
Publisher: HarperTeen
Source: Publisher
Pages: 480
Release Date: February 11th, 2014
Genres: Legends, Myths, Fables, Love & Romance, Young Adult


Emrys—a fiery, red-headed Fae—always embraced her life in the Highlands, far from the city’s draining technology, until she’s sent to London to rejoin the Faery Guard. But this isn’t any normal assignment—she’s sent to guard Prince Richard: Britain’s notorious, partying bad boy and soon-to-be King. The prince’s careless ways and royal blood make him the irresistible for the dark spirits that feed on mortals. Sweet, disheveled, and alive with adventure—Richard is one charge who will put Emrys’s magic and heart to the test.
When an ancient force begins preying on the monarchy, Emrys must hunt through the London’s magical underworld, facing down Banshees, Black Dogs and Green Women to find the one who threatens Richard’s life. In this chaos of dark magic, palace murders and paparazzi, Emrys finds herself facing an impossible choice. For despite all her powers, Emrys has discovered a force that burns brighter than magic: love.
Faery guard? London? Kings and Queens? Sign me up!
ALL THAT GLOWS promised these things but what it really delivered was an average YA paranormal novel that focused on the main character’s forbidden romance more than anything else. Comparable to HUSH, HUSH, FALLEN, and EVERMORE, this book is ruled by the romance.
The main character, Emrys, was frustrating at times. We hear all about how old and strong she is for a faery but it is all talk, she never really proves herself and she actually behaves in the opposite. Put a young, human prince in front of her with a bad reputation and she is instantly mesmerized and becomes a weak teenage girl.

There was all the “instant” connection, the “I feel like I’ve known him forever,” yada yada yada business. It was extremely off-putting, and of course all the more aggravating because their love is forbidden. They can not be together because Emrys is a faerie and Richard is a human.
It was all sickeningly sweet and very hard to believe in so I couldn’t bring myself to care about the characters as a couple. It did not seem genuine and it all happened too fast. Emrys also bothered me because her personality did a complete turnaround whenever Richard was near. Definitely not a badass faery guard.
The writing was…metaphorical. If I can even describe it that way. Melanie and Blythe talk about this is detail (and hilariously!) in their review of ALL THAT GLOWS here. To sum it up: the writing was basically paragraph upon paragraph of metaphors that most of the time did not even make sense.
The first half of the book went by fairly quick, with pretty good pacing but after that 200 page mark, the book was like molasses. It could have been much shorter, and the plot had little to no twists or turns, making it pretty bland.
The saving grace for this book was the plot (when it didn’t center around the romance) and the world building with all the paranormal creatures. That was the only thing that kept me reading.
In the end, ALL THAT GLOWS is another deceiving cover hiding a less than stellar book.

Rating Report | |
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Plot | |
Characters | |
Writing | |
Pacing | |
Romance | |
Overall: | 1.7 |
Melanie (YA Midnight Reads)
I second all of this. The romance was crap, and Emrys…that chick has issues.
Fab review! <33
Melanie (YA Midnight Reads) recently posted…Review: The Shadow Prince by Bree Despain
Alise
Yeah, she didn’t seem hundreds of years old at all!
Amy @ The Reading Realm
That’s disappointing, since the blurb sounds so exciting. But an immature MC is just so irritating. And if the romance is not believable, then I’m out. I’m glad I read your review, cause this is on my TBR, but now I’m not so sure.
Amy @ The Reading Realm recently posted…{ARC Review} Girl In Love by Caisey Quinn
Alise
The romance totally came out of nowhere and was way too angsty for me.
Rosa Silva
Haven’t read it and after your review won’t be reading it. I’m sorry it was a disappointing reading for you.
Rosa Silva recently posted…8 Valentine’s Day Gifts for Book Lovers – for her
Alise
Yeah :/
Andreea
Oh, so sorry you didn’t like this book. I hate it when I have high hopes for a book and it turns out to be such a disappointment.
But thanks for your honest review.
