The Sisters Grimm is the story of and for women. It’s a lyrical story about sisters and their interweaving relationships, and there was so much to love about it. It’s creative and imaginative, with a plethora of POC and LGBTQIA+ characters and retellings woven throughout a story that ultimately feels infused throughout with magic.

Unfortunately I just couldn’t really get into this the way that I wanted too. There are far too many points of view, meaning the reader never really deeply connects with any of them. The four main sisters all have a special affinity to a particular element, but the jumping between them at odd intervals meant I never really understood the magical system, and as a result the story often gets convoluted and messy. I would have appreciated less view points to help ground myself in the story.

In addition the pacing is incredibly slow. The chapters count down days with lots of background to cover, and at times it really felt like a slog to get through each day. Time stood still as we get some repetitive descriptions of what the sisters were doing, and it get quite old pretty quickly, leaving me bored in places. I felt like a lot of this could have been trimmed down.

There is a lot of potential here for a wonderful feminist take on fairytale, and the writing is lovely, but it lacks a solid structure and has way too many characters to keep me invested.

Unfortunately, this title really wasn’t for me. I don’t know if my expectations were all wrong, but this just didn’t have much going on. I’ve DNF’d after 100 pages of reading about the average everyday goings on of a few girls. The closest we came to excitement was one of them dropping a light onto someone’s head.

There’s clearly a hint of something happening soon, but after thinking that for 100 pages, I can’t keep waiting forever for it to happen.

A sad DNF from me.

Well as soon as I saw the word Grimm I was in! I love fairytales and retellings and this book has a wonderfully subtle spin on various tales threaded through it's own unique plot.

The POV switches rapidly between Goldie in first person and her sisters and Leo in third person, whilst descriptions of Everwhere are told in second person.
That sounds confusing I know but actually it works rather well. I felt the choice of Goldie in first, aswell as beginning the book with her, singles her out as the main character, although Bea, Liyana and Scarlet share the plot equally.

Having Everwhere written in second person increased the dreamlike quality of its description and gave it a personality of it's own; a separate narrator talking directly to the reader.
The timeline alternates between adulthood and childhood for all five characters, giving us their backstory and previous connections to eachother.

Each sister has a romantic connection, I favoured the spin on Beauty and the Beast with character Vali but wasn't a fan of Ezekiel Wolf- I much preferred the relationship between Scarlet and her grandmother.

There are strong themes of maternal neglect and/or abuse within Sisters Grimm. Coupled with an absentee father this made four very independent head strong women, each with an affinity to an element; earth, wind, water or fire.
We follow their heartbreak and struggles as each tries to work out not only who they are, but who they were before.

Highly recommended for fans of low fantasy, coming-of-age and fairytales.

It was a very insightful novel, with a strong cast of characters. I enjoyed the story line very much and would definitely recommend this book.

I love, love, love the premise of this book. The writing throughout had a fairytale, magical quality about it. I thought it was beautiful. The characters were interesting, diverse and pretty good to read about, but I found the way the story moved between each character made it hard to connect with any of them, and I need that as a reader.
I spent a lot of time reading this book and at one point looked down and I was only 40% into it. Each chapter we count down a day and yet it was really dragging its feet to get anywhere. There is a lot of set up. A lot of foreshadowing and while this can work and probably will for a lot of others, it just didn't come together for me.

While for me this was a DNF, I really think those who are wanting a slow burn, character driven book will enjoy it. I hope it does well.

Beautifully written story. Like a fairytale for adults! Clever the way the original Grimm stories are intertwined. A must read.

The Sisters Grimm is a really interesting concept for a novel, and while I enjoyed it on the whole, I found it a bit hard to follow. There’s a good few characters to follow, which makes it hard to keep up, but I liked the premise. Magical realism isn’t the kind of book I usually choose but this was an enjoyable read.

I received an ARC from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

While I appreciated the diversity and their complex and troubled background, they did not speak to me and so the story. The writer did a great job with the multiple POV and it was quite challenging to keep up with everything, as it changed pretty rapidly. Also, because of the lack of sufficient explanation about what is Everwhere, or any indication of how this world was structured, it was also very confusing and repetitive.
In general, it was a slow reading and sometimes with unnecessary swearing. This book also talks about very delicate thematic (abusive relationships), I can’t recommend this book for young readers and it would make more sense if the age of characters was over 18.

