This review is based on an ARC copy.

Intriguing, suspenseful, and mysterious, are words I would use to describe this story. I was hooked with the premise of revised fairy tales set in a modern-day boarding school and it didn't disappoint. I enjoyed how the author spun the tried and true tales and made modern-day connections for each of the characters but I was disappointed with the weaving in of LGBTQA+ identities. I found it hard to root for the characters when the only romantic connections were of the straight couple therefore their identities seemed very contrived. Otherwise, it was a great story and a unique premise.

✨ARC Review✨

What I Loved:
-Yuki, Rory and Ella (they each bring their own issues/obstacles to the table, and are different in their own way) and they make it their mission to figure out how their friend actually died.
-LGBTQ+ representation
-Fairytale retellings (tidbit aspects from several)

I really wished this could have been five stars for me. I went in really liking it, and ultimately ended with wondering if it was worth the read. We know immediately that there is a death of one of the friends, and the question turns into was it actually a suicide, but then it starts jumping all over the place with the mystery aspect. I also didn’t feel like I could connect with any of the characters, which often times is a make it or break it for me. I was left with questions that hopefully the next book would answer, but I am not entirely sure I would continue on with the series.

If you love YA, retellings and mystery, then I would say certainly give this one a try!

⚠️CW/TW: per the author, there are mentions of suicide, parental physical and emotional abuse, self-harm, and parental death. There are also depictions of anxiety, OCD, and light gore⚠️

✨Swipe to see book description from Goodreads✨

✨Rating✨
⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

A special thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Fire for this eARC! The Grimrose Girls is out now!

Thank you Sourcebooks Fire for an ARC of The Grimrose Girls!

For once I feel like the listed comparison is a perfect fit. This is most definitely Once Upon A Time meets Pretty Little Liars.

This felt like many of the dark academia books I’ve read before. There’s a murder mystery at an elite private school and the friends left behind are trying to solve it. HOWEVER, The Grimrose Girls brought something new and refreshing to the table that I really enjoyed (beyond everyone being queer). The fairytale element was a unique twist on the dark academia setting, with the author taking full advantage of the original dark endings to these stories. It was fun to figure out which character belonged to which fairytale. I can’t wait to see what ending these characters make for themselves in the next book. Will they get their Happily Ever Afters?

I first want to thank Netgalley and the publisher for giving me an ARC of this amazing book. Fairytales, boarding school, LGBTQ+ community, I was all in. Plus look at the beautiful cover... how could I not fall in love with this book instantly?

The Grimrose Academie is what dreams are made of to most people, but it is soon turning into a nightmare for the students. Four friends come back to Grimrose, but only 3 are left by the first week. A tragedy on the first day of school that was ruled a suicide and seemed everyone was going to forget about Ariane. Luckily, her best friends Rory, Ella and, reluctantly Yuki, start investigating Ariane's death because they know there is no way their best friend would commit suicide. The investigation begins and soon a new girl arrives at Grimrose, Nani, who is placed in Ariane's old room. Nani has her own reasons for investigating Grimrose, but soon becomes looped into the girls investigation after finding some of Ariane's old things in the wardrobe. The four girls are now on the hunt for a killer that has not only taken Arianes life, but multiple students at the Academie.

I tried REALLY hard to not give away too much in the description because honestly it is so hard not to. The castle and its grounds, the little town that sits outside its gates, the hidden passage ways and dark secrets drew me into this book. I really enjoyed the LGBTQ+ portion of this book and I hope that the author explores more of Rory and Nani's love story in the best few books, which also can we take a second to appreciate that we are getting more of this beautiful world?! Yes, this book ends on a pretty big cliff hanger, but also wraps up some of the mystery for you so you aren't ready to run to the authors DM's demanding more information. The next part of my review is where I list the things that I dont love about the book, but honestly I have nothing to say on that. I loved this book and it was everything I hoped it would be.

The books description is "Pretty Little Liars" meets "Once Upon A Time" and honestly that hits it right on the head. This book is full of mystery, murder, friends turning on friends but also some amazing magic. I personally feel like some fairy tale retellings are just so childish and I get rather annoyed with them pretty quickly. However, Laura spun the fairytale so well on each of these girls, that you didnt even know she was doing it. That my friends, is impressive. Of course there are the basics, a horrible step mother and 2 mean step sisters, a girl sent to a far away castle by her father, just to locked away with only a book to help her. But honestly, it was done so perfectly that I didn't notice most of what the author had done until the characters figured out for themselves.