Andreea recently posted…Uninvited (Uninvited, #1) by Sophie Jordan
Alise
Me too, sad day :(
Sure!
Joy (Joyousreads)
Oh darn. It sounded so good at first. I hate that instant connection – our love is forbidden trope almost as much as I hate love triangles. Sigh.
Great review. I’ll probably going to pass on this book.
Joy (Joyousreads) recently posted…Hoarders, Books Edition: Episode 100
Alise
Which can sometimes work ;) But yeah, not here.
Kirsty-Marie
“In the end, ALL THAT GLOWS is another deceiving cover hiding a less than stellar book.” Yup. The prettier the cover, the worse it is. Is it bad that I really love reading reviews for it? Probably. They’re just so much fun though. I (shamefully) actually really loved Evermore when it first came out, then I re-read it a couple of years ago and hated it. So basically, I would’ve loved All That Glows back in 2009. But it’s time is over. At least it’s a standalone (and let’s hope it stays that way.)
Kirsty-Marie recently posted…Review: The Academy: Love Match
Alise
That’s sadly true. Although there is the rare case, CRUEL BEAUTY was gorgeous inside and out. HA me too, I did that with Hush Hush. Exactly, exactly, exactly. This will appeal to some people, but not the obsessed reader.
Amir
I hate it when characters seem to get an instant personality implant when it comes to their love interest, especially when you’re expecting someone who’s supposed to be badass and wonderful. And when will authors stop with the insta-love? Its just not believable anymore. Great review Alise!
Amir recently posted…Random Musings: I’m on a Book Buying Ban!
Alise
Right? It’s not appealing at all! You would think if any of them learned a single thing from a review it’s to AVOID insta-love.
aly @ My Heart Hearts Books
I couldn’t connect either. I just had so many issues. The only thing that worked for me was the cover. I seriously hated the story. I kept giving it chances to redeem itself but it never did.
aly @ My Heart Hearts Books recently posted…Me Since You (Review)
Alise
Exactly! I was really hoping the second half especially would be better now that the relationship was established but… nope.
brandileigh2003
Aw, sad to hear it didn’t live up to expectations. The romance def doesn’t sound up to what you’d hope.
Alise
Yeah, plus there was just too much of it.
Adriana @ BooksOnHerMind
Well that sucks. Here I was excited about the beautiful cover and that summary sounded so promising… When you mentioned Hush, Hush I knew exactly what you were talking about. I hate it when the focus on a protagonists mind is a guy. I mean it’s nice if done right but the book clearly shouldn’t just be about romance.
Metaphors? I can’t picture how that would work when worked into a book so much. Or how at all that would work in any book. Weird.
Thanks for the Warning. Great review!
Adriana @ BooksOnHerMind recently posted…Blog Tour: Reaper’s Rhythm by Clare Davidson
Alise
So. Many. Metaphors.
It’s hard to explain but you could just tell they were thrown in to make the writing seem more like “prose” or whatever but it didn’t work.
Lily B
noooo! that is such a shame! really I am so looking forward to reading it myself :( but now I am wary. It sounded good. the fact that she turns into a weak teenage girl makes me sad over a boy.
Lily B recently posted…Review: The Secret of Ella and Micha (The Secret #1) by Jessica Sorensen
Alise
It really was depressing. She’s supposed to be a hundred year old badass faery guard but she swoons when she sees a prince. Lame.
Marianne @ Boricuan Bookworms
Oh no! WHY must I be tempted by magic-themed books? Gah. I hate when the romance ruins the book. Why can’t authors realise that there ARE more important things than romance? *sigh*
Marianne @ Boricuan Bookworms recently posted…Review: Cruel Beauty by Rosamund Hodge
Alise
You are preaching to the choir, I wish they would realize that too :c
Delaney
You are so right! I read the synopsis and it sounded like so much of something I would love to read! But then I read on to your review and Insta-love?! Instant connection?! Romance takeover?! Wimpy main character?! I thought we have moved past from that already! ;O;
I think the book had the capabilities of becoming a fabulous new release…but these days, I just haven’t been expecting much from new releases :/ .
