Review: All the Stars and Teeth by Adalyn Grace

BOOK STATS

Rating: ☆☆☆.5
Title: All the Stars and Teeth
Author: Adalyn Grace
Series: All the Stars and Teeth #1
Genre: Fantasy
Audience: Young Adult
Format: Hardcover
Length: 373 pages
Publisher: Imprint
Release Date: February 4, 2020
Source: Personal collection
Recommended for fans of: Caraval, Shadow & Bone, Legend of Korra, island fantasies

SYNOPSIS

Set in a kingdom where danger lurks beneath the sea, mermaids seek vengeance with song, and magic is a choice.

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.

MY THOUGHTS

First, let’s take a moment to appreciate this book cover. It is absolutely gorgeous and one of my favorites.

I enjoyed this book, but I don’t think it stands out in the realm of YA fantasies. I found the magic system difficult to grasp initially, and while it was all explained in the end, it still confused me.

Amara was a very frustrating MC. She was way too cocky, overconfident, and naive at the beginning. It was super obvious that something would go catastrophically wrong in her life so she’d be forced to learn some humility! She did mature a lot throughout the course of the book and displayed admirable compassion for her kingdom and her friends, but she was unlikable at first.

I loved Bastian! He and Amara had great banter and chemistry. I didn’t hold his ulterior motives against him. The side characters were fantastic and I wanted to know more about Ferrick and Vataea.

This book had good action and adventure as Amara finally got to visit the different islands in her kingdom. The conflict and stakes were good, but the ending was a bit overdramatic.

I also want to note that the author previously worked on the show Legends of Korra. I can see how that show influenced her writing in this story.