I really enjoyed the first in this duology, but I didn't find this book as interesting throughout. It probably took over a third of the book for me to actually begin to be interested in the story line. The first part of the book was really repetitive and wallowing. Once we actually set out to the different islands and got into some action it became much more interesting. All told, I'm not sure this book added a whole lot to the plot. I also was really annoyed by how much Amora was focusing on the curse being the reason she couldn't be with Bastian and how much her father's death made her a really inept ruler and decision maker. Her character just felt really inconsistent in this book. An okay read, but not entirely interesting or needed.

Adalyn Grace’s debut novel, All the Stars and Teeth, was one of the best YA fantasies of 2020, telling the story of a princess desperate to prove herself and the pirate ship on which she sets out on an adventure to do so. Its sequel, All the Tides of Fate, brings Amora Montara’s story to its conclusion, and its bittersweet ending is a generally satisfying one.

(Though you may find Amora a more difficult heroine to love in this installment.)

All the Tides of Fate expands on many of the best aspects of its predecessor, exploring more of the vast kingdom of Visidia and its supremely interesting residents. Freed now from their ties to just a single type of magic, many of the islands are thriving as their people figure out how to best use their newfound skills and abilities.

The secondary characters that Amora and her friends encounter throughout the story are varied and deeply interesting, and Grace’s worldbuilding skills remain first rate. I’d have loved to have spent some more time in some of the other lands, and seen some more of the new combined magic abilities that their peoples have discovered. Grace has truly created a world that feels fresh and unique in the world of YA fantasy, and that’s certainly no easy task.

Full review to come on Culturess.com in February!

That cover though!

Another island-hopping adventure in Visidia gives us a bittersweet ending to this sparkling, inventive, brutal, emotional tale of a princess who has to quickly mature into a queen and more — with a whole lot of help from her friends.

I like Visidia, its magics, and its people quite a lot, but never warmed up to our main character — Princess/Queen/High Animancer/Executioner/Soul Magicker Amora. She's a strong, active lead, but a repetitive and, at times, frustratingly self-centered narrator. To be fair, she is processing (or dealing with the effects of not processing) quite a lot of trauma in this book, which contributes to some of the repetitiveness.

It felt like the writing leaned into that repetitiveness too hard instead of adjusting for it, making it a more difficult read than it needed to be. In some cases, scenes and plot points from the previous book were hammered on, but simple refreshers about characters' backstories were overlooked. Some of the reveals were quite good though, and I can see the ending being a tear-jerker for some.

Content notes: blood magic, combat, execution, and torture; loss of a parent; grief; narrator with nightmares, panic attacks, symptoms of PTSD; lying to loved ones

My thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan for a digital ARC

This was just as fun as the first one and I loved all the pirate things and swoon! Writing was on point, as was the world!

I will start my review by noting that while some reviewers have said they look forward to learning more about Visidia and its people, there should be no more to learn after reading All the Tides of Fate as the series has been billed all along as a duology--meaning TWO BOOKS. I'll add that author Adalyn Grace wraps things up nicely and I, for one, appreciate her restraint. This is a story well-told in two volumes; let's leave the rest to our imaginations.

At the end of the first book, Amora is left fatherless, forced to take the crown, and bound to Bastien by a curse. Could things get any worse? Apparently, they can. All the Tides of Fate isn't a happy book because Visidia isn't a happy kingdom; it's rotting from the inside, as Amora knows all too well. Her nightmares are driving her, and that isn't helping her make the best decisions. If only she would listen to her crew.

In many ways, Amora seems less mature in this book than she did in the last. Maybe we are supposed to see her selfishness as grief, but it doesn't come across that way. It is also repetitive--a little goes a long way.

I wanted to like this book more than I did. It is a well-written story that hits many of the marks one expects from an adventure tale. I still gave it four stars for its world building and imaginative depictions of strong female characters in unconventional situations.

I adored the first book in the series, and have recommended it to multiple people. However, this book fell short and I'm not sure why. The first half the main character felt like a different character from book one, which makes some sense as she suffered a loss but her voice didn't feel like her. She improved throughout the book, which I think added to the plot so I appreciated that. I do love that the author had no issues killing characters, and the deaths felt like they made sense in regards to the plot. Overall, this was not terrible but was missing something from the first book. I will however, continue to recommend this series and this author.

