Thank you so much to Delacorte Press and NetGalley for an e-ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I was so very excited for this book -- a murder mystery involving magic? Sounds absolutely amazing. And the concept was! There were definitely parts of this that worked very well, and parts of it that didn't.

First, I want to go through what I did enjoy about this book

⭐ the diversity! it was so nice to see such a diverse group of characters.
⭐ the writing. All of the writers in this anthology are supremely talented, and that made the book fun to read!
⭐ the magic aspects. I love how the magic drew on both cultures and general magic ideas. It was hugely varied and so interesting. I would have loved to delve deeper into some aspects of the magic
⭐ the idea of a murder mystery at a magic school

While I liked all of these things, there were some issues with the books format itself.

⭐ 18 characters is a lot, especially 18 POV characters with shorter chapters. So there was a kind of underdevelopedness to them as you only got to be with them so long.
⭐ linking the stories together, it was a bit jarring to switch from character to character
⭐ which leads to the pacing of the book, which was a bit of a struggle, because each writing style is different and therefore...feels different.
⭐ the cohesiveness of the story suffered

I feel like this could have been a great idea, had there been fewer POV characters, where we follow only a select few. The many different characters made it sometimes difficult to follow the plot, and when you tried to focus on one, you lost your grasp on the other.

There were some funny moments throughout the book, and all the characters really felt like teens -- it was easy to imagine them as actually existing. Again, that is to each individual author's credit.

I just think as a whole, cohesive murder mystery story, it just didn't work for me.

It’s a magical thing when a whole host of talented authors come to tell the same story, each with their own unique spin. The Grimoire of Grave Fates follows a Howl’s Moving Castle-esque magical school, it’s collection of students with various extraordinary abilities, all bound together by the mysterious murder of a not-so-liked professor. The initial premise was super interesting (I love magical schools and murder mysteries!) and I really enjoyed the mixed media format of the various chapters. The host of characters and authors were all from diverse and marginalised backgrounds and it was great to see such wide representation! Overall, I found the story intriguing and fast-paced and really loved how each authors strengths really shone through in their chapters. Anthologies that follow the same story can sometime feel disjointed and jarring with the different writing styles, but this wasn’t the case at all here. Everything was very smooth and the narrative was cohesive throughout. I did find a few elements hard to follow and wish we would have followed characters for more than one chapter, but overall The Grimoire of Grave Fates was a great anthology for readers who love magical school, sinister books and a gripping plot!

Okay I’m gonna be completely honest here and say that this book just ended up not being for me. It was okay, it just didn’t wow me.

The project of this anthology is a compelling one, and I found it interesting to read stories that are all connected through a murder mystery. It does read a bit on the younger end of the YA spectrum, which contributes to its overall readability and the speed with which I finished it; overall, kept me interested till the end.

DNF. Just couldn’t get into this one. The synopsis sounded amazing but it just didn’t live up to my standards. I’m sure others might enjoy it better than I did. All views and opinions stated are solely my own. Thanks to Netgalley and the Publisher for a copy of the arc in return for an honest review.

The cover is stunning, and this anthology is a fun read. Lots of different perspectives for a murder mystery.

I tried, but the "they" gave me problems reading the book. My brain still wants a singular word for a single person. I gave up it was no fun to read

I was really intrigued by this anthology because it was edited by two favorite authors and I have to say they did an amazing job with the overall story! I loved the magic and murder mystery vibes a lot! Obviously as with any anthology I have a hard time writing a review that makes sense since every short story has a different author and therefore has a different writing style. Some hit and some miss for me. There were quite a few stories that I was mostly just skimming because I didn't have the same connection and just wanted the plot to move forward. It definitely picked up about 75% of the way through and I read the rest pretty quickly.

While this book has a good murder mystery throughout, it wasn't as interactive as I like my mysteries because of the anthology style. I was able to gather some clues here and there but I was mostly relying on each separate character to finally reveal the murderer because they weren't really known to us the whole time, if that makes sense. Usually when I read a murder mystery I like to try and guess before the reveal but this format didn't really allow that as much in my opinion. But overall, I do think that based on the format and the storytelling technique, this was fun and I would still recommend it!

What a cool and interesting concept! Honestly, I didn’t really love this book, but I think that was my own issue. I couldn’t keep up with some of the stories and I lost interest about a quarter through. However, I did find all the writing to be really well done.

Thank you NetGalley and Random House Children's, Delacorte Press for providing me a copy of this ARC in exchange for an honest review. All the views and opinions in this review are purely my own and not affiliated with any brand.

I loved this book so much! It was full of mystery full of magic. It’s an intriguing multi-point book that is easy to follow when they switch views. The story was amazing and such a fun and fast read. Would recommend this to a friend!

