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.
In thirty-three days, the sisters will meet their father in a place they go to when they dream. Only then will they discover who they truly are. And what they can do. Then they will fight to save their lives and the lives of the ones they love.
THE SISTERS GRIMM by Menna Van Praag
Published: 2020
Genre: Contemporary Fantasy, Fantasy Fiction, Dark Fantasy, Paranormal Fantasy
My rating: ⭐⭐⭐
The Sisters Grimm wasn't at all what I was expecting, and alas, I must confess I didn't love this fantasy novel it as I was expecting to.
Goldie, Scarlet, Liyana and Bea are half sisters, sharing one demonic father, Wilhelm Grimm, who watches over them as they grow from the illusive land of Everwhere.
When they were children, the sisters could meet in Everwhere in their dreams, exploring the powers born unto them and bonding as sisters will. But the curse of being born a Grimm Sister is the surety that upon your 13th birthday you will forget. Everwhere, magic and sisterhood will be a strangled repressed memory, not retrievable until you come of age on your 18th birthday.
It's a tale of sisterhood; of young women discovering their own power, not needing a man to save them.
While I appreciated this female empowerment, and the fairy tale-like theme of discovering the truth when you come of age, unfortunately I found the story that led us there slow at times and even a little repetitive as the four sisters' lives begin to overlap the closer we get to their 18th birthdays.
The reveal of information was careful, but not always well paced. For a 482 page book, I was surprised that most of the "action" didn't come until the last 100 or so pages, and even then I felt a bit disappointed by the outcome (no spoilers if I can help it).
Upon returning to Everwhere on their 18th birthday and being reunited with their demon father, the Sisters Grimm must chose a side: good or evil. Why? I'm a little hazy on that if I'm honest. I did comprehend that if they choose evil, their father allows them to live; if they choose good then sadly he must kill them. And here is where my unanswered questions begin: Why is Wilhelm Grimm so intent on creating an evil army of his children? What is his motivation? What happens if they choose evil and are allowed to live? These are all questions I'm still craving an answer to, though I'm not sure I'd be motivated to read a second book to find out.
I found the conflict between good and evil a little predictable, even if it is suggested that the choice isn't black and white. You aren't simply a good person or a bad person. There are many shades of grey that colour our lives and our choices.
As characters the sisters' personalities were interestingly contrasting, having different mothers and different backgrounds. We follow their lives across a decade of time, giving us as readers plenty of opportunity to connect with them, however I never developed a strong attachment that urged me to read on and see how their stories developed. I was interested more so in Scarlet and Bea than Goldie and Liyana, on the basis of suspecting they might have a greater capacity for evil than the other two. I was intrigued by what that would mean when they were eventually reunited with their father in Everwhere.
Everwhere itself was my main captivation throughout the book. Its descriptions seeped through the pages, leaving such a strong essence that I wondered myself at times if I might have been there in a dream. I understood more than anything why the girls were so enticed to return here as children, and how their dreams and memories were determined to lure them back on the eve that they became adults. It had the mystical haziness of a dreamscape, and the impression that anything might be possible within its boundaries, offering an escape from the hardship, sorrow and mundanity of their lives in the "real-world".
I'm a fantasy lover, and I thought this storyline had a great potential, sadly it wasn't one of my favourites. I'd be interested to know your thoughts in the comments below. Did this book leave you with questions? Which characters did you connect with?
Zuzu
For more bookish content, find me across social media @zuzuspages
Thanks Zuzu for your honest review. As you say, sounds an interesting concept 💗x
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