Cover Image: Coral

Coral

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Member Reviews

A unique retelling on the class tale of The Little Mermaid.
Thank you for the opportunity to read this book.

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Unfortunately, I didn't make it past chapter one. I could not get into to it. Maybe I'll try again later.

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Thank you so much for allowing me to read and review your titles.
I do appreciate it and continue to review books that I get the chance to read.
Thanks again!

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It is really hard to balance three POV characters, and unfortunately I do not thing Ella managed it. I found it hard to engage with the characters meaningully. I do appreciate the trigger warnings!

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I also tried reading this book multiple times. I read that first chapter at least three times, but I couldn't get into it. It just wasn't for me. That's why I waited so long to write a review. I hate to be negative. about someone's hard work.

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Thank you Netgalley for this ARC of Coral by Sara Ella.

This is one of those books that once you hit a certain point, you want to go back and read the whole thing again. What clever tricks the author played on us!

This is a light re-telling of The Little Mermaid, going so far as to cheekily give one of characters the name Grimm. Coral is the misunderstood mermaid, struggling to blend in with her sisters, all while dreading the "red tide" a disease that has taken one of her loved ones.

From there we meet other characters on land, and watch as they come to find each other, as well as themselves.

I truly thought that this was going to be a light hearted retelling of a beloved fairy tale, but it turned out to be much more. And the author did such a good job using metaphor to help the characters cope. Brava Sara Ella.

TW, CW: mentions of suicide

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I am no longer interested in reading this book, but I am very thankful for the opportunity given to me to review it. I will not be leaving a review on any platform as it's not fair.

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Thought the concept of the story was really interesting. While reading I discovered it just wasn't totally my cup of tea, but still 3.5 stars!

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This book was a unique exploration of mental health issues. Trigger warnings for depression and trauma. Told through three POVs, this is an exploration of mental illness and trauma and how it presents. Including in mermaids. I neither loved it nor hated it, and found the way the POVs were intertwined to make sense once relieved. I feel very middle of the road about it.

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Sorry, I gave it a solid chance. But I couldn't finish it. A big DNF, but a got about halfway through! I had a hard time with everything being SO sad and depressing. The dialogue felt a little forced, the multiple storylines were too confusing..... this book just did not work for me.

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While I have read quite a few favorites retellings, this is my most recent reading and my current favorite read of the year. CORAL by @saraellawrites isn't your normal little mermaid retellings but I admire the author's bravery of addressing and bringing to light things that many of us suffer from and are afraid to admit or some things people just don't have a well enough understanding of because of bad stigma.

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Coral is a very dark, heavy book. Dealing with topics that involve mental illness, suicide and depression. It takes the "Little Mermaid" elements and twists them into a dark storyline. I had a bit of trouble staying in this book. I had to force myself to read it at times. It may have been better for someone who appreciated that type of tale.

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When I picked it up I expected much more "little mermaid" and much less mental health.
I have to admit I was not the ost excited going into this since I was absolutely not in the mood for mermaids and romance. But this book surprised me on all levels. (and reminded me why I requested it on netgalley - the mental health aspect). Yes, the plot was predictable and not too surprising, but I really admie how Sara Ella was able to paint a picture that can make the reader understand more about what it is like to live with depression. I really admire that and am appreciative of a book that teaches me how other people might experience the world without getting too preachy. Overall really solid book but needs to be picked up with caution if you are battling mental health issues that might be triggered. The other released a disclaimer and trigger warnings that I advise to read before picking up.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

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This was a book that I started to review but unfortunately got very busy with work and forgot about it. With that being said, I then forgot what it was about.

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Coral was interesting in its premise but a little complicated in its execution. There was a lot about the book that becomes complicated and needlessly redundant over the course of the text to the point where continuing felt like serious work. I can understand that the point of the book was to focus on mental illness, but I'm afraid to say it didn't do it in a very clear or concise way and I would have rather liked to see something more cohesive and immersive with a clear message. I think there are huge issues with perspectives and clarity within this book that make it really difficult for readers to understand and relate to the perspectives of these characters. More, some aspects of the book were so out of left field. Coral living as a mermaid her whole life but being able to blend in and function in the human world immediately was so weird for me to read. It felt like some major character development was taken out to benefit the progression of the plotline, but realistically it just hurt the functionality of the book. I think there is promise for future work from this author certainly. The idea that this author had for the book is no doubt unique and interesting, but there are some serious plot and perspective issues that need to be addressed for readers to continue enjoying her stories.

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While I appreciate what Sara Ella is trying to do with Coral it just didn’t work for me.
Unfortunately the twists that might make a book like this work feel flat or are just confusing. The focus of the story is not related to mermaids at all. It’s really about depression and suicide (and not really in a new way or one that resonated with me); that one of our gals starts as a mermaid is generally irrelevant.
The love story is okay, but features frustrating moments and is very teen angsty. I struggle to find any comparisons to The Little Mermaid besides the obvious. There is subtlety I expect from retellings of famous stories and Ella just misses the mark entirely.
This might work for some teens in certain mindsets but for this adult reviewer I just didn’t feel into it at all.

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This book took a turn in suicide/mental illness to which I think is a good thing to know more about although I am afraid that some parts may cause triggers to those who are sensitive but overall I enjoyed reading this book.

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Terrible narration and way too much time spent on how mermaids aren't supposed to feel emotions. I got it after the first few pages. I wish this had been better.

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I will start by saying that I am a huge fan of retellings. So as you can imagine when I saw that this was a twist on the Little Mermaid I had to read it.

But first off since it isn't in the book description but it is written as a warning in the book, the trigger warnings are as follows: suicide, self-harm, emotional abuse, anxiety, depression, PTSD, eating disorders and unwanted advances. I just want to clarify that Sara Ella did an amazing way and handled all of these with great care and sensitivity. That being said it is still a heavy story and is written to impact people.

This is a modern day Little Mermaid that is told through multiple POV's where each character struggles with a mental illness. Coral lost her sister to Red Tide and sets out to find the Prince she blames for her sisters death. Merrick is a young man who is fighting with his father to keep his sister out of a treatment center after she tries to commit suicide. He kidnaps her so she doesn't have to go to the treatment center. Finally there is Brooke who is the hardest of the three to decipher. She is a resident of the treatment center and is getting treated for depression and anxiety. These stories all run parallel to each other but in the end when they all intertwine it is truly a powerful moment,

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This was a very interesting retelling of the little mermaid. The story was good, but a bit too confusing for me throughout. I spent more time trying to keep things straight rather than enjoying the story. It did have some very relevant topics that were addressed and I liked that a lot. 3 🌟. Thank you NetGalley for the early review copy.

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