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takarakei's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
I unfortunately feel like I might need to reread a physical copy of this cause I didn’t enjoy the audiobook narration (specifically of them doing the male voice characters). So I don’t really think I can give it a fair review or rating yet.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood and Violence
Moderate: Torture and Death of parent
Minor: Sexual content, Animal cruelty, and Sexual assault
midnacine's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
"The world doesn't work with only your eyes, Princess. There's truth in more than what you can see."
I had a hard time getting into this at first, which was really surprising to me cuz pirates are like... my thing. Around 80 pages, while I loved the characters introduced, I found myself just not clicking with the book as much as I wanted to. It could very well just be me taking time to warm to a new series, because I consider myself notorious on that front. It could have also just been that I was trying desperately to not pick up a new book as soon as it released (I've been avoiding spoilers like the plague). But I think the main culprit is just there's a ton of exposition that's not extremely necessary to the plot of the book- maybe it could have been saved for later, even for book two. But once we were introduced to Vataea, that something clicked.
I'm not sure if I just sensed the missing dynamic when Vataea wasn't there or what, because it wasn't her character itself that made the book hard to put down, just the fact that she kind of pulled everything together. All of the sudden, I could actually read 20-40 pages at a time without even realizing it. And the little bit of romance between Amora and Bastian coming to fruition didn't hurt, either.
To me, the best part about this book were the last 150 pages. Riding the emotional journey of discovering the Montara family's secret with Amora was incredibly satisfying, as well were all of the battle scenes we get to experience from her perspective. And the internal struggle she faces in the final act? It was the nail in the coffin that got me to connect with Amora on a deeper level.
Overall, I really enjoy Adalyn Grace's writing style and I look forward to reading the second! Maybe I'll even add Belladonna to my TBR soon!
I had a hard time getting into this at first, which was really surprising to me cuz pirates are like... my thing. Around 80 pages, while I loved the characters introduced, I found myself just not clicking with the book as much as I wanted to. It could very well just be me taking time to warm to a new series, because I consider myself notorious on that front. It could have also just been that I was trying desperately to not pick up a new book as soon as it released (I've been avoiding spoilers like the plague). But I think the main culprit is just there's a ton of exposition that's not extremely necessary to the plot of the book- maybe it could have been saved for later, even for book two. But once we were introduced to Vataea, that something clicked.
I'm not sure if I just sensed the missing dynamic when Vataea wasn't there or what, because it wasn't her character itself that made the book hard to put down, just the fact that she kind of pulled everything together. All of the sudden, I could actually read 20-40 pages at a time without even realizing it. And the little bit of romance between Amora and Bastian coming to fruition didn't hurt, either.
To me, the best part about this book were the last 150 pages. Riding the emotional journey of discovering the Montara family's secret with Amora was incredibly satisfying, as well were all of the battle scenes we get to experience from her perspective. And the internal struggle she faces in the final act? It was the nail in the coffin that got me to connect with Amora on a deeper level.
Overall, I really enjoy Adalyn Grace's writing style and I look forward to reading the second! Maybe I'll even add Belladonna to my TBR soon!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Murder, Blood, Body horror, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Torture, and Violence
Moderate: Gore, Alcohol, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Trafficking, and War
Minor: Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Sexism, and Rape
just_bookish_things_'s review against another edition
adventurous
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
CW: blood, death, self-harm
All I can say is wow! I did not expect to like this as much as I did. The first couple chapters were hard to get into. I felt like Amora was simply a boring self entitled princess. I didn't want to root for her at all. But I was proven wrong very quickly! The magic system is incredible. The lore and history of the kingdom is very well fleshed out. I could not recommend this story more. My only gripe is there was a couple short sections that felt rushed as if the characters weren't making decisions based on their character traits rather they made the decisions to further the plot. However, that was uncommon. I absolutely loved this book, and I can't wait to read the sequel.
