This was a fun, fast read that I really think readers of young adult literature will get on with. I personally enjoy fantasy that has more political intrigue than true fantasy elements and so that was a lot of the reason that I got with this. The atmosphere of a seaside setting along with tropes that I typically enjoy (brothers who are princes, sisterly bonds, intrigue) made this a really engaging read and a promising first book.

An enjoyable but somewhat forgettable YA fantasy. I enjoyed the relationship between the two sisters, Zadie and Nor. Some of the world building particulars, such as the effects of the poisonous red coral, were really nicely done, though I had a harder time with the romantic elements and the palace intrigue, which weren't bad but did feel a bit banal and forced, respectively.

The writing was good. The contrasting atmospheres of sea and land were palpable; I could imagine everything as I was reading, down to the drops of water on rock. This stayed with me long after I had forgotten most of the plot details.

But I do wish the book had done more to undermine the idea of girls' beauty being paramount. The book's premise seems to indicate that it will, but ultimately it didn't go far enough.

I did not care for the instant love that was formed between the main character and the love interest. I wish we had less of the romantic aspect and had more of the sibling love that was shown between Nor and Zadie. They have one of the most touchingly authentic sister relationships I've encountered in a while,

Books always have cliches or you know where something is going to go but that doesn't make the book any less fun to read. Crown of Coral and Pearl was such a fun read ad it doesn't hurt that the audiobook was just as much fun to listen to. I would totally recommend it.

I loved certain aspects of this book. The sisterly component was amazing, and I loved how this bond of friendship, loyalty, and family was portrayed. I also really enjoyed the world-building and overall plot build up. The imagery is amazing. I'm a huge fan of ocean books, and I loved how everything was described.

That being said, I found the story ended somewhat abruptly and I wasn't wholly believing the romance.

I would rate this book 3-3.5 stars. It was an enjoyable book.

This book is not perfect; it's filled with cliches and a lack of plot, but it's just so fun. The world is lush and vividly imagined, and though the romance is totally over-the-top and gives me 2010 YA vibes, it was fun to see it come to life. Is this the most transgressive book ever? No. Is it still a nice, quick read? Yes. The creepy prince in the cave castle was a nice touch; I even found myself empathizing with him (not his actions though). I would say he's the most morally complex character, and he sort of carried the characterization team. You can guess how all the other characters will act based on the synopsis alone (OP "special" girl, Knight in Shining Armor half-brother of the prince, A childhood best friend who's all sunshine and rainbows, etc.). This book will be best for those who want a light-hearted read to take at face value.

I had such high hopes for Crown of Coral and Pearl. The story sounded so unique and promising. Unfortunately, the book was fine but that's about all it really is.

I enjoyed reading about the sisters and their relationship, especially how heartwarming it is, as well as the concept of a society in the sea. The characters are good, but not highly memorable, and to be honest a bit plain. The biggest issue with the book was how slow the pacing was as well as the lack of action, as nothing really occurs until halfway through the book and then at the very end of the book. I also found the romance to be lacking, as it felt as if the characters were being forced together and rushed along to complete a type of superficial relationship.

Though there was so much potential for Crown of Coral and Pearl to be a five star read, with a fantastic relationship between sisters and a world-building so wonderfully interwoven, it lacked for me much that would have made it a fantastic read - in regards to romance, pacing, and characters. Nonetheless, if you like a book with an original and unique world, be sure to pick this book up.

eARC was kindly provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Thank you!

I loved everything about this story. It gave me so many emotions, which is what I look for in a book. I hated some characters and loved others, they were that well written. The plot and world-building was fleshed out so well, I was not confused in the slightest. I thoroughly enjoyed reading about Nor. She is such a strong female lead and I can't wait to read more about her (and Talin) in the sequel.

I think I'm losing my taste for fantasy. It wasn't anything about this book in particular. I'm just not the right reader for it.

This is a tough review for me because there are some really great aspects to this debut. The world, the built in tensions and the danger were all well done, drawing me in from the first page. I liked the original world that the author built. There was a lot of tension just existing in the world right away, plus the added complications of Zadie and Nor's position really heightened the story's urgency. While pretending to be Zadie, Nor's internal struggles are authentic and the world in the castle she is thrust into is both frightening and mysterious.

That said, I had some problems with Nor and Zadie. A lot of the story at the beginning was with them in their home before the switch, but it moved a little slowly for me. Zadie didn't have much character for me. She was beautiful and perfect and didn't want to be chosen. Nor was more interesting as the cast aside, slightly blemished sister. But I couldn't really connect with her as much as I wanted to. Also, I had a problem with some of Nor's choices.

Most of all, Prince Ceren was hard for me. He was sickly and damaged and perhaps evil (not sure yet)? The author goes back and forth between showing sympathy for a misunderstood Ceren and turning him into a monster who murders children the next. These two polarizing personality traits were really hard for me reconcile. I think the author is trying to leave us guessing - is he really as awful as we think? Is he misunderstood underdog? Is Talin as wonderful as we are lead to believe?

Frustratingly, none of these questions are really answered. This is the first book in the series so I understand the need for some open plot points, but I didn't finish the book with an easy feeling of knowing where the story was going, which should be intriguing but instead left me confused.

Overall I think it was interesting and original. I think YA fantasy fans should try it out for its unique setting and commentary on beauty, life and society. I'm not sure if I will continue with the series but I think a lot of readers will enjoy it.

This was VERY slow, but if readers push on I think they will enjoy the world building. Unfortunately, the romance is rather annoying and I felt like not much happened. This book was just ok for me, and I will not be continuing with the series..

