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3.79 AVERAGE
3.79 AVERAGE
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
this is the sequel to the grimrose girls. don’t read this review if you haven’t read that!
content warnings: fatphobia, sexual assault (forced kissing), transphobia, violence, child abuse, cancer
now that the grimrose girls know about the curse sentencing fellow students to fairytale-esque deaths, they must figure out how to stop them from happening, especially since any one of them could be next.
this book was heavier on the romance than in book one (at least, from what i can remember), but that was fine! it gave the girls something more to fight for. even with the various romances, friendship played such an important role throughout this book, which i really loved.
the ending was very satisfying, too! i really didn’t know what was going to happen, but the way the plot played out and the way the book ended was so great.
if you enjoyed book one, i definitely recommend picking this one up!
content warnings: fatphobia, sexual assault (forced kissing), transphobia, violence, child abuse, cancer
now that the grimrose girls know about the curse sentencing fellow students to fairytale-esque deaths, they must figure out how to stop them from happening, especially since any one of them could be next.
this book was heavier on the romance than in book one (at least, from what i can remember), but that was fine! it gave the girls something more to fight for. even with the various romances, friendship played such an important role throughout this book, which i really loved.
the ending was very satisfying, too! i really didn’t know what was going to happen, but the way the plot played out and the way the book ended was so great.
if you enjoyed book one, i definitely recommend picking this one up!
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
THE WICKED REMAIN concludes the Grimrose Girls duology as they try to break the curse once and for all, to stop the cycle of girls bent and broken to fit tales which deny them happy endings, and usually take their lives.
The worldbuilding focuses primarily on details of the curse, the castle, and the relationships between the characters. This would be a hard book to get into if you’re not at least passingly familiar with a few key stories (Cinderella, Snow White, Beauty and the Beast, and probably Sleeping Beauty), and there are a few more that would help (Swan Lake, Rapunzel). It doesn’t pause to explain their plots and only occasionally spells out their relevance. This is probably a good decision, given how steeped in them many people are through cultural osmosis even if they’ve never read them and never seen any of the film adaptations. I think this book halting to explain them would have been more irritating than helpful, but I’m noting it since anyone who’s managed to avoid every Disney Princess’s story will have a rough time here. I know there were minor characters whose stories I didn’t recognize or don’t know, but at least for them my lack of recognition didn’t matter much.
I’m torn about the way that one of the secondary characters is handled. She’s a trans girl whose story involves her (implicitly cis, definitely female) cousin being jealous of her and trying to take over her life (including trying to steal her girlfriend). Because of the way the stories overlap, and characters with their own narrative can fill different roles in other characters’ narratives, she also is implied to be the Beast to her girlfriend’s Beauty. It has room to have such an interesting narrative about monstrosity, transphobia, and jealousy… and then just leaves it there. The cousin is jealous because… I don’t know, the curse makes her jealous to fit Swan Lake’s narrative. There’s no real reason stated, she just is. There’s a line about how the cis(?) cousin thinks she can be a better girl/girlfriend than her trans cousin, which stands out to me as unmistakable transphobia, but it’s not named in the way that the other narratives usually have their issues and abuses stated explicitly by the end. It’s possible this gets more attention in the published version than in the ARC I read, but it’s similarly understated in the first book so I’m not anticipating this particular change. For anyone concerned I'll note that while I can't think of a reason other than transphobia to motivate the cousin, there's no deadnaming or misgendering, just a very weird insistence that she'd be better at her trans cousin's life than she is.
This wraps up a bunch of stuff left hanging from the first book, while also having a full storyline of its own. I don’t recall anything it both introduced and resolved, but it’s the last book in the duology so that’s not an issue. The ending wraps up things very well, with suitable conclusions for the main characters and the school as a whole. The ensemble of point-of-view characters is largely unchanged from the first book and their voices are consistent. This does a good job of relaying important information from the last book in a way that quickly refreshes returning readers and might even enable new readers to jump in knowing only the basic premise. It is the conclusion of a duology, however, so as usual I recommend starting with the first book before reading this one.
