Laura Pohl

Four troubled friends, One murdered girl... and a dark fate that may leave them all doomed. After the mysterious death of their best friend, Ella, Yuki, and Rory are the talk of their elite school, Grimrose Academy. The police ruled it a suicide, but the trio are determined to find out what really happened. When Nani Esvez arrives as their newest roommate, it sets into motion a series of events they couldn't have imagined. As the girls retrace their friend's last steps, they uncover dark secrets about themselves and their destinies--discovering they're all cursed to repeat the brutal and gruesome endings to their stories until they can break the cycle. This contemporary take on classic fairytales reimagines heroines as friends attending the same school. While investigating the murder of their best friend, they uncover connections to their ancient fairytale curses and attempt to forge their own fate before it's too late. Praise for The Last 8: "This debut is, at times, both joyful and heartbreaking ... Pohl's characters are tough, funny, and brave as they manage to persevere despite the debilitating weight of grief."--Booklist "With its powerful world building and emotional twists, The Last 8 is a beautifully fresh take on the idea of an alien apocalypse."--Foreword Reviews "A sci-fi romp with ample intergalactic twists to keep readers satisfied."--Kirkus Reviews

A Beautiful Doom

Kimmy Hobden

kelsey

i have no clue what just happened shouldve dnf this, i feel like i read a whole different book then the people who has rated this

arwen

Ellie M.

What a chilling and unique take on murder mystery. It’s also unapologetically queer! The Grimrose Girls is a combination of sapphic, thriller, and fantasy and is an absolutely gorgeous book. The story is intensely beautiful and will take you through a story of four girls, one dead friend, and the classic fairytale stories with their twisted endings. In my perspective, the storytelling is absolutely remarkable and plotwise, I haven’t read anything like it before! It is without a doubt, going to be one of my unforgettable reads this year.

grace richards

gay fairytales! gay fairytales! gay fairytales!

Courtney

2⭐️. I wanted to love this book. I read the synopsis, heard great things about the mystery and diversity of the characters, but man was I let down. 

The novel promised so much but delivered nothing. The characters were flat and one dimensional with problematic representation. There was no development or explanation of story lines- the magic, the ritual. It was so slow and honestly made it 50% through with NOTHING of significance happened. All we got was some background of characters but no real depth. The mystery was so drawn out that I forgot I was supposed to be looking for a mystery. The plot twist at the end was very predictable. I also got no answers, I finished it because it was wasy to read- it didn’t require me to think at all or remember anything. 

This was not the book for me.

Carrington Kinslow

“You told me to want things, I wanted you dead. ” 

This book was incredible! Super entertaining, mysterious and eerie. I loved how classic fairytales were incorporated and that this still remained wholly original. This is an incredible cast of characters for a book that is above all, a love story between friends. The girls of Grimrose have such a wonderful friendship and I loved their dynamics so much. This book kept me on edge and I could not put it down. If you’re looking for some dark academia murder mystery with a slight fantasy edge, I highly recommend The Grimrose Girls!

4.5/5 Stars

Chelsea van Rer

2.49
i had high expectations for this and they were not met AT ALL. its a disgrace to pretty little liars that this book is compared it, because not only is it NOT SIMILAR TO PRETTY LITTLE LIARS AT ALL (it literally takes a fantasy turn 😭), but it is somehow WORSE. 
this book reminded me a lot of how we fall apart, which i also didnt like. 
like, it just wasnt good. nothing happened until over halfway through the book, and the things that did happen were horrifically explained. 
none of the characters were likeable. the multiple pov didnt work well.
i agree with all the one and two star reviews of this book. 
also, nothing really to do with the book, but the audiobook narration was TERRIBLE. ella and nanis accents were horrifying!!!!!!!

oh wow this was soo good the plot was soo compelling i couldn't put it down (fairytales and murder 10/10) also the found family was everything to me , all the main characters yuki rory nina ella were soo well written and them grieving over their dead friend was so well represented and i related to it alot , the side ships were also perfect just hit after hit I HIGHLY RECOMMEND !! also i cannot wait for the second book

l.h.

somehow managed to get an old arc of this book for free. i found the writing style and characters a bit juvenile, but the premise was intriguing, especially the fairytale twists.

marilynn

you tell me that this was a dark academia book with an all lgbtqia+ cast with some dealing with chronic pain, ocd, and anxiety, a story that sent chills down my spine, and i have to WAIT for book 2???? cruel, evil even.

Livia

3.5/5 stars


for all the aroace and demi and sapphic in this book, i love this book and i adore it. but i do admit some parts are slightly lacking, and the mystery was really great. it's both obvious but also the more subtle hints weren't dropped anywhere, which is kind of sad.

Holly

Overall, the plot and premise were incredibly interesting, but a lot of the smaller elements did not seem to flow well in my opinion. Enjoyable, but a bit disappointing.

