Series: All the Stars and Teeth

BOOK REVIEW: All the Tides of Fate (All the Stars and Teeth #2) by Adalyn Grace

January 11, 2021 / Arielle / 4 Comments

All the Tides of Fate (All the Stars and Teeth #2)
by Adalyn Grace
Purchase on: Amazon, iBooks
Add to: Goodreads

Synopsis:
Through blood and sacrifice, Amora Montara has conquered a rebellion and taken her rightful place as queen of Visidia. Now, with the islands in turmoil and the people questioning her authority, Amora cannot allow anyone to see her weaknesses.

No one can know about the curse in her bloodline. No one can know that she’s lost her magic. No one can know the truth about the boy who holds the missing half of her soul.

To save herself and Visidia, Amora embarks on a desperate quest for a mythical artifact that could fix everything―but it comes at a terrible cost. As she tries to balance her loyalty to her people, her crew, and the desires of her heart, Amora will soon discover that the power to rule might destroy her.

Review

“Are you sure we should even be in here?” Casem demands, his eyes darting around the crowd. His whole body is surprisingly tense.
Sympathetially, Ferrick places a hand on my guard’s shoulder, shaking his head. “It’s no use, Casem. This crew knows no reason.”

The second book in this duology starts off a few months after the end of All the Stars and Teeth. Amora is doing the best she can to pick up the broken pieces of her kingdom all while trying not to fall apart over the death of her father. Unsurprisingly, even though the islands are now allowed to practice whatever multiple kinds of magic they’d like, there is still a lot of unrest from all of the lies that her father kept hidden. After a meeting with her advisors, it is determined that she will take a tour of her kingdom, hopefully finding a husband to sit by her side on the throne in the process.

If you know Amora at all, you will know that this is not something she gives a crap about. SHE is the queen and she needs no king beside her. However, after hearing about a magical object that will allow her to break the curse on her and Bastian that can be found on one of islands, she agrees to set out with the ~old~ crew and then some. Getting back on Keel Haul with Bastian, Ferrick, and Vataea (and two newcomers Shanty—who I freaking loved—and Casem) was so refreshing. I have never personally been on a sea voyage and I doubt I ever will get the chance but there is something about pirate-y novels that call to me.

Bastian’s soul is one of pain. Of longing. Yet is shines brighter than any I’ve ever seen.
He’s beautiful.

My heart hurt so bad to find out right away that Amora had been doing her best to stay as far away from Bastian as possible. While I get it—she didn’t want the confusion of only feeling whole when he was around and basically feeling like she couldn’t trust any kind of emotion about him—it still hurt. They obviously had strong feelings towards one another before she was cursed so I just was sad that she couldn’t rely on that and was only focusing on what she thought the curse was making her feel. He did a good job from the start though, letting her know that while he’d be going with her on this parade of bachelors, he would be trying his best every single day to prove that they did have something special, curse be damned. I loved every single second of their interactions. Always. From the start it seemed like their chemistry was pretty explosive and we definitely get more of that in this book.

“You might not know now, but you’ll learn.” I don’t know where the voice comes from, but I hear it loud and clear. “Make this life everything it should be.”

Overall, even though I really enjoyed this book, I almost wish there had been one more to finish out the series. In the end I felt like there should have been more to the story. The Montara curse was built up to be this huge, ugly thing and then there was the curse that Kaven had put on Amora and Bastian and you’re telling me that it all just went away because View Spoiler ». DO NOT READ THAT IF YOU DON’T WANT A HUGE SPOILER. Seriously though. That part happened so suddenly I didn’t think it could possibly be real and then it was and then I was heartbroken because that person deserved so much more *cries*. Also, we see Amora go through a lot in this book, emotionally. She made another choice at the end of the book that weirdly both did and did not make sense to me and it’s something I will not elaborate on because again, spoilers. I think that people who enjoyed the first will truly love this one too, I had just been wanting a tiny bit more. BUT BASTIAN WILL FOREVER BE #1 IN MY HEART.

“To Zudoh,” he repeats, the stars in his eyes blazing with pride.
“And to a thousand more adventures.”

Huge thanks to Edelweiss and Imprint for allowing me to read an eARC of this book in exchange for my honest review!

BOOK REVIEW: All the Stars and Teeth (All the Stars and Teeth #1) by Adalyn Grace

February 12, 2020 / Arielle / 6 Comments

All the Stars and Teeth (All the Stars and Teeth #1)
by Adalyn Grace
Purchase on: Amazon, iBooks
Add to: Goodreads

Synopsis:
Set in a kingdom where danger lurks beneath the sea, mermaids seek vengeance with song, and magic is a choice, Adalyn Grace’s All the Stars and Teeth is a thrilling fantasy for fans of Stephanie Garber’sCaraval and Sarah J. Maas’s Throne of Glass series.

