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A review by mcgifer
The Grimrose Girls by Laura Pohl
2.0
I love how much care I felt in these characters and their relationships, but I think the plot suffered. I don’t like open ended endings, which I recognize as a preference,
but still the fairytale book’s origin and importance doesn’t make much sense to me. Can the book grant anyone powers or just Yuki? Did the book even grant the powers or did Yuki just unlock them? Did any girl who would go to this school be woven into the book or was it specific to very certain girls?
Yuki getting powers 3/4 through the book also was weird. It was well written but at the same time the placement was a little “I need to create a divide between the girls soon that would end up saving all of them.” The last scene really diluted Rory and Nani as well (Rory lowkey the entire book was an afterthought it seemed like).
Best scene in the book is when Rory says “while you are all we’re being heterosexual I was studying the art of the blade” and Ella says “none of us are heterosexual.” Really good representation this entire book, plus the love interests are pretty well fleshed out, however Yuki and Penelope and Nani and Svenja were written pretty similarly until the ball. Ella and Freddie are very cute and we should’ve gotten more Rory and Pippa but that is also kinda Rory’s whole spiel.
More Rory rant: made many hints to her illness through the whole book and was featured in trying to save Ella, we don’t know what it was. Probably to prove that illness shouldn’t seem as a characteristic and as a nod to her fairytale counterpart, but like? Do her friends know or is it a huge secret? Does pippa know? If her parents are so worried about her fragility why send her to school hours away?
NANI NEVER KNEW WHAT HAPPENED TO HER DAD? Like did I miss something??? That was her entire motivation until the last few chapters and how she got to go to that cursed school? Plus did her dad know she was destined to be cursed like why was he the one to inspire her to go to this place that was trying to kill her? Because there have been many deaths over the years so it wasn’t just Penelope right? Plus the girls never knew about Nani’s motives even though it was creating a wedge! Like Ella actually probably knew her dad if you think about it because the author mentioned Ella waving at the guards right after we learn Nani’s dad was one? I thought it would be resolved?
Okay Yuki: I related to her a lot I’m the beginning but I don’t know maybe I just fell subject to how she was being painted but she was pretty awful to her friends until the end from what we saw of her (even though Rory, Ella, and Nani gave phrase long instances that say she was a good person). Her being jealous of Freddie in a non romantic way was cool to read because you see that often but I think she was villanized a little too much.
I don’t have much to say about Ella like yes I wish we could’ve gotten more into her situation about the bruises but everything about her is very straightforward to read but in a good way. Keeps the book grounded?
So yeah I don’t like how every girl had an undivulged secret that didn’t get resolved even in the end in addition to what the hell that book even was. Way too much was left open ended
Edit: there might be a sequel which I think it desperately needs. Not a standalone book at all maybe it was too ambitious. I haven’t read series intended books in a long time so maybe I forgot how it felt to read them?
but still the fairytale book’s origin and importance doesn’t make much sense to me. Can the book grant anyone powers or just Yuki? Did the book even grant the powers or did Yuki just unlock them? Did any girl who would go to this school be woven into the book or was it specific to very certain girls?
Yuki getting powers 3/4 through the book also was weird. It was well written but at the same time the placement was a little “I need to create a divide between the girls soon that would end up saving all of them.” The last scene really diluted Rory and Nani as well (Rory lowkey the entire book was an afterthought it seemed like).
Best scene in the book is when Rory says “while you are all we’re being heterosexual I was studying the art of the blade” and Ella says “none of us are heterosexual.” Really good representation this entire book, plus the love interests are pretty well fleshed out, however Yuki and Penelope and Nani and Svenja were written pretty similarly until the ball. Ella and Freddie are very cute and we should’ve gotten more Rory and Pippa but that is also kinda Rory’s whole spiel.
More Rory rant: made many hints to her illness through the whole book and was featured in trying to save Ella, we don’t know what it was. Probably to prove that illness shouldn’t seem as a characteristic and as a nod to her fairytale counterpart, but like? Do her friends know or is it a huge secret? Does pippa know? If her parents are so worried about her fragility why send her to school hours away?
NANI NEVER KNEW WHAT HAPPENED TO HER DAD? Like did I miss something??? That was her entire motivation until the last few chapters and how she got to go to that cursed school? Plus did her dad know she was destined to be cursed like why was he the one to inspire her to go to this place that was trying to kill her? Because there have been many deaths over the years so it wasn’t just Penelope right? Plus the girls never knew about Nani’s motives even though it was creating a wedge! Like Ella actually probably knew her dad if you think about it because the author mentioned Ella waving at the guards right after we learn Nani’s dad was one? I thought it would be resolved?
Okay Yuki: I related to her a lot I’m the beginning but I don’t know maybe I just fell subject to how she was being painted but she was pretty awful to her friends until the end from what we saw of her (even though Rory, Ella, and Nani gave phrase long instances that say she was a good person). Her being jealous of Freddie in a non romantic way was cool to read because you see that often but I think she was villanized a little too much.
I don’t have much to say about Ella like yes I wish we could’ve gotten more into her situation about the bruises but everything about her is very straightforward to read but in a good way. Keeps the book grounded?
So yeah I don’t like how every girl had an undivulged secret that didn’t get resolved even in the end in addition to what the hell that book even was. Way too much was left open ended
Edit: there might be a sequel which I think it desperately needs. Not a standalone book at all maybe it was too ambitious. I haven’t read series intended books in a long time so maybe I forgot how it felt to read them?