Thank you to Imprint for providing me with a review copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.
Book: All the Stars and Teeth
Author: Adalyn Grace
Year Published: 2020
Content Warnings: violence, death, suicide, sexual assault (mentioned), abusive relationship (a detailed list by the author can be found here)
- Plot: 3/5
- Characters: 3/5
- Writing: 3.5/5
- Overall: 3/5
I was incredibly excited to read All the Stars and Teeth and while I liked the book, it didn’t fully live up to my expectations.
While I admired her ferocity, I couldn’t connect to or root for the protagonist, Amora. Something about her characterisation felt so… detached. I felt the same way about the love interest, Bastian. The only two characters I actually liked and cared about were Amora’s friend, Ferrick, and Vataea (who was a mermaid). I honestly wish the book was about them instead.
My favourite aspect was the magic system. There were seven islands in the Kingdom of Visidia and each one had its own type of magic out of soul, elemental, enchantment, mind, time, restoration or curse. I did appreciate how original this system was- especially the enchantment magic and the sinister soul magic.
The book did have a lot of potential, especially in its exploration of the corruptive effects power and how it seeps down like poison through generations. However, my lack of connection to the main characters meant the impact was lost on me and I didn’t even care about the plot enough to be shocked by the twists and turns.
I don’t think I’ll be reading the sequel but I’d still recommend this book to anyone who like books with pirates, mermaids, interesting magic systems and heirs fighting for their right to rule. If it sounds intriguing to you, give it a go- you might like it more than I did!
Sereadipity 