3.85 stars, I think?

A Crown of Coral and Pearl was a standalone fantasy with great family bonds but very little world building. The first 60% was slow moving but really great. The story is told from Nor's perspective. On the floating town of Varenia, Nor and Zadie (meaning Coral and Pearl, respectively), beauty is everything. Every generation the most beautiful girl in Varenia is picked to become the next Queen of of land. Nor and Zadie are identical twins. Zadie is their mother's clear favorite and the assured pick to for future Queen. Despite being set against each other and compared in every way, the unconditional love and support between Nor and Zadie is unbreakable. Their bond is undoubtedly the strongest feature of this novel.

The last 40% is mostly Nor's adventures on land, learning that everything on land is not as amazing as everyone makes it out to be. This is where the book takes a downturn. Nor is engaged to the future king, Prince Ceren, but she only has eyes for his younger half brother, Talin. They openly flirt and yearn for each other. And while, the Ceren isn't exactly charming, Nor could have at least TRIED. Alas.

We get to know the villain better than we do anyone else on land, honestly. He is not a monster by birth, but one created due to circumstance. Nothing was really explained. Not Nor's mysterious power, or why red corals and pearls are the way they are and provide what they do--which is key in the book. The place the royals live is an unhealthy place that makes them sick, yet they refuse to move--the whole thing doesn't make much sense.

overall I think if the world itself was a little more fleshed out an the ending was so abrupt, it could have easily been a 4 star stand alone.

This was a great read! I loved it so much more than I anticipated I would! It had plenty of action and excitement! I would definitely recommend this!

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own

Guys.... this book had such a great start. Plot was on point and intriguing and i especially enjoyed the sisterly bond Nor and Zadie had throughout the book. The middle was still great and solid but i felt as if the ending was a bit rushed and inorganic. Things were revealed that came out of no where and the writing looked lazy and rushed in comparison to the beginning. This goes the same for Nor and Talin’s relationship. They had great chemistry at the start but it became too instalove for me. They spent less time with one another and their relationship seemed more based off of their physical attraction to one another? Prince Ceren was also an interesting character. He was definitely what you would call a complex character yet i found myself not sympathizing with his motives and reasoning. I couldn’t quite figure him out and his characterization felt random and all over the place. The reason i gave this 3.5 stars is because i truly did enjoy the first half of the book. Everything was on point until it began to fall apart in the second half.

I really felt like this could have been a duology or even a trilogy. I enjoyed this book immensity despite the 4 star review. The only reason this didn't get 5 stars was because the ending felt rushed and left me feeling a little unsatisfied. I would have liked to have followed the characters further and been given more information.

Throughout the book we follow Nor on her journey to a different world in a first person format which was done well. It would have been interesting to have been able to follow Talin, Ceren or even Zadie from time to time as they were fascinating characters. But not knowing what to expect from them did add a little mystery to the novel.

I thoroughly enjoyed the world the author created and the mysterious magical element, though I wished it was explained just a bit more. I felt the book was written well and was quite captivating. I just wanted more! I hope the author decides to do a sequel in the future.

5/5 Stars
Thank you to the publisher for the early copy via netgalley.

Nor and her twin sister, Zadie live in Varenia. A small village that has a pact with Ilara a kingdom that rules Varenia. This involves the most beautiful girl being sent to Ilara to marry the heir. Nor and Zadie are twin sisters, but Nor has a scar on her face so she knows her sister will be chosen. Everything changes when Zadie is injured and Nor has to go in her place.

This book was so hard for me to put down, there were so many factors: number one was that I absolutely LOVE the author's writing and I will DEFINITELY be looking out closely for her future books. Number two: the mystery behind it, the people of Varenia are struggling to get by but the King keeps pushing them for more! Number three: Nor discovers so much about herself and her story of self discovery and learning to live herself and her flaws was beautifully done.

Highly recommend this book!

My favorite part of this book was the sister relationship depicted. It is clear that the two girls love each other very deeply. The world was interesting and fun to read about. I truly didn't see the end reveal coming! Also, I felt like the atmosphere of New Castle was delightfully dark and creepy.

I wasn't crazy about the insta-love. Also, the bad guy was very obviously the bad guy. The mother character was also at times a bit over the top.

Overall, it was an enjoyable read!

I received a copy of this via NetGalley in exchange for a review.

Wow!!!! I loved this book so much that I sacrificed some much needed sleep for it!! First of all the world building was top notch and the storyline fresh. Nor was a kick butt heroine. I loved everything about it. I hope she continues to series! Thank you to netgalley for the ARC.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC!

I love a good YA fantasy novel and the Crown of Coral and Pearl did not disappoint. The descriptions of the scenery and worldbuilding were really well done. This was a book that captured my attention from the beginning and was difficult to put down. I loved Nor’s strong relationship with her sister which was really heartwarming and was also really rooting for Nor and Talin. Their relationship built up slowly with a lot of tension and I couldn't get enough. My only issue with this book is that I did feel the end was slightly underwhelming and was looking for more. The ending felt rushed and I think this should have been split into two books.

