Gothic, haunting and delicious - don't quite know how it managed to live up to my expectations, yet it did. If you're a fan of either mysteries or fairy tales with a twist, this is the book for you!

Another fairytale inspired YA novel. Many different tales are represented in this book, each girl embodying one of the familiar characters and, gruesomely, their manner of death. I found the story to be predictable and the characters annoying and oblivious. There were so many moments when they should have realized what was going on but looked the other way as a plot device, not because the characters were actually oblivious. It was a choice in how the story was written rather than organic logical leaps made by the characters. Of course the author chooses how the characters will act and react, and how much information they have access to, but it just didn’t make sense. The characters were meant to be good representation for their various groups but ended up feeling more like cutouts of those groups, simple and flat, rather than the rich characters they could have been.

CW: Transphobia

I started Grimrose Girls with high hopes because it has a whole list of things I love. A murder taking place at an all girls school? Check. Sapphics everywhere? Check. Sapphics with SWORDS? Double check. Best friends with hidden agendas a drama? Check. All of these things are stuff I usually love, which is why I'm so frustrated that I'm DNFing not even ten percent of the way into it. The writing is very much not my taste, the way Pohl uses third person is very unusual, and makes me feel disconnected from the main characters in the story. She technically uses a limited omniscient narrator, but there's so little information or feeling from the characters that it feels closer to an objective narrator at times. I'm assuming it's to try to keep the readers guessing about the mystery/thriller aspect of the plot, since we don't know who murdered Ariane, but because of it, I felt very disconnected from the girls' grief over their dead best friend and literally anything else about them. I'm also very confused as to why Pohl seems to be averse to using pronouns and just inserts the characters' names over and over again. Trying to read a sentence with the same name in it three times is jarring and unpleasant to say the least.

After reading some reviews to figure out if I should try to push through anyway, I'm glad I decided to stop as well. The characters are based off of fairytales, and the fact that one of the main characters is supposed to be based on Belle but her love interest is the ONLY trans character in the book (making her the Beast) is disgusting. The other reviews of the rep I saw weren't great either, but since I haven't read it myself, I'm not going to go into detail, just recommend you look at some of the lower rated reviews yourself.

Think Ever After High and Pretty Little Liars in one book!

I was so excited when I learned The Grimrose Girls is free to read on Netgalley. The blurb 'classic fairytales reimagines heroines as friends attending the same school' and the murder mystery really intrigued me. First off, the combination of fairytale and murder mystery is unique and well done. The book is atmospheric, the romance is cute and I did enjoy the mystery element. Sadly, it was underwhelming for me. This started reallyyyy slow then picked up its pace in the second half of the book. I almost DNF it, besides being slow on the first half, the characters are flat and bland. The build-up is so good but the ending is anti-climactic

SPOILER but the main reason for the low rating:
The diversity/rep in this book is problematic and stereotypical: we have the Asian where her parents pressure her to always achieve the best; Ella has OCD, and others keep on asking her if she took her meds and constantly doubted; we also have a black character where her dad abandoned her and she's portrayed as the mean lesbian.

Overall, I don't recommend this book. The concepts are interesting but the execution is meh.

Thanks Sourcebooks Fire for the DRC via Netgalley. All thoughts and opinions are mine.

The Grimrose Girls are a breath of fresh air! Queer dark academia having some fun with the concept of fairy tales gone creepy.
Yuki is an absolute gem of a character and I can't wait to see more of her in the sequel.
One less star simply because I found some action scenes a bit hard to follow, but nothing to stop you from enjoying a fun book.

Wasn’t a fan of the book—lots of stereotypical characters. I was super excited for the queer rep but it missed the mark this time. 2.5 stars rounded up.

The Grimrose Girls is Pretty Little Liars with fairytales, laura pohl does an amazing job of mixing the classic fairytales the real ones not the disney ones and throws them in to a modern style mystery. just mix in the plot of a dead friend and you have the idea of how this book will go.
there is a lot of diverse representation in this book which is refreshing to see and the whole book as a great flow to it.

Classic fairytales twisted up together with a Pretty Little Liar’s-like mystery, indeed! This is such a fun read and I took a lot of enjoyment from these clever, reimagined stories.

The Grimrose Girls started out slow for me. We’re introduced to the main characters as they’re grieving the death of their best friend, who died suddenly in the lake on their school grounds. Despite the death being ruled a suicide, they feel as if there’s something more to the story and begin to investigate. As their group expands from a new roommate at the school, the stakes increase. All isn’t as it seems.

As the blurb for the story mentions, the characters are all reimainged fairy tale characters that attend this boarding school together. The fairytales that are mentioned are all familiar, and many follow the original fairytales rather than the “cleaned up” versions that have become popular for kids. As the story goes on, it becomes obvious which character each is based on, even before they start to dig into the mysterious curse and deaths at the school. The diversity and representation in the characters was done well and didn’t feel forced for any of the characters.