The Grimoire of Grave Fates by Margaret Owen and Hanna Alkaf is a captivating and thought-provoking exploration of the power of fate and destiny. Through a series of compelling stories, the authors explore the idea that our lives are predetermined by forces beyond our control. With vivid descriptions and engaging characters, this book will leave readers pondering the mysteries of life and death.

This book was so well done. A murder mystery at a school of magic that moves around the world. A racist professor who many wanted gone. 16 magical teens trying to solve his murder. Because of the set up of this book, where each story was written by a different author, each character was easy enough to remember because they were so different. I really appreciated how much diversity this book included. There were students of color, a student in a wheelchair, neurodivergent students, non-binary and trans students, and LGBTQ+ students. The magic system was fascinating, because each student had their own method. They created spells through math, dance, lyrics, nature, and much more. It was cool to learn about all of the different ways each student cast spells and for the most part, it was related to their culture, which really added so much depth to the story. Many of these students reflected on the different ways that they didn’t feel like they belonged at the school, whether it was because they hadn’t yet made friends, their family doubted them, or they struggled to master their magic. Many of them struggled with these very real feelings of self doubt, but yet each student was integral in finding the murderer. They all set out to work independently, but ended up supporting each other. It was nice to see earlier characters pop up again in someone else’s story. Overall, I really enjoyed the set up of this mystery. It was new and exciting and fun to get to know each character.

Murder? Magic? Mystery? Incredible! The muli-POV allowed for such a dynamic story, however it did become a little overwhelming with the amount of characters involved. The diversity was refreshing. I know many of my teen readers will enjoy this, so I will be recommending for purchase. Plus the cover is gorgeous!

This book is FREAKING EVERYTHING I HAVE EVER WANTED!!! The representation. The freaking premise. The 18 different students POVs. It sank its teeth into me and would not let me go. Honestly this is in my top 5 reads of the past year. I want…. No. I NEED MORE. Harry Potter who? This is the magical academy I want. I am totally buying this and shoving it into peoples hands.

Wonderful book. The characters and storyline was phenomenal. I would recommend this book to anyone who wants a great story.

A professor has been murdered and everyone at the magical academy known as the Galileo Academy for the Extraordinary is a suspect. Eighteen students, 20 hours, and a murderer to catch. Told from 18 different students, along with evidence, interviews, and notes, the mystery and events unfold all leading up to who killed the despised professor Septimius Dropwart and how each of the students could be involved. This was such a fun and magical read, especially when you get to see the events fold bit by bit from each student’s perspective all leading up to the events of the professor’s death and who could be involved. The mystery is revealed in tidbits and overall, it was a fun mystery read told in a unique format that definitely was an undertaking. i would highly recommend this for fans of mystery and fantasy reads! The students all had possible motives and all of them had some connection to the event. With so many unique perspectives and personalities, all the students were interesting to get to know and the overall villain was a fun one to figure out. Seriously, what a fun read!

*Thanks Netgalley and Random House Children's, Delacorte Press for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

As a thought experiment about a different kind of magical school with a diverse set of characters, this book succeeds with flying marks. As a murder mystery, or indeed simply as a book with a coherent plot, less so.

The advantage becomes the disadvantage, as can be the case with a project this ambitious. That we spend only one chapter in each character’s head is the whole idea, but it means connective tissue is easily lost when the torch passes from one to the next. The reader gets some Big Reveals multiple times, which lessens their impact. The Biggest Reveal is predictable in the general whodunit sense, but simultaneously impossible to foresee in its specifics since you don’t meet the key POV characters until quite late in the game, which I found unsatisfying. It’s also frustrating to get attached to a character and then never see them again.

Too, I wonder how much editorial work went into “smoothing out” the overall feel of the book. Very few of the individual authors’ voices are distinct, which is a bummer, because in a book like this, I’m hoping for something to send me off wanting to read their other works. With the voices so similar, though, I have no such indication, nothing to spur me on to find out when my TBR is already so full.

Ultimately, an interesting idea, but I find myself wondering if a novel was really the right vehicle for it.

To say that I've been eagerly awaiting this book is a massive understatement. I've had this on my TBR ever since it was announced and I was so thrilled to get an early copy! I love everything about the set up of the world from the inclusivity of different cultures to the reminder that magic belongs to all. As a reader with terrible memory, it was a little tricky for me to connect to the narrators. I loved each chapter while I was in it, but once I was onto the next it was hard for me to recall who I'd already met and who was new (this is also why I'm terrible at mysteries LOL). Each story flowed so well from one to the next that it felt like one cohesive story, which I can't even imagine how much work that must've taken. Overall, this was a fun, easy to read anthology that I plan to go back through and annotate to see if I can catch all the clues!

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.