This book is a perfect mystery/thriller/dark fairy tales. "The Hinterlands" got me back into the dark side of fairy tales, the ones where there are no happy endings and I am SO HAPPY I found another book that followed in that direction, I can not wait for the second book and to see what the girls do next semester at Grimrose Academie.

I enjoyed the setting & concept of this book; however, I didn’t feel connected to the characters & I’m still not sure I fully understand the motivations within the friendship dynamics. I’ll definitely try others by the author!

Thank you so much Netgalley & Sourcebooks Fire

MY NAME WAS IN A BOOK! MY RARE IRISH NAME THAT NEVER GETS PUT ON COCA-COLA BOTTLES OR ANYTHING WAS IN A BOOK!

Now that I have shared my excitement on that matter, let's talk about 'The Grimrose Girls'.
A private boarding school where three friends are reeling from the death of their friend and a new student that arrives at this mourning school. As they try and move on, they realize that something sinister is at play, and their deceased friend may have been killed for a secret, and they may be the next victims.

This premise lured me in, and while it had a great mysteries element to it, balancing mystery, thriller and potentially a school curse, it was super repetitive ... no, that's not the right word. It felt like a time loop, but we saw it through the other characters eyes, so it was and wasn't. The story was prolonged to capture the reader, and besides being told my name was in the book, I was a victim lol, and wanting to know what was happening, it was a little boring at times.

I enjoyed the LGBTQ+ Rep although I don't know if all of it was good representation, same for the diversity representation. At times, it felt off, and I'm not sure if I read too much into something, but Yuki felt uncomfortably stereotyped.

This read is perfect for spooky season, and perfect for those that like dark academia books. An elite boarding school in Switzerland, characters that eerily resemble princesses from fairy tales, and a witchy book connecting them all.? Yes, please! I loved reading and trying to figure out which princesses the characters were supposed to represent, and I definitely loved that this was multi-POV so you got the full picture of what everyone was thinking. I also loved the queer representation in this book with characters identifying as lesbian, trans and asexual. The only thing I didn't like was how it ended, I know it's setting up for book 2, but I kind of hoped everything would resolve in just one book. I'll still definitely read the sequel.

Thank you so much to the author, NetGalley, and Sourcebooks Fire for a copy of this ARC in exchange for an honest review. I went into this book completely blind and was so surprised by this unique concept and how much I enjoyed this slow burn thrill!

So this book was definitely a slowwwwwww burn and at first I was hesitant to continue the read. I was very overwhelmed by all the characters and their conflicting stories and I just didn’t know what to think. It was just a LOT all at once so it took me a minute to get into the story. The characters’ voices were all so different and I enjoyed some more than others, but the overall concept of the story was so well executed and the ending made me so curious that I just have to continue.

So I completely missed the name of the book is a play on the Brothers Grimm and their haunting fairytales. We are all familiar with happily ever after stories that Disney have turned into these horrific and moral stories that Brothers Grimm and other authors wrote. However, this book looks at the original story and makes a thriller out of them that we ALL have been waiting for! Those authors of old were cruel and imaginative dudes that wrote tales to scare women into becoming good little girls and this story follows in a similar direction..... But these girls don’t follow into that role, they fight against it and prove those jerks wrong.

Although the concept of the book was PURE genius and the plot was full of suspense, chills and thrills.... I just wanted more out of it all. I felt like the gore and horror of the story was almost glazed over by the drama of the characters and their own struggles. It felt like the author was trying so hard to have all characters of representation and to really illuminate and highlight their amazing stories that the actual plot of the book kind of got lost in the shuffle.

It was a lottttt to pack in one book and we only really got to see a glimpse of characters so I’m really hoping that the next installment will get a better view of them, the school, the book world, and the elements of murder.

I can’t waittttt for more because after a taste, it is NECESSARY!

I'm a huge fan of Laura's work and this one was specially good!

For the entire book we get anxious to know what will happen next, who caused all the trouble and wether or not the girls will end up alive. Laura has the ability to write stories that get your attention and expect for the next book. I would recommend this one with my eyes closed!

Four troubled friends,
One murdered girl...
and a dark fate that may leave them all doomed.

Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Fire for the opportunity to read and review an advanced readers copy of this book. This in no way affects my review, all opinions are my own.

