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!♥
Another really good review of this book. I think I need to read it!
T.H. Hernandez recently posted…Excerpt Reveal – UNFORGIVEN (Loveless, Texas Series) by Jay Crownover
I think you should :):)
Looks like you and Cassie mostly agreed about this book. Glad you both loved it!
Nicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction recently posted…Bite-Sized Reviews of Don’t Read the Comments, Find Me Their Bones, Snug, and The Real Boy
Yes it’s always so much fun blogging with people with similar tastes so we can fangirl together, lol!
Great review! I’m glad you loved this book! I’m currently reading it and so far, I’m absolutely loving it! Can’t wait to finish rest of the book! 🙂
Raven @ Dreamy Addictions recently posted…The Lady Rogue By Jenn Bennett [Review]
Hope you ended up loving it all the way through, Raven!!