This felt like it could have benefited from further editing. The set up took so long that I assumed this was going to turn out to have a sequel coming, but instead it turned out that the ending was just incredibly quick. The premise was incredibly interesting and I enjoyed the transformation of the mythologies and fairy tales underpinning the story.

***Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Thank you Netgalley and Harper Voyager!***

The first thing that drew me to this book was the cover. I mean, look at it. It is probably one of the most gorgeous book covers that I have ever seen. Then the title. The Sisters Grimm. Immediately my mind is drawn to fairy tales. I love fairy tales. And I love fairy tell re-tellings. But this book is a perfect example of a good idea that got beaten to death with poor writing and poor execution.

***SPOILER ALERT: Be aware, this is a spoilery review. The ranty ones typically are.




The basic idea of this book is that a demon (Wilhelm I think his name was) has fathered thousands of sisters Grimm on earth. I am not sure if this is metaphysical thing or a biological thing, but some of the daughters have mothers who are also Grimm sisters. So, ew, I imagine at some point in the history of this world we had some incest. As children, the Grimm sisters can come and go from “Everywhere”, a magical forest, as they please. But as they age they forget this place until about a month before their 18th birthday, which is when they start to remember and get their powers back. Wilhelm also has soldiers, who are transformed into babies from stars (WTF?), and their life’s mission is to kill Grimm sisters on their 18th birthdays. Then something about the Grimm sisters who survive have to choose good or evil and then their father kills them if they choose good and then….well, the author didn’t both to tell me what happens then.

That was my first big problem with this book. Despite being 400 pages long, the author didn’t bother to explain anything to me. I have no idea how the world works, how the magic works, why things are this way, or what the rules are. I am not even clear on what the sisters’ powers are. Scarlet can start fires, Liyana can telepathically listen in on other people’s minds, Bea can transform things with her mind. And I have no idea what Goldie can do except mentally tell people what to do and they sometimes listen. And all of them have other powers that randomly appear and don’t seem to relate to anything else they can do, at all.

Since we’re talking about the girls, let’s talk about how utterly devoid of personality all of them are. I honestly could not tell the difference between any of them until someone used their name or until Bea or Liyana would occasionally throw in a non-English word into an otherwise entirely English conversation….seemingly in order to remind me that they were the book’s representation of other ethnicities and cultures.

Now let’s talk about the technicals of the writing. It was bad. It was the single most confusing book that I have ever read. There are SO MANY narrators. Everywhere (yes the forest is a narrator), Goldie, Scarlet, Bea, Liyana, Leo, Wilhelm, Liyana’s aunt….and I am pretty sure there were a few others in there that I’m forgetting too. Between these narrators, some of them are told in first person, some in second person, and some in third person. And the narrator changes approximately every page and a half. With me so far? Now let’s throw in some chapters in the past for some extra fun so that we have past tense, present tense, and future tense. It was so difficult to read. It gave me a headache when I actually tried to concentrate on who was speaking and what time period we were in.

I also don’t appreciate what the author did to poor Vali. He was a nice guy. And despite the book’s message of empowerment, all Bea did was belittle the poor guy. She called him fat, called him all sorts of other names, made fun of him for being a virgin and then ultimately killed him! Then she has the nerve to get upset about him dying because she didn’t mean to. Way to go Bea, you bullied him to death. The author did him dirty and I am still mad about it.

I finally gave up on this book after 245 pages. My brain couldn’t handle it anymore and I found that I really didn’t care how it ends. Leo is not going to kill Goldie, Goldie will probably choose good. Liyana and Scarlet will probably die because they were entirely expendable in the rest of the book so why not? And Bea will probably live and choose evil. Or maybe all four of them survive and choose good in order to challenge their father. But really, who cares? The author hasn’t made me care about their upcoming battle or told me why the outcome matters, so why should I spend any more of my time finding out?

I very much enjoyed THE SISTERS GRIMM, a fantastic and light feminist spin on the original Brothers Grimm. The writing style is beautiful, engaging, and bursting with character voice. A mix of magical realism, fairy-tales, and conflicting powers in the world, it was a surprisingly different story packed with sisterhood, war, and reunion. I especially enjoyed the different points of views by each of the sisters and their struggle to reclaim their shared dream.

Unfortunately, I did not finish this book. I usually don't read fantasy but I wanted to give this genre another try because this story line sounded interested. However, I found it very confusing with the changing of timelines and I felt like nothing was actually explained well. Again, I did not actually finish it though. So maybe at the end it finally explained everything.

