Title- All the Tides of Fate
Author- Adalyn Grace
Series- sequel to All the Stars and Teeth
Rating– 4.2/5
Genre- YA fantasy
POV- first person, present tense (which is refreshingly well written)
Trope- Queen/royalty
Steam level- 2/5
Cover– matches the first. It shows the setting well, but I liked the cover of the first better
Comps– Children of Virtue and Vengeance
Plot/Blurb-
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.
No one can know about the curse in her bloodline. No one can know that she’s lost her magic. No one can know the truth about the boy who holds the missing half of her soul.
To save herself and Visidia, Amora embarks on a desperate quest for a mythical artifact that could fix everything―but it comes at a terrible cost. As she tries to balance her loyalty to her people, her crew, and the desires of her heart, Amora will soon discover that the power to rule might destroy her.
First chapter-
This first chapter reminds us that Amora is now Queen, after her father (the king) died in the first book. Her soul is still unfortunately split within beau, Bastian. However he didn’t make an appearance but Mira was the secondary character so maybe she will play a larger role in this sequel. But what is a dowager?
Character Development- It took too long to get there and then the reader didn’t have enough time to sit and settle in her “new mature self” before it ended.
Best part- Bastian
What I would change- She needed to become self aware a little earlier. The climax scene also fell a little flat and the end of page 339 was confusing, which is unfortunate.
Quote- I didn’t have one that stood out. Some of them started to feel “preachy”
Setting- Awesome tour of the islands, especially by the volcanoes. I wish they were there longer.
Prose- “Black as spilt ink, the night sky is coated with stardust that shimmers dimly in the sea’s reflection.”
Character goals/motivations- Her indecisiveness about what to do with the scale lasted too long and became frustrating.
Theme- Share your burden with your friends/those who ware there for you
Vivid sensory descriptions- I loved when they journeyed to different islands and could picture myself there.
Dialogue- average
Diversity- I wasn’t sure on anyone’s ethnicity, but it doesn’t seem to matter in this world.Side characters Ilia & Nelly have a FF marriage and I think Shanty is gay. I don’t recall any characters with disability representation.
Ethics/morals- murder, lies. I hated Amora for not being upfront with her friends.
Conflict/tension/obstacles- She had plenty to overcome and almost had too much agency. Calm down, Amora. Slow down.
Pacing- fast
Thoughts while reading-
Page 15- Bastian is the LAST person she wants to see right now? That’s so sad
Page 25- the whispers of her losing her magic feels too convenient as an author trick. Or if someone betrayed her then it feels stupid if she told more than her 4 people.
How is she going to show them her magic by executing the prisoners? Will she have to be on the run again? Will she mend her tension with Bastian? Will she accept the suitors for this marriage idea as a distraction for her people and give them hope? Will she marry? I love that she took a stand saying she didn’t need a man by her side to rule.
Page 41- they found who? Who is he? Why is she looking for him?
Page 130- okay, I haven’t made an updated for a bit. First, it didn’t make any sense that she was so bitter to her aunt. Secondly, their time at the casino is fun but seems like wasted pages a bit. I felt that part was slow. And overall I’m just not buying her hatred of Bastian. I feel like the author chose this path for friction, but it’s not believable. I’ll reluctantly go on for the ride and hope him competing with the other bachelors is entertaining enough, but Amora feels a bit all over the place. The part I thoroughly appreciate is the haunted visions of her father. The weighed down part of that does make it feel slower but also increases realism for her pain. Too often in books the character magically heals emotionally after a major loss and that isn’t the case here.
Halfway through- I love that Elias is Bastian’s “look-alike.”
Page 193- this part feels like the bachelor in a bad way. Sidenote- I’m kind of tired with every person in Amora’s group being drop dead beautiful.
Page 210-220 the action thankfully picked back up and I’m pleasantly unsure where the story will lead. But page 234 doesn’t make sense with 6 against 1 and they’re losing.
Page 252- ugh I hate Amora right now. And there’s too many chapters starting with a character awakening from an injury black-out
Page 270- I def want to visit Valuka too!!
Page 292- that scene was done really well and each book should try to accomplish what the author did here.
Page 300- I’m tired of Amora being stupid and arrogant and greedy and all her friends saving her ass over and over again
Page 315- with not many pages left of the novel it’s tiresome that she hasn’t been “awoken” yet despite all her chances
Page 339- I don’t really understand what happened & it’s a pivotal scene so that’s unfortunate
Page 341- what?!? I don’t like that ONE BIT
Page 352- gave closure for the reader a tiny bit but kind of defeated the whole purpose
Ending- I don’t know. I’m super torn. It is great that this conclusion is not done much so will be more memorable compared to other novels but I’m not satisfied at all from that choice. I’m unsure if any reader would feel fully satisfied. They had to overcome all those obstacles and then ___ happened. Ugh, I don’t know. Maybe if the author focused on the “happy” part to let the reader see it was worth it, then I’d feel differently, but she seemed to focus on what was lost. I understand why the author picked what she di, but …. I’m not dully on board. Also, the epilogue section seemed to take away from the entire purpose of the sacrifice. I can’t give away spoilers, but I also have practical questions about what happened that don’t seem answered.
Cassie Swindon 