Vataea's magic is the most useful on the sea adventure, and the quest to save her from imprisonment on an island full of wealth and vice is one of the more entertaining parts of the book. But there are moments of greatness here, too.Īmora's jilted fiance, Ferrick, and the mermaid Vataea are both fascinating characters with cool magic who add as much to the story as Amora's mysterious love interest, Bastian. All the Stars and Teeth could have been set up more cleanly, the magic explained more clearly, and the reveal of what the magic really means to the islands done without an abrupt plunge into a complex flashback (all while the bad guy waits around for her outside a cave, probably bored). Show moreįor any fantasy fan who loves magical kingdoms, powerful princesses and mermaids, sea voyages, and sea monsters, this tale will draw you in, even if it still needs some storytelling polish. There's a serious threat from a far off island that her father the king hid from her, and the sailor needs her magical help to fight against it. She's desperate for some way out when a mysterious sailor breaks into the prison and breaks her out. Amora is immediately deemed dangerous and locked up, sure that she will be executed shortly. Her confidence and concentration flag and she loses control of her magic and tortures the prisoner without mercy or any understanding of what she's done.

She's confident and proud of her skill and ready to show it off until she looks around at all the horrified faces in the crowd. She parades around in her terrifying bone crown and epaulettes and they bring out a murderer for her to kill.

She's ready to show her kingdom that she has control of her special branch of soul magic that only the royal Montara line can wield and claim her place as the next High Animancer after her father. In ALL THE STARS AND TEETH, Princess Amora's 18th birthday is finally here.

Stars and teeth