Even though this book was not for me, for other people who like fantasy might really like this book. I am not one to judge a book and then tell people not to read it. Everyone needs to form their own opinions on books.

I am rating this book at 3 stars. Even though, I found it confusing, I don't want to mislead people into not reading this book because it did have an interesting premise.

I really wanted to love this book. I loved the premise, I enjoyed a few of the characters, but the abrupt changes in POV and the age disparities in the romantic relationships were too much for me to finish. This book read like it was trying to appeal to everyone but fell short for me.
Thank you to Netgalley and the Publisher for the opportunity to read and review this title.

*We received early copies of this book via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are our own and do not reflect the thoughts or opinions of the publisher or author.

Quick Take: Gold Liyana, Scarlet and Bea are elemental witches who have forgotten where they came from and each other. This fantasy novel, that is part fairytale and part coming of age, tells the story of the four half sisters not only remembering who they are and where they came from, but finding their place in the world. The book spans the length of thirty three days but the narrative flashes back in the form of dreams to fill in the girls’ origin story. All of culminates in a final battle that has the ability to destroy them all, or set them free, forever.

What I Loved: I am here for all of the feminist fantasy retelling that are flooding the YA market. I think they are important and necessary and so I appreciate all the strong willed women at the center of this story. I also enjoyed each of the sister’s background stories and how the author interwove stories of the girls’ origins and their powers into their lives outside of Everywhere.

What I Didn’t Love: Honestly I think the biggest problem of this book was the pacing and length. I could have been 100 pages shorter and cut out some of the parts that were rather repetitive and I would have enjoyed it more. I am currently unsure if I will pick up the next book in the series because this one felt so disjointed, repetitive and convoluted. I am actually quite disappointed because I was so excited about this one. I will definitely pick up more from this author but I am unsure if I will continue the series.

3 stars. I expected to like it better than I did. I mean, it was published by HarperCollins, and the cover was ridiculously gorgeous.

Well, let’s start with the good. It was certainly a page-turner; I didn’t have to drag my way through it, unlike some books. The creepy reimagining of Wilhelm Grimm is original and awesomely terrifying (something like some of the Greek gods…the Wonder Woman reference was pure perfection).

Now for the not-so-good. Technically, it wasn’t bad; I felt that the fantasy setting was kind of a discount version of some things I’ve read before, but I couldn’t tell you what it reminded me of. The ending didn’t quite fall into place, for me. And the use of perspective was sometimes quite confusing - it seemed like an attempt to be experimental which didn’t always pan out.

My main issue was with the moral values of the content. It was sordid and vicious. This makes sense, when you understand our protagonists’ origins. However, we’re really dragged down into the ugly detail. Between pervasive profanity and coarse language, wretched “love” affairs, and the repeated consultation of Tarot cards…this novel has a lot of…issues. The novel also normalizes homosexual relationships; but what can one expect nowadays? Readers may also be disturbed by a couple of scenes of self-harm and one instance of attempted sexual assault. In fairness, I should note that we do see some beautiful things in the novel; devotion to family is a thread that weaves all the way through, for example.

I received a free copy of the ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

The Sisters Grimm by Menna van Praag is a creative tale. Goldie, Liyana, Scarlet and Bea will soon turn eighteen and be in for a fight of their life. If these four sisters are to survive, they only have thirty-three days to learn who they are, where they are truly from and what specials powers they have as well as how to utilize them. The story is told in alternating points-of-view between Goldie, Liyana, Scarlet, Bea and Leo. The four sisters each represent a different element (earth, wind, fire and air) and each possess different powers. Menna van Praag crafted a unique fantasy world and her vivid word imagery brought it alive. Unfortunately, I found The Sisters Grimm a difficult book to read with the alternating POVs (five of them and then there are the characters younger selves). The timeline counts down the days to the girls eighteenth birthday as well as going back in time to eight years earlier (can you see why it is confusing). The Sisters Grimm is a creative, original and magical story. However, it is totally confusing and difficult to read. I had to read it in small installments over a two-month period. I wish the author had written this inventive tale in the third person. The last ten percent of the book is the best part, but you need to make it through the other ninety percent first. There is a lot of repetition as each girl and Leo tells their story. While I have enjoyed Menna van Praag’s other novels, The Sisters Grimm is a miss for me because of the slow pacing, repetitiveness and alternating points-of-view. This is certainly not what I expected from one of my favorite authors. I suggest you obtain a sample to see if The Sisters Grimm in the right fit for you. The beauty of books is that each reader sees them differently. I highly recommend checking out Menna van Praag’s other magical stories.

