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cball2428's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
an absolutely thrilling story about 4 girls who despite the odds band together and create a bond so strong. also incredibly sapphic and amazing character development i would like rory’s gender ok
disability representation! rory has fibromyalgia
mental illness/neurodivergency representation! ella has diagnosed OCD and anxiety
transgender representation! svenja is a trans woman (minor character but still important)
disability representation!
mental illness/neurodivergency representation!
transgender representation!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Grief, and Murder
Moderate: Ableism, Child abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Stalking, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Deadnaming, Racism, and Acephobia/Arophobia
cammiem8's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
I gobbled this book up on an airplane and was really intrigued by the story, but I didn’t quite feel connected to the characters and was disappointed to find out the book isn’t a stand alone. I’ll likely read the next book when it comes out, but I wish this one felt like more of a complete story on its own and not just a setup for subsequent books.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Grief, and Murder
Moderate: Acephobia/Arophobia, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Homophobia, Racism, Rape, and Vomit
foreverinastory's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
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.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Chronic illness, Death, Mental illness, Blood, Grief, Murder, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Gore and Racism
rey_therese07's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Murder
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Suicide, and Grief
Minor: Deadnaming, Racism, Transphobia, Death of parent, and Abandonment
mothie_girlie's review
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Grief, and Murder
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders and Physical abuse
Minor: Ableism
itshardizzy's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
ohhh what a ride.
the book was very good and I've finished really fast. I really liked how complex the MCs are and how they aren't perfect and have real problems. The book deals with a lot of things, but mostly with grief and with finding ones trueself. It was PLL meets Brothers Grimm but make it Sapphic (and I loved it).
the characters are all relatable and they have real struggles and not just rich people problems. the author really succeed in blend the personal problems of the characters with the main plot and in showing that in the end they are all teenagers that still haven't figure out life. even the side characters have well constructed background and problems that aren't connected with the MCs. and the relationships where really natural and really comfortable to follow.
the plot is very interesting and i saw how PLL heavily influenced the author, literally there was times where I was "am i reading PLL?". there was clues well hidden everywhere and it was fun to put the pieces together.
one thing that I want to talk about is the diversity in here. Although it is a school for the rich and privilege, we also have a few special cases like Ella and Nani, but I didn't really think they tackled those privileges as well as the author could. what the author did well - in my opinion - is to display LGBTQ+ characters without that being the main focus of their stories, being gay is treated normally and that was awesome; but that doesn't mean the author didn't explore the struggles that comes with being yourself and that shows thru Yuki and Svenja.
also I loved Pippa talking with Rory about her being the only black girl in their club and about even though she is rich, black people will never be seen the same as white rich people.
honestly this was a great read, but there was a few parts where i was like ???like the part where yuki told them about what she had said to Ari right before she died and there wasn't much of a reaction; and like the author was building this secret for chapters and making us anxious about how the others would react, but in the end it wasn't that big of a deal . I'm really excited to the follow up and to see if some of my predictions will become a reality and to see how they are gonna deal with the new found truths and with the things they've done.
the book was very good and I've finished really fast. I really liked how complex the MCs are and how they aren't perfect and have real problems. The book deals with a lot of things, but mostly with grief and with finding ones trueself. It was PLL meets Brothers Grimm but make it Sapphic (and I loved it).
the characters are all relatable and they have real struggles and not just rich people problems. the author really succeed in blend the personal problems of the characters with the main plot and in showing that in the end they are all teenagers that still haven't figure out life. even the side characters have well constructed background and problems that aren't connected with the MCs. and the relationships where really natural and really comfortable to follow.
the plot is very interesting and i saw how PLL heavily influenced the author, literally there was times where I was "am i reading PLL?". there was clues well hidden everywhere and it was fun to put the pieces together.
one thing that I want to talk about is the diversity in here. Although it is a school for the rich and privilege, we also have a few special cases like Ella and Nani, but I didn't really think they tackled those privileges as well as the author could. what the author did well - in my opinion - is to display LGBTQ+ characters without that being the main focus of their stories, being gay is treated normally and that was awesome; but that doesn't mean the author didn't explore the struggles that comes with being yourself and that shows thru Yuki and Svenja.
honestly this was a great read, but there was a few parts where i was like ???
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Domestic abuse, Violence, Blood, Grief, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Self harm and Death of parent
Minor: Racism and Transphobia
melaniereadsbooks's review
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Thank you to Netgalley and Sourcebooks Fire for an arc of this book.
At Grimrose Academie, accidents happen. A girl might die every once in a while, but that's just normal, right? When best friends Ella, Yuki, and Rory lose their friend Ari, they know something more is going on. Together with their new roommate, Nani, they find clues that Ari left behind and uncover the dark fairy tale secrets hiding at Grimrose.
Dark Academia, Fairy Tale Retellings, Queer Squad Goals, and a Gorgeous Cover! This book has everything I wanted. I loved these dark fairy tale retellings and picking up on the breadcrumb trail (pun intended) that the author left for us to follow!
I've been trying to decide who my favorite character is, but I just can't seem to figure it out. I think that's a good sign: I love all of them. They are messy, and imperfect, and refuse to be pushed into the boxes that the world wants to push them into, and I just love that so much. And a trans love interest!