The premise of this book sounded intriguing but I didn't really connect with either the storyline or the characters. The writing was beautiful but I was confused in places and bored in others and it was a struggle to read. I can see that I am in a minority and I am glad that others enjoyed it but sadly it just wasn't for me. Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for the chance to review.

This is an intriguing book that subverts the trajectory of traditional fairy tales and celebrates the female. The four sisters, each representing one of the elements, each have their own power that they must acknowledge and learn to control before their 18th birthday. This is no easy task, as each girl must face real, human struggles and rise above these challenges. They must also believe in themselves and refuse to bow down to a traditional subservient role in a patriarchal society. This felt empowering and inclusive and is sure to appeal to many readers. Twisted amongst the real-life are the girls nightly dream visits to the mysterious and atmospheric Everwhere, where they meet and learn more about their powers and develop free from the male gaze.
However, the book often felt repetitive and the plot slow-paced, despite the frequent jumps between the numerous characters. With only Goldie speaking in the first person, and the other characters actions described, I only ever viewed the girls as symbolic figures rather than real characters, and this was only heightened by the flashbacks to the girl's childhood memories. It was this disconnect to the characters than unfortunately lowered my rating to three stars.

My thanks go to the publishers and Net Galley for the advanced copy in return for an honest review.

The synopsis of this book was so good and i really enjoyed it. It was magical and full of strong female characters. I really liked everything in this book. Especially the magical atmosphere. Highly recommended.

I found the start to this confusing and very disjointed and I don’t think it gave a very healthy message about abusive relationships. I enjoyed the story itself, the writing was lovely and the sisters I loved, but for me I can’t get over the fact that it’s selling a message to readers that they should stick with an abusive partner as you can change them, due to this I can’t recommend this book sadly.


Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a free copy for an honest opinion

I nearly DNF'ed this book 4 times while reading it, and honestly, it might have been better if I just put it away. I felt like the start is just too confusing. You get thrown into the lives of several different people, without really knowing who they are.

The other thing I really didn't like.. You get to know someone that can't wait to kill one of the MCs, and in the end he's just changed? I didn't buy it.. I also don't think themes like that are necessary to write a good book. Maybe the physical copy will be better? I truly hope so.

I was so confused by the start of this that I very nearly gave it up as a bad job.

The narration jumps not just between 5 different characters but also two different times, giving a short burst from each one before cycling back round to the start. It took at least a third of the book before I got a grasp on it, I felt like every time I started to get into the story it threw me back out again.

I don't like the idea that abusive men can be changed by love and that felt like a very strong theme here. Leo comes across as almost a psychotic killer, murdering the Grimm Sisters every chance he gets in revenge for one of them killing his friend - even though it was self-defence. But he meets Goldie and even though at first, he only wants to find out her weaknesses to make it easier to kill her, his love for her changes him to the point where he would die to protect her.

What kind of message does that send to young people that might be reading this book? Don't give up on abusive partners because your love might be the thing that saves them? Personally I think that Goldie should have run very far and very fast to get away from Leo.

Unhealthy relationship issues aside, the writing style I found captivating and when I got the hang of the jumping around and got into the flow of it I found it a beautiful story to read. The character development - the glimpses into their lives and their personalities is in-depth and insightful. I did start to enjoy it but then I found the ending super rushed and I found it overwhelming for all that build-up to end so abruptly.

I just can't get past my issues with the way it portrays relationships though and that, added to the difficult start and rushed ending, is a massive let down for what could otherwise have been a jewel of a book.

First off, I have to say a huge thank you to Netgalley and Random House UK, Transworld Publishers for allowing me to read an advanced copy of this amazing book. I knew from the moment I saw the glorious cover and read the blurb that this was a story I was going to love. I wasn't wrong. The Sisters Grimm is beautifully written and I have a feeling this is going to be huge YA hit in 2020.

Where to begin...this story is told in the most beautiful and vivid way that pulls you deep in to the pages and setting. A fantastic job by the author. It does take a while to get to grips with everything as there are multiple points of view and many of them are quite short so it does take a while to get to know each of the characters, but once you do, wow. The story goes back and forth between the present day countdown to the sisters' 18th birthdays and when they were eight years old. This all culminates to bring the story together and once it clicks and everything falls into place, you really won't want to put the book down.