This book is about women finding their strengths and defeating evil together. It explores the concept that we are all connected, and our differences don’t make us less than or weak. Also, who hasn’t dreamed of having magical powers, and the ability to escape to a beautiful fantasy world. At times a little slow and bounces around, but ultimately a good book.

Grimm Girls are the daughters of a demon who wants to corrupt humanity. They are raised in Everwhere, an otherworldly realm for a time, to develop their powers, before being banned access until their 18th birthday. Then, on the night of a new moon at 3:33 A.M, a Grimm Girl can return to Everwhere where she must first fight her father's soldiers before joining her father's side.

Goldie, Liyana, Scarlet, and Bea are all Grimm Girls and half-sisters who start to feel the call to Everwhere once more as they near their 18th birthdays. They must learn to develop their powers in 33 days before the fight of their lives or else risk losing everything.

The Sisters Grimm takes the trope of four girls coming into adulthood and learning of their own power and twists it around, by giving them actual powers and having them fight for their life. I love that each girl embodied one of the four elements, and had strengths and flaws that reflected those elements. The book is beautifully written, with its strong, vivid descriptions and emotional moments throughout, and it tells a great story about womanhood and coming into one's own. My only issue was with the pacing and the constant switching of the narrative POV of each Grimm girl -- I felt it slowed the story down, and the payoff of the fight wasn't as impactful.

A moderately enjoyable read with good fantastical elements, I just needed more. This book had a terribly intriguing premise and so much promise, but did not fulfill all of the hope I had for it. The writing was good and the characters had the framings to be believable, full, and dynamic, but the overarching theme here was a lack of full development. Execution was lacking.

The story follows the four Grimm sisters individually, but in an arc that will inevitably weave their stories together along the way. This stylistic choice makes sense, but may be the reason that the overall tale became less than I expected. To try and condense four full stories into such a relatively short novel was probably a big part of the undoing of the potential; at least in my eyes. I feel the premise may have been more successful if separated to follow one sister at a time and bridge the stories as a series. As it was, I loved each sister and the story they were telling as well as the original tales they were based on. There was so much there that gave me joy, perhaps I'm just too much of a glutton in that I wanted a fuller picture. Each individual story had so much potential for depth, but the surface was merely scratched. There was a good start to everything, but not enough full exploration. There is a lot of talent behind the author and I fully feel she could create something masterful if given the room through more pages to draw out the intricacies of each character and plot line.

The individual stories had such good imagination and each character was woven around a classic tale reimagined to be all its own. I appreciated the little touches that acted as nods to the original stories and I liked seeing how each girl's life had developed. I wanted to know more of their backstories and see more of their progression from child to adulthood. I wanted things to be more drawn out, with their individual relationships garnering more depth and side characters fleshing out more through the pages. Again, the potential and starts of all this were present, but just didn't feel pursued. As it was, relationships felt rushed and brushed over, making them feel sometimes less than natural. And there were a few areas where there appeared to be the presence of instalove, something that tends to turn me off in most cases.

I was left with A LOT of questions that made the ending feel like a terrible let down. There was nothing to explain what happened to the girls and their lives in the real world following the conclusion. There was a climax, but it then somewhat petered out without true resolution of all the pieces. The writing was good and the character development was moving with good promise when it all fell to...well...virtually nothing.

I wanted so much more from this. It was a decent read and I think there is a good chance that something magnificent could come from this author in the future, I just think this was sent out into the world too early. It needed more room to spread its wings and become something full.

the concept of this book is brilliant. Grimm men are born to hunt grimm sisters because they have magical powers. I liked that all the sisters were all different races, weights and backstories. What i didnt like is the story is slow and there are wayyy too many POVs happening at the same time. I think it would be better presented as an audible but I spent far too much time beicng confused on whos POV it was and I was actually not interested in the Grimm that is featured.

I’ve been sitting on this review for a while, trying to figure out how I felt about The Sisters Grimm. The premise was absolutely fascinating and, at the beginning, I eagerly dove into this tale. And oh how I expected to love this book.

The Sisters Grimm is the story of five people - four sisters and one of the soldiers sent to kill them. It’s the story of a centuries long war between two sides, where one must kill the other to survive. It’s the story of a boy and a girl falling in love. It’s the story of four sisters rediscovering the truth of who they are and reuniting. It’s the story of women discovering the world cannot hold them back. But the pieces just didn’t fit together.

