tweetybugshouse
Written on Jan 10, 2015
For fans of Maggie Stiefvater and Lesley Livingston comes a clever twist on the mortal/immortal love story by hot debut author Ryan Graudin. Intense and electric, this is the ultimate tale of forbidden love.
Emrys, a spirited and charismatic Faery Guard of the British monarchy, is sent to London to guard Richard, the bad-boy prince of England, from assassins and paparazzi. Despite her status as a guard of the royals, Emrys struggles with her feelings as she tries to not fall in love with the charming prince. But when an ancient Fae murders the king, Richard’s father, and starts attacking the other royals, Emrys must risk everything to hunt through London’s magical dark side in order to protect her charge—and the boy she loves.
- ISBN10 0062187414
- ISBN13 9780062187413
- Publish Date 11 February 2014
- Publish Status Out of Stock
- Publish Country US
- Publisher HarperCollins Publishers
- Imprint Collins
- Format Paperback (US Trade)
- Pages 480
- Language English
Reviews
ladygrey
Written on Nov 23, 2014
The prose was intended to be flowery and interesting. Maybe it was my mood the day I read it, but it didn't strike me as being as wonderful as it hoped to be. Sometimes it worked and sometimes it felt like it was trying too hard. A lot of times it explained things vaguely and other times it repeated information I didn't need explained again. The pacing also was off. The plot seems to disappear in the middle of the book while they're falling in love (spoiler!) and then come sputtering back while the romance hits the sidelines. I'd have liked to see both more evenly integrated with one another.
But it's easy to pick up the flaws in a book and make it seem worse than it was, because it wasn't awful. It kept me reading through 463 pages - there was curiosity and the progression of the relationships and the characters that nicely filled a few hours on a Sunday.
lizarodz
Written on Jan 24, 2014
Find my original review here: Reading with ABC.
What enticed me to read All That Glows is its beautiful cover and that it is a book about fairies. I’m a sucker for both pretty covers and fairy books.
This is a story about fairies and other things that go bump in the night that takes place in contemporary England. It explores how modern technology has made the fairies weaker and older fairies cannot come near the city of London. How these magical beings manage the sickness that drains them. The guard is tasked with protecting the monarchs since the time of Arthur Pendragon; an invisible safeguard to maintain the blood magic alive.
We get to understand Emrys a lot more than Richard probably because she is our narrator. Emrys (beautiful name, right?) is brave, loving, loyal, strong, powerful, and of course, gorgeous. She is really old (although she looks 17, of course), and has seen a lot, she’s jaded about a lot of things, until she sees Richard. There is a special and inexplicable connection between the two.
Richard is the prince of England, handsome, spoiled and full of vices and irresponsibility. Emrys brings out the best of him and gives him strength to face a world that he didn’t know anything about. Sometimes the relationship between Emrys and Richard felt too dependent on each other. I know if sound very romantic, but to me it sounds unhealthy.
The world building was not extensive and the background information given was necessary and adequate. The writing is easy to read and lovely, but it was full of metaphors and similes, which I found sometimes unnecessary. The plot is simple, but I have to say that I did NOT guessed who was the “Old One” that was causing all the havoc. I always love stories where the couple is sort of pre-destined to be together, when they have a deeper connection or prior forgotten past and I love that aspect of the story. However, I felt like at the ending all the loose ends where tied too neatly; there seemed to be an explanation (and solution) for everything. Is not that I was expecting an unhappy ending precisely, but that the ending felt rushed and it was disappointing and poorly executed.
At the end All That Glows is a romantic, light read that was quite enjoyable.
Some quotes for you:
“I blink, allowing the word to simmer for a moment. Love. A word for Fae never even think to utter. There was duty, magic, power, honor – but never love. That was for humans, to fill the gaps in their lives. To make the shortness of their years bearable.”
“You’d be dashing no matter what you wore.”
“You think so?”
“Stop fishing for compliments. You know you’re sickeningly handsome.” I mean for these words to be teasing, but they betray me. Come out earnest.
“So you’re saying I make you sick?”
“Yes, Embers. You are my yes. You’re the one I’ll love until the day I die.”
About the cover: As you can tell from the first sentence of my review, the cover is gorgeous! Its airy, whimsical and the font is so pretty.
bookishzelda
Written on Jan 20, 2014
This story is about Emrys and Prince Richard. Emrys has just been reassigned to rejoin the faery guard that protects the Royals. She is one of the more powerful fae, even though she is not as old as some. Prince Richard is a bad boy trying to find an out of his duties that come upon him more quickly than he expects. Using his drinking as an escape is not going to work the way it was before.
