Kate's Reviews > The Grimrose Girls

Ella, Rory, and Yuki are returning to Grimrose Academie a short time after their friend Ari was found drowning in a presumed suicide. Nani, a new student from Hawaii, finds herself roomed with Rory and Yuki in Ari's absence, and discovers a book of fairytales Ari had left behind. As the girls read through the book and Ari's notes within, they discover a disturbing history of missing and dead students who correspond with the fairy tales, and new murders give solving the mystery of Ari's death an impending timeline.

I never read book descriptions, so I wasn't expecting the fairytale connection - the way each girl is linked to a fairytale is pretty subtle until it suddenly isn't. The dark academia vibes, with a library stalked by a cat named Mephistopheles, are great for an autumn read, and the Sapphic tension game is strong here, with two f/f couples, is balanced by a straight romance and an asexual character. Though I had some suspicions, I hadn't figured out who the murderer was by the reveal. This is the first in a duology, and while one mystery was solved, there were still many questions remaining, and I might just have to read the second book to get some closure!