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lizzye33's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
This was much darker than I am usually comfortable with, and until the last 75% I was annoyed with the writing. But something beautiful happened in the last 100 pages when it all fits together, and you felt like you were there, which for me was the first time I just fell into the book. It was very emotional for me, and I cannot remember a time when I laughed and deeply sobbed at the same time, never mind from a book! I will let both ideas be food for thought, but I cannot recommend this book to someone who hates slow character development or overcoming their struggles.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Emotional abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Gore, Sexual content, Torture, Blood, Murder, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Confinement, Death, Vomit, Kidnapping, Pregnancy, and Alcohol
kassidyreads's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gore, Panic attacks/disorders, Torture, Violence, Blood, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail
rachrreads's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Adalyn Grace where can I send my therapy bill?!
**SPOILERS FOR BOOK 1 ALL THE STARS AND TEETH. BACK AWAY IF YOU HAVEN’T READ IT, YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED**
After taking down Kraven the Kingdom of Visidia is doing it’s best to rebuild with Amora as it’s Queen. Amora is doing everything she can to win the trust of her people and to set the wrongdoings of the Montara’s right. They have sent aid to Kerost to help them rebuild and they’ve reestablished Zudoh in the Kingdom after their wrongful banishment by her father.
Amora is dealing with the stress of her father’s death and the loss of half her soul— the part that holds her magic. Without it she’s broken and she will do anything to get it back. Her people do not fully believe in her and her advisors urge her to set off to the islands to take a husband. Amora balks at the idea initially. When presented with the possibility of restoring her soul and getting rid of the Montara curse, Amora sets off on a journey across the Kingdom. No one can know the truth, so she uses the ruse of finding a husband to search the different islands. Through it all, Amora puts Bastian at a distance— she doesn’t know if her feelings are because she loves him or if it’s due to him being cursed to hold the other half of her soul.
Amora really comes into herself during this book and I love how much of a girl boss she is! She is the movement!! When being mansplained to and looked down upon, Amora responds beautifully.
“…[My father’s] no longer the one who sits on the throne; I am. I'm not sure if you felt it was okay to condescend to me because I'm a woman, because of my age, or simply because I'm new to this position and you felt the need to establish some sort of dominance you do not and will never have. But the next time you open your mouth to speak to me, remember that you're talking to your queen. Do you understand?"
I also love how Amora’s mental health is dealt with in this book. Amora suffers from anxiety, panic attacks, depression, and immense grief through this book. She’s constantly blaming herself and shutting others out— trying to take everything on herself. Adalyn does a great job of representing Amora’s feelings, as well as having an accurate representation of how one might such a traumatic event such as watching your father die in front of you.
THE ANGST between Amora and Bastian through this book is absolutely golden. I don’t want to give too much away but I felt the pain and the longing though out the whole book. Amora is so confused as to how she feels about Bastian and she’s constantly resisting against her instincts to lean into him.
“I very well might be in love with Bastian Altair. But until our curse is broken, I cannot trust myself to make that decision.”
But, Bastian makes his feelings clear to her time and time again.
“’Tell me what you want me to do and I'll do it,’ he urges. ‘I would move mountains for you. I would chase down the stars just so you could hold one.’”
The ending is bittersweet — I was broken and crying at one moment, but peaceful and full of happiness the next. This was an absolutely fabulous conclusion to the story and I’m so glad Adalyn Grace made this a duology rather than a trilogy.
Thanks again, Adalyn for the free personalized and signed copies!
**SPOILERS FOR BOOK 1 ALL THE STARS AND TEETH. BACK AWAY IF YOU HAVEN’T READ IT, YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED**
After taking down Kraven the Kingdom of Visidia is doing it’s best to rebuild with Amora as it’s Queen. Amora is doing everything she can to win the trust of her people and to set the wrongdoings of the Montara’s right. They have sent aid to Kerost to help them rebuild and they’ve reestablished Zudoh in the Kingdom after their wrongful banishment by her father.
