All the Stars and Teeth by Adalyn GraceMy rating: 3 of 5 stars
The title of this book is...interesting. I don't love it. I don't quite connect it to anything besides teeth being what Amora uses for her soul magic. But teeth aren't the only things she uses, and stars are only really mentioned when they are sailing, so the title doesn't make much sense with what the story was about. Anyway.
I was pretty ambivalent about everyone except maybe Vataea, who was bad-ass but still a bit not quite there as a character for me. I frequently forgot she existed. From the first chapter I absolutely hated Amora (I just finished the book and I actually had to go back to the last page and look up her name because for some reason I could not keep it in my head), her arrogance and surety was obviously a set-up for her to fail and it was too blatant for me. And the only thing I could think of when reading Bastian was Captain Hook from Once Upon A Time. He exudes sexy-pirate vibes with swagger and confidence, and it felt like that was the character Bastian was modeled after. While not a horrible thing, I still wish I'd been able to see him in my head as his own person.
The story itself was interesting. I think that was what really kept me going. I was curious to see how the different islands worked, how Kaven was gaining hold, and who and what he really was. It was pretty clear from the moment Bastian broke Amora out of prison that they were going to fall for each other, but the romance wasn't too in-your-face. I thought the twist at the end was good, although I still don't understand (view spoiler)
Poor Ferrick was just dead weight the whole time - the only thing he was good for was healing people and literally chopping off his own limbs so that Amora could kill other people. His shining moment at the end was a nice way to give him something to do, but I really wish he had been given that chance much earlier and wasn't such a bumbling idiot throughout the first half of the book. He seemed like a decent enough person, who wasn't all that stupid actually, but who was trying to help someone he cared about and was only treated with frustration and disdain (yet another reason I didn't like Amora).
I'll still probably seek out book two because I want to know whether Amora can break her own curse, save soul magic, and save the kingdom. Hopefully the characters are a bit less unlike-able the next time around.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book. My opinions are my own.
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