I have a lot of mixed thoughts on this one. It was slow to start and I think the character development could've been a little stronger. I always enjoy getting different narrator perspectives but this one felt a little all over the place, as we're immediately getting information thrown at us and I felt like I didn't' get an opportunity to connect with the characters themselves. I also had a lot of open-ended questions that weren't pertinent to the main conflict but I feel like it's odd for them to not be addressed, even if it is going to be in later books in the series.

However, once we reach the part where the book is discovered, this story picked up the pace and kept it up until the very end. I couldn't put it down and was addicted to seeing the next fairytale demise that would be uncovered. I think the idea behind this book is brilliant and so much fun and I do think there's a lot of potential for more books in the series.

I will definitely be picking up the next book once it's announced because I love a good cliffhanger. I'm interested to see how future books tie up the loose ends and we'll see if this fast-paced excitement can be continued into the next one. I also hope I can connect with the characters a little more in future installments! Overall, I did enjoy reading this one despite my personal issues with it.

Everybody stop! I have found the perfect book for you to read before October is over. Grimrose Girls is a YA mystery-thriller-fantasy-fairytale retelling that surpassed my expectations. I downloaded it on a whim since it was available on NetGalley, and I do not regret it one bit. I am SOOO glad I decided to step outside of my comfort zone and give this book a shot. I read it within 24 hours, that is how good it is!

First of all, this story is unique. I haven’t read anything quite like it. It incorporates different fairytales rather than just focusing on one. It also has an awesome amount of LGBTQ+ representation! I don’t think I’ve ever read a book with AroAce representation or demi (💜) rep! It also has trans rep, lesbian rep, bi rep…this story is so inclusive and it didn’t feel forced at all. It also has mental health rep, people with a disability rep…I loved it. I wish all stories were this inclusive, because that’s what real life looks like. And although all of these things were central to the plot, they really added to it. Again, I was so impressed.

I really enjoyed the author’s writing as well. I didn’t have a hard time getting into the story. It was interesting from the very first page. I felt like the pacing was perfect. It never focused on the mundane day-to-day, but also didn’t skip over their lives completely. I also had a fun time figuring out which girl represented which princess. I have to say, some were more obvious than others. Lastly, I don’t usually like thriller-y books because of gore, but this one wasn’t too bad. I was pretty caught up in trying to figure out the mystery that the thriller parts that did come up didn’t bother me at all.

I cannot stress this enough…you have to pick this book up. And then tell me what you think. I am so excited for the next one! I can’t wait to see what happens and how the mystery unfolds. Seriously though, read this book. You will not regret it.

I want to start by saying I loved the mystery of the deaths. I wish the book focused more on that instead of each girl and their personal issues. If one of the other was the main focus it wouldn't have felt so half/half. Personally, I was for the mystery part. It was slow in spots and I felt myself losing interest in certain areas. Would I try the next one? Yes, just to see where the mystery leads. Do I hope it is shorter or less focused on the personal issues? YES.

What works so well in Pohl’s favor is the way she chooses to explore the idea of fairy tales. Many people forget that the beloved Disney classics stem from dark source material. Pohl doesn’t. She takes those original tales and runs with them, spinning them into a unique and suspenseful mystery. While readers are clued into how other Grimrose students meet their brutal ends, Pohl layers the story with a swirl of mysteries. Characters outside of the main four who directly mirror their fairy tale counterparts all seem suspect. But Pohl doesn’t make it so easy. She enraptures readers and keeps them on their toes, even as they reach the book’s conclusion.

Meet the Grimrose girls – Yuki, Rory, Ella, and Nani. First, I can’t talk about these characters without mentioning the delightful array of queer rep they bring. Pohl adeptly includes multiple groups within the queer community. Not only are her main characters queer, but also other major secondary characters as well. 'The Grimrose Girls' is decidedly and shamelessly queer. It’s perfect for LGTBQ+ readers seeking out stories with characters they can relate to – and on more than one level.

Furthermore, Pohl dives right into the psyches of her characters. Readers get to really know these characters. Of course, Pohl does leave some information under lock and key, surely saving more information for the next book. Nevertheless, readers won’t leave the story without feeling some connection to the characters. The girls’ relationship with each other is clear early on. They’re relationships with Ariane are also unveiled. On a more personal level, each girl touches on different topics. Some feel the pressure of believing they must be perfect. Others face rough family dynamics. Yuki, Rory, and Ella all feel a certain amount of guilt about Ari. The characters make this story. Because of their dynamic with each other and their individual personalities, readers will refuse to leave them.

