All the Stars and Teeth: 1 (All the Stars and Teeth Duology)

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So when her coming-of-age trial to officially be named heir to the throne goes horribly wrong, she’s set on a journey to prove to her kingdom that she is worthy. I think till the journey on the ship starts, the book was solid three starred read for me but after passing first quarter of the book, the real magic starts to grow on you.

The characters are well written. There are no better crew members to lead you on a sailing quest than a charming pirate, a vicious yet lovely mermaid, a loyal protective healer, and a strong determined princess. For some reason though, while I can recognize that our heroine has some great qualities, I couldn’t fully root for her in the beginning. She treats her fiance like he’s some dirt under her shoe. I understand her frustration, but at the very least she could treat him like a friend. And our heroine, Amora, she's a real piece of work, this one. Once again, the immature, bratty, know it all Hermione Granger typecast, holier than thou but still edgy warrior princess character gets to be mean and pushy and naïve but somehow gets every potential suitor to fall in love with her? She pushes people and constantly has snarky comments that are uncalled for. She tells her poor poor wet towel of a fiancé that she will never love him right in front of the guys she's been openly flirting with, completely embarrassing him and giving zero f**ks. Coming off the heels of the last battle, and Amora gaining the throne, we slip into the after-shot of life with Amora as queen. But it's not pretty. Amora struggles to gain the respect and love of her people, and questions herself and her ability to rule. Let's add the fact that she's still bound to Bastian (I won't give away why in case you all haven't read book one). So, when it's recommended to her that she should begin to find a suitor and give the kingdom a sense of safety, she embarks on a tour of the islands. But isn't a husband she has on her mind. It's a way to break the thingie from the first book's thingie that happened at the end. Amora encounters opposition, and she soon finds out that her position isn't as secure as she once thought. THE BOOK WAS FILLED WITH TROPES and although they aren't all bad, it just made the storyline somewhat predictable. Some things about the ending surprised me but others were definitely obvious.One aspect of this book that I really loved was experiencing different islands while Amora and her crew were on their journey. In the first book, it was hard for me to grasp the magical affinities of each island, but it did not feel as important this time around. With Amora's new law that anyone can practice any magic they wish, learning the designated magics of each island did not seem as necessary. It was very fun experiencing the people and scenery of each destination, and I wish there was more of that in this book.

I’m glad to see you’re confident,” Yuriel says between gooey bites of frosted fudge. “I’ll hold you to that.” One of my 2022 goals is to clean out my Kindle and this book has been sitting on there since September. I've been really looking forward to it because of THAT COVER and also because there's just a serious shortage of good nautical fantasy, and I was hoping this would be The One. Sadly, it was not. I couldn't get into this book at all. There is so much info-dumping that I really felt like I was being bludgeoned over the head with the world building and it didn't feel organic at all. I also didn't really care for the main character. I appreciate what the author was trying to do with her character-- instead of the more passive heroine that's typical in YA, she was trying to make her an arrogant antiheroine that's more like a lot of the heroes in YA. I applaud the subversion of the trope and the attempt to make a female antiheroine but I did not like the way her character was done. She felt like a Celaena Sardothien clone, and maybe if you're into that I'M SO TOUGH LOL LOOK AT ME brand of girl power, you will like Amora's character, but I was not #TeamAmora at all. the ending though...how do i even begin??? oh yeah, let me keep it short: QZSERTYGUHJ. thank you for listening to my speech. I’m a little confused by the mechanics. There was a LOT of stuff going on with curse magic that it didn’t seem to follow a set pattern. But the horrifying stuff that was done with curse magic. Wow. Another theory: I know another author was told to insert a kiss in book 1 of a trilogy. I always felt that kiss jarred, it was premature for the couple. I’m wondering if Grace’s editor told her that jumping into bed was too soon.

At the end of one scene I was absolutely convinced the “happy couple” had sex. Grace did not describe the sex only them getting hot and heavy. Then the scene ended without them parting ways prior to coitus. However, a later scene appeared to imply that they’d had coitus interruptus or self-restraint although it seemed clear that Amora has had multiple sexual partners previously. Unless I misunderstood that too. I enjoyed the liberated princess contrasting with her uptight rejected betrothed.

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. The romance does resolve. It’s not like she finish it, but there was something about it that just didn’t give me what I wanted. Though the book describes Amora’s magic as soul magic, her magic actually has very little to do with the soul. The ocean’s brine coats my tongue and I savor its grit. Late summer’s heat has beaten the sea into submission; it barely sways as I stand against the starboard ledge. Tighten the grip of your left hand.” Father’s voice is distant, but I do as he says. The ship creaks in response.Overall, All the Tides of Fate was a magnificent (and heartbreaking) ending to a series that I love so much. The characters in this story are some of my favorites of all time, and I already miss them endlessly!