Goldie was my favourite character and her story is told in first person point of view. I felt for her and her struggles and her strength really shone through. Scarlett was another character that really gripped me as did Bea when we got to see her inner beauty and her caring side. Liyana is the fourth sister and her storyline was rather intriguing too. In all, all the sisters had a great storyline that dealt with teenage struggles, loss, death, mental health, issues and more. They were all interwoven and threaded through the story.

This is a story that creeps up on you, drawing you in slowly, pulling you into the world of Everwhere with its vivid descriptions and the potential for so much more. I found myself reading late into the night, trying desperately to keep my eyes open so I could get through another chapter.

This YA story covers so much and has so many themes interwoven through the narrative that it will resonate with everyone. There's love, life, personal growth and struggles, self acceptance, and more. The writing is exquisite and I'm so glad I got the chance to read it. The ending left me heartbroken for Goldie and Leo but as devastating as it was it showed the power of working together, uniting, and fighting as one.

If you're a fan of fairytales and magic thrown into the real world you'll love The Sisters Grimm.

Let's talk about fairytales.

Look I love stories that have Princesses, Witches, Princes and a true love's kiss. I love pumpkin carriages, love at first sight, enchanted sleep and daring tower rescues, of course I do.

But……...

More than that, I love those old school tales. The ones that have twisted, sick, moral messages attached to them and very violent, bloody endings. I like the creepy way we use them to scare children into behaving. I love the magic of them. I love the way we tell them as if they are family stories handed down from generation to generation. Basically I love fairytales.

And this includes retellings, reimaginings and modernised versions of them. And let’s be honest the bookshelves of our libraries and our bookstores are full of them at the moment.

The Sisters Grimm firmly falls into the latter group of fairytale books - it is dark, let me preface all of the below with that statement. When I saw The Sisters Grimm on NetGalley I knew I had to try to get a copy! Clearly my bookish Fairy Godmother was listening because I got approved for an E-Arc.

The problem with the app I get my E-Arc’s on is that it never comes with the cover art, so I have to get on the old Google and Nancy Drew it!

On this occasion Google gave me both the UK and US cover art. The UK cover is stunning! It's classy and magical, dark and enticing, however, it was the US cover, featuring images of our four empowered women, that drew me in. The cover is awash with bolder, brighter colours which hint at the power within the story.

The blurb that I read is below. Although it made me want to read the book in hindsight I feel it doesn't do it enough justice:

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This is the story of four sisters Grimm – daughters born to different mothers on the same day, each born out of bright-white wishing and black-edged desire. They found each other at eight years-old, were separated at thirteen and now, at nearly eighteen, it is imperative that they find each other once again.
In thirty-three days they will meet their father in Everwhere. Only then will they discover who they truly are, and what they can truly do. Then they must fight to save their lives and the lives of the ones they love. Three will live, one will die. You’ll have to read on to find out who and why…

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The Sisters Grimm isn't so much a retelling as a merging of fairytale fantasy and real world drama. This book is the product of fairytale heroines battling everyday life and battling to find their own strengths as women, as adults, as forces to be reckoned with. This is about fairytale descendants getting a feminist makeover and then going toe to toe with the magical patriarchy.

The story focuses on the power of women; the truth behind the sentiment that there is strength in numbers. The struggle for power between women and men and sisterhood. The multiple POV storytelling is right up my alley and each female voice is clearly and remarkably different - which can be tricky to master but was delivered really well.

The storytelling itself is lush, vibrant, vivid and Menna van Praag paints such a brilliantly clear picture of Everwhere that it becomes a character in and of itself; I could clearly see it in my mind as I read each page.

However, I did struggle to get into the book at first. For some reason the first 200 pages, which are crucial to setting up the whole story and really necessary to give you an insight into each of our four protagonists, were really slow reading for me. But once I’d pushed through those the pace of the book picked up and suddenly I couldn't put it down. I could feel the story hurtling towards an epic and somewhat painful conclusion and I wondered why I’d had a hard time getting into it. Even now I still don’t know why and I would caution anyone thinking of reading this book not to be put off by my struggle.

The last 100 pages were a proper roller coaster ride of emotion for me. With at least two major plot twists that I had not seen coming and a character arc that broke my heart. The end of this story was a real winner for me!

This is a fantasy book, without a doubt, but the issues the sisters face are real. Struggling with acceptance, struggling with self identity, struggling with illness, struggling with death, struggling with family. All things we face in the real world.

