👍The Grimlore Game (2026)

by Kalyn Josephson

4Rbooks 5/6 grades 5-8

Amazon no rating grades 3-7

Goodreads 4.23

Common Sense Media not yet rated

Synopsis

Kit Devlin is different. She always wears black, black boots that were her mother's, and has a black tarantula as a pet who is always with her. Her parents have died because of a family curse (every three years on April 13) and she had been shuffled between other family members since. She knows little of her family history and is surprised when she and Aunt Sora, her latest guardian, are summoned to Scotland for the funeral of her grandfather and then the reading of the will.

They and the other Devlins are surprised to learn that Grandfather Amos has left a series of puzzles that must be solved to earn the inheritance. Each family member invited to the game is working on their own set of puzzles. Kit knows Aunt Sora will be no help but she and her father used to work on games and puzzles all the time.

She is soon joined, not happy about it at first, by her cousin Harlow. Together, with the help of Carmine, a cat who is also a curse creature, work through puzzles in different rooms of the house. Each time a puzzle is solved, Kit sees a vision about her grandfather (maybe not the one she thinks) and how the curse started. She also learns she is the cursebreaker who must solve the game to free the family.

Parent Guide

One of the themes of the book is magic and curses.

Kit has lost both of her parents and has been shuffled between various family members.

Harlow is horribly mistreated by his father.

Kit and Harlow are faced with a variety of dangerous situations.

Kit and Harlow spy on other people during the game.

Kit is abandoned by her present guardian leaving her at the mansion.

One of Kit's relatives is in a lesbian relationship. It's mentioned once and they are very minor characters.

Recommendation

I enjoyed this book. There were interesting characters, an intriguing plot, and twists and turns to keep you coming back for more. Chris Grabenstein, one of my favorite authors for children, called it a mix of Wednesday Adams and Mr. Lemoncello. I would also say there's a little Harry Potter mixed in which is the only reason I couldn't give it 6/6 stars.

Parents and teachers who are concerned about stories dealing with magic, magic realms, and curses on people will want to avoid this book. I think it can be handled well if the parents and teachers supervise and take an active role in explaining the Christian view of said topics. I would worry about children who are interested in dark spiritual matters reading books like this.