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koistyfishy's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
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? It's complicated
5.0
I read this directly after the first book and I loved that it started directly where book one ended.
For me this book felt much more mature than book 1, and that made it so much more compelling.
Amora is dealing with grief, she has lost her power and her father and as a result has terrible nightmares and panic attacks. She is used to solving her problems alone and doesn’t know how to ask for help but through the course of the book learns to trust and be vulnerable with her found family.
I loved the relationship in this book, it felt mature and not perfect but because it wasn’t perfect it made it feel real. They were willing to challenge each other, talk out their problems and grow stronger through being together…
The ending made me cry. I didn’t think I would but as those last few pages came and went I felt the tears fall down my face at the loss of memory of Ferrick
What put book 1 down for me was the too predictable plot points, this book did not have them… I didn’t know the twists and turns before they happened and couldn’t see them happening until they did.
The writing is phenomenal… and I cannot wait to read more books by Adalyn Grace if this is the quality of her stories.
For me this book felt much more mature than book 1, and that made it so much more compelling.
Amora is dealing with grief, she has lost her power and her father and as a result has terrible nightmares and panic attacks. She is used to solving her problems alone and doesn’t know how to ask for help but through the course of the book learns to trust and be vulnerable with her found family.
I loved the relationship in this book, it felt mature and not perfect but because it wasn’t perfect it made it feel real. They were willing to challenge each other, talk out their problems and grow stronger through being together…
What put book 1 down for me was the too predictable plot points, this book did not have them… I didn’t know the twists and turns before they happened and couldn’t see them happening until they did.
The writing is phenomenal… and I cannot wait to read more books by Adalyn Grace if this is the quality of her stories.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Blood, Death of parent, Grief, Death, Panic attacks/disorders, and Violence
lizzye33's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
This was much darker than I am usually comfortable with, and until the last 75% I was annoyed with the writing. But something beautiful happened in the last 100 pages when it all fits together, and you felt like you were there, which for me was the first time I just fell into the book. It was very emotional for me, and I cannot remember a time when I laughed and deeply sobbed at the same time, never mind from a book! I will let both ideas be food for thought, but I cannot recommend this book to someone who hates slow character development or overcoming their struggles.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Panic attacks/disorders, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Violence, Grief, Death, Emotional abuse, Death of parent, Blood, and Body horror
Moderate: Blood, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Murder, Sexual content, and Torture
Minor: Alcohol, Confinement, Vomit, Pregnancy, Kidnapping, and Death
doodeedoda's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Grief, Death, Death of parent, Panic attacks/disorders, and Violence
Moderate: Alcohol, Misogyny, Sexual content, and Murder
Minor: Pregnancy
madsmccray's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
slow-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
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Mental illness, Murder, Death of parent, and Death
Minor: Misogyny
karingforbooks's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
sad
tense
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
4.0
The descriptions are gorgeous and I like the magic in the world. The legends are well thought out and woven into the story well. I do think amora could have been more developed, especially in this book, since she was so closed off for lost of it then seemed to open up instantly. But that’s my biggest complaint. Otherwise it’s a good book, a well done ending to the duology
Content Warnings
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, Murder, and Blood
ryleecanread's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I truly don’t know what the plot of the book was. So much happened and I literally don’t know why. The main character made a lot of decisions that the author took extra time to carefully explain why but still the decisions made no sense. I really only finished this book to see what would happen with Bastian. But when you finish the book you find out that a side character undeservedly dies. Literally for no good reason does he die. It’s just a character death for the sake of character death. It was an annoying last two chapters…
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Murder, and Panic attacks/disorders
dorianlecter's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Death of parent, Death, Gore, Grief, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, and Violence
Moderate: Misogyny, Sexism, and Sexual content
leahsbooks's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book. I am offering my honest opinion voluntarily.
I really enjoyed All the Stars and Teeth (see my review here), and was really looking forward to this book. When I got approved for this ARC, I was thrilled!
The story picks up a few months after the events of the previous book, and Amora is struggling with grief as she is learning how to rule her kingdom. Her grief is combined with symptoms of trauma, which is completely understandable, after what went down at the end of the last book (which if you haven’t read, why not?) Added to these stressors, Amora also has to hide the fact that she doesn’t have magic anymore.