The Grimrose Girls is very atmospheric and dark, though for me the beginning of the book was such a slow pace that I wasn’t sure if I was going to get through it. It did pick up as the book went on, and I can see why everyone loved it once I got through the slow parts. The pacing is the main reason why I’ve dropped my rating for it, and I’m looking forward to seeing where the story goes from here, as the book ends with a number of unanswered questions.

Warning: This book discusses some sensitive topics that may be triggering for some readers including death, mention of suicide, mention of drowning, and murder.

Many thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the digital copy in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Full review to come on Instagram and Amazon. Thank you to the publisher, author, and NetGalley for a review copy.

I really really love modern retellings of fairytales and The Grimrose Girls beautifully weaves many fairytales into its story. The characters were all very well developed and I enjoyed reading the four different point of views. The mystery was my favorite part and I couldn’t wait to see how this story was going to end.

We have four main characters in the story: Yuki, Rory, Ella, and Nani attend a boarding school for girls in Switzerland where students are mysteriously dying. One death is that of their best friend and leads them to hunt for answers they are unsure they will be able to find.
It seems Grimrose has dark secrets and a curse. can they uncover the mystery before more deaths?
I enjoyed getting to know the girls, who were all facing their own problems. There were lots of twists that I didn't see coming. I'm looking forward to the next one!

Characters & diversity & representation = stellar. Plot & execution = not so much. My favorite characters were Svenja & Nani. There were a ton of characters but I appreciate the fact that each of their personalities was distinct and unique. I was not a fan of the twist, however. Overall, it was a quick and fun read.

Combining fairy tales and pretty little liars type themes? I’m all the way here for it. I love the spin on the fairy tales making them more modern. I adore the mystery and world and can’t wait for the sequel

Fun and fresh take on the fairytales retelling genre! I'd describe this as Once Upon A Time meets Pretty Little Liars. The mystery kept me turning pages and the writing was easy to read. Definitely excited for the sequel!

This is a YA retelling of a variety of fairytales.
The book has four narrators, which I loved as you were able to get a personal look into each of the characters back stories and feelings.
It's a great read for people who love fairytale retellings. The book was excited and offered a range of different stories, which was great.

Juvenile and the representation was questionable at best, I didn't appreciate the way queer women have portrayed super stereotypical portrayal and the representation of mental illness was not done well. I felt like the author didn't put enough effort into research and making a well-rounded fantasy novel even though it was unique and a cool idea

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.

The Grimrose Girls: Dark Academia Fairytale by Laura Pohl is a YA dark academia book that combines the modern world of a cursed private academy with a who-done-it that explores the grim side of age-old fairy tales.
Ella, Yuki, and Rory return for the start of the new term at Grimrose Academy only to discover the fourth member of their clique, Ariane, has drowned in the campus lake. Her death has been ruled a suicide, but her friends know it was murder. When Nani arrives as their newest roommate, they become determined to find out what really happened.
They discover a book hidden in Ariane’s wardrobe. It’s a book of fairytales. It appears innocuous at first glance, but as they read it, they notice none of the stories have happy endings. As dead bodies continue piling up it becomes clear the book and the school is cursed. Each story correlates to a student at Grimrose and foreshadows their demise.
Can the girls break the cycle of deaths or are their own fates tied to the cursed stories dooming them to brutal and gruesome endings?

Pros And My Favourite Parts
The Grimrose Girls has so many fun tropes rolled into one story. I felt very comfortable in the world of the book from the get-go. The modern takes on how each character embodies their classic fairytale persona is clever. Of course, Cinderella is dealing with depression and OCD, and Aurora’s parents are over-protective because their daughter lives with chronic pain. Pohl creates the world of Grimrose Academy with nice touches that give it an ominous, creepy vibe. The best thing the story has going for it is a diverse cast of characters. Not only is it a racially diverse group, but every letter of the LGBTQ alphabet is represented. Where were these books when I was young and figuring things out?
There’s enough closure in this story to make for a satisfying reading experience, but Pohl has set it up so that readers will be waiting for the next book in this series with high anticipation. I’ looking forward to the next book.
Cons And Heads Up
I thought the first quarter of the book was a bit slow. I know the author was establishing the characters’ personalities, but I thought it dragged a little. Once magic and murders started appearing the plot takes off.
I wasn’t wowed by the audiobook. .
The Conclusion
The Grimrose Girls made for great company on my daily commute. If I’m going to sit in traffic, a good story makes it bearable. While each girl is tied to a familiar fairytale, it was fun seeing how that was interpreted for a contemporary audience. The backstories for each girl is compelling so I was interested from beginning to end. I’m enjoying reading more YA literature. I’m finding a lot of well written titles that are just as appealing for adults as they are for younger audiences. The Grimrose Girls definitely falls in that category.

I was curious about this book as soon I saw the synopsis and this book didn't disappoint.

I really liked the multiple povs, it was great to get into everyone's head and still have the mystery going.

It was very engaging but I just felt like the chapters were a bit too lengthy or wordy.