Samantha Milfort

** spoiler alert **
           I don’t have words for this book and honestly it’s not even the writing style that I dislike the most. There were parts I enjoyed, but ultimately this book has two things a load of queerbaiting and a plot that could have been great if it was constructed more and given depth. I loved the fairytale aspect and the physical disability rep was ok! There was one part that had super ableist undertones in my opinion when Rory was in the coffee shop and I did not like that. This book had so many things going for it I was sure I was going to rate it a 3 or 3.5 but then I got to the last 20% and all I felt was anger. 

I could make a whole video about my problems with this book 

1. I really dislike Yuki’s character and even her arc and place in the story felt out of place. She had really mean moments and I get she’s a teenager but like the way of how she was so possessive about her friends I could not stand. I petition to make Yuki the villain in the next book please, at least that might make things interesting. If I was Ella I would not forgive her so easily and it made me so upset when she did!! But it’s true to her character so…

I liked Nani and Ella 

Does anyone know if Ella is demisexual because I love! I know Rory is demiromantic

Might read the sequel, might not 

ALSO THE FACT THAT THE STRAIGHT RELATIONSHIP GOT THE MOST DEVELOPMENT OUT OF ALL THE QUEER PARINGS MADE ME SO MAD AND IT WAS SURFACE LEVEL DEVELOPED AT BEST. 

TW: Queerbaiting, Emotional Manipulation and Abuse, Neglect, Murder

Sarah Slocum 

Dark academia, curses, fairytales…. Enroll in the Grimrose Académie to experience all this and more. (Side effects may include a not so happily ever after.)
The Grimrose Girls pulled me in from the first line and did not disappoint. It follows four girls attending an elite boarding school where a mysterious death starts the school year. It has you guessing and not trusting anyone (my favorite part of mysteries).
Amazing representation from the LGBTQ+ community and cultural representation from all over (considering it’s a boarding school for the rich).
Make sure to check content warnings before reading❤️

Dilayra Verbrugh

Fairytales, lots of LGBTQ characters, diversity, mystery, boarding school, short chapters and dark academia! 
This book was a bit slow in the beginning but once I was around p80 I couldn’t put the book down! It was amazing and I didn’t even guess the ending! Loved it 
🥰

allie

3.5 stars.

Thank you to Netgalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I really adored the premise of Grimrose Girls. The blurb alone made it one of my most anticipated reads of the year. Set at an isolated and elite boarding school/castle, the novel follows a close-knit group of girls as they investigate the mysterious death of their best friend and unwittingly discover the dark secrets that lurk inside the castle’s walls. 

One of the things that really makes Grimrose Girls stand out is that it’s a dark academia murder-mystery that doubles as a contemporary reimagining of classic fairy tales. As the story unfolded, I loved seeing how Pohl incorporated elements of these tales into both the plot and the characters. Rather than relying on the more well-known versions that end in "happily ever after", Pohl draws inspiration from the darker, gritter fairy tales written by the Grimm Brothers and Hans Christian Andersen, which only adds to the eerie atmosphere that persists throughout the novel. 

The book also has a great cast of diverse and queer characters. The four protagonists—Ella, Yuki, Rory, and Nani—all come from different backgrounds and each one identifies as part of the LGBTQIA+ community. Ella and Rory also deal with mental health issues (anxiety and OCD) and chronic pain respectively. The story itself is told through multiple points of view and I really enjoyed getting to read about each girl's unique character arc. I just wish that the chapters for each POV were either a bit longer or that the novel itself didn’t switch between the protagonists as frequently. I was a bit thrown whenever the perspectives switched, especially near the beginning of the story, because it felt like I didn’t get to spend long enough with one girl before I had to start reading about the next one. 

My only other issue with this book is the pacing. The story, at least for me, was slow to start and it took me a while to become really engaged. And because it took a bit for the plot to get moving, I felt like certain aspects of the world, specifically the magical elements, were not as explored as much as I would have liked. However, the ending of this book does give me hope that the sequel will delve more into this side of things and what it means for Ella, Yuki, Rory, and Nani! 

Content warnings: mentions of suicide, parental physical and emotional abuse, self-harm, parental death, anxiety, OCD, and light gore.

Lucía RG

Thank you Netgalley for giving me a copy of this in exchange for an honest review 😊

This book has been a ride! Once again, I didn't thoroughly read the synopsis and didn't realise there was fantasy until about 20% in, but that is just part of the reading experience at this point! I am a fan of the who-dun-it mysteries, and if it is set on a boarding school, I am so in. 

The premise of the story was super interesting! It did have some PLL vibes, but less hardcore (except for the ending because WOW). As for the characters, I have a lot of mixed feelings. There were some characters that I really liked, like Ella or Pippa, and other that I liked most of the time, like Rory and Nani. However, there were other characters that I didn’t really like, such as Yuki, Penelope and even Ari (I know she is dead but they said some things about her that I didn’t like, like her being mean). 

There are so many open questions! Like Nani’s father or the mystery surrounding Rory’s family, so I sure will be keeping an eye on the second part of this series! 
Also (view spoiler)[ how easy does murder come for all of these girls?  

All in all, I enjoyed this book, and I would give it a 3.5 if I could. (hide spoiler)]

A Beautiful Doom

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