The Air Is Wild With Gossip and Music

~All the Stars and Teeth~
Book 1
By Adalyn Grace
Amazon ~ Powell's

Set in a kingdom where danger lurks beneath the sea, mermaids seek vengeance with song, and magic is a choice.

She will reign.

As princess of the island kingdom Visidia, Amora Montara has spent her entire life training to be High Animancer—the master of souls. The rest of the realm can choose their magic, but for Amora, it’s never been a choice. To secure her place as heir to the throne, she must prove her mastery of the monarchy’s dangerous soul magic.

When her demonstration goes awry, Amora is forced to flee. She strikes a deal with Bastian, a mysterious pirate: he’ll help her prove she’s fit to rule, if she’ll help him reclaim his stolen magic.

But sailing the kingdom holds more wonder—and more peril—than Amora anticipated. A destructive new magic is on the rise, and if Amora is to conquer it, she’ll need to face legendary monsters, cross paths with vengeful mermaids, and deal with a stow-away she never expected… or risk the fate of Visidia and lose the crown forever.

I am the right choice. The only choice. And I will protect my kingdom.

Original Review

Read by Shayna Small
Unabridged Length: 12.4 Hours
Listened at 2x Speed

First off, I gotta admit that this was the book that started my 2021 hiatus. It wasn't that I didn't like the book, or that I was dreading re-reading it, or anything like that, I just got halfway through and lost interest in continuing. And then didn't want to start up anything else. And then decided to wait until the sequel came in at the library. And then... You get the picture.

Re-reading this along with the audio was...interesting. You know how when a book is adapted into a movie or a show, you can sometimes feel disappointment simply because the casting doesn't match the images you came up with in your imagination? Like, they might completely match the description given in the book (hair, eyes, build, etc.) but they don't match exactly who/what you fell in love with? Well, that's what happened to me here, just with the voices.

Don't get me wrong, the narrator did a great job infusing a lot of character into each of the voices she produced for the varied cast. Amora was fine and Bastian was fine. Vataea, the mermaid, sounded a lot like Tia Dalma from the Pirates of the Carribean films, which took some getting used to. But by far the hardest thing to sit through was Ferrick's voice. He sounded like a petulant, whiney child the ENTIRE time. And I don't know if it was purposeful, to have him be extra unappealing as Amora's love interest, or if that was just what the production team decided to go with to have him sound extra different from Bastian, but I hated it from the get go. I'm sure my problem was due in part to my sped-up listening speed, but come on, I can't be alone in thinking that giving a nasally voice to one of the main characters of the book was a bad choice, right? Especially when there were completely feasible voices given to minor characters, like Casem and Cato.

Aside from Ferrick, though, the rest of the audio production was fine. I noticed very minor variations in wording here and there, but nothing that drastically changed meanings or was omitted. And the audio even had the introduction glossary/reference list of islands, magic and gemstones, which while not imperative to remember, is handy for those who might want to take notes, so kudos for its inclusion.

Overall, this was a hard book to sit through, especially in the first half where Ferrick is most involved. I can't really blame the reader, Shayna Small, for the choice, as it had to have gone through direction/approval in order to be used, but I can't say it didn't affect my overall enjoyment either. Regardless, I'd still recommend this as a solid audiobook production, and I look forward to experiencing the sequel.