I loved the connection between the characters, although it felt like Amora consistently set herself apart from them. The quest that they took allowed for a second tour of Visidia, under completely different circumstances, but with no fewer adventures (and danger) of course. I’d honestly expect nothing less. However, while Amora had a goal in mind, she seemed to get thrown more and more off her path over the course of the book. It reminded me of the episode of The Simpsons where Homer is given a choice between two paths to take. One is bright and green, with rainbows and birds, and the other is dark and ominous, with dead trees, and inexplicably, Homer is torn between which path to take. That’s what so much of the book felt like, and it got tiresome. I just wanted to shake Amora and ask what the heck was wrong with her.
I enjoyed the slow-burn tension between Amora and Bastian, although the female side characters stole the show hands down. Vataea and Shanty were the real show-stoppers in the book, in my opinion. There was a lot of action in the story, with a found family trope throughout, despite everything Amora did to push away the people who care about her. It kept me reading and intrigued, and I really, truly wanted to believe that Amora would do the right thing. But since this is a spoiler-free review, you’re just going to have to wait and read it for yourself to find out what happens.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Death, Gore, Grief, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, and Violence
cupidities's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
*Review copy provided by Netgalley, but opinions are mine
I loved All the Stars and Teeth when I read it last spring: gritty and dark YA fantasy that dealt with the troubles of imperialism with sea adventures galore (plus a pirate and a mermaid!). Reading All the Tides of Fate, the final book in this duology, felt like a let-down, though.
I think, in part, I was overly optimistic when reading All the Stars and Teeth. That novel felt like it had great inclusion (so many characters that don't have white skin!), but it's just superficial diversity. Their skin tones don't actually play a role in the story, even though the book is set in a world where the different islands have widely varying power dynamics, with some being exploiters and some exploited. In another author's hands, this could've been a way to explore the racialized foundations of imperialism.
The first book also felt like it was gearing up to be anti-imperialism: Amora uncovers the dark history of her family and their reign over Visidia, and begins to question their right to rule. In All the Tides of Fate, however, Amora has just become queen, and suddenly and wholeheartedly believes that she must rule her kingdom and keep it united, whatever it takes. She grapples with morality in doing so, but for most of this novel, she sees herself as the rightful leader who must preserve her empire.
The rest of this review is going to be a spoiler-laden analysis of the ways this book perpetuates and upholds an imperialist fantasy.
In All the Tides of Fate, Amora goes on a journey across the islands of Visida. She pretends she's doing so to find a husband so she can produce an heir and maintain her family's lineage--explicitly working to preserve her family's legacy as rulers of Visidia. In reality, she's hunting down a person who may know how to help her re-gain her magic and fix her kingdom--again, to help her maintain control over her imperialist domain.
Amora is attacked by residents of the first two islands she visits: first, by drunken men, and then by a political agent trying to usurp her as ruler of his island. In both cases, the attackers are very clearly portrayed as morally wrong: it is immoral for these people to fight for their communities' needs and to try to depose the newest ruler in a corrupt line of exploitative and uncaring kings. After the second attack, Amora begins to question whether she's in the right by preserving her empire, but she visits a third island, where everyone loves her and is so excited to help her fight for her vision, so her doubts are squashed and she again trusts herself to know what's best.
Her trust in herself as the rightful leader then, at the very end of the novel, brings her to suddenly announce that the kingdom will actually be changing form, so that each island gets equal say in how the union is run and maintained. Here, she seems to be offering the islands a chance to represent themselves through elected officials (in a system that sounds an awful lot like the U.S. Senate, which has its own problems of unequal representation), but again, Amora somehow knows what will be best for the kingdom. She doesn't solicit or expect any feedback from the islands in question. Instead, she makes a sweeping reform where she, as the rightful leader trained to be their queen, knows what's best for everybody, which is maintaining the empire, whatever it takes. The islands don't get a say in how the new system will function, or even whether they want to participate; instead, Amora makes her decree and then leaves, going on a new adventure at sea.
And, of course, this opportunity for empire reform is only possible through the self-sacrificial death of Visidia's most loyal subject (and Amora's closest friend, Ferrick). He dies so that Amora can re-gain her magic and preserve the empire; his death, as Visidia's loyal subject, is what enables Amora to reform the kingdom and re-gain the trust of her other subjects. He must die so that she can maintain the imperialist union of islands.