This story is told in a unique form - it switches back and forth between the five characters at different times each day. It also switches back and forth between the past and the present. And it was too much. The stories are all disjointed, rarely touching until the end. It made it difficult to grow attached to any one character because the switches happened so frequently. Each of the main characters was also dealing with their own real-life issues, most of which were incredibly dark (I would recommend checking trigger warnings if you need them). And, for the fantasy aspect, the world-building was sparse. Finally, the groundwork for the ending was missing.

The Sisters Grimm had such potential but it kept falling short of what it could have been. There were aspects that I loved and there were places where the story felt like a slog. Overall, this was a unique story that has stayed with me long after I turned the final page.

*Disclaimer: I received a digital advance copy of this book for free from the publisher. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Synopsis: A demon fathers an army of dark daughters to corrupt humanity. Four half-sisters grow up knowing each other in their dreams only to forget each other when they wake. Each sister has the power to manipulate one of the four elements. Goldie manipulates plants and gives life, Liyana controls water, Scarlet has fire in her fingertips, and Bea can fly. As they approach their 18th birthday they begin to remember the dream world where they can control the elements. On their 18th birthday, they will be forced to fight for survival and will face their father who will ultimately decide their fate. If they do not choose to turn dark they will die. The sisters have 33 days to prepare to fight but first, they must remember who they are.

I honestly really enjoyed this book. There are a lot of trigger warnings including self- harm and child molestation. So if this is something that bothers you maybe skip this book. Besides that, I think it's wonderful. I loved seeing the sisters develop into the warriors they are. I think the story is very unique. There are so many fairytale retellings on the market. It's simply wonderful to read a fresh fairytale. Each sister has their own personal struggles they must overcome from poverty to sex addiction. Plus it's always good to read about women taking down the patriarchy! If you like fantasy and fairytales. If you're tired of the same old story that keeps getting rehashed in YA retellings. Switch over to the adult fairytale world and read this. I think you'll enjoy it.

This story is told in a very whimsical style. It floats back and forth between the past and the present and in between each of the four girls. As well as a few additional characters. Because of this, sometimes the writing faltered. Those changes were so jarring. A lot of times it changed from a third-person perspective to the first-person perspective. It was off-putting if you're not ready for it.

I loved all of the fairy tale elements that were woven into this story. Each of the girls had some kind of fairy tale influencing their life in some way. Each of the fairy tales was expanded upon and changed and made a little bit more realistic for the time we live in. There was something very magical and relatable about that. And overall the story had a lot of influences from the Brothers Grimm.

It did suffer a bit in the lore of the story. It was set up in a way that felt like it was leaning more on the dark side of human nature. There were choices made that weren't explained and that just felt very uncomfortable. Especially the big bad in this story. A lot of the time I wanted to know why things were the way they were, not just that they were the way they were. There were a lot of rules in place but they didn't have a lot of backstory. I wanted that backstory.

Overall it was one of those reads, that if you did not pay attention you were gonna miss a lot of the nuances. It was definitely a slower meatier read. Which I liked but there were a few elements in the story that I just couldn't get behind.

And then the climax of the story was underwhelming, to say the least, and things just petered out. I like the build. I did not like the drop-off.

But if you do like fairytale reimaginings and if you do like a darker, grittier style read, you will probably enjoy this book.

While the writing style took me a while to get into, I truly loved the story.

The writing: Each person is told in a different style (first person, third person, et cetera), but in the big scheme of things it ultimately gave each character a much different voice even if it took a while to get used to.

The story: Each character had unique hardships and histories while sharing a secret part of their childhood. They were all strong women in their own rights and even in some of their worst moments you felt for them.

I received a free digital copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I love the Grimm fairytales so reading them from a female perspective was wonderful. It was well written and just a great read.

Thank you kindly to the author, the publisher, and NetGalley for this review copy.