Amora is dealing with the stress of her father’s death and the loss of half her soul— the part that holds her magic. Without it she’s broken and she will do anything to get it back. Her people do not fully believe in her and her advisors urge her to set off to the islands to take a husband. Amora balks at the idea initially. When presented with the possibility of restoring her soul and getting rid of the Montara curse, Amora sets off on a journey across the Kingdom. No one can know the truth, so she uses the ruse of finding a husband to search the different islands. Through it all, Amora puts Bastian at a distance— she doesn’t know if her feelings are because she loves him or if it’s due to him being cursed to hold the other half of her soul.
Amora really comes into herself during this book and I love how much of a girl boss she is! She is the movement!! When being mansplained to and looked down upon, Amora responds beautifully.
“…[My father’s] no longer the one who sits on the throne; I am. I'm not sure if you felt it was okay to condescend to me because I'm a woman, because of my age, or simply because I'm new to this position and you felt the need to establish some sort of dominance you do not and will never have. But the next time you open your mouth to speak to me, remember that you're talking to your queen. Do you understand?"
I also love how Amora’s mental health is dealt with in this book. Amora suffers from anxiety, panic attacks, depression, and immense grief through this book. She’s constantly blaming herself and shutting others out— trying to take everything on herself. Adalyn does a great job of representing Amora’s feelings, as well as having an accurate representation of how one might such a traumatic event such as watching your father die in front of you.
THE ANGST between Amora and Bastian through this book is absolutely golden. I don’t want to give too much away but I felt the pain and the longing though out the whole book. Amora is so confused as to how she feels about Bastian and she’s constantly resisting against her instincts to lean into him.
“I very well might be in love with Bastian Altair. But until our curse is broken, I cannot trust myself to make that decision.”
But, Bastian makes his feelings clear to her time and time again.
“’Tell me what you want me to do and I'll do it,’ he urges. ‘I would move mountains for you. I would chase down the stars just so you could hold one.’”
The ending is bittersweet — I was broken and crying at one moment, but peaceful and full of happiness the next. This was an absolutely fabulous conclusion to the story and I’m so glad Adalyn Grace made this a duology rather than a trilogy.
Thanks again, Adalyn for the free personalized and signed copies!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexism, Blood, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail
celia_haz's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Grief, and Death of parent
Moderate: Gore, Misogyny, and Violence
Minor: Transphobia
mdeveau's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Blood, Grief, and Death of parent
malloryfitz's review against another edition
3.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Death of parent, and Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Death, Gore, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Violence, and Blood
Minor: Vomit and Alcohol
dorianlecter's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gore, Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, and Murder
Moderate: Misogyny, Sexism, and Sexual content
leahsbooks's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book. I am offering my honest opinion voluntarily.
I really enjoyed All the Stars and Teeth (see my review here), and was really looking forward to this book. When I got approved for this ARC, I was thrilled!
The story picks up a few months after the events of the previous book, and Amora is struggling with grief as she is learning how to rule her kingdom. Her grief is combined with symptoms of trauma, which is completely understandable, after what went down at the end of the last book (which if you haven’t read, why not?) Added to these stressors, Amora also has to hide the fact that she doesn’t have magic anymore.
I loved the connection between the characters, although it felt like Amora consistently set herself apart from them. The quest that they took allowed for a second tour of Visidia, under completely different circumstances, but with no fewer adventures (and danger) of course. I’d honestly expect nothing less. However, while Amora had a goal in mind, she seemed to get thrown more and more off her path over the course of the book. It reminded me of the episode of The Simpsons where Homer is given a choice between two paths to take. One is bright and green, with rainbows and birds, and the other is dark and ominous, with dead trees, and inexplicably, Homer is torn between which path to take. That’s what so much of the book felt like, and it got tiresome. I just wanted to shake Amora and ask what the heck was wrong with her.
I enjoyed the slow-burn tension between Amora and Bastian, although the female side characters stole the show hands down. Vataea and Shanty were the real show-stoppers in the book, in my opinion. There was a lot of action in the story, with a found family trope throughout, despite everything Amora did to push away the people who care about her. It kept me reading and intrigued, and I really, truly wanted to believe that Amora would do the right thing. But since this is a spoiler-free review, you’re just going to have to wait and read it for yourself to find out what happens.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gore, Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, Blood, Grief, and Murder