A final note: one of the islands was, in the first book, a hub of sex trafficking and other atrocities. In the second book, however, Amora and the islands' residents are incredibly excited that they have reclaimed control through turning the island into... a giant casino, with gambling and drinking around every corner, as a source of tourism revenue. This made me really uncomfortable because of the way that this pivot was praised as a sign of autonomy and agency on the island's part, as though they had reclaimed their island and economy by turning it into a legal version of what settler colonials had been using the island for previously. This pivot mirrors the same choices many tribal reservations in the U.S. have made--but without acknowledging the ways that this choice was in many ways forced upon the island in the story, and the ways that this choice doesn't actually represent political and economic agency. The island is "repairing" itself with the revenue brought in by tourist gambling, but at what cost? The book offers superficial praise of a difficult and double-edged choice for self-preservation in the face of settler colonialism, without engaging with the harms that such a choice can and does make for residents.
I loved All the Stars and Teeth when I read it last spring: gritty and dark YA fantasy that dealt with the troubles of imperialism with sea adventures galore (plus a pirate and a mermaid!). Reading All the Tides of Fate, the final book in this duology, felt like a let-down, though.
I think, in part, I was overly optimistic when reading All the Stars and Teeth. That novel felt like it had great inclusion (so many characters that don't have white skin!), but it's just superficial diversity. Their skin tones don't actually play a role in the story, even though the book is set in a world where the different islands have widely varying power dynamics, with some being exploiters and some exploited. In another author's hands, this could've been a way to explore the racialized foundations of imperialism.
The first book also felt like it was gearing up to be anti-imperialism: Amora uncovers the dark history of her family and their reign over Visidia, and begins to question their right to rule. In All the Tides of Fate, however, Amora has just become queen, and suddenly and wholeheartedly believes that she must rule her kingdom and keep it united, whatever it takes. She grapples with morality in doing so, but for most of this novel, she sees herself as the rightful leader who must preserve her empire.
The rest of this review is going to be a spoiler-laden analysis of the ways this book perpetuates and upholds an imperialist fantasy.
Amora is attacked by residents of the first two islands she visits: first, by drunken men, and then by a political agent trying to usurp her as ruler of his island. In both cases, the attackers are very clearly portrayed as morally wrong: it is immoral for these people to fight for their communities' needs and to try to depose the newest ruler in a corrupt line of exploitative and uncaring kings. After the second attack, Amora begins to question whether she's in the right by preserving her empire, but she visits a third island, where everyone loves her and is so excited to help her fight for her vision, so her doubts are squashed and she again trusts herself to know what's best.
Her trust in herself as the rightful leader then, at the very end of the novel, brings her to suddenly announce that the kingdom will actually be changing form, so that each island gets equal say in how the union is run and maintained. Here, she seems to be offering the islands a chance to represent themselves through elected officials (in a system that sounds an awful lot like the U.S. Senate, which has its own problems of unequal representation), but again, Amora somehow knows what will be best for the kingdom. She doesn't solicit or expect any feedback from the islands in question. Instead, she makes a sweeping reform where she, as the rightful leader trained to be their queen, knows what's best for everybody, which is maintaining the empire, whatever it takes. The islands don't get a say in how the new system will function, or even whether they want to participate; instead, Amora makes her decree and then leaves, going on a new adventure at sea.
And, of course, this opportunity for empire reform is only possible through the self-sacrificial death of Visidia's most loyal subject (and Amora's closest friend, Ferrick). He dies so that Amora can re-gain her magic and preserve the empire; his death, as Visidia's loyal subject, is what enables Amora to reform the kingdom and re-gain the trust of her other subjects. He must die so that she can maintain the imperialist union of islands.
A final note: one of the islands was, in the first book, a hub of sex trafficking and other atrocities. In the second book, however, Amora and the islands' residents are incredibly excited that they have reclaimed control through turning the island into... a giant casino, with gambling and drinking around every corner, as a source of tourism revenue. This made me really uncomfortable because of the way that this pivot was praised as a sign of autonomy and agency on the island's part, as though they had reclaimed their island and economy by turning it into a legal version of what settler colonials had been using the island for previously. This pivot mirrors the same choices many tribal reservations in the U.S. have made--but without acknowledging the ways that this choice was in many ways forced upon the island in the story, and the ways that this choice doesn't actually represent political and economic agency. The island is "repairing" itself with the revenue brought in by tourist gambling, but at what cost? The book offers superficial praise of a difficult and double-edged choice for self-preservation in the face of settler colonialism, without engaging with the harms that such a choice can and does make for residents.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Death, Death of parent, Grief, Murder, and Panic attacks/disorders
Minor: Sexual content
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