Wicked Remain is the second book of the duology Grimrose Girls. While I enjoyed a lot the first installment, this second one was a disappointment.

Nothing happens in the first half of the book. No character development, no plot progress, nothing. The author tries to pull a character-driven plot in the first 250 pages, but the only thing she does is repeat the same stuff we already know about the main characters again and again. It lead to nowhere and was kinda tiresome. Also, Yuki's change of character came out of nowhere. Suddenly she was all "I'm such a bad girl, I'm cold and evil and I'm gonna ruin the world with my Elsa powers" and I was like "Girl? You don't have a believable REASON to turn into that".

That said, I also didn't like how all the mysteries were solved. The reason for Nani's father disappearance was kinda absurd, the person responsible for the curse was obvious since the beginning of Grimrose Girls, and the main villains behind it all ended up being side characters who were rarely mentioned in both books.

The only thing I really enjoyed was the message at the end. The story shows, in many aspects, that no matter what hardships we're facing, it's important to remember we are never alone. It's important to rely on other people, specially friends and loved ones, and always seek for help.

My review is based on an ARC.

I was not as invested in this sequel as I was in the first installment. I was glad some of my dislikes from the first book were better in this book, but I still was left underwhelmed. It has a good premise and overall theme, just not my cup of tea.

I honestly enjoyed the first one a lot more and I definitely think the trigger warnings should be a lot more prominent but it was still a pretty good sequel.

Honestly this little duology deserves more attention. This was so fun, so entertaining, with such excellent queer representation. I loved every minute of both books, and I want more people to read them!

The Wicked Remain really successfully deepens the relationships between these girls, and the ultimate mystery/curse has a really satisfying explanation and conclusion. I honestly can’t think of a single thing I’d change, and I hope we continue to get books from this author!

I have never been so excited to receive an arc before! The creepy school | the modern day take | cursed fairytales | romance… perfection. This was perfection.

The writting style is good but everything else was just mediocre. The middle of the book was so long and boring nothing happened the only midly interesting thing was Yuki's character development. The book is about a group of friends but the friendships are luckluster, the end was also very underwhelming.

I'm the author so I don't think it counts for me to give any feedback? Personally, I think it's a 10/10. My favorite scenes are [spoiler] and [redacted].

-review may contain spoilers for the grimrose girls-

The Wicked Remain, the second installment in the Grimrose Girls series was just as thrilling and enjoyable as the first. I loved the mix of fairy tale retelling, romance, and mystery. The setting is uniquely and I loved reading about it.I do admit, The Wicked Remain was more romance than the first book, but it helped give the main girls something to fight for.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this ARC on exchange for an honest review.

AMAZING BOOK. I was so excited when I saw my request to read this was approved, because I absolutely loved the first one. This book has everything- romance, morally grey characters, magic, action, etc. All the relationships in the book are so cute, and I also loved how not all the characters were completely good or bad.

loved everything about this one! The whole modern day twist on a cursed fairy tale life. To the friendships and how important they are as a teenage girl on the brink of figuring out what happens next.

Given that I DNF'd this book, I do not feel comfortable giving it a star rating. I read the first in this series (The Grimrose Girls) and had issues with the first book that I hoped would be corrected in the second, which is why I attempted to read book 2. 

Starting off, I will say I appreciated Laura Pohl's attempts to retcon one of the most glaring issues I've seen brought up in regards to the first book in the series, which was the implication that if Nani was Belle, then Svenja, a trans woman, would be considered the Beast. 

That said, the book dragged for me. It felt like there wasn't a lot of forward motion in regards to the plot or the characters, and it made it difficult for me to be excited to read. I felt similarly about the first book - it didn't pick up in pace until the last fifth of the story - and I'm finding that perhaps that is simply Laura Pohl's style, and it's not for me.

Great ending to this incredible duology.
The pacing was faster this time, with everything already set from the first book. 
The ending was great and it wasn’t so predictable, also the last chapters got me a bit emotional, it was really well done.
The development of the characters was also good, the way their stories happened and the way they ended were great, I love the diversity that the four of them brought to the story.
Overall really good book 4,5/5 ⭐️

The Wicked Remain is a fantastic sequel to The Grimrose Girls. The plot remains delightful and concludes in a wonderful way. Highly recommended!!