I absolutely loved this book. I couldn't stop thinking about it when I wasn't reading it, honestly, it's all I had been thinking of for days. If I didn't have to work, i would've finished it in one sitting. The characters are amazing, even the bad ones. I can't wait for the second one to drop. This was such a beautiful debut. Congratulations!

Crown of Coral and Pearl was so much fun to read. I was getting slight The Little Mermaid retelling vibes, and I loved how differently Varenia and Ilara felt on the page. It definitely came across as two very different countries with different customs and ways of life. I can't wait to see what will happen for our heroes in the second book.

Beautiful writing and world building, but I didn't quite connect with the characters. Relationships felt undeveloped and rushed, romance felt forced and the ending seemed off. That said, with editing this could have been a 5 star title. I have high hopes for future releases from the author.

"I was frightened of the person I was becoming: a woman who lied to everyone, who disrespected her parents, who helped her sister injure herself. A woman who would spy on a king.

A woman who would steal a crown."

An interesting mix of A Court of Thorns and Roses, The 100, and Dark Shores, this book starts out slow and then really amps up all the way until the end.

Varenia has been under an oppressive rule from a neighboring kingdom. The people are forced to fetch pearls in dangerous condition due to their possible healing properties and as time has passed, they’ve received less and less profit for the pearls. They continue to work under these conditions with the hope that one day one of their daughters will be chosen to leave their land, and marry a prince to someday become a queen. Nor and Zadie are twin sisters and could potentially be selected to become a princes.

Nor and Zadie are fierce sisters and as we see all of the harshness them and their people have to go through and then the contrast of the other kingdom, it is quite sickening. The beginning is slow as the author shows us how the people in Varenia live and as we get to see the relationships our main character has with her family and people.

This book does a good job at showing how one event can really change so much for multiple people. It shows how one ruler’s decision can affect thousands.

The romance is mostly in the background and for the most part serves a purpose to move the story along. I really did enjoy the few romances we saw between characters, but I also enjoyed how they did not completely take over the story.

This book isn’t super unique in terms of fantasy, but I did find it be better written and more engaging (and less trope-y) then some other fantasies I’ve read recently. Overall, I would recommend if you’re interested in any of the three books I mentioned above.

I'm going to start this review out by saying that this book definitely wasn't for me, which was incredibly disappointing because I'm an avid Fantasy reader so this book is completely up my alley. I will say that the story line is awesome, the plot itself is engaging and was 100% of the reason I trudged on even though I wanted to quit after the first half of the book.

I could NOT get past the writing. I really hate to say this about someone's work, but I felt like the writing was simplistic, non-engaging, fake, and at some points, laughable. There were extremely awkward and unnatural chapter breaks that for some reason really bothered me. Like they would be in the middle of a conversation between two characters, CHAPTER BREAK, then the other person would respond. This happened multiple times where the chapter could have continued without a random break.

This writing made me cringe at some moments, this one in particular: "Her eyes were like honey" Sami once said, though neither of us had ever seen it. He described it as something insects make".

like... o__O All insects make honey?

There are many more instances that I highlighted on my kindle, but this would be a really long post if I listed them all.

I will say that the reason this didn't get 1 star from me is that I was completely invested in the story itself. Many times I went to DNF this book, but really wanted to find out what happened. The settings are intriguing, the story is actually very good, it could use some help with character development, but as I mentioned earlier- I just could not get past the writing. I think that a few more months on copy edits or something would have enhanced the quality of the writing, but this left me incredibly disappointed.

If you love Fantasy with intriguing story lines and a plot that really sucks you in, this book is definitely up your alley. I would maybe stay away from this one if the quality of writing is an important factor in what you read.

The Crown of Coral and Pearl has proven to be a YA fantasy that has barely been talked about. Yet it is fantastic. It’s full of courtly intrigue and secrets. Set in a world that is captivating and unique. A must read for YA fantasy lovers.

This was a really good story with lots of interesting characters, which is all I need to love a book. The world building and plot was really unique and I highly enjoyed that aspect. Pretty much all the characters grabbed my interest with the exception of a few. I love when authors make villains relateable and you can certainly see that here. My only complaint was the romance bit. I'm pretty picky about romance in YA books anyway and this one wasn't awful but it could have been better. Looking forward to book 2!

This book is an amazing start to a new series!

I loved the character development in this story. Nor and Zadie looked alike but they were complete opposites. Nor wanted to be chosen to become the princess of Ilara, but since she was scarred, she wasn’t beautiful enough to be chosen. Zadie was the more perfect girl, but she wanted to stay behind to be with the boy she loved. Nor ended up showing that you can get anything you want, as long as you try for it.

There was a variety of settings in this book. Nor and Zadie come from a village on the ocean. The castle is in a mountain, and some smaller villages on land were described as well. These different settings challenged the characters who weren’t used to the different kinds of land.

I loved this book so much! I don’t know how I will wait to read the next book!

Thank you HarperTeen for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

DNF at 35%
I gave this a fair shot, but sadly this didn't work for me personally. I do know that many teens have loved this and I think that younger teens will love this book. But sadly I didn't care for the sisters. Nor is the main POV and I just thought that she was flat at times and read like other female characters from many YA retelling novels I've read. I also feel like the tropes in here such as the arranged marriage, a secret conspiracy against the kingdom and how beauty is everything didn't grab me. And while I loved the ocean setting and the information on the blood coral, I felt the story suffered from the amount of thoughts and themes that were repeated many times in the beginning chunk of this book.that I never felt like the story was getting anywhere. I will give this author another try in the future, but this wasn't for me.