A review by dragoninwinterfell
Grimm Curiosities by Sharon Lynn Fisher

adventurous mysterious slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

1.0

Just to start, Grimm Curiosities by Sharon Lynn Fisher predominantly a romance. I wanted to begin with that just to help set the right expectations. In NetGalley, it's listed as just Sci-fi/Fantasy. While there are elements of Fantasy in this novel, most of which appears toward the end, the bulk of the novel centers on the rushed live triangle with the protagonist, Lizzie at the center.

I don't dislike romance. I do have pretty high standards for it. The romance needs to feel natural and earned. Despite the massive amount of time spent on Lizzie's romances, neither feels authentic. She meets both men on the same day and they're all talking about marriage a week later. I'm not exaggerating. A week after meeting these men, they're talking marriage. 

Not only were the relationships weak, but the characters barely existed. They were all just names with dialogue that slowly pushed the plot forward. Only two tertiary characters had personalities, but they barely impacted the story.

Speaking of the plot, it had the potential to be very interesting. Lizzie's mother has a mysterious condition is shared by the sister of one of her love interests. They have to work together to discover what's happened to their loved ones. This is a very strong premise in my opinion. But after the initial set up, it was pretty much lost. 

Overall, I liked the potential which made the poor execution all the worse.

Thank you to NetGalley and Brilliance Publishing for the audio ARC in exchange for an honest review.