An absolutely phenomenal conclusion to the Grimrose Girls duology. The characters and their connections truly shine at their best here.

genre: YA Fantasy
Minority representation: LGBTQ+, disability, POC
Trigger warnings: violence, domestic violence, physical and emotional abuse, gore, blood, suicide, mentions of cancer. (Trigger warnings were included in the book!)

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Laura Pohl for letting me review this gem of a book! I was so excited to read about Yuki, Rory, Ella, and Nani again! The wicked remain starts right after winter break with the girls coming back to Grimrose. The end of their stories is rapidly approaching, especially so for Eleanor. Can the girls find a way to break their curse? Or should they accept their fates?
This thrilling sequel to the Grimrose girls is everything I longed for! The girls grow into their characters even more, mysteries are uncovered, and even more questions arise. The wicked remain is definitely darker than the Grimrose girls, which I loved. There’s more LGBTQ+ rep to fill our hearts with enough joy to crush them in the next chapter. It felt like a great emotional rollercoaster with more action and a lot of dilemmas.
Yuki’s aroace identity is explored more, which warmed my heart as I’ve asked myself the same questions as her. I related very much to her struggles with her identity and relationships. The loneliness being aroace comes with is very accurately depicted. I also loved the LGBTQ+ identities of the other girls being explored!
As for Rory’s chronic pain rep from her fibromyalgia, I loved how it was ever present in het chapters but didn’t completely dominate her character! It’s not romanticised as the illness is very much at times described as debilitating. I think Pohl did an amazing job at writing a disabled character who isn’t there for anyone’s pity and has so much more to her than the illness!
If you love a fairy-tale retelling true to their dark originals this duology is very much written for you! Although it’s YA it does a great job at keeping the mystery and being dark enough to frighten readers. Also, not that the Gore trigger warning is not a formality as this book does get pretty grim ;)

I really loved this sequel, The Wicked Remain, by Laura Pohl. I had enjoyed reading the first book in the series, The Grimrose Girls, earlier this year and was eager to see where the story would take me. I thought that the further development of the characters deepened the story and really brought it to life. Each of the main characters had something deeper to share in their stories (including some twists I wasn't expecting) and it really helped to push the story forward. (I also really love the diversity of the characters in the book.) 

I admit that as much as I liked the first book, there were points where I felt it sort of stalled as a I read it - I didn't feel that way at all about The Wicked Remain. I thought the story moved right along, keeping me engaged the entire time.

This was a really fun read and I look forward to more books from Laura Pohl!

A stunning follow up to the first Grimrose Girls book, an enchanting tale that will keep you hooked right up until the end

I enjoyed this book even more than the first one. Ella, Rory, Yuki and Nani have to step up their game in this one. The fairytale curse they're under is soon to reach its climax, and if they want to survive, they have to break it first. The relationships, both friendly and romantic, were amazing. I loved seeing the characters grow and become comfortable in their own skins. This was the perfect end to the story that started in The Grimrose Girls.

Omg, this was amazing. After reading The grimrose girls I was impatiently waiting for the second book and it did not disappoint. I love the bond between the girls, I wish I had this kind of friendship. Rory was my favourite character as I could relate so much to her. The whole storyline kept me on my toes I just couldn't keep this down. 

The dynamic between the characters, the representation and the writing everything was just amazing. The relationship between Rory and Pippa had me on my knees istg I love them so much and the same for Nani and Svenja and Ella and Freddie. Oh and Yuki our Aroace queen I love her so much. 

This book was incredible and I recommend this.

The Wicked Remain, the second installment of the Grimrose Académie duology, is a delightful and satisfying conclusion to the series. Pohl created greater depth and substance to the MCs; Nani, Yuki, Ella, and Rory, which made me invested in their plotlines. I was pleasantly surprised by several developments ( I LOVE being surprised) and the pace of the book. It was a fun, quick read that I greatly enjoyed.