Book Review: All the Stars and Teeth (All the Stars and Teeth #1) by Adalyn Grace

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Rating: ☆☆☆☆
Audience: Young adult fantasy
Length: 384 pages
Author: Adalyn Grace
Publisher: Imprint
Release Date: February 4th, 2020
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

She will reign.

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.

I am the right choice. The only choice. And I will protect my kingdom.

Set in a kingdom where danger lurks beneath the sea, mermaids seek vengeance with song, and magic is a choice, Adalyn Grace’s All the Stars and Teeth is a thrilling fantasy for fans of Stephanie Garber’s Caraval and Sarah J. Maas’s Throne of Glass series.

A SOLID DEBUT.

I sat on buying this book for awhile, but I finally convinced myself that this was going to be a good read and that I would want the sequel. Hallelujah, I WAS RIGHT.

This was a beautiful debut that had all the hallmark notes that I love about YA fantasy. Daring action and adventure, a sweet romance, a sassy crew and a villain who’s mind has been twisted by his own fantasies. YUP. All here guys.

I was nervous with the amount of info dumping that happened in the first few chapters. I didn’t want the entire book to be this way. Once an understanding of the magic system and islands was laid out there the story significantly increased in pace and ease of knowing which place was where. There’s a lot of info here (with a smattering of islands to keep track of). Yay for book maps that help keep everything separated.

The crew that Amora embarks with to help save her kingdom was the best. I loved having the pirate Bastian, ex-fiance Ferrick and mermaid Vataea. It was a great mix of banter, flirtations, honest moments, and a found family all its own. The romance between Amora and Bastian made me smile. It grew well over the time period, never rushed into anything, and I felt the heat brewing between them. The way things wrapped up leave a lot to interpretation for the second book. I’m hoping my HEA is in the midst.

I really liked this villain. Sometimes I feel YA villains are a bit laughable and not corrupted enough for me to feel invested in the story. This guy was trying to things right the wrong way and brought all the action this book needed. I was kept on my toes with the twisted magic running rampant through these islands. Definitely made me cringe at times with the descriptions (in a good way). This has an edge of darkness to it without being a dark novel.

I appreciated that the ending wasn’t a giant cliffhanger, but wrapped enough of the story line up to feel satisfied with the conclusion. I’m excited for book two and getting to see how all of these characters develop!

Overall audience notes:

  • YA Fantasy
  • Language: none
  • Romance: kisses/make-outs
  • Violence: magic, physical, swords, knives, poison, mythical creature attacks

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Graphic Novel Book Review: Wires and Nerves (Wires and Nerves #1) by Marissa Meyer

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Rating: ☆☆☆☆
Audience: Young adult fantasy graphic novel
Length: 238 pages
Author: Marissa Meyer [Illustrators: Douglas Holgate & Stephen Gilpin]
Publisher: Fiewel & Friends
Release Date: January 31st, 2017
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

When rogue packs of wolf-hybrid soldiers threaten the tenuous peace alliance between Earth and Luna, Iko takes it upon herself to hunt down the soldiers’ leader. She is soon working with a handsome royal guard who forces her to question everything she knows about love, loyalty, and her own humanity. With appearances by Cinder and the rest of the Rampion crew, this is a must-have for fans of the series.

LOVED THIS CONTINUATION.

Yay for my library having this book because I have been looking for a chance to continue this series! What beautiful artwork and well put together graphics. Definitely easy enough to read in one sitting and feel wrapped back up in The Lunar Chronicles.

I loved the way everyone was portrayed and that this story focused on Iko. I think she totally deserves her own book and doing it as an illustrated book was such a great idea. I love her personality and love for her friends. Iko is funny, witty, and incredibly loyal. She’s an easy heroine to love and cheer on.

Getting to see the cast of TLC again was also fantastic. I love that series and getting to have them also in this book was perfect. Those couples are just precious and I could always use more of them. Seeing Cinder as Queen and working towards a better future of Lunar was impressive. This book worked on multiple levels, tackling the story from many different pieces.

This is a cute and fun read. Highly recommend if you enjoyed the original novels to check out this book!