I loved Emrys. She’s kind of a no nonsense bad ass chic. I like when the female lead is a strong character that can fight off and take out the enemy. She wields magic like a warrior wields a sword. Even though there is some insta love with her Richard they explain the reasoning for that later on. Besides that even when Emrys says she has feelings for Richard she also admits to not being ready to commit to the idea of giving up her immortality and powers to be with him.
I really liked Ryan’s writing style in the book. It had that darker edge that I love to be incorporated into my Fae/London stories. I know I’m describing that weird. The story had a nice flow but for some reason I felt it get a little sluggish in the middle. I’m not sure why because I was still enjoying the story but it can felt like there needed to be a little more action to move events along. Something was missing that I can’t quite put my finger on. There was a lot more focus on the romance then I think you sometimes see but this is having to put all the romance into one book instead of three. I was fine with the heavy romance and enjoyed it. I liked the parts where Emrys would go off on her own to investigate too. I wouldn’t have minded seeing that happen a little more and have her follow maybe a longer trail.
I really loved how this book was actually modern but also had a historical fiction feel to it. The blending of the worlds was done so seamlessly in my opinion. If you think about how many traditions that the royals still follow it makes perfect sense. I really loved the setting and the descriptions of the different places. Just going through the city or being on the subway. Emrys explaining how things have gotten so far from nature and that’s why the fae have a hard time thriving in the newer world.
Even though I admit that there was a little bit of lag at one point in the book I really liked it. I enjoyed the plot and the characters. I liked being submerged in the world of the Fae/Royals. I think if like Fae stories you will enjoy this book.
jnikkir
Written on Jan 16, 2014
-----------------------------
This book promised me badass Faery guards, a bad-boy British prince, a battle against ancient evil, and a swoony romance. ...Well, I'm still waiting for that book, because this is most definitely not that book.
Let's break it down:
The Plot and Worldbuilding
The plot is mediocre, at best. Really, this book is a romance (and not a swoony one), that tries to add a little intrigue and tension by having Richard be the target of a very vague but apparently very threatening evil Faery. Except... I felt no tension in the plot. It took a long time to get any sort of information leading to an overarching plot-arc, and up to that point there were just random attacks on Richard. It was all over the place.
(Additionally, the 'plot' is all wrapped up via the longest Bwahaha-I've-won!-Now-let-me-tell-you-how-I-did-it! speech I've ever read. -_- Why is this still a thing?! The only place this is okay is in Scooby-Doo.)
The worldbuilding is basically nonexistent. It's set in London. Faeries are a thing. Apparently they guard the royal family because the royals' blood has magic in it or something. That's... pretty much it. Oh, and the faeries are all girls. All of them. Apparently they come into being by... actually, I have no idea, because this question is literally answered by Emrys saying something like, (to Richard) "Well, do you remember being born?" O_o Apparently faeries just appear out of thin air... Okay!
The Characters
I found Emrys to be extremely boring. This is unfortunate, as she also narrates the book. -_- You'd think, for a skilled Faery guard who was alive during King Arthur's time, who has lived for so long, she'd gain some kind of personality over the years. But apparently not. After having spent the entire book inside her head, the only things I remember her doing are: Protecting Richard from evil faeries (probably 10%), trying to resist her attraction to Richard (25%), and finally, pining after Richard and trying to decide whether to give up her Fae powers in order to be with him (60%). (I realize there's 5% missing - that's the last 5% of the book.)
Emrys struck me more as a lovesick teenager than any kind of cool faery guard (which is what I was expecting from the synopsis). Emrys's personality and "youngness" is hand-waved away by saying that, in Faery-years, she's apparently the human equivalent of a teenager, which... whatever. Experience is experience, and she's lived through a LOT. She's supposed to be one of the most powerful Faery guards, one of their most skilled fighters! I was not sold, at all.
As for Richard, I found him to be extremely boring, as well. He's flat, uninteresting, and has very little personality -- despite supposedly starting out as a partying bad-boy, and then becoming a regal, responsible king. In my opinion, neither of these aspects, nor the transition between them, were convincingly portrayed. Richard's flat personality does not lend itself to a "bad-boy" or "troublemaker" vibe. He actually struck me as a (very boring) sweetheart most of the time, which was just weird, considering how Emrys (and everyone) acted like he was this notorious bad boy (the blurb's words, not mine).
(Interesting note: Richard, as described in the official blurb, is both "Britain’s notorious, partying bad boy" and "sweet, disheveled, and alive with adventure". If that doesn't tell you something about awkward characterization -- that the synopsis couldn't even make up its mind...?)
