a contemporary take on fairytales with a dark twist thrown in. It follows 3 girls at the Grimrose Académie after the mysterious death of their best friend, and their new roommate, as they try to figure out the circumstances surrounding their friend’s death. They uncover more secrets than they were anticipating about their school and its gruesome history.

I really enjoyed this book! It was a bit of a slow start for me, but once it got going I couldn’t put it down and read the second half in basically one sitting. Each girl has their own POV and they are all so different from each other. There is mental health rep (OCD) and LGBTQA+ rep from the main characters. It was great watching their relationships and characters grow and change as they discovered more secrets about their best friend, their school, and themselves. It ended on a bit of a cliffhanger so I’m very excited to see what’s next for Ella, Yuki, Rory, and Nani. This story was such a unique take on fairytales and I think the author did a great job weaving this story together!

An enjoyable blend of mystery and magic with the focus on a group of girls, their bonds with each other and their relationships with others. Each girl has her secrets and as the story evolves, so does our picture of each girl and their background. There was enough mystery to keep me guessing.

I expected the audience to be teen but as I was reading it, it felt more like middle school. Either way it is a good clean read with nothing explicit.

The ending is satisfying while making it very obvious that there will be a follow up novel.

With a wide range of representation for lgbtqia fiction fans, this will be a hit with our book club so I will definitely be adding it to our purchase list.

I received this arc from netgalley in exchange for my honest review.

The book isn't badly written, but I felt the amount of backstory shared between at least four POV characters got in the way of forward momentum. When I got to the 20% mark and realized I still wasn't invested in the characters (and therefore not in the story or the mystery), I surrendered.

The Grimrose Girls had a lot of components which piqued my interest but I was left wanting a bit more. For example, the school in a remote location, possibility of a curse, diverse casts, and multiple POVs had great potential. In the end, I felt that there was not enough time spent on any one character's POV to get to know them. Especially at the beginning of the book, I was struggling to keep all of the characters straight. The ending seemed rushed and there were many parts that felt too perfect (such as multiple characters ending up with romantic interests).

I would have enjoyed this book more if it had fewer points of view, took longer to tell the story, and had more character development. I would still recommend this book to anyone wanting a quick, slightly suspenseful read. There was good representation of people with different genders, sexualities, and backgrounds.

3.5 stars

RATING: 2.5 STARS

The Grimrose Girls by Laura Pohl is a dark spin on fairytales that the Brothers Grimm would be proud of. The book is a solid choice for those who are fans of mystery and dark academia - but might fall short in the eyes of fantasy readers.

At the start of the story, Ella, Yuki, and Rory are returning to the ultra-exclusive Grimrose Academy in the mountains of Switzerland. Things will not be the same, however, as they are missing the fourth member of their group Ariane. Some think Ariane committed suicide or simply drowned, but her friends believe someone killed her and are determined to find out what happened. After new girl Nani finds a mysterious book of fairytales in Ariane’s closet, things get even stranger and they must race to solve the mystery before it’s too late.

While reading, I was reminded of the Once Upon a Time tv show. Both Once Upon a Time and The Grimrose Girls leave you wondering which fairytale corresponds to each character. Some of the fairytale relations were fairly obvious (Ella) while others were hard to pin down (Yuki). I enjoyed figuring out who was who - this aspect was my favorite part while reading.

It was a little hard at times to connect the fairytale retelling aspect to the dark academia. Admittedly, these two genres are not commonly crossed. The atmosphere definitely felt dark and the author did a great job building the setting. I had no problems envisioning the academy, though I did wonder at times why they set it at an academy if they barely covered any school-related issues or scenes.

However, the fairytale aspect was where the book fell flat. I felt like I was missing something in explanations on why things were happening, and I think that made it harder for me to connect to the story as a heavy fantasy reader. This book is supposed to be part of a series, so I'm hoping the author leans more into the fairytale aspect for the second installment. Despite giving this book a low rating, I would still consider reading the next installment as the author did enough to make me curious about what happens next for the foursome.

Thank you to the author, NetGalley and Sourcebooks Fire for allowing me to read an early copy of the book. I appreciate the opportunity.

This book combines three of my loves: fairy tales, LGBTQ+ representation, and murder. To put it simply, I couldn't put this book down. It was absolutely engrossing. I absolutely loved the gothic boarding school/castle setting, and the characters were memorable and the plot kept me engaged. I can't wait to get this book for my classroom.

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 authored 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.

A sinister take on fairytales, Laura Pohl twists the stories we know into a gothic sophomore novel about the narratives young girls are trapped in.

Those at the Grimrose Académie for Elite Student mourn the apparent drowning of one of their own. What a tragedy to lose such a girl, what a horror. However, the secrets she kept start to unravel as her friends investigate. Ella, who is trapped by her cruel stepfamily: Yuki, who keeps her cold heart hidden, and Rory, who is determined to be no one's damsel. When the new student Nani joins them, so does the danger that exists inside the school. Full of troubled friendships, diverse queer romances (my beloved lesbian with a sword!), and fun explorations of what power fairytales have, The Grimrose Girls has a strong aesthetic!

At times, it felt like there were so many plot threads that the narrative became tangled. One can hope these will be explored further in the sequel. And while I went in having different expectations – less Pretty Little Liars and more Truly Devious – I was still charmed by the soapy dramatics that had real-life elements grounding them among the magic and curses.

A copy was provided by NetGalley and Sourcebooks Fire. All opinions are my own.

This book is great! Would definitely recommend. Thanks so much to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

I really enjoyed this book. I have been on a dark academia kick lately and I loved this unique perspective on the sub genre! It’s not often that you get to read a fantasy retelling with a dark academia book, so I really appreciated how unique this was.
This book followed the stories of 4 reimagined Fairytale princesses who have to figure out how their own curses can be stopped. This is not the Disney fairytales that we remember though, these stories follow the much darker original fairytales.
I appreciated how inclusive this book was and the incorporation of LGBTQ characters, specifically those on the ACE spectrum as well. I haven’t checked if this is the start of a series yet but I truly hope it is because I’m hooked and I need more.
This was also a really fast read, so it’s perfect to binge in a night.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.