If Cato could convince the population to give up practicing all but one of their magics, the beast would give its magic to Cato and leave. People who tried to master this ‘soul magic’, but already practiced multiple magics died in the process.Īmora’s ancestor, Cato Montara, who was a magicless man, bargained with the beast. The beast offered to teach people the most powerful form of magic, but only in return for their souls. It was believed that practicing more than one type of magic made people greedy for power and the beast looked to corrupt those who looked for power.

Early on in the story, it is explained that long ago a beast attacked the realm and hoped to control those who practiced multiple types of magic. Soul magic is the most deadly and dangerous form of magic and is only practiced by the royal family. Each island’s inhabitants practice one type of magic of their choosing however, Amora has never had a choice – she will have to practice soul magic. I can say that this debut novel from Adalyn Grace goes far beyond just mermaids and exceeded expectations! The PlotĪmora Montara has been raised to be the High Animancer, for her realm, Visidia, a group of islands. With the gorgeous mermaid tail on the cover (along with a ship, skull and skeleton elements) there is mention of a ‘vengeful mermaid’ in the synopsis – so, clearly, my expectations of this book were set high. As I mention in my Sea Witch review, anything with mermaids qualifies as an instant read for me. When I was perusing Goodreads and checking out 2020 releases, I came across Adalyn Grace’s All the Stars and Teeth and I was immediately intrigued by the stunning cover and the interesting synopsis.

All the stars and teeth by adalyn grace