Alrighty, folks. Let's do this thing.

I really, really thought I was going to like this book. And for the first act of the story, which took place in Varenia, I did. I enjoyed the bond between Zadie and Nor, I thought that their family dynamic was interesting, and the world building of Varenia was interesting. If I was rating the book based just on that first section, it would have probably been a four star read. However, the book continued.

After Nor is sent in her sister's place to the castle, the book unfortunately took a turn for the worse, and we are introduced to the two Princes: Ceren and Talin. Both were poorly done in different ways. Nor and Talin had an instalove connection that never really developed past that, and Talin as a character didn't exist beyond that. He clearly existed only as a Prince Charming love interest with no personality of his own. Ceren, on the other hand, is the villain of the book, and Rutherford never really struck the right balance between sympathetic and evil to get the morally grey recipe exactly right. Ceren was extremely sympathetic, to the point where his cruelty felt kind of bizarre to me? I was in a constant state of confusion with him, and Talin just annoyed me.

Most of the plot was fine, but not great. However! The last ~30 pages went a little bit bonkers. I suspect this was because Rutherford was scrambling to complete a story in one book which she's stated was meant to be a duology. There was sort of an information dump of plot twists that came out of nowhere and felt extremely abrupt. This same problem led to there being several plot points that just never went anywhere. I'm sure they would have become important in the second book, but since this book was sold as a standalone, I'm assuming there won't be a second book, and I feel that some of that content should have been removed.

All in all, I can see where this book was going, and how it could have been really good. The execution just didn't do it for me.

I received this book from Netgalley to review.

I have to say the relationship between Nor and Zadie was so well done and showed the twin bond so well. It's crazy to think everything Nor did for her sister and how it changed her life for the better.
I really wish this book was broken up into two books as I felt like the end was rushed all together. A second book would have given more detail into the world and given us just what we needed, a buildup to the end with more detail.
The world created was so interesting and I really would love more books about it.

I did really enjoy this book and the world of Varenia. It also gave a great look into the world of beauty. I gave it 4 stars because it was too rushed in the end but the plot was well done. I just wanted more.

This was a fun read in YA fantasy. I liked that it wasn't a typical YA fantasy that I am used to reading. It was a good story.

Crown of Coral and Pearl shines in its worldbuilding. I found myself loving the village on the sea. I loved the myths built into the world and how they came up later, slightly altered, from another perspective. This lent authenticity to the world in a beautiful way. This is the type of worldbuilding that feels authentic and researched.

The story centers on the perspective of Nor, a twin, who was raised in a village generation of which one will be chosen for the honor of marrying the prince who controls the land. I think readers may center on this being the inciting incident, but really that comes much later and they do spend some time in the village establishing character relationships and motivations.

I really love the transition from the village sea scenes to the mountainous land setting. It's a shock and done well.

The author also interacts well with the romance aspects, leading to some great moments of tension for the reader.

One of the strengths of this story is the consequences of the characters actions. Each action taken results in serious consequences that make up big parts of the plot. I enjoy seeing a character that can affect the story in such a way. Nor and Zadie's relationship at the beginning is wonderful, and you get to see them really live through the consequences.

I don't want to get too into details of characters for fear of spoilers, but I like where it goes when the story moves to land. The only confusion for me came when it got to the very end and some plot things seemed tied up too easily. The setup for a sequel seemed really thin, hopefully I'll be able to see more of that direction in a re-read.

Overall, it was an enjoyable story and I definitely got sucked into the romantic, friendship and family tension.

Really loved the 1st 3/4 of the book. The story line and characters were well developed and captured your attention. I loved Nor's strength and bond with her sister. Nor's instant attraction to Talin. However the end felt rushed to me. I felt like it was missing something and the end although ended happily for Nor and Talin, it left me wanting something more. Overall, great novel even if the ending was a little lacking.

I received a ebook copy of Crown of Coral and Pearl by Mara Rutherford from NetGalley, and I was immediately drawn to it by the description and it’s cover. It’s absolutely gorgeous and hello, there is the ocean and people have an entire village suspended over it! Amazing!!! I seriously love anything to do with the ocean, but even more so when there is folklore behind it (real or made up).

Description- from NetGalley

“For generations, the princes of Ilara have married the most beautiful maidens from the ocean village of Varenia. But though every girl longs to be chosen as the next princess, the cost of becoming royalty is higher than any of them could ever imagine…

Nor once dreamed of seeing the wondrous wealth and beauty of Ilara, the kingdom that’s ruled her village for as long as anyone can remember. But when a childhood accident left her with a permanent scar, it became clear that her identical twin sister, Zadie, would likely be chosen to marry the Crown Prince—while Nor remained behind, unable to ever set foot on land.