All I can say is wow! I did not expect to like this as much as I did. The first couple chapters were hard to get into. I felt like Amora was simply a boring self entitled princess. I didn't want to root for her at all. But I was proven wrong very quickly! The magic system is incredible. The lore and history of the kingdom is very well fleshed out. I could not recommend this story more. My only gripe is there was a couple short sections that felt rushed as if the characters weren't making decisions based on their character traits rather they made the decisions to further the plot. However, that was uncommon. I absolutely loved this book, and I can't wait to read the sequel.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood and Death
Moderate: War and Self harm
Minor: Animal death and Death of parent
lizzye33's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Hate crime, Death, Domestic abuse, Grief, Body horror, Suicide, and Murder
Moderate: Death of parent, Domestic abuse, and War
Minor: Animal cruelty and Fire/Fire injury
symabee's review against another edition
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
I admit that as a 30 year old, YA just doesn't do it for me as much anymore, but I did enjoy this! I loved this magical, nautical world that Adalyn Grace created. The main character is 18 and sheltered, so it did read a bit juvenile at times (as is expected with YA) but I admired her strength and determination to fight for her kingdom. I loved all the side characters and their dynamic, as well as the magic system which was pretty cool. I don't feel the need to run out and buy book two immediately, but I'm definitely interested enough that I do plan on reading it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood
Moderate: Death and Violence
Minor: Animal cruelty, Slavery, Kidnapping, Fire/Fire injury, and Death of parent
mangoseaquest's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence
Minor: Death of parent, Blood, and Grief
ka_ke's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
All the Stars & Teeth is a lovely read. The characters are easy to love, and the world building is beautiful. If I had to explain it to someone, I would suggest they imagine a story with a bit of Pirates of the Caribbean, the Princess Bride and a touch of Peter Pan.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Classism, Grief, Misogyny, Blood, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Murder, Violence, and Death of parent
Minor: Torture, Sexual content, Trafficking, and Self harm
sauvageloup's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
a slow start but a fun read overall and surprisingly dark
(spoilers throughout this review)
Pros:
- it was the plot that most kept me going with this one, since I just wanted to know what'd happen next and how it'd finish! I thought for a minute near the end that we weren't gonna see Kaven dead in this book, but we did, so I'm interested to see if there'll be a new villain in the sequel or if it'll just be Amora struggling against the curse.
- though fairly simple, the different islands with their different magics was a lot of fun, as was the magical history and lore that went with it.
- I liked how surprisingly dark it was, with Amora being all stabby and having her gory magic. despite the younger YA way it was written, there was still plenty of guts and glory! especially when Amora randomly severs Ferrick's limbs at will.
- the side characters were fun, and I especially liked the mermaid, Vataea, and her and Amora's friendship. Amora is lacking in female friends but she and Vataea worked well in their little scenes
- there's also a fairly strong feminist message throughout this. Amora and Vataea are the strongest members of the crew, Amora's ability to run the country as a woman is never questioned, she's passionate, driven and powerful and Ferrick never tries to limit or control her. she might have faults, but Amora is definitely confident and that's good to see
- Amora also randomly gets her period in the middle and isn't embarrassed much at all about this, brushing off the boys being flustered and just sorts it out. it's not treated as a big deal at all, which was cool
- the plot twist with Sira's generational curse was cool, I hadn't anticipated that at all and I'm interested to see how Amora will break it. We also got to see a very different side to Amora without her magic
cons:
- it did feel like a young YA book overall, by which I mean it read too simplistically, without much flair to the writing or much depth of ideas or message to the book. it was exactly as it said on the surface. so while it was fun, it didn't really get my emotions involved at all or make me think much
- the love triangle, though not handled very badly, was a bit trite. Grace mentions Twilight in the acknowledgements and well... that says a lot
- Amora does have issues as a character that didn't feel like they were addressed, like how Ferrick gives up limbs for her and she doesn't even thank him, or be honest with him about how she doesn't love him. I guess she definitely seems like an entitled royal, but it would've been nice to see her change or realise this.