I received an ARC courtesy of NetGalley.
I feel like I had heard about this book before it popped up on NetGalley and I was interested. Instead of reading the full summary, I saw comparisons to Victoria Schwab, saw Grimm in the title, and assumed I'd be reading a unique retelling of one or more of the Grimm brothers' fairy tales. Boy, was I wrong.
The Sisters Grimm tells the story of four "sisters" sired by a demon-Willhelm Grimm. They meet in Everwhere when they are young, but once they turn thirteen, they forget both Everwhere and each other. The Sisters Grimm also tells the story of Leo, a soldier and a son of Grimm-who learns about Everwhere just before he turns thirteen and begins his predestined killings of the Grimm sisters and their mothers.
There was too much going on with this book and too much build up with a conclusion that just stopped. I've started accepting alternating points of views in books, but five-all four sisters and Leo's-was too much. It was fairly easy, even without looking at the headings, to know which character was narrating, but their portions tended to be short and jumped around so much that I couldn't keep a story for each character together. And there was tons of exposition and slow story building-but the ending was abrupt (possibly because it was all in one chapter) and left me feeling like the book needed more.

I found this novel to be positively captivating. If you are a lover of fairy tales and all things magic, then this is almost definitely a book for you.

This story will transport you to another world, as it does with its four main characters—all 17-year-old girls who are nearing their 18th birthday. These girls are unusual, though, as they all—in this other world that is somewhere between their consciousness and their dreams—have special, elemental abilities.

Goldie—a girl with a rough past and a knack for thievery—controls earth and life.

Bea—a girl whose main desires are to be up in the air and to escape her mother’s clutches—can fly and wield the winds.

Liyana—a girl originally from Ghana with a craving to be among the waves—can manipulate water.

Scarlet—a girl with a spark who runs her grandmother’s bakery—has fire at her fingertips.

These girls—these sisters—experience the adventure of their lives within just one month, forming new relationships, taking on struggles and hardships, and suddenly recollecting memories that seemed to have been erased from their childhoods. Upon reaching their 18th birthday, they must fight for their lives before deciding if they wish to side with their father, Wilhelm Grimm, or meet a grim(m) fate (Okay, no more puns).

This novel does drag on a bit, going back over the same or very similar experiences of each of the girls. It gets a bit boring at times if I’m being honest. The constant changing of perspectives and time periods can be rather difficult to follow as a reader as well. It would definitely make for an interesting film!

Otherwise, I found myself captivated by the girls’ stories and the positively poetic writing of Menna van Praag. It is easy to find yourself immersed in this book, and although I mentioned that certain parts seem like they crawl on, I couldn’t put it down.

I am going to give this book a 4/5 star rating.

I will warn you, though, that this novel does contain many topics that are or may be considered triggering, such as explicit language, violence, sexual content, sexual abuse, self-harm, etc. While some of these topics are not so explicitly depicted in the novel, they most definitely can be considered disturbing to most audiences.

I want to make note that I did receive an Advanced Reader Copy (ARC) of this book from NetGalley in exchange for a review, but that has in no way influenced my opinion on it. Also, too, I do not receive any form of payment for reading or reviewing this book.

Not all gods are merciful. Grimm is not. He has thousands of children and amuses himself by pitting them against each other in an intricate game that ends in death. The male children are soldiers and to stay alive must kill a female Grimm and take her essence. The female children are shown a wonderful playworld called Everwhere. There they start to learn about the powers given them. But they are banned from visiting at age thirteen and must live here on Earth. At age eighteen, they return to Everwhere for a battle in which it is kill or be killed and where they must make a decision to their father; good or evil. The males are pretty much loners. The females who share a birthday are sisters and meet each other in Everwhere.

The eighteenth birthday is coming up in a month for a set of four Grimm sisters. Each controls an element of the world, although their powers are not evident to them. Goldie is on the earth but in her regular life she is a hotel maid trying to make enough money to support herself and her younger brother. Bea is a creature of the air and the only sister who knows anything about the upcoming battle as her hated mother has told her all about it and makes it clear she is to choose evil. Liyana's power is over water; in her earthly life she is a swimmer and wealthy although her aunt has just informed her that all their money has been lost. Scarlet is a creature of fire. She tries to keep her grandmother's bakery going and her grandmother happy as she battles a fading memory and depends on Scarlet for everything.

As the thirty days go by, the sisters start to remember about their childhood visits to Everwhere. They all find love relationships which in some cases strength them and in others lead to betrayals. More importantly, they start to rediscover their powers and to find each other; first in dreams then in real life. Can they ready themselves for the ultimate battle they must soon fight?

Meena van Pragg has created a modern day fairy tale that empowers female readers to reach for their dreams and for happiness. Each of the four sisters is deftly captured and the reader is drawn into their lives and loves. Different readers will relate more to different sisters and that is a reflection of the issues in their own lives and where they dare to be powerful. This book is recommended for readers of fantasy.