Then Zadie is gravely injured, and Nor is sent to Ilara in her place. To Nor’s dismay, her future husband, Prince Ceren, is as forbidding and cold as his home—a castle carved into a mountain and devoid of sunlight. And as she grows closer to Ceren’s brother, the charming Prince Talin, Nor uncovers startling truths about a failing royal bloodline, a murdered queen…and a plot to destroy the home she was once so eager to leave.

In order to save her people, Nor must learn to negotiate the treacherous protocols of a court where lies reign and obsession rules. But discovering her own formidable strength may be the one move that costs her everything: the crown, Varenia and Zadie.”

Everyone needs to read this book!!!! I couldn’t put it down!!!! I was even sneaking time on my phone on Mother’s Day just to keep reading it. 😳😂 I absolutely loved the magic of the village of Varenia and the magic and danger surrounding the Blood Coral. Not to mention who doesn’t love a cruel prince and a love triangle? Nor and Zadie definitely share an unbreakable twin bond and it was so heartwarming and heartbreaking to see how far they would go for each other. Tarin is definitely my newest book boyfriend, so hands off ladies!! He’s the younger half-brother of Ceren, the Prince and crown regent who is to marry Nor (disguised as Zadie). The character development was well done, and the world building is great! I want to know more about what is outside or surrounding Varenia and Ilara though, so maybe that will come with a sequel? Hope so!

I don’t feel that this story is quite finished based on the ending of the book, so I’ll be heartbroken if I find out that Mara isn’t planning on writing a sequel. I just didn’t feel there was enough of a resolution for it to be a standalone. However, this is definitely another ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ read for me! I can’t believe how many 5 star reads I’ve had this year, but hey… I’m not complaining!! Keep ’em coming! 😃

Ok well I have to get moving and off to work soon, not that I’ll be functional after the book hangover this read has left me with. 😂 Happy Reading friends! 🤓

I- I am so underwhelmed.

I WAS ROOTING FOR YOU.

3.5/5 stars

Crown of Coral and Pearl was a release I have been looking forward to for MONTHS. I was so excited when I received an ARC, and was looking forward to finally getting to read it. Unfortunately, I found myself to be underwhelmed by the story, and the ending was extremely weak as well.

Before I start, let it be known that this was originally meant to be a duology. It was instead sold as a standalone novel, AND IT SHOWS. The amount of time it takes for us to get from one setting to another -where most of the story should've taken place jsyk- is over a third of the way in. Once you pass that third of the book, things start to pick up pace as we finally get to what the summary was describing. While there were scenes that took place in Vaneria that were very much needed for the plot, a lot of it could've been cut down in some way.

So, we finally get to Ilara... That means things pick up for sure now right? Well...kinda. We start to see the conspiracies and the mysteries on why Nor's people are suffering, but there's so much fluff in the mix that it feels so far in. I found myself zoning out quite a bit in this middle section,, and that's not a good sigh. I found myself to thoroughly enjoy Nor here though, as she struggles to be her sister but also remain true to herself. We also get introduced to Prince Ceren and Prince Talin, both opposite sides of the same coin. While I enjoyed these 3 characters, after thinking I found that they weren't very developed. We see Ceren and Talin a lot in this part, but yet there doesn't seem to be much to them. Even Nor wasn't as developed as I imagined she would be, considering she's spying to save her home.

So the last third and the ending. 75% through, and I FINALLY was enjoying myself. Like, I was LOVING it. And I'm not sure if that's a good or bad thing. The pacing just picked up SO FAST, and we were getting some serious development in the conflict as all the pieces were coming together. It was really amazing! I was actually quite happy with it...until I saw I was at 93% and nothing was resolved yet. I then was terrified because this is a standalone, and that could only mean 2 things, Either we got an open-ending/cliffhanger and just imagine what happens or hope for a sequel, or we get a rushed ending.

This was a mix of both.

This has the most rushed explanation of dialogue between characters that I have ever read in my entire life. All of our questions were squished into these 2-3 pages of exposition where a character explains to Nor everything that happened. What sucks is, there is NOTHING in this entire book that has any clues to let us realize that these things were happening. Only the most vague lines uttered, which were easily brushed away, were able to be connected to the explanations we were given. I hated it so much, and I was severely disappointed that an extra conflict was entered in -I KID YOU NOT- the last 2 pages. It was such an unnecessary blow to what could've been a kinda happy open-ending. The last third won me over, but the final chapters ruined it once again.

I seriously hope that the publishers consider giving this book a sequel. It was clearly written as a duology, and it should've been published as a duology. This book suffered in it's final act due to constrictions, and also unnecessary conflicts that should've been left out if it is indeed a standalone novel. I rated this as high as I did because I admit that I did find enjoyment out of this. I can't bring myself to rate it any higher though due to how many issues there actually are. My thoughts? I won