Yuki and Ella feel like the main two in the group of protagonists, but Nani and Rory get a larger presence than I remember them having in GRIMROSE GIRLS. The pacing is good, the number of main characters is large enough to feel like a full group and to provide a steady supply of answers and developments along the way. In particular, Nani’s storyline with her father get some answers I wasn’t expecting but were very welcome, and I’m very happy for Rory. The central mystery of the curse gets a satisfying answer and a number of suitably dramatic moments, and I like how it all turns out.
The worldbuilding focuses primarily on details of the curse, the castle, and the relationships between the characters. This would be a hard book to get into if you’re not at least passingly familiar with a few key stories (Cinderella, Snow White, Beauty and the Beast, and probably Sleeping Beauty), and there are a few more that would help (Swan Lake, Rapunzel). It doesn’t pause to explain their plots and only occasionally spells out their relevance. This is probably a good decision, given how steeped in them many people are through cultural osmosis even if they’ve never read them and never seen any of the film adaptations. I think this book halting to explain them would have been more irritating than helpful, but I’m noting it since anyone who’s managed to avoid every Disney Princess’s story will have a rough time here. I know there were minor characters whose stories I didn’t recognize or don’t know, but at least for them my lack of recognition didn’t matter much.
I’m torn about the way that one of the secondary characters is handled. She’s a trans girl whose story involves her (implicitly cis, definitely female) cousin being jealous of her and trying to take over her life (including trying to steal her girlfriend). Because of the way the stories overlap, and characters with their own narrative can fill different roles in other characters’ narratives, she also is implied to be the Beast to her girlfriend’s Beauty. It has room to have such an interesting narrative about monstrosity, transphobia, and jealousy… and then just leaves it there. The cousin is jealous because… I don’t know, the curse makes her jealous to fit Swan Lake’s narrative. There’s no real reason stated, she just is. There’s a line about how the cis(?) cousin thinks she can be a better girl/girlfriend than her trans cousin, which stands out to me as unmistakable transphobia, but it’s not named in the way that the other narratives usually have their issues and abuses stated explicitly by the end. It’s possible this gets more attention in the published version than in the ARC I read, but it’s similarly understated in the first book so I’m not anticipating this particular change. For anyone concerned I'll note that while I can't think of a reason other than transphobia to motivate the cousin, there's no deadnaming or misgendering, just a very weird insistence that she'd be better at her trans cousin's life than she is.
This wraps up a bunch of stuff left hanging from the first book, while also having a full storyline of its own. I don’t recall anything it both introduced and resolved, but it’s the last book in the duology so that’s not an issue. The ending wraps up things very well, with suitable conclusions for the main characters and the school as a whole. The ensemble of point-of-view characters is largely unchanged from the first book and their voices are consistent. This does a good job of relaying important information from the last book in a way that quickly refreshes returning readers and might even enable new readers to jump in knowing only the basic premise. It is the conclusion of a duology, however, so as usual I recommend starting with the first book before reading this one.
Yuki and Ella feel like the main two in the group of protagonists, but Nani and Rory get a larger presence than I remember them having in GRIMROSE GIRLS. The pacing is good, the number of main characters is large enough to feel like a full group and to provide a steady supply of answers and developments along the way. In particular, Nani’s storyline with her father get some answers I wasn’t expecting but were very welcome, and I’m very happy for Rory. The central mystery of the curse gets a satisfying answer and a number of suitably dramatic moments, and I like how it all turns out.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Blood
Moderate: Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Transphobia, Medical content, Grief, Cannibalism, Suicide attempt
Minor: Ableism, Fatphobia, Self harm, Murder
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
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
This ARC was given by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
I LOVED the first book so much so I knew I had to snatch up this ARC.
I will say I think this book was a bit slower than the first, not as much intrigue and mystery but still wonderful.
This sequel felt more fantastical than the first, which I love fantasy so all about it. One of my favorite things about this series is that it isn’t simply retelling fairy tales. These girls STILL have their own lives and personalities. They were never truly defined by their fairy tales (aka the whole point of this story).
