Opinions: All I need to say is that there is a reason why it took me so long to read and review The Sisters Grimm. In my opinion, the book progressively improved but only enough that I notice this pattern having finished the book; reading was a chore and it took me much longer to finish The Sisters Grimm than I had anticipated. There simply wasn't enough vigor to keep me engaged! Although it may be my fault I began reading with such high expectations due to the title's juxtaposition with the Brothers Grimm, I believe the author/publisher/etc should've taken into account that readers would have high hopes for this exact reason. For your information, The Sisters Grimm is NOT a retelling of the original fairytales. It is new, chiq, and very unique. In short, The Sisters Grimm was not what I was expecting nor would I have picked it up if I knew what I would be getting into.

My Favourite Thing: Despite my general disliking of The Sisters Grimm, I must applaud the diversity of the characters and themes! The journey is led by four kick-ass heroines who shed enough light over the dodgy writing style to earn the book a few stars. If Menna van Praag had not dedicated as much time into producing the sound, consistent themes of bravery and gallantry, The Sisters Grimm would not dispense the same magic and atmosphere as it does.

My Least Favourite Things: Get ready for an information dump! In my opinion, the narrative was incomprehensible due to the rapidly changing perspectives, and subsequently, I cared less about the individual sisters because readers aren't provided with enough insight about any of them to form a relationship. Switching POVs every few chapters made it difficult to care about any of the character's feelings. Complimenting this, and I'm fully aware this makes me sound like a bad feminist, I believe van Praag tried too hard to make this a girl-power book. In my opinion, just because the Brothers Grimm exist doesn't mean there must be the Sisters Grimm! I wouldn't consider the four sisters Mary Sues, but they certainly only exist to show that women can do just as much as men. I believe this is a fair reason to write a book but if you don't have a reasonable plot to go with it, the intention becomes very transparent. Last but not least, The Sisters Grimm is not for teenagers but it has a YA tone that, on top of adult themes and content, makes it undesirable. 

These are all my opinions. I sincerely hope you enjoyed The Sisters Grimm more than I did!

I wanted to like this book more then I did.  It was a little all over the place with the different perspectives, but the world building was fantastic!

The repetitive nature up until the end of the book was part of the slow pacing for me.

Maybe if it was broken up into two books with more...fleshing out it would've been better.

New fantasy fiction from the author of The House At The End Of Hope Street and The Dress Shop of Dreams. This is a bit of a departure from her previous novels, but still an engaging magical adventure.

The Sisters Grimm is a new fantasy novel by Menna Van Praag. The entirety is told through the point of view narration of five protagonists, the four sisters; Goldie, Liyana, Scarlet and Bea, and Leo, a sort of spiritual brother to them, who must also kill one of them.

I’ll start with a few positives so the reader can make their own decisions. The characters are diverse, that’s nice. They all come from different ethnic and class backgrounds, Liyana’s relationship with her girlfriend was cute. The otherworld (spirit world? Hell?) of Everwhere was nicely described. There’s a lot of nice language.

Now for the downsides.

The main word I would use to describe this book is “unclear”. 

https://thefuriousgazelle.com/2020/04/22/menna-van-praag/

I've enjoyed some of Menna van Praag's earlier books, and the premise of this book sounded wonderful, but it left me with mixed feelings.

The individual characters were interesting and their individual stories intrigued, but I feel like I spent half of the book being entirely confused. The changes in the multiple points of view threw me the most because I was always confused about who was speaking and had to go back to the chapter title to keep people straight. Maybe their voices were too similar in the story-telling, maybe it was the jumping around - usually, I'm good with time switches and character changes, but something here just didn't click.

I loved idea of the Grimm and choosing between good and evil. The writing was descriptive, and at times really lyrical and visual, but I did like the characters, but I really struggled to follow what was going on at times,

I wasn't able to read the book but it will be featured in a series called "I Wish I'd Read That'. Text below:

The Sisters Grimm sounds like the kind of magical dark fantasy that’s easy to get lost in. Between the promised cast of closely knit characters, a mystical other world, and a sense of impending doom, I was excited to dive right in. I wasn’t able to get to this one but with comparisons to some of fantasy’s top authors, I’m sure it’s a must-read. I’d love to hear what all of you thought of the world-building and character work! Read more about the author and book below, or purchase a copy for yourself. And of course, a big thank you to Harper Voyager for the free review copy!