I loved the first book and was so excited to receive this ARC in exchange for an honest review. I devoured this in two days. In All the Tides of Fate, we rejoin Amora and Bastian on their adventure. Amora trying to fix her kingdom while searching the country for a king to join her but is really trying to figure out how to separate her soul from Bastian and determine if her growing feelings for him are real or a result of their shared soul. I thought Adalyn Grace did an excellent job world building in All the Stars and Teeth and this book builds on that. I love the intricate world she has built and also really appreciated the character development in the second installment. However, I did find Amora a little bit annoying at times for pushing Bastian away when their feelings for each other were clearly real. I did love Bastian because who doesn’t love a sexy pirate? There was a death at the end that I really didn’t see the point of and I didn’t love the way everything was wrapped up. Overall, this was a good novel that I read through really quickly. I think Adalyn Grace is really talented and I can’t wait to read Belladonna next.

After reading the first book (which is on our YA Indiana Read Aloud list for 2020!!!!), I could NOT wait to get my hands on the sequel. When my friend told me the ARC had been released, I immediately logged in and downloaded it. I read it in 2 days! Adalyn Grace creates a beautiful world that looks nothing like our own while creating characters who struggle with the same things that we struggle with every day. I especially love how Grace brilliantly examines and questions positions of power gender roles, and women's rights in this series. It is a beautifully written piece of fantasy while offering a cutting commentary on society.

I read this ARC, thanks to NetGalley, for an honest review. I have really enjoyed this series so far. My interest comes from the sense of adventure and questing that series brings, and “All the Tides of Fate” did not disappoint. I wasn’t as invested in the characters in this book as I was in the first book, but I was drawn to the story and want to read more. This book may have felt a little rushed to me, but it could have just been because I was so excited to read it- and no fault of the author’s at all. I would definitely recommend this series to anyone who loves adventure, love, and cursed kingdoms :)

After the events of the first book Amora and Bastien share a soul. Sos he has to figure out if her growing feelings for him are real or not.
The events in this book are her becoming queen while traveling her country looking for a king. But she's really trying to figure out how to unbind her soul from Bastien
Friendships are tested.

I really enjoyed the first book in this duology, All the Stars and Teeth, so I had high hopes for this book. I really liked Amora in the first book, but I found her annoying in this second book. I think it's because she was so hung up on pushing Bastian away because of their situation after the end of the previous book, but her reason for doing so really made no sense. Had that thing happened before she had feelings for him (her reason for pushing him away), I would understand her behavior. Since that thing happened after she already clearly had feelings for him though, pushing him away because she couldn't know if those feelings were "real" seemed silly. If they were real before the bad thing happened, what makes you question suddenly after?

I'm also disappointed in the person who sacrificed themselves at the end. That sacrifice should have been Amora's to make, not this person's.

Basically, after the build up of the first book, I personally found this second book a letdown. I'm sure plenty of people will love it though, it just wasn't for me personally.

I received a ARC from Goodreads in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this sequel to the first book. It had all the adventure of the first book and added more world building and character development. It was hard to put down and I finished the book in a matter of days.

The ending got me though. Oh my gosh.

This book brings us right back to Amora and her crew setting out on another adventure to save her kingdom, this time with a couple extra additions. They return to a previously visited island and also visit two new islands where we get a glimpse of some fascinating magic. Along the way we see Amora battle her grief for her father and try to fix her kingdom all by herself. Will she learn how to accept help?

I received a copy of All the Tides of Fate, by Adalyn Grace, through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I have love the way Adalyn Grace makes the pages come alive. She describes people and places as if they are standing right next to her instead of her in her mind. All the Tides of Fate doesn't quite pick up where we last left off but the flow of the story doesn't hot any bumps. The main character however seemed to change in this book! I didn't feel as though she was the strong heroine from the last book but a whiny brat that loved to blame everyone around her! Some parts of the book were really slow and not much was going on middle of the book though it started off adventurous but the last few chapters were amazing and SHOCKING!! I had no clue that this would be the last book in the series, so the ending really felt like it was truly the end.

