I would like to thank Sarah from Titan for a copy of this novel in exchange for a fair and honest review

Publisher – Titan

Published – Out Now

Price - £8.99 paperback £4.68 Kindle eBook

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.

Stories are often voyages of discovery not just of strange new lands but also our lead characters facing monsters or truths that will change them. This is very much the feeling I took from the new YA novel All the Stars and Teeth by Adalyn Grace a tale of magics, curses and mermaids that ultimately, I felt needed a bit more bite.

Princess Amora Montara is about to face her final test to be formally recognised as the heir to the throne of Visidia – she must demonstrate to all that her powers will kill an unworthy man. However, the execution is far bloodier than any realised and Amora is imprisoned and put on trial where she is quickly rescued by the mysterious Bastien and ends up on a mission to explore a mysterious island kingdom where rebellion under a dangerous leader is preparing for battle.

If you’re looking for a quick easy read, then this is probably going to be a few hours of fun. Grace tells a fast paced tale made up of episodic adventures and I did enjoy the effort that has clearly gone into the wider world Amora lives in throwing in sea monsters, bandits, ancient curses and multiple strange magical abilities from regeneration of limbs to levitation. There is a lot going on and the cast that develops has to fight their way out regularly before the next part of the mission begins.

But for me there is a huge sense of storytelling that plays it too safe. Amora we find was killing people as part of her training and so little is done with such a concept. Amora I think is meant to be a complex morally grey character and unfortunately comes across more a rich girl with little understanding of her world and yet she is the only one who can fix things. Her brutal killing is just written off as one of those things and never really haunts her. The plot is mechanistic just hitting beats every few chapters and the surprises are not that hard to guess. It was a frustratingly pedestrian read (Amora’s first person narration is fairly stuck in the same gear) with lots of lost opportunities to throw a meaty look at consequences of character’s actions. I unfortunately will have to say this have not made me wish to read any more in the series.