Despite the pacing being a bit choppy and the timeline being a bit difficult to follow at times— this dark, imaginative story of four sisters realizing and recognizing their strengths really latched me in. Adding in the Grimm Brothers’ was the cherry on top.

I love the premise of this book, but I just can’t say I really liked it. It was interesting and there were parts that were really captivating.  However, l overall I spent so much of the book being entirely confused that I don’t feel like I just read a whole story. I feel more like the parts I enjoyed were short stories from the lives of these characters. I think a lot of this had to do with the changes in time in addition to the multiple points of view. I never could quite put my finger on who had what information when and where on the timeline I was. The characters, though they had some differences, were very similar in a lot of ways, which made it very difficult to remember who was speaking when. There are definitely moments that were lyrical, gritty, and beautiful, but for me those were swamped with confusion.

i really enjoyed reading this book, the characters were great and I really enjoyed the plot. It felt unique to me and I really liked the way the author writes.

This book was such a girl power read with so many fantastic female leads. The world and magic in this book was out if this world I liked everything about it.

I loved the concept of this novel and the characters involved. Such a great concept, it had a lot of potential for drama and action. Unfortunately, the constant perspective switching and lack of progress in the storyline makes for a difficult read. It is truly a dark story, gritty, and deals with a lot of very deep, dark issues. The sisters are very engaging and draw you into their world and trials, but the lack of progress and the sheer volume of unneeded material can bog down reading progress.

Wow! Wow! Wow!!! A true delight this magical read was just perfect! Finding the light among the darkness and not giving up hope. These sisters will fight for what is right even if it costs them everything! A must read ! Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for my ARC copy in exchange for my honest opinion!

Giving this the benefit of the doubt and giving 3 stars, but really more of a 2.5. I received this through NetGalley, but ended up listening to it on audio since it's such a BEAST of a text. I really agree with the general consensus that The Sisters Grimm could have been cut down by 100-150 pages. There was soooo much information that we honestly just didn't need. I genuinely fell in love with the characters, world, and magic system, but the story itself dragged. I really wish it was shorter. I would honestly consider maybe picking this one up from the library and attempting to read it physically. Maybe it would help or maybe I would just get even more frustrated by the unnecessary length. We shall see. Overall, average. It would have been way more had it been cut down and more to the point.

*Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Collins for an advanced copy!*

I enjoyed this book because it was very witchy to me. I love when women are portrayed as elementals because it seems very empowering. Like you are one with nature and nature is everywhere.  Everything is very connected. So my little side tangent asid this book was all about females kicking  butt and taking names. I have always been a fan of the Grimm brothers stories and how dark they are and this didn't disappoint. The only confusing part for me was the multiple POVs (there were 9 or 10 I think and they were told in the the past and the present). So while I enjoyed this book it was hard to keep track of when and who was talking.

Really loved the storyline and enjoyed getting to know the characters but it did get confusing at times trying to follow who was speaking or who's point of view I was reading.  Would love to get even more backstory and more detail since some parts seemed choppy and rushed through.  All in all, a great read and interested to see if it becomes a series or if there are other books from Leo and the soldiers' points of view.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing an Advanced Reader Copy of this title in exchange for an honest review. 

I unfortunately DNF'd this book at 22%. I really wanted to give it this title a chance because the synopsis really intrigued me, but I really couldn't get into it. I definitely think that the writing style does not agree with me; mostly because it is very confusing and as an ESL reader it was hard to follow.

I enjoyed reading several aspects of this book! The pacing was wonderful, characters were well drawn, and the reading experience on the whole was delightful.

Love the cover! Beautiful book on the inside and out. This book offers hope and heartbreak in equal measure. Great ending, can’t wait for the next book.

I was originally drawn to this book because of the beautiful cover.   The book did not disappoint and I recommend it.

I've been slowly making my way through this since December. Very slowly. The premise for this is interesting and the cover is gorgeous, but for me it was just really weirdly written and set at a glacial pace. Also warning: incest, sexual assault, child abuse, self-harm, suicidal tendencies, and a bit of explicit content. I liked the idea of girl empowerment, sisterly bonds, and people finding their own voices and what makes them unique.  However, none of that was enough to cover the rest of this jumbled mess for me. If you get about 20% in and you're not enjoying it, you're probably not going to.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Voyager for providing me with an e-ARC, however all thoughts and opinions are my own. I'm sorry, I just didn't enjoy it.