Delaney recently posted…The Cracks in the Kingdom (The Colors of Madeline #2)
Alise
TELL ME ABOUT IT. But nope :(
Yeah, you would think after all the complaining we do about these things authors would get it, ha.
Bec
Well it sucks you didn’t like it cause it sounded decent…
Anyway, COMPLETELY unrelated to the book but I have to comment before I forget: the MCs name (Emrys) makes me think of BBC Merlin and the fact that I have to introduce you to that amazing show and ruin your life :) (In a good way though. Nothing like how this ruined your life :P )
Alise
*Sounds* being the key word, ha.
I’ve seen that somewhere but it didn’t appeal to me. Hmmm maybe I shall watch it now.
Angel (Spare Reads)
I was thinking about the same thing!! Emrys :D Merlin is such a good show, but not suitable for marathons though…. Those episodes are follows the same exact recipe, so if you watch a ton at once, it may get a little boring or repetitive (which is totally not fair to the actual series!) Better to watch like two episodes a day in my opinion.
Angel (Spare Reads) recently posted…ARC Review: Fates (Fates, #1)
Alise
I’ve heard that it’s not one you can just binge on. That’s good though, because I don’t have that much time anyway ha.
tonyalee
I seem to be the only one that liked this LOL I didn’t love it and I was SO disappointed.
I actually thought the second half of the book was better than the first. “Embers” (LOL) wasn’t as tough and bad ass as I was hoping from a immortal fae guardian though, and that was the main thing I was looking forward to.
Great review
tonyalee recently posted…ARC Review~ Anything to Have You by Paige Harbison
Alise
xD Well, everyone has one of those books. :)
Yep, that was my main issue with it too.
Liviania
I was so excited about this one, but I don’t think anyone has liked it.
Liviania recently posted…Review: Grasshopper Jungle
Alise
Yeah :/ I’ve seen some average reviews but no glowing ones.
Angel (Spare Reads)
Whoa…. I guess I’m kinda glad now that I did not request for this book. The blurb sounds really cool though, which is common in bad books… (that makes me wonder a little bit btw, did the same people write the synopsis and the book??? because sometimes the skills showing through the synopsis are so much better, but anyways) I’m a sucker for pretty cover too, and this one would totally be on my radar, though now that I see all these negative reviews I would not dare try anymore. Thanks for sharing your thoughts Alise :P
Angel (Spare Reads) recently posted…Review: Tiger Lily
Alise
Haha, that is a pretty interesting question. I think authors sometimes have the opportunity to do a blurb but other times I think it is done by publishing. Sure! Thanks for stopping by!
Lauren
Oh no! I’m so bummed to hear the romance was a bust in this one. I was hoping this would be good, but now I feel ok about the fact that I just don’t have time to read this one. Thank you for your honest review! (And for that hilarious GIF :D)
Lauren recently posted…FATES Blog Tour: Fantasy Casting with Lanie Bross
Alise
Yeah it’s disappointing because the romance is such a big part, too :( Sure :D
Jeann @ Happy Indulgence
Wow a 1.7 is pretty low, but I can see why! I mean Metaphors upon Metaphors? Sounds completely confusing and unnecessary. And not another lame romance masked as a fantasy! Thanks for the warning.
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Alise
It’s funny because I actually thought I gave it three stars xD But when I broke it down in the rating report I realized it definitely wasn’t. Yeah, definitely not a fantasy :/
Sarah J
This book sounds like every cliche book that was published in the wake of resurrecting Edward Cullen. I’ll happily pass. I’m so tired of heroines like this and “love” stories like this.
Sarah J recently posted…The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender by Leslye Walton
Alise
Yeah… pretty much :/
Wendy Darling
I found this one very disappointing, too. I didn’t hate it as much as a lot of people did, but the romance really was so sickeningly sweet and over the top that it was hard to get on board with. Such a shame considering how interesting the premise is! Oh, well.
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Alise
Yes, exactly! Plus there was just too much of it. This one did have so much potential.