The Relationship
I was really hoping that the love story in this book would make up for something... But there was nothing about Emrys and Richard's relationship that was remotely interesting or engaging. All I saw were vague, sweepingly romantic feelings that originated from... well, nowhere. Their relationship isn't even based on anything concrete. The first time they meet, there's this spark between them (you'd be right if you guessed that "spark" would be important later!), and they end up falling for each other. But don't ask me why.
I have no idea what she saw in Richard to make her even remotely consider him to be relationship-material, let alone make her fall in love with him. Throughout the book, they have zero chemistry, other than Emrys stating over and over how much Richard means to her. Richard "makes Emrys feel whole" (though we're never shown how), and she apparently "fills a void in Richard's life" too. But I didn't see any connection based on Emrys loving Richard for being himself, or Richard being drawn to Emrys's personality (or lack thereof).
The Writing
The writing... just... no. First, the book was narrated by Emrys, who we've already established I did not like. And boy oh boy, does Emrys love her similes and metaphors! She had more chemistry with those terrible similes than she had with Richard. XP No but really, there are similes and metaphors everywhere (a single page did not go by without one) and they did not make one bit of sense. "A terrible sound murders the sky"..?! (quote from ARC) Gahhhhhh.
In conclusion...
Just... nope. There was not a single thing I liked about this book. Why did I even finish it, you ask? Well, I made it to about 50% before I started to genuinely regret it, because I felt like maybe, maybe, the plot would kick in, and maybe some chemistry would appear, and maybe, please, God, let it get better.
No luck.
--
There were books involved...
KitsuneBae
Written on Dec 31, 2013
All That Glows is another product of my failed attempts to search for “that” awesome fairy book. Sure, it has originality, but the author failed to take advantage of that as she messed up in terms of properly executing the whole story.
All That Glows is another reason why readers find themselves reluctant to read fairy stories. It is so reminiscent of those “books” that suffered from predictable and romance driven-plot, underdeveloped MCs, and lacklustre world building. *eyeroll* But I think, it would quite serve its purpose when one is looking for something light to read just to kill time. If truth be told, I enjoyed All That Glows despite its glowing flows.
All That Glows spins around the life of Emrys, a fairy who got assigned to guard Richard, the crowned prince of Britain. At first, everything was only a job to her but as the days passed by, her heart became more and more involved to the point that she was willing to forget the oath that she swore to Mab, the fairy queen.
Emrys has a great potential to become a kick ass heroine particularly that she has the power and the position to enforce it. However, her initial attraction to Richard made her ignore all her rules and behaved like she hadn’t endured the world for centuries. Granted that she didn’t completely lost her wits when she’s around Richard but she’s not behaving according to her age. She’s supposed to be more in control, to be defiant, to be stern, to be wise and all that but in here, she’s just your average heroine with no spunk in her personality… easily forgettable in a sea of female fairy characters.
Prince Richard is also as boring as a slug. And I seriously think that he’s making a bad reputation of the British Monarchy. All throughout the story, I haven’t felt the depth of his struggle while he rose from being the bratty prince to being a capable monarch. A lot of his potential got wasted. If you are expecting a witty or a funny or an arrogant prince in here, please… try to pick up another book because All That Glows will surely disappoint you.
Graudin also made a lame attempt at portraying the British Monarchy in its full glory. While I was reading this book, it’s like I was just seeing a tiny portion of it. Heck, the author didn’t even make an effort to throw in some political intrigue here and there or even… let’s just say a solid historical foundation for the story.
The world building of All That Glows was unexceptional. Most of the events took place in modern London and Graudin’s prose didn’t manage to transform the City into something fantastical. Even the haven of the fairies was worthy of an eyeroll.
Talking about the plot, it was, as I’ve said earlier, predictable and romance driven. At first, the story gives you an impression that some dark machinations are about to happen but as the story advanced, you will find yourself sorely disappointed. The romance took hold and the twist became a side story. Graudin, however, offered a little mercy to the readers by developing the romance properly. And there’s no messy love triangle to put up with.
I don’t know if All That Glows is a series or a standalone. But its ending was neatly wrapped up even if the conflict was easily resolved. To be honest, I hope Graudin will just leave this book as it is and perhaps write another story that is more promising.
All in all, All That Glows is not your hardcore fairy story that would perhaps rival that of Julie Kagawa’s works. But then again, if you are looking for something light that has Monarch princes in it, then this is the book for you. All that Glows has the same feel with those films, say The Prince and Me or What a Girl Wants… they’re crappy but I enjoyed them.
***A free e-ARC of this book was freely provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Thank you, Harper Teen!***