Publication date Aug 2020/ Publisher Titan
Synopsis
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.
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Review
On the run from her kingdom, a disgraced princess travels the sea searching for redemption but instead uncovers the secrets of her ancestry. A world full of magic, curses, pirates and mermaids– what more could a fantasy lover need?
All The Stars And Teeth is a perfect combination of world building, action and emotion, from the first page the adventure doesn’t stop for a moment.
The islands of Visidia are much like factions, each with their own type of magic, under the Aridian rule no island can practise more than one of the seven kinds lest they invoke the beast that once destroyed them.
When Princess Amora fails the royal testing she flees execution with the aid of her arranged fiance, a mysterious pirate and his magical ship, only to find their world is not as content as the King led her to believe.
Unlike some fantasy novels I found Grace’s world building to be unique yet easy to understand, the various islands are beautifully described and the creatures and costumes wonderfully imagined.
Told entirely from Princess Amora’s POV, I found her to be irritatingly arrogant but Grace offsets this well by giving her naivety and an unwavering moral compass. Although I didn’t like her character per se, she commands respect and made a brilliant MC, I enjoyed navigating the world and discovering the many betrayals of her kingdom.
Bastian the pirate is very much the cliche you would expect but I loved it all the same and the trope didn’t detract from the story at all.
The battles, discoveries and lore in All The Stars And Teeth made a fascinating read and I highly recommend this to all lovers of YA fantasy, especially those with a penchant for pirates at sea.
ooh I love the sound of the world building and rarely find YA fantasy with pirates- this sounds like a really good read! Awesome review!
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