'The Grimrose Girls' provides a solid introduction to Pohl’s new series. Not only does it have the wherewithal to be a standalone, it also leaves a trail of crumbs large enough to guide readers into the sequel. This story is no doubt a dark one. Pohl examines the heavy weight of grief and other personal burdens. The murders within are brutal and gruesome, and Pohl is unapologetic in her descriptions. This book undoubtedly thrives with the tone imbued in original fairy tales.

Despite that darkness, Pohl also ensures there’s still some light at the end of the tunnel. Her protagonists are endearing. They’re courageous and tough as nails. However, they still have moments of vulnerability that makes them all the more human. Their friendship offsets their hardships, bringing humor and joy to readers. I don’t read many twisted fairy tales; they’re just not something I typically seek out. But if they’re anything like 'The Grimrose Girls,' sign me up.

3.5/5 ⭐️

Grimrose Girls is the perfect dark academia meets fairy tale retelling. We follow four friends as they try to solve the mysterious death of their best friend that has a strange connection to past deaths at the school.

Each of the chapters alternate between the four girls and I loved seeing the story from each of their pint of views as they all had their own secrets that got exposed in their internal monologues. I will say that I felt the amount of switching between POVs left the characters a bit under developed. While we get a great idea of who each character is, I feel that we don’t get enough time to connect or care about each of them because there isn’t enough time to delve deeper into each character.

I feel that if I wasn’t so in love with dark academia and retellings I wouldn’t have enjoyed this book as much. I think the mystery was a bit under developed and has a pretty slow pacing without many shock factors that I wanted there to be. Another big issue I had was the magic. I feel that it came out of no where without any build up of it and it made it feel unnatural and unnecessary in the story, especially with how late it was introduced in the story.

I loved all the representation in this book. There was lots of LGBTQ+ representation as well as disability and race rep that I appreciated a lot. My only complaint with the representation was that I wish we saw more of the relationships. While they weren’t the focus of the story, it felt that they were basically unnecessary because each didn’t have enough time to develop and they really only showed up at the end of the book anyway.

I absolutely LOVED the amount of representation ON PAGE in this book, lesbians, an aroace, a biromantic demisexual. AMAZING. I loved all the main characters, I loved the setting, the story, the writing. It was all so fun and interesting and definitely kept me on the edge of my seat needing to know what happened next!
Highly recommend for anyone wanting a queer contemporary fairytale retelling in the vein of Pretty Little Liars meets Once Upon a Time.

This was a fairy good time. I interrupted my Halloween reading list to get back to a few ARC’s, this book being one of them. It was no hardship as this was another one of my more anticipated reads of 2021. I love reading retellings. I especially love sapphic retellings of fairytales, fables, myths and what have you. I love seeing the twists on such classics and especially how someone can put a more modern spin on them. I had a feeling this book would be right up my alley, and I’m happy to say that I really enjoyed it. And while I actually looked at this book as a break from my Halloween reads, this book has this underlining ominous feeling and darkness to it that it actually fits pretty well into this time of year.

This book is YA, magical realism, mystery, and a retelling all wrapped into one. I’m not really going to go into how that all works because part of what makes the book fun is figuring everything out. This is a story about three best girl friends who used to be four. Everyone assumes that the death of their friend was suicide, except them since they know she would never leave without saying goodbye. But if it wasn’t suicide or an accident, it means something much more sinister happened. With the help of a new girl, the group will do whatever it takes to find the answers before it’s too late.

This is my first book by Pohl, -although I have her book The Last 8 and now cannot wait to read it- and I was pleasantly surprised by how quickly I was hooked into this story. It was so easy to keep turning the pages and I ended up reading it in one sitting. The book was super queer and I loved that fact. The characters are lesbian, bi, pan, asexual, and trans and everyone had their own unique voice. While I felt like I connected more to some characters over others –it’s a big cast so that was bound to happen- but I still appreciated that all the characters had their flaws and no one was too perfect. I would not really say that this book had romance in it, but there are two wlw and one m/f couple that all have some feels brewing.