Overall audience notes:

  • YA Fantasy Graphic Novel
  • Language: none
  • Romance: a few kisses
  • Violence: werewolf/hybrid solider attacks, guns, physical

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Book Review: The Toll (Arc of a Scythe #3) by Neal Shusterman

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Rating: ☆☆☆
Audience: Young adult sci-fi + dystopian
Length: 627 pages
Author: Neal Shusterman
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
Release Date: November 5th, 2019
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

It’s been three years since Rowan and Citra disappeared; since Scythe Goddard came into power; since the Thunderhead closed itself off to everyone but Grayson Tolliver.

In this pulse-pounding conclusion to Neal Shusterman’s Arc of a Scythe trilogy, constitutions are tested and old friends are brought back from the dead.

I THINK I LIKED THIS?

This was an…interesting finale. And I had REALLY hyped it up (especially after the ending of Thunderhead). I was expecting a lot from this book, and something a lot different which is why my feelings are a bit mixed up over it.

Who did I miss most? ROWAN AND CITRA. I felt like they were barely in this. And I thought they were supposed to be the whole crux of the story, it really turned out to be the Thunderhead. That was different in its own right.

Y’all. I had seen multiple reviews about people not knowing what was happening. And I was thinking how odd that was…then I read it. No lie, til about 500 pages in I didn’t quite know where everything was going. It was a tad ridiculous. Everything was hidden so much that I felt it dragging because the level of action in the previous book wasn’t present here.

I’m finding it difficult to write out this review because everything was not as I imagined. It was honestly kind of heart breaking watching the demise of the planet because of Goddard. I liked having so many different POVs though because that gave me perspectives from truly every angle. I saw what the protagonists and antagonists were thinking, and even what some random side characters were witnessing. It helped round out the narrative.

The evolution of the Thunderhead was intense. This all powerful AI somehow had some actual humanity in him and helped lead the charge for change. I would go into more detail on this, but it would be best if you went into this blind! I promise it’s at least interesting and will make you think.

Overall audience notes:

  • Young adult sci-fi + dystopian
  • Language: a little
  • Romance: none
  • Violence: a lot (which should be no surprise), page 107 – suicide by drowning, multiple killings in hundreds of different ways

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Book Review: Akarnae (The Medoran Chronicles #1) by Lynette Noni

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Rating: ☆☆☆ 1/2
Audience: Young adult fantasy
Length: 436 pages
Author: Lynette Noni
Publisher: Pantera Press
Release Date: February 1st, 2015
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

With just one step, sixteen-year-old Alexandra Jennings’s world changes—literally.

Dreading her first day at a new school, Alex is stunned when she walks through a doorway and finds herself stranded in Medora, a fantasy world full of impossibilities. Desperate to return home, she learns that only a man named Professor Marselle can help her… but he’s missing.

While waiting for him to reappear, Alex attends Akarnae Academy, Medora’s boarding school for teenagers with extraordinary gifts. She soon starts to enjoy her bizarre new world and the friends who embrace her as one of their own, but strange things are happening at Akarnae, and Alex can’t ignore her fear that something unexpected… something sinister… is looming.

An unwilling pawn in a deadly game, Alex’s shoulders bear the crushing weight of an entire race’s survival. Only she can save the Medorans, but what if doing so prevents her from ever returning home?

Will Alex risk her entire world—and maybe even her life—to save Medora?

DIFFERENT THAN I THOUGHT.

I went into this book mostly blind because it had been a few months since I added it to my TBR because of someone’s review I had seen. I kind of like when this happens because it makes everything more of a mystery.

The biggest reason this was different than I thought was that it leaned more towards the younger YA side than the older. The main character, Alex, is 16 (turning 17 during the book), but her group of friends and interactions in general throughout the whole book just led me to think that this was for a younger audience.

I’ve decided that I did enjoy this overall. We all know that I don’t love HP, so I’m usually hesitant of fantasy/magic school based books. I didn’t mind this one. I thought the classes were interesting and I liked the teachers too. I really loved Alex’s friends Jordan and Bear. I liked that she had a friend group that were just her friends. It added an amazing version of a found family trope that I was so here for.

For the plot, I found this to give me enough information without over loading it. There was a nice build up of the villain and his background, the larger world surrounding Medora and about how the magic system worked. I liked the way the way the plot moved through classes, friend moments, action, and more. I actually got to see Alex’s entire school year which was fun too.

I’m curious how this series will continue to expand and hope to read the next book soon.

Overall audience notes:

  • Young adult fantasy
  • Language: none
  • Romance: none
  • Violence: swords, magic, physical; not overly bloody/gory

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