- she has a bit of a crisis over her use of her soul magic on prisoners, but I'm not sure it was fully explored
- I got a bit confused a couple of times. at the start, I thought Amora had never practiced soul magic before her performance, but that wasn't it at all, so that wasn't clear. I'm not entirely sure how Vataea got them onto Zuzoh in the end, and surely the sea monster should've sunk the minute it was frozen? I liked the creativity of Grace's use of her worldbuilding and magic, but it did get a bit far fetched or confusing at times
so overall, I don't think the writing was anything special, but it was a fun read and did keep me reading
(spoilers throughout this review)
Pros:
- it was the plot that most kept me going with this one, since I just wanted to know what'd happen next and how it'd finish! I thought for a minute near the end that we weren't gonna see Kaven dead in this book, but we did, so I'm interested to see if there'll be a new villain in the sequel or if it'll just be Amora struggling against the curse.
- though fairly simple, the different islands with their different magics was a lot of fun, as was the magical history and lore that went with it.
- I liked how surprisingly dark it was, with Amora being all stabby and having her gory magic. despite the younger YA way it was written, there was still plenty of guts and glory! especially when Amora randomly severs Ferrick's limbs at will.
- the side characters were fun, and I especially liked the mermaid, Vataea, and her and Amora's friendship. Amora is lacking in female friends but she and Vataea worked well in their little scenes
- there's also a fairly strong feminist message throughout this. Amora and Vataea are the strongest members of the crew, Amora's ability to run the country as a woman is never questioned, she's passionate, driven and powerful and Ferrick never tries to limit or control her. she might have faults, but Amora is definitely confident and that's good to see
- Amora also randomly gets her period in the middle and isn't embarrassed much at all about this, brushing off the boys being flustered and just sorts it out. it's not treated as a big deal at all, which was cool
- the plot twist with Sira's generational curse was cool, I hadn't anticipated that at all and I'm interested to see how Amora will break it. We also got to see a very different side to Amora without her magic
cons:
- it did feel like a young YA book overall, by which I mean it read too simplistically, without much flair to the writing or much depth of ideas or message to the book. it was exactly as it said on the surface. so while it was fun, it didn't really get my emotions involved at all or make me think much
- the love triangle, though not handled very badly, was a bit trite. Grace mentions Twilight in the acknowledgements and well... that says a lot
- Amora does have issues as a character that didn't feel like they were addressed, like how Ferrick gives up limbs for her and she doesn't even thank him, or be honest with him about how she doesn't love him. I guess she definitely seems like an entitled royal, but it would've been nice to see her change or realise this.
- she has a bit of a crisis over her use of her soul magic on prisoners, but I'm not sure it was fully explored
- I got a bit confused a couple of times. at the start, I thought Amora had never practiced soul magic before her performance, but that wasn't it at all, so that wasn't clear. I'm not entirely sure how Vataea got them onto Zuzoh in the end, and surely the sea monster should've sunk the minute it was frozen? I liked the creativity of Grace's use of her worldbuilding and magic, but it did get a bit far fetched or confusing at times
so overall, I don't think the writing was anything special, but it was a fun read and did keep me reading
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Death of parent, Blood, Violence, Body horror, Murder, Torture, and Animal death
pretty gory descriptions of repeated amputationsangstifies's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
i had a fun time with this book, didn’t connect much with the characters and i’ll admit i wasn’t interested in the romance at all, those two characters together didn’t make sense to me and i found some things very predictable. the magic and the world were really cool i wish we got even more of that!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Violence, Death, and Gore
Moderate: Suicide and Death of parent
Minor: Misogyny, Sexual content, Sexual assault, Alcohol, and Confinement
arthomas's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Body horror, Colonisation, Death, War, Murder, Death of parent, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Animal death, Blood, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, and Violence