There were a few times in this book where the writing felt a little clunky and certain scenes didn't feel super well-developed, but I think that might just be because I had an advanced version! I look forward to reading the final version and probably loving it even more!
Pub date: October 26, 2021
At Grimrose Academie, accidents happen. A girl might die every once in a while, but that's just normal, right? When best friends Ella, Yuki, and Rory lose their friend Ari, they know something more is going on. Together with their new roommate, Nani, they find clues that Ari left behind and uncover the dark fairy tale secrets hiding at Grimrose.
Dark Academia, Fairy Tale Retellings, Queer Squad Goals, and a Gorgeous Cover! This book has everything I wanted. I loved these dark fairy tale retellings and picking up on the breadcrumb trail (pun intended) that the author left for us to follow!
I've been trying to decide who my favorite character is, but I just can't seem to figure it out. I think that's a good sign: I love all of them. They are messy, and imperfect, and refuse to be pushed into the boxes that the world wants to push them into, and I just love that so much. And a trans love interest!
There were a few times in this book where the writing felt a little clunky and certain scenes didn't feel super well-developed, but I think that might just be because I had an advanced version! I look forward to reading the final version and probably loving it even more!
Pub date: October 26, 2021
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Gore, Grief, and Acephobia/Arophobia
Moderate: Child abuse, Physical abuse, Suicide, Violence, and Toxic friendship
Minor: Transphobia
booksthatburn's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
THE GRIMROSE GIRLS depicts three girls wrestling with grief and piecing together the ragged edges of their lives after their friend dies and a newcomer is placed with them.
I love remixes and retellings, and this fairy tale boarding school uses the more tragic iterations of the various tales simultaneously as plot and motivation. It was fun to try and figure out who the various characters were and what that might mean for the story. I appreciate that this emphasized the archetypal nature of these stories, where tales like Cinderella have parallels under other names around the world.
I like the worldbuilding and the cast of characters. I was wondering how the story was going to square the girls' in-universe understanding of fairy tales with the parallels they were noticing, but I like how it's handled. Where this really shines is in its portrayal of the complex dynamics between the remaining three girls and their new fourth after Ari dies. The rotating perspectives kept the story moving and showed the very different ways the four main characters think about past and current events, including their differing understandings of who Ari was and what she meant to them individually and to the group as a whole.
The main plot gets wrapped up but the overarching investigation/mystery has a lot more room for the series to continue. It's a good narrative balance since I have closure on the most important things while also having an idea of what they need to figure out next.
Minor spoilers to follow. There's a character who seems to straddle roles across several stories, two for sure and a third by my best guess. I like the feeling this generates, but I wish it happened more clearly for other characters as well. Part of why it feels strange is that when the canonically transgender character is given the story roles of Beast to another character's Belle and also names herself Swan in a purposeful reference to the Ugly Duckling, it made that portrayal feel strange, like she could only exist in context with perceived monstrosity. It definitely seems like it's trying to be a good or respectful portrayal of a trans character, and I think it mostly succeeded (especially with how her side role as Beast plays out). My main issue with it is that it used her so much in story beats that relied on her transness or her past experiences of transphobia that I don't have much of a sense of her beyond the coy and slightly abrasive trans girl. I like her and I'm glad she's there, but this definitely wasn't her time to shine.
A great remix of some classic tales, I'm excited to see what the sequel brings!
I love remixes and retellings, and this fairy tale boarding school uses the more tragic iterations of the various tales simultaneously as plot and motivation. It was fun to try and figure out who the various characters were and what that might mean for the story. I appreciate that this emphasized the archetypal nature of these stories, where tales like Cinderella have parallels under other names around the world.
I like the worldbuilding and the cast of characters. I was wondering how the story was going to square the girls' in-universe understanding of fairy tales with the parallels they were noticing, but I like how it's handled. Where this really shines is in its portrayal of the complex dynamics between the remaining three girls and their new fourth after Ari dies. The rotating perspectives kept the story moving and showed the very different ways the four main characters think about past and current events, including their differing understandings of who Ari was and what she meant to them individually and to the group as a whole.
The main plot gets wrapped up but the overarching investigation/mystery has a lot more room for the series to continue. It's a good narrative balance since I have closure on the most important things while also having an idea of what they need to figure out next.
Minor spoilers to follow. There's a character who seems to straddle roles across several stories, two for sure and a third by my best guess. I like the feeling this generates, but I wish it happened more clearly for other characters as well. Part of why it feels strange is that when the canonically transgender character is given the story roles of Beast to another character's Belle and also names herself Swan in a purposeful reference to the Ugly Duckling, it made that portrayal feel strange, like she could only exist in context with perceived monstrosity. It definitely seems like it's trying to be a good or respectful portrayal of a trans character, and I think it mostly succeeded (especially with how her side role as Beast plays out). My main issue with it is that it used her so much in story beats that relied on her transness or her past experiences of transphobia that I don't have much of a sense of her beyond the coy and slightly abrasive trans girl. I like her and I'm glad she's there, but this definitely wasn't her time to shine.
A great remix of some classic tales, I'm excited to see what the sequel brings!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death and Grief
Moderate: Bullying, Emotional abuse, Gore, and Physical abuse
Minor: Death, Suicide, Transphobia, and Death of parent