She will reign.

As princess of the island kingdom Visidia, Amora Montara has spent her entire life training to be High Animancer—the master of souls. The rest of the realm can choose their magic, but for Amora, it’s never been a choice. To secure her place as heir to the throne, she must prove her mastery of the monarchy’s dangerous soul magic.

When her demonstration goes awry, Amora is forced to flee. She strikes a deal with Bastian, a mysterious pirate: he’ll help her prove she’s fit to rule, if she’ll help him reclaim his stolen magic.

But sailing the kingdom holds more wonder—and more peril—than Amora anticipated. A destructive new magic is on the rise, and if Amora is to conquer it, she’ll need to face legendary monsters, cross paths with vengeful mermaids, and deal with a stow-away she never expected… or risk the fate of Visidia and lose the crown forever.

I am the right choice. The only choice. And I will protect my kingdom.

Review

“The world doesn’t work with only your eyes, Princess. There’s truth in more than what you can see.”

I am bound and determined to write this review today, even if I’m in a terrible mood because of work and my pregnancy rage that I seem to have in abundance lately.

This was an impressive first book by this author and a start to what I think is a duology. Her writing was captivating, the magic system seemed a lot different than the typical run-of-the-mill stuff in YA, and the world building was phenomenal and I want more, more, more. In the blurb on Goodreads it mentions how this would be for fans of the Caraval series and honestly, I agree with that when it came to the crew visiting the different islands. Every place was so unique along with the people there that is was truly magical.

Other than my intensely piqued curiosity over why/how Amora didn’t seem to know ANYTHING going on in her soon-to-be-kingdom, the main reason I enjoyed this book so much was the characters. Dudes, Amora is kick ass. Some of the scenes with her fighting and using her magic were so visceral…Sometimes that bothers me depending on how intense it is but here, it was so impressive. She might not be that relatable to most common people in that aspect but there are other parts of her that are. She cares SO much for her people, her kingdom and was horrified when she learned what kinds of things were happening that she didn’t know about. I loved her surety that she was the right person to next take charge of the kingdom because she wanted to fix things so badly. Even with that surety though, she still had moments of vulnerability that bring her more down to earth. I greatly enjoyed reading about her journey through the book and can’t wait to see what the next one will bring, especially after that ending.

Bastian, obviously, was a favorite as well (and I think he’ll be a fan favorite with basically everyone). He’s a dashing pirate that’s impeccably dressed and has a smile that earned an insta-swoon from me. There were a few STEAMY kisses that I loved, obviously. And again, I can’t wait to see what the next book brings for him as well after that ending……….As for Ferrick, he really grew on me (wasn’t sure what to think of him at first, kinda annoyed me a little) and now that I’m thinking about it, that’s kinda punny, lol. Vataea too, also super badass. Hope to see her use more of her magic in the next book.

Overall, solid start, but just wasn’t quite a five star read for me. Might just be my mood though (as I said, I’m super pregnant and super tired and some days super cranky, lol). Will 100% be snatching up that second book!

Huge thanks to NetGalley and Imprint for allowing me to read an eARC of this book in exchange for my honest review!♥

BLOG TOUR + REVIEW + GIVEAWAY: All the Stars and Teeth (All the Stars and Teeth #1) by Adalyn Grace

February 5, 2020 / Cassie / 8 Comments

All the Stars and Teeth (All the Stars and Teeth #1)
by Adalyn Grace
Purchase on: Amazon, iBooks
Add to: Goodreads

Synopsis:
Set in a kingdom where danger lurks beneath the sea, mermaids seek vengeance with song, and magic is a choice, Adalyn Grace’s All the Stars and Teeth is a thrilling fantasy for fans of Stephanie Garber’s Caraval and Sarah J. Maas’s Throne of Glass series.

She will reign.

As princess of the island kingdom Visidia, Amora Montara has spent her entire life training to be High Animancer—the master of souls. The rest of the realm can choose their magic, but for Amora, it’s never been a choice. To secure her place as heir to the throne, she must prove her mastery of the monarchy’s dangerous soul magic.

When her demonstration goes awry, Amora is forced to flee. She strikes a deal with Bastian, a mysterious pirate: he’ll help her prove she’s fit to rule, if she’ll help him reclaim his stolen magic.

But sailing the kingdom holds more wonder—and more peril—than Amora anticipated. A destructive new magic is on the rise, and if Amora is to conquer it, she’ll need to face legendary monsters, cross paths with vengeful mermaids, and deal with a stow-away she never expected… or risk the fate of Visidia and lose the crown forever.