I do feel that this book should have trigger warnings, which I am going to list here, obviously if you don’t want any spoilers about the book before hand then ignore this part:

1. Self Harm
2. Mental Health Issues
3. Dementia/Alzheimer's disease
4. LGBTQ (as in the struggle to come out/identify openly)
5. Sexual Abuse (Implied/mentioned but not overtly described)
6. Arranged Marriage

A little more info on point 4 here. So one of the characters is LGBTQ and this is great because it is very casually part of the story. However, I did take issue with the way a certain family member dealt with the reveal - which in my opinion was very blase and dismissive without really discussing it or connecting with it. As a member of the LGBTQ community myself it is important for me to see our issues represented in many various ways within books, especially fantasy books. I think what I’m trying to say is that I wish more fantasy books just normalised LGBTQ characters and just made everyone chill about it - so that it becomes something that isnt ‘other’ or ‘different’ and isn't something used as a plot device or a motive/trauma for action.

Okay spoilery rant over.

My favourite character had to be Bea. Her voice is fierce and bold and unapologetic which I adored. She grows and changes throughout the story which I really appreciate. I also need to give an honorable mention to Scarlet and her Grandma’s obsession with cinnamon rolls - every time they were mentioned (which was a lot by the way) I could feel my mouth watering and wanted one! In fact even writing this makes me want one!

To wrap up I’d like to say that this is a good book. It is worth a read. I struggled getting into it, but just because I did doesn't mean you will, and once I did push through - this book ticks a lot of my boxes. It is a strong female lead fantasy about sisterhood above all else.

The book publishes on the 6th February 2020 (31st March 2020 in the US) and you get pre-order from all the normal places.

Sadly not one for me. I was highly anticipating this book, but I was quite disappointed it didn't turn out the way I expected it to be.
First of all, us it always necessary to put sexual assault and abuse in the story to make characters more evil and show that the main character has a hard life?
I was honestly not prepared for this in the first few pages and it did immediate damage for me not liking this book.
I couldn't connect with any of the characters and I found the story quite confusing and having some pacing issues. It reminded me a bit of The Shrike that I recently read and also disliked. It seems I have had some bad luck with fairytale re-tellings lately.

Thank you Netgalley for providing me with the opportunity to review this book. Sadly this is not my cup of tea.

This mystical tales weaves the story of 4 sisters who possess the power of the elements, they don’t remember each other as they don’t grow up together but they will come together one day in another world to discover each other and there powers.

Very well written and a compelling read, the multiple perspectives was done well which can make or break a book. Is unique and compelling.

The characters are well developed, all having their own voice and that really shines through. A fast read that will grab you in and magically enthrall you.

