The Grimoire of Grave fates is a fascinating multi PoV magical mystery that grabbed me on page one and has kept me thinking about it long after sitting my kindle down.
What I Loved
1. The use of multiple points of view allowed for each of the character's voices to truly shine and let the reader feel like a detective solving the case.
2.Murder at a magical school where more people seem to have a potential motive than not.
3. The book is visually stunning and conveys well the tone I should expect through the chosen cover

Where I would normally list the things that didn't work as well for me here I am enamored with just about everything regarding this book and my only compliant is that it ended and I must now try to find a book to follow up that glorious reading experience.

Who I would recommend this book for
If you love dark academia , have enjoyed murder mysteries such as The Ivies by Alexa Donne, and are looking for a fantasy world to give you similar vibes then I think you will greatly enjoy The Grimorire of Grave Fates by Margaret Owen, and Hanna Alkaf.

This book is so much fun! I love the way it was written. I was skeptical at first because I don't like short stories, but since each perspective was told by a different author it actually made it so much fun to read. There was such a clear difference between the characters because they were literally being told by different people. It took a little while to really understand where I was because we were in so many different heads, but things steadily built on each other, and I just enjoyed it more and more as I kept going. I didn't think any of the authors did way better or way worse than any other. Each chapter was enjoyable and kept us slowly moving forward. If people like a really fast pace this might not be the best choice, but if you like learning about different magical affinities this is a great choice.

A murder mystery at a magic school!
This book was very uniquely done.
Galileo Academy for the Extraordinary is a school for people who possess all kinds of magic. When a mean-spirited, bigoted professor turns up dead, it seems many people have motive.
The story is told in 18 different POVs, written by 18 DIFFERENT authors. Everyone has a different piece of the puzzle.
Although it was a difficult to keep track of all of the students we heard from, I didn't have trouble following the story. I enjoyed how each voice was unique.
This was a page-turner for me. I think this will appeal to mystery fans more than fantasy fans, but I enjoyed the twists that the magic put on it.

Thanks to Netgalley and Random House Children's foe an early copy for review.

I know what it wanted to accomplish but it didn't work for me and I'm not sure it was because it was trying to tell a cohesive story with eighteen different authors to move the story forward (like Blackout and White Out and others of the ilk). While all of the authors are fabulous in their own right and the multiple entries that were the collective story (interviews, messages, documents) bring another layer of excitement to the story which I also enjoy, maybe I'm tired of magical academies or murder mysteries. I wouldn't say completely tuckered out by them but certainly there needs to be a spark to light my fire- and this one I had started a few different times then let languish on my Netgalley shelf.

I know there is an audience for it who will love it, I'm not that naïve, but I was not a fan personally.

I wish a queer anthology book like this was around when I was growing up - but I am so glad that young adults will have this (and many more to come) when it releases in July. 18 authors, 18 students, a school of magic, and an overlaying mystery makes for such a great read. Honestly, the only negative I have is that I wish it had cut down on some POVs just so the others could develop a little more (maybe 12-15 instead of 18?) but that's just a small nitpick. As usual with an anthology, some stories were better than others, but overall I truly loved this and I really can't wait to have this one on my shelf.

This is my new all-time favorite anthology! I have never read anything like this, and I need more! Maybe there will be a sequel one day? Please?

If you liked HP, but prefer something more diverse and less bigoted: read "The Grimoire of Grave Fates"!

This book is incredible! It feels kind of like if Agatha Christie had written Harry Potter. The fact that it is written by so many different authors in so many points of view and still meshes in quite an accomplishment! I was so intrigued by the different magics and how they’re all utilized. I definitely think this book was too short because I need more of these characters!

Although a bit slow in the middle (I just wanted to solve the mystery!) and, of course, many characters to keep track of, I still found the story compelling and engaging and the different characters' voices distinct. Personal standouts were Randy Ribay's transcript and Darcie Little Badger's action packed scene. An easy recommendation for many teens.

The idea for this was wildly intriguing to me and I think each individual piece was well done and well-realized. However, I didn't really feel like any one character was particularly well-developed? They just lacked a lot of depth, and felt sort of surface-level. I do like, though, that the cast of characters was diverse. Like I said, I liked all the individual pieces, but I think together they just didn't work. Some POVs seemingly retold information we already had but not in a way that added anything. Certain pieces also seemed to have their own story arcs, which made it really disjointed when one POV already had a climax and the overall story was still not quite there yet. Overall, the idea for this was super cool and I can only imagine how much time and effort it took to plan out and execute all the different POVs and make them even marginally connected. I think it just didn't...quite work. Very cool and unique idea, though. 3.5 Stars (because I did have a fun time and loved the idea) rounded up to 4 Stars.

18 authors, 18 students. One murder. Mass confusion for this reader.

The good:

Each of the 18 authors did a great job with their part of the story. I'm not sure if it's good or bad that there wasn't any abruptly different, tell-tale difference in the writing styles. Each chapter flowed with the next as far as the "voice" of the storyteller.

The setting was really interesting. I'd like to read more stories set in this school

The characters were diverse--backgrounds and magic.

The overarcing story line carried through each part. No author contradicted something that had already been established by a previous one.