I really do recommend this book to readers that like adventures that aren't typical of YA but read the first book for sure! I'm super excited on where Adalyn decides to take us next in her writing endeavors!

I received a copy of All the Tides of Fate, by Adalyn Grace, through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This is the second book in the series All the Stars and Teeth, picking up the story a couple of seasons after the first one ended. (Ended as if this was the last book in the series, but left open so there could be another.)

The first thing I must mention, that like the first book the MC liked to whine, but it wasn’t as bad as the first, but it still got irritating having the same things talked about as if it was being beaten into my head.

That said, it was an okay story, started off with adventure, assassination attempts, and the such, but sadly towards the end, it lost its substance as if the author decided that was enough story, it needed to end.
It wasn't that bad of an ending, there was a surprise there, but how it was wrapped up, I had already figured that was what was going to happen.

This one, as the first, I give three stars, and it is a book I would recommend to others. It’s suitable for readers, 14 and up. There were some fights that got a little bloody.

***I received an uncorrected proof of this ebook from netgalley in exchange for an honest review***

"I am not just Visidia's queen, after all. I am its protector. Its monster."✝

I am having a hard time articulating exactly /why/ I don’t love this duology. It’s well written. It checks all my boxes. BUT...?? I was super excited to read this, but I just couldn’t stay interested. I would read a chapter, get distracted on instagram, read a chapter, wander off to tumblr, repeat.

I think a major part of it is definitely Amora. I just don’t like her, like, at all. She’s got a wild temper, and some of her internal thoughts are a LOT. I just wanted to be like SIS, RELAX. You don’t need to maim people just because they were rude. This might also be why the romance is lackluster. I just... don’t understand why Bastian wants anything to do with this woman. That goes for Ferrick and Cas too... RUN! I get Vatea and Shanty because ~bad bitch squad~ and all that.

Amora’s motivation throughout this entire book is fueled by her feelings on her father and... I just don’t buy it. It contradicts her other motivation, so-called “greatest love”: her kingdom. So which is it ma’am? I’m confused. Her repeated refusal to let anyone in and spend so much time thinking about it (the other half of the text when she's not thinking about her father)... is very grating. WE GET IT. You're a strong independent woman who don't need no man, or anyone else for that matter.

"How am I supposed to lead a kingdom that tries to poison me? Who wants me dead and gone? If I had my father here … he could help. The kingdom would feel safer.”✝ BOO FUCKING HOO. Ma'am you are a monarch, and people don't generally like monarchs. This also feels like a complete 180 from book 1, where Amora believed herself to be what's best for Visidia. We all knew (readers & Amora) from the start of book 1 that her father was a horrible ruler. I *think* this entire book was meant to showcase Amora dealing with her grief and PTSD, but it was poorly executed. There wasn't much of a recovery. She was just in a really bad place until another moment of trauma provided clarity.

The stakes don’t seem high enough with Amora’s final *choice*, because there is only one she can make or this whole duology is pointless.

-10 points for a pointless death at the end... what a stupid way to kill off a main. And then erasing everyone’s memory of them? -1000000000. [I also just don’t understand how we can regrow hacked off limbs and cure poisoning, etc, but a knife to the side is death? In a self-healing being? I- (hide spoiler)]

WHEW that ending.... For the majority of the book, Amora whined about her people not being able to handle the speed of change going on in Visidia. So, her solution is to [absolve the monarchy and announce each island is going to elect a ruler biannually...? (hide spoiler)] L-O-L... what kind of cheesy children’s movie ending did i just witness with this final chapter? Make it make sense.

Look, I like Adalyn Grace's writing style. I will for sure be reading Belladonna, her next book. But this just didn't do it for me and earned itself a space on the disappointing sequels shelf.


✝check against final text

Rating: 3.5 stars

Thank you Macmillan Children's Publishing Group for the ARC and Adalyn Grace for the sleep-deprivation.

You'd thinking after vanquishing an centuries'-old curse, restoring a lost island, and becoming queen, life would be a little easier for Amora Montara. Unfortunately, even as she tries to prove to her people and herself that she's a strong, independent woman who don't need no man, her first order of business is to appease the kingdom by producing an heir. She's sent on a reverse Cinderella-tour through the islands to find a husband. She uses tour as an excuse to look for a way to break the curse that ties her with Bastian and finds that the world can be an even more dangerous place for a reigning queen than for a runaway princess.