As much as I loved Frederick, I thought it was so important that Elle did not get swept off her feet by her prince. That she picked herself up and realized she could do whatever she wanted. Cheesy, but so important for any young woman (and really anyone who has ever felt they had to rely wholly on others) to understand no matter the circumstances, they can trust themselves
Of course my favorite part of this series is the diverse cast.
OBSESSED that the entire cast is queer - made my gay librarian heart happy. And it didn’t feel like checking off boxes the way some books do.
I’m all about friendship and love between others so the ending made my heart so happy. That true love can be among friends *UGH* gave me the same happy feels that the end of Loveless by Alice Oseman gave me.
How important it is that you can have platonic true love with your best friends ❤️❤️
Absolutely will be adding this to my library!! Laura Pohl give us more of your amazing characters!! I would die for them
I LOVED the first book so much so I knew I had to snatch up this ARC.
I will say I think this book was a bit slower than the first, not as much intrigue and mystery but still wonderful.
This sequel felt more fantastical than the first, which I love fantasy so all about it. One of my favorite things about this series is that it isn’t simply retelling fairy tales. These girls STILL have their own lives and personalities. They were never truly defined by their fairy tales (aka the whole point of this story).
Of course my favorite part of this series is the diverse cast.
OBSESSED that the entire cast is queer - made my gay librarian heart happy. And it didn’t feel like checking off boxes the way some books do.
I’m all about friendship and love between others so the ending made my heart so happy. That true love can be among friends *UGH* gave me the same happy feels that the end of Loveless by Alice Oseman gave me.
How important it is that you can have platonic true love with your best friends ❤️❤️
Absolutely will be adding this to my library!! Laura Pohl give us more of your amazing characters!! I would die for them
Content Warnings
Moderate: Physical abuse
Minor: Transphobia
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an eARC of this book. A satisfying and surprising conclusion to the Grimrose Girls.
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
thank you netgalley for the e-arc
my thoughts are: i have no idea what was happening. it was a mess and i loved it.
there was barely a focus on the characters themselves, the plot was a mess and overall it wasn’t totally great content wise. the writing was also really cringey.
but!! i found myself not caring in the slightest. despite all of that i still loved this sm <3 i wish there were more books in this series. i’m gonna miss my girls </3
my thoughts are: i have no idea what was happening. it was a mess and i loved it.
there was barely a focus on the characters themselves, the plot was a mess and overall it wasn’t totally great content wise. the writing was also really cringey.
but!! i found myself not caring in the slightest. despite all of that i still loved this sm <3 i wish there were more books in this series. i’m gonna miss my girls </3
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
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
Thank you Netgalley for an e-ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!
The Wicked Remain is the second book in the duology of the Grimrose Girls. We are back with our four girls Ella, Rory, Yuki and Nani. And it is finally time for them to break their curse.
First things first, I absolutely loved the fact you could get back into the story of our four girls without trouble. The story just continued effortlessly and even delivered more than I have expected. The idea of bringing fairy tails into the modern time is genius.
The story has so many twists and turns. It never get boring for even one second. I just thought: What the hell?" for half of the time. Another massive plus point is the LGBTQI+ representation and the character diversity.
Overall, it was an amazing read and I absolutely enjoyed it. Laura Pohl wrapped this story perfectly up.
Publishing Date: 1st November 2022
The Wicked Remain is the second book in the duology of the Grimrose Girls. We are back with our four girls Ella, Rory, Yuki and Nani. And it is finally time for them to break their curse.
First things first, I absolutely loved the fact you could get back into the story of our four girls without trouble. The story just continued effortlessly and even delivered more than I have expected. The idea of bringing fairy tails into the modern time is genius.
The story has so many twists and turns. It never get boring for even one second. I just thought: What the hell?" for half of the time. Another massive plus point is the LGBTQI+ representation and the character diversity.
Overall, it was an amazing read and I absolutely enjoyed it. Laura Pohl wrapped this story perfectly up.
Publishing Date: 1st November 2022