I am the right choice. The only choice. And I will protect my kingdom.

Review:

All the Stars and Teeth was the first book I read in 2020 and it very easily could be in my top ten by the time the year ends. That’s how much I adored this book.

There’s everything I love, wrapped into nearly 400 pages: Magic! Pirates! Mermaids! Enemies(ish)-to-lovers! Peril! Teamwork! Romance! A heartbreaking ending! Promise of more exciting things to come!

ATSAT is wild ride, from the very beginning chapters. Amora Montara, princess of Visidia, has been training in magic her whole life to take over her father’s throne. The magic is dangerous and there are very few who can do what she can. All she has to do is one demonstration of her ability to use this magic and she will ascend to the throne. But something goes terribly wrong and then next things she knows, she’s running away from a pirate to save her kingdom and prove she can one day rule.

It’s on this journey we meet the team: Bastian, the man who saved Amora from execution and has secrets of his own; Ferrick, Amora’s fiancé by way of an arranged relationship; Vatea, a mermaid who helps them navigate cursed waters after they rescue her. To say I loved the group dynamics would be an understatement. All of them bring particular skills and have such unique, but lovable, personalities.

The four of them sail around of the realm, trying to find the items they need to travel to Zudoh and face those who are practicing a dangerous magic face-to-face. As the group goes further on their travels, secrets are exposed and devastating information becomes exposed. Each character is battling their own personal demons, but all have a singular focus: to defeat the evil growing in the kingdom.

This is the first part of a duology, and while I would love to see it go even further than that, I’m happy to know there’s more to come. Because that ending was both satisfying and devastating. Certain storylines are wrapped up, but the sacrifices asked of some of our favs are almost too great and it broke my heart.

ATSAT is fast-paced and beautifully written. The characters are highly engaging and likeable. There’s monsters and magic and sea creatures. There’s also romance and deep friendships. All the characters grow and learn as they face precarious situation after precarious situation. There’s brutality but also sweet love. I truly don’t want to spoil a lot of aspects of this book, so I’ll just say I hope you enjoy this as much as I did. If you love YA fantasy as much as I do, All the Stars and Teeth makes a wonderful addition to this genre.

Favorite Quotes:

My hands hesitate over the fire as the confidence I built like armor around me shatters. Everything I’ve done has been for them. And yet…my own people fear me.

Bastian rolls his eyes and leans closer into the cell, dropping his voice so no one can eavesdrop. “Listen to me, I don’t want to abandon Visidia.” He pulls back his coat to reveal my dagger and satchel tucked into his belt. “I want you to save it.”

Hand on my cabin door, I shoot the boy a dirty glare. “Fine, keep your secrets. But remember that if you try anything, I’ll stab you without a second thought.”

“Are you flirting with me?” he teases. “It’s a bit hard to tell, considering how terrifying you are.”

“I’ve a collection of me who I intend to repay for generous they were to me.” Vatea’s smile gleams wicked. “Dismemberment for anyone who ever tried to touch me. The tongue flayed from those with wicked mouths. And the hearts eaten from any man who’s ever told me to smile.”

“As it turns out,” I say softly, “it’s impossible to break anyone out of the trance unless they have feelings for you.”

“Feelings?” he echoes, shifting his right hand so his fingers weave between mine. “You mean like this?”

It’s not too late for us; we are not the mistakes of our family. We have the opportunity to change Visidia for the better.

Bastian once asked me why I didn’t just find a crew and save myself. But what he didn’t realize was that I’d already found them—this is my crew, and I hold them tight. “We’ll do this together. All of us.”

Carefully, he reaches out to take my hand. Giving it to him is the only thing that makes me feel whole again, and I hate it.

Giveaway:

Win one copy of All the Stars and Teeth (US/CAN only). Contest runs Feb. 4 – Feb. 20, 2020.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

About the Author:

Adalyn Grace graduated Summa Cum Laude when she was 19-years-old. She spent four years working in live theater, and acted as the managing editor of a nonprofit newspaper. During and after college, she studied storytelling as an intern on Nickelodeon Animation’s popular animated show, The Legend of Korra (sequel to Avatar: The Last Airbender). She was a participant in Pitch Wars 2016, and is a former literary agent intern for an established agency.Adalyn splits time between San Diego and Arizona with her bossy cat and two dorky dogs, and spends her days writing full time while trying to find the city’s best burrito.She has several projects in the works, and hopes to continually push the boundaries and explore the limits of upper young adult fiction.You can follow her on Twitter, at @AdalynGrace