The mystery of the story was pretty entertaining. There are actually two big mysteries. What happened to their friend and what is happening in general. While the mysteries are not the hardest to figure out, it is still really fun as a reader finding out if there is a real killer on the loose or is something magical and unknown going on? It was quite the ride and I enjoyed how it all came together. I also was really happy that while the main storyline was finished, the story as a whole is only just beginning. The way it was done is nice because it is not really a cliffhanger so you can read this first book now without waiting, but there is so much potential of where this story could go that you will be excited to read a book two

TLDR: A fun YA, mystery, retelling. If you are a fairytale fan, than this story really is a must. It has a wonderfully queer cast of characters. While some characters were better developed than others, they all had their personal flaws which made them more relatable and enjoyable to read about. While the mysteries might be on the easier side to figure out, it is more of the journey of the mystery that made the story so much fun. This is a bit darker than I expected so it could actually fit into your Halloween read list. The main story is complete, but I'm really excited to see where book two takes us since there is so much good potential here. I will absolutely be reading it.

The setting of this book takes place at an elite private school where one of the students is found dead. Told in multiple points if view, it’s assumed that it was suicide… or was it? Several of her “friends” try to determine what’s actually happened but not is as it seems.

OH HOW I LOVE ME SOME GOOD, QUEER, DARK ACADAMIA! From the start I found myself completely immersed in the setting--a mysterious elite boarding school, complete with multiple fairytale retellings, and a queer cast of characters. Laura Pohl did a fantastic job of writing The Grimrose Girls. There was a lot of mystery and the writing was not too elaborate but detailed enough to keep me intrigued. The pacing and timing of small reveals throughout the story kept me on the edge of my seat from the very beginning and I thoroughly enjoyed every twist and turn as these retellings unfolded in new and unexpected ways.

TW: MENTIONS OF SUICIDE, PARENTAL PHYSICAL AND EMOTIONAL ABUSE, SELF-HARM AND PARENTAL DEATH

A story about boarding school students trying to solve a mystery intertwined with fairy tales retelling. With loads of mystery, The Grimrose Girls, by Laura Pohl, delivers a deep and somber story rooting in the murky secrets of a prestigious school for very rich people.

The book starts right after Ariane, one of the most treasured students of Grimrose Académie, is found dead drowned in a lake at school grounds. Initially, the police rules the case as an accident or potentially a suicide, but some of the girl’s friends (Ella and Rory, willing, and Yuki, by peer pressure) don’t really believe that version and start to go through their own investigation. They are joined by newcomer Nani, who needs to dive into the school’s past so she can try and find her father, who vanished just before she arrived at the academy. But, while doing that, they might just uncover some sinister matters that revolve around Grimrose Académie’s past.

Grimrose Girls has such a strong story that it makes it difficult not to get involved in it. The book is narrated from four different points of view, and that gives it a good complexity, since the reader can experience it from a good variety of perspectives. Also, the plot just flows really easy, not once losing its pace.

The questions addressed are also really relevant especially during the times we currently live in. The way Pohl approaches such serious matters is noteworthy, being so genuinely sensible about them.

It is, also, a very interesting retelling of many known fairy tales, getting away from the storylines generally used by other books of the kind. How every story is woven into one big plot is spectacularly well done.

Ari's dead. Whether by murder, suicide, or tragic accident, her ending was not happy. She was not a Disney Princess. Now, her friends, Ella, Yuki, and Rory want answers. All carry their own guilt. All carry their own secrets. All have a lot to learn about themselves and one another. A new arrival at the elite Grimrose Academie, Nani Esez, offers to help find what happened to Ari, but she has an ulterior motive, her own mystery to solve.

An entertaining read, this is aptly described as Pretty Little Liars meets Once Upon a Time meets the Descendants. The fairy tales at the heart of the story are supplemented by several other references, and it'll be fun to see where she takes these characters are they really come into their own in book 2.

If you're wondering whether to pick up the start of a series (or duology), I'll say this... The mystery of Ari's death is solved. You're still left with a satisfying enough ending from that standpoint. However, another mystery unfolds, and you're still left with plenty of unknowns. You also don't really see the girls "come into their own," which I assume is coming in the next book. This is more of the start of their journey, and it can be a slow one at times. You will still get a good deal of female friendships and unlikable characters with a lot of predictable plot and some twists thrown in. I'm more interested in this book as a way to get to the next one.

While this book is a dark academia book, it is not a haunted house/school novel. It is also not very atmospheric. That second part is a missed opportunity. There is little description of this castle that is a school with 73 staircases and hidden passageways. I didn't expect Harry Potter, but in a book about fairy tale retellings, I did want something more than a bare bones description of the school.

Representation: You do get some romance, and the LGBTQIA representation is well done in this book. The BIPOC representation is technically there, but the way it's presented is as an afterthought. It's offensive, and the author would do well to either lean into it further in Book 2 or not mention it at all.