The pacing was similar to the first book, but the story felt a bit more disjointed this time around. Instead of creating a seamless, complete story, different parts of the story were like pieces of a puzzle that don't quite fit together. Because there weren't really transitions to bridge the various storylines together, the plot was kind of all over the place and there was major part of the ending that I'm still not convinced needed to happen. I'm hoping some of that will be fixed up before final book is published because it really detracted from what was otherwise a pretty interesting story.

My biggest issue with the book was the fact that the main source of conflict is Amora's lack of communication and refusal to let people help which is not my favorite, It's a shame because the end of her character arc in All the Stars and Teeth was heading in such a promising direction, and this felt like such a huge step backwards. It was especially frustrating to see it play out in her relationship with Bastain. I already found the romance fairly unconvincing, and the supposed objections Amora kept bringing up felt like a cheap ploy to create unnecessary drama.

That being said, this was still a great book that kept me up until the wee hours of the morning. It was fun visiting the different islands: Kerost, the new Vegas (or Macau, if we're sticking to the island theme) of Visdia, Curmana, the island getaway of my fictional dreams, and let's not forget Valuka, the diverse land with major ATLA vibes. The biggest disappointment was the fact that we didn't get to go back to Zudoh. I'm not a fan of unnecessary short stories, but I almost want Grace to give us a "bonus scene" where Amora and Bastain visit the formerly banished island. I need to see for myself they're doing okay. I also loved Ferrick's character arc in this one. He was my least favorite crewmate in the original, but Grace converted me in All the Tides of Fate and I'm now 100% Team Ferrick,

Magic, pirates, mermaids, sailing adventure...need I say more?

I loved All the Stars and Teeth and was beyond excited to get my hands on this one! It didn't disappoint. There was even more action, adventure, romance, heartache, secrets, and more!
My only complaint would be that I wished it could have been longer or even another book. It wrapped up almost too quick and I would have loved to see more in the conclusion of this amazing story!

Through blood and sacrifice, Amora Montara has conquered a rebellion and taken her rightful place as queen of Visidia. Now, with the islands in turmoil and the people questioning her authority, Amora cannot allow anyone to see her weaknesses.

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC copy in exchange for an honest review.

Wow wow wow. Where to even begin? I love this book, it exceeded my expectations in every way. Amora is such a complex character, and at times her life choices infuriated me. I yelled at her several times over the course of this story because she was making decisions that I would not have made. It's frustrating when you are mad at the main character of a story! But I also saw a lot of myself in Amora: she is stubborn, strong-willed, and feels like she is the only person who can get the job done. Her character is so well-written that it was very easy to put myself in her shoes and understand her thought process.

I think as a woman we often are called weak and emotional, especially women in positions of power. Amora's struggle to seem kind, but firm, approachable but not a push-over is something I think every woman has faced at some point. Of course, the stakes are much higher for Amora but I appreciated the parallels between real life, whether they were intended or not.

The cast of characters that help Amora along her journey are just as fun and interesting this time as they were last time. They are vibrant and witty, and Grace makes us feel like we are part of the crew. Amora is the main character of this story, but we are never made to feel that the others only exist as plot devices. They are all main characters in their own story. They led complex lives before they met Amora, and will continue to have adventures of their own.

Also, I didn't know it was possible to fall in love with a fictional character, but who wouldn't fall in love with a dashing pirate?

The journey across the kingdom was delightful, and it was a joy to experience the other cultures and landscapes that Grace has created. I didn't want to leave! Absolutely wonderful book and I was very sad to finish it.

I have to say, I was both extremely excited to read this book as well as dreading it. I LOVED the first book and normally, when I love the first book, the second book just doesn't hold up. I will say, with All the Tides of Fate, this was not the case. I was immediately pulled in from the first chapter. I highly commend Grace for keeping us all on our toes until the very last word; I was NOT expecting any of it. We get to meet so many new characters while staying true to the ones we fell in love with the first time around. I would highly recommend this novel to anyone who loves a good book with a strong female lead, someone who loves a little adventure, a little romance, and a little mystery. Bravo.