The not so good:

I didn't feel like any one character was particularly well-developed. DIverse, yes, but they didn't have a lot of individual depth. Occasionally, some detail would emerge that made me think "so what?" because it didn't further the story at all, to me.

18 unique points of view was too much. And they marginally overlapped, if they did at all.

The plot wasn't smooth. Some of the POVs seemed to retell what another had already told us about. There were individual climaxes for each, making it hard to figure out where in the arc there was really a climax.

Overall:

I can appreciate there was A LOT put into creating this single story arc anthology. It's an interesting treatment, I just think the slate of authors and stories within the story was too large.

The concept of this book was so good! My expectations were pretty high as I started this book and I was worried that they wouldn't be met. Luckily, they were. This book didn't bore me for even a moment and all of the POVs were interesting. Highly recommend.

Got mixed feelings. Will do my best to break down my thoughts.
Before reading: was thinking maybe this is an actual grimoire of a witch. Blurb is what caught my eye. Looked maybe it be a 4 star book. Not sure who I'd recommend it to. Only way to figure that out is after I read this.
After reading thoughts: so the title is a bit misleading I went into it thinking that it might be an actual grimoire but it wasn't. It was an actual book. I did like it. 4 star book. Not sure who I know would actually read this book.

I am so obsessed with this!! This was the best!! I loved all the different stories and authors. It went so quick and I couldn't get enough of it.
I just reviewed The Grimoire of Grave Fates by Margaret Owen, Hanna Alkaf. #TheGrimoireofGraveFates #NetGalley
[NetGalley URL]

When a faculty member at the Galileo Academy for the Extraordinary is murdered, an investigation to find his killer begins. The problem? Pretty much everyone despised the man, so the list of suspects is extensive. In a school where everyone has powers and most have motive, this story follows 18 different students (written by 18 different authors) as they work to unravel the mystery.

What I loved about this book – 18 different authors! Each writer brought their own voice to the book while still connecting to the characters the other authors created. Each student had their own talents, insecurities, and viewpoints. The cool thing about the Galileo Academy is that it enrolls students from all over the world, so we get to hear from people of different races, sexual orientations, socioeconomic classes, and cultures. I loved that each author was able to share something of themselves through their character.

While there is some editorial polishing to be done, you should definitely check this book out! It’s such a unique undertaking, and I think the writers, editors, and all involved did a magical job of tying it all together.

This is a really interesting take on an anthology, with each story (following a different character and written by a different author) feeding in to an overarching plot: a professor the illustrious magic school Galileo Academy has been murdered, and several students take it upon themselves to solve the mystery and uncover the murderer before they strike again. Some students work seperately, others band together, and each story either reveals a clue or moves the plot forward in some way. There's a huge level of planning that went into this anthology, and I greatly appreciate the time and effort it took to make this book. That being said, I felt like the plot had an issue with cohesion, there'd be reveals then the next story would jump to something completely different. The plot moves forward haphazardly and it feels like some stories spend too much time rehashing scenes we've already gotten from new povs that don't add much new info. Where this book really shines is the diversity in the students, that was great and nearly every named student was different from their peers in some way. The big reveal was hinted at early on, but the actual reveal itself was lackluster, and I felt like the ending didn't hold up to the suspense the rest of the book spent so long building.

4.5 stars on this one for me! I absolutely adored this magical book and seeing so many authors contribute to build such a fantastic world.

Thank you to NetGalley, Random House Children's, and Delacorte Pressfor the opportunity to read an advanced reader's copy of this book for an honest review. (Publish Date: June 6, 2023)

“The Grimoire of Grave Fates” was a unique mystery and thriller novel told from 18 different students’ perspectives who attend Galileo Academy – a school for young magicians (very similar to Hogwarts but different in some ways). As the story unfolds, the reader pieces their stories together to figure out who murdered the professor of Magical History.

It was a bit of a struggle for me to get into this book at first because I found the beginning chapters difficult to follow. However, the story quickly became more interesting, and the chapters began flowing together more seamlessly as I continued. I wasn’t sure how 18 different authors could pull this one story off together, and there were some visible struggles, but I enjoyed the multiple perspectives and found some students so intriguing that I would love to read books just featuring them!

Overall, I would highly recommend this book to any teen and young adult who loves a good mystery with a magical “Harry Potter” twist. I hope to see more collaborations from these authors to continue the mysteries from Galileo Academy.

The fact that this book is so unique in how the story comes together is a gigantic win. I was just so intrigued and excited to dive into this book just to see how it would unfold. I absolutely adored this book so much. I love how each perspective really showcased each writer and their style. It made it feel authentic to having different characters written by different people. I found that even though each POV was different it all flowed together beautifully. Definitely one of my favorites this year!

At first I was unsure how the many POVs and different authors would tie together, but I adored The Grimoire of Grave Fates. The mystery was riveting, and the ending satisfying. Despite so many characters only being highlighted towards the beginning of the book, there were enough cameos as the book progressed that arcs felt resolved. Although I naturally latched on more to some chapters than others, as a whole this story works wonderfully. I would love to read more from this universe, and now have a list of new authors to check out as well.
4.5 rounded up to 5

I loved this so much! For 18 different authors to write each chapter, the flow was mostly consistent, although the writing style did feel a bit off for 1-2 chapters. Aside from that, I loved everything also about the story, especially the vibes! I would definitely recommend this.