I enjoyed parts of this story, but unfortunately, I did not like the book as a whole. I didn’t find the plot or the antagonist compelling, and I really wish Goldie hadn’t been the main character, because I thought her storyline and character arc was the least developed and compelling of the four girls. Goldie’s insta-love, both for her brother and Leo really undermined her development, and I enjoyed her interactions with Liyana far more than her poorly motivated romance.
I did not like or sympathise with Leo, and I wish he hadn’t been involved. I think the sisters should have had more contact with each other, and I didn’t like the additions of self-harm, incest and sexual assault. Some of it may have been necessary for backstory, but at times it seemed like it was included simply to hammer home that a character was evil, which seemed unnecessary.
I think Johann Grimm (whose name was never explained) was a two-dimensional and underwhelming antagonist, and his over-the-top ‘evil’ and seeming omniscience didn’t do anything to help the pacing of the book. The sister’s interactions with Grimm definitely contributed to how boring he came across, there is no meaningful dialogue between the protagonists and the antagonist, how is the showdown supposed to be compelling without this?
I also found myself wishing at several points that the characters had been older. I think the magical coming-of-age date being shifted to twenty-one would have made the backstory of Scarlet and Goldie in particular more believable. There were a lot of mechanics in the book that didn’t get explained properly, and others that got overexplained. The amount of times we were told the phase of the moon it took to enter Everwhere was countless, but tidbits about Grimm girls getting locked out when they turned thirteen, the lessened ability to do magic in the real world, who or what their father is (and why he’s named Johann Grimm) and how stars are recruited were haphazardly thrown in in a way I found annoying rather than engrossing.
The pacing of this book was lacklustre, and while I was invested in Liyana, Scarlet and Bea’s storylines, I did have to force myself to keep reading at times. The underlying narrative force of the book (the countdown to their eighteenth birthday) failed to truly inspire a sense of urgency, and the showdown was likewise underwhelming. I wish there’d been more focus on the sisters, and the way they interact, and I wish more of the book had focussed on them growing into their power. If Leo and the unnecessary romance angle had been scrapped, and the focus had instead been on the four girls; their intertwined struggles, personality and powers; and their eventual meeting for some greater goal, I think the book would have been much stronger and more enjoyable.
The narrator changes were fun, and I really enjoyed reading the different perspectives offered, but at times the perspectives changed too rapidly for the scenes to really have impact. Perhaps I’m being too harsh, however, as the quick-cycling narrator changes happened most often with Goldie and Leo, and as I’ve already mentioned, I did not enjoy their parts in this book.
I enjoyed Bea as a character, and I really enjoyed the philosophical nature vs nurture debate as regards morality that was set up nicely regarding her home life and personal aspirations. That being said, I kept waiting for her to meet up with her sisters, and when she finally did I was very unhappy with the slapdash, meaningless way their interactions unfolded. She deserved better, and the way she became two-dimensional at the end of the book was a waste of a well-developed, interesting character.
I wish the potential abilities of the Grimm girls was explored further, and also Scarlet’s mother’s history. Her story (especially contrasted with Bea’s mother) would have been an interesting way to build the world and explain the in-world mechanics of the book in an interesting way, that also contributed to character development for Scarlet and Bea. I think this was a wasted opportunity, but even were it to be developed in a future book, I doubt I’d be interested in reading it. Ezekial Wolfe’s inclusion in the book was likewise a letdown.
Liyana’s backstory and relationship dynamics with her sisters, aunt and girlfriend were great! Her interactions with her potential fiancé was also fascinating, and I wish the book had spent more time on Liyana in general. Scarlet could also have been developed further; I think a more balanced backstory would have really helped to increase the emotional investment in both the characters and story.
I think the representation of various backgrounds, and the intrinsic ways this effected both the girls' personal lives and the way they experience the world, was included fantastically well. The dialogue included on various topics—racism, natural hair, arranged marriage, the culturally varied treatment of sexual minorities and more—while a little heavy handed at times, was a great addition to The Sisters Grimm.
It’s been a while since I’ve felt the need to mention trigger warnings for a book, but I really think they’re required for this one. Don’t read The Sisters Grimm if you’re sensitive to mentions of—child abuse, incest, self-harm, violence or murder. There are also (consensual) sex scenes involving seventeen-year-olds, which, depending on your country of residence, may be underage.
I will look out for books from this author in future, as the characters she created are (for the most part) interesting and well-developed, and the commentary interwoven with the plot was relevant and insightful. That being said, I wouldn’t recommend this book unless plot isn’t a priority for you, or you’re reading more for interesting and relatable characters.

Firstly, a huge thanks to Netgalley & Random House UK for giving me the opportunity to read this book.

This is a book of life, love, growth, development & self-knowledge. It is set in both this world and another - Everwhere and has a lot of very positive, poetic & beautiful facets.

The story is multi-layered, four sisters, unknown to one another & their finding & growth individually & together to face the challenge that is to come on their 18th birthday.

There is a lot about this book that is really great, the descriptive & beautiful writing, but it is seriously hampered by the jumping from one character to another across multiple time zones, past & present. The world-building is wondrous, I really could see Everwhere & feel the leaves as they constantly fell. I could feel the gentle rain, the heat, the earth, the fire & forests.

However, inconsistent & scattered timelines diminished my joy in this world & empathy was lost to inconsistent character development & back stories, key events are not given the recognition they deserve.

TBH I struggled to read this, not because of the story or the beauty of the writing, but the format. As the story jumped from one character to another, backwards & forwards in time I lost track of characters. The effect was that I mixed up their back stories, their lives & kept having to back-pedal.

At mid-point I was ready to give up and not finish. However, I did and I’m so glad I did, because the end is fulfilling, devastating, joyous and heart-lifting.

There is a lot of beauty, wonder, strength, female empowerment & unity in this story, but I’m sorry to say that IMO the way it flits between time zones & characters destroys the flow & weakens a powerful story.