I wanted a retelling book, so I saw the "Little Mermaid" inspired and jumped.
Not "Little Mermaid" as much as just a mermaid story, but that would be ok if the story wasn't so depressing! Still the writing is so beautiful and the portrayal of mental illness is very good.

Not a very "mermaid-y" book honestly. Not much about the fairy tale aspect, more a book about depression and coming to terms with loss and dealing with stress. Suicide vibes are high with this book.

needlessly complicated 3-pov story very loosely based on 'the little mermaid'. tbh i just wanted a mermaid book, not a book about suicides & creating false personals to deal with ~trauma~.

Always give me the fairytale retelling. Especially The Little Mermaid!

And I love a little more darker aad version too.

This book had me feeling so many things. Yes it is a little more dark. But it also has some very bright moments. And I fell so deeply into this one.

The characters are sympathetic and so able to resonate with. Ypu fele all the things they do. And ypur heart breaks for them. But there is this spark there too. One that makes you feel things just as much when they finally are all together and you see the changes and way they effect one another.

Due to a sudden, unexpected passing in the family a few years ago and another more recently and my subsequent (mental) health issues stemming from that, I was unable to download this book in time to review it before it was archived as I did not visit this site for several years after the bereavements. This meant I didn't read or venture onto netgalley for years as not only did it remind me of that person as they shared my passion for reading, but I also struggled to maintain interest in anything due to overwhelming depression. I was therefore unable to download this title in time and so I couldn't give a review as it wasn't successfully acquired before it was archived. The second issue that has happened with some of my other books is that I had them downloaded to one particular device and said device is now defunct, so I have no access to those books anymore, sadly.

This means I can't leave an accurate reflection of my feelings towards the book as I am unable to read it now and so I am leaving a message of explanation instead. I am now back to reading and reviewing full time as once considerable time had passed I have found that books have been helping me significantly in terms of my mindset and mental health - this was after having no interest in anything for quite a number of years after the passings. Anything requested and approved will be read and a review written and posted to Amazon (where I am a Hall of Famer & Top Reviewer), Goodreads (where I have several thousand friends and the same amount who follow my reviews) and Waterstones (or Barnes & Noble if the publisher is American based). Thank you for the opportunity and apologies for the inconvenience.

I honestly cannot remember why I never sent in my feedback on this book, but I did read it quite some time ago when it was about to come out, and I did enjoy it for the most part.

I remember the story being not at all what I expected, and it took me some time to adjust when my expectations were thrown. There was a lot less little mermaid vibes than I was expecting!

Overall though, it was a fairly enjoyable read, with a lot going on!

This book was not what I expected at all but not in a bad way. I was a bit confused at the start but I’m so glad I continued on and figured out that things all connected. This book does deal with topics like depression and suicide quite heavily so take care when reading. That being said, I feel like these topics are written about in a realistic, sensitive and respectful manner.

A modern-reimagining of The Little Mermaid, follows three perspectives through their struggles with mental illness.
Coral is such a raw, beautiful story. It left me breathless and desperately wanting more, yet it was so satisfying in what it was, and ended so perfectly.
Some parts of the story were really choppy. I was also really confused about what was reality and what wasn’t throughout most of the book.
All in all, though, I loved the story and will read it again!

I was hoping to enjoy this because of the mental health rep, but I realized quickly this book wasn't going to work for me. The writing is poetic in a way that I didn't enjoy, making it hard to follow along with what was actually happening. Because of this, I decided to DNF.

All of Sara Ella's books are *chef's kiss*. Loved this one just as much as her previous ones. Cannot wait to read more Sara books!!

I received an eARC of this one yearsssss ago (mid-2019) on NetGalley, but the file was corrupted so I couldn't review it at the time. I recently saw it on Hoopla so I figured I'd pick it up and finally get around to reviewing it!

This was very average for me. There were a lot of elements I liked (atmosphere, discussion on mental health, twists), but there were also a lot of things I disliked (time jumps, confusing writing, the main male character was rather sexist sometimes). This sits genuinely right in the middle of the road for me. It was a very interesting Little Mermaid retelling and I did enjoy that part. Come to think of it, I've never actually read a retelling done in this way before! It was really interesting and well done. I enjoyed my reading experience overall, but, as I said, there were just a few things about the book itself that I couldn't fully get behind.

Thank you to NetGalley and Thomas Nelson for an advanced copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

The synopsis sounded great. I tried to read it and was struggling to keep pushing through it. The sad reality is this topic is very touchy, but this book seemed to be putting depression on a pedastool. I don't think it should be idolized and promoted the way it was. I'm very disappointed.

I read maybe 20% of the book, put it down, and sadly never picked it back up. The writing was pretty but the story just wasn't for me. Sorry, thank you for letting me try.

THIS IS SIMPLY A BEAUTIFUL READ.

I admit that I did not like the authoress' previous series "Unblemished". But I am very happy to report that I have only praise for this heart-rending modern retelling of The Little Mermaid. This is written from a heart to a heart, especially the one who is suffering in the darkness (of a mental health issues, brokenheartedness, guilt, pain...) - telling the other heart the simple, yet so absolutely important message of "You are not nothing. You have never been."

This novel is precious in recognizing the suffering without any sugar-coating, instead offering the safe space. The characters are living with scars and fresh pains. Yet, while the novel sees their pain, it also offers the hope. And, what is SO important - it offers that hope very naturally, slowly, tenderly. You can your own pace here.

But be prepared, reader. The authoress is gentle and she is doing her best to present the painful issues of suicide of someone close to you or of self-harm with tender touch, yet these issues are dark and painful themselves.
But having said this, I would recommend this novel to readers suffering from these or other mental health issues or simply of heartbreak and pain...This novel is doing its best to literally wrap you in love.
To offer a place to heal.

Thank you, Ms Ella, for such a novel that is both beautiful and offering such a needed message.

Recomended.

I really liked the premise of this book. I think bringing the story of The Little Mermaid into the real world and making it contemporary was genius. The author did a great job of weaving together the original fairytale and the real world aspects. Probably my favorite part of this book would be its focus on mental health. Many of the characters in the story suffer from depression and it was really interesting to see how all of the characters dealt with their mental illness in different ways. It was also really focused on recovery after a depressive episode or suicide attempt, which I wish was in more novels with mental illness representation. Overall, I liked the story. I found how the author wove together different "timelines" and "perspectives" to make the story a little less effective. I would've preferred if the perspectives had remained parallel rather than combining them. I also found the romance to be utterly useless and didn't add anything to the plot.

Coral is about her trying to blend in while fearing she has been afflicted with emotions. It's the disease of humans and one that took her sister.

Quite enjoyable. I hope to read more books by this author in the future.

I received a free electronic ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

I have many thoughts about this one, I think I need to reread to fully establish everything. But I really wanted to love this book, I mean look at the freaking cover! But for me in general this fell short.

I'm a sucker for a fairytale reimagining, Coral was absolutely wonderful and deserves to be in front of every reader who loves a richly woven world and wonderfully vibrant characters. There was so much emotion packed into this story. The author will keep you turning the page with plot twist after plot twist, only to break your heart. It's rare to find a book or author that can make you feel so many things with a single sentence... Shea Ernshaw is one, and I believe I just found another.

I LOVE The Little Mermaid, and the themes throughout this book -- especially the portrayal of humans and merpeople as wholly different at first (emotions are the Disease, humans are the enemy, etc) into the realization that, really, they are much the same -- are so profound and beautiful.

The multi-POV setup really worked for me, and I found myself lost in Coral, Brooke and Merrick's independent tales.

Beware, though -- it is dark, and it is heavy. Keep your eye out for the trigger warnings, for there are some weighty topics at its forefront and its centre.

Ultimately, though, CORAL is a captivatingly unique take on The Little Mermaid, and with its gripping, haunting twist on the classic tale, it definitely did not disappoint!

‘Coral’ by Sara Ella was a solid, darker, rawer reimagining of The Little Mermaid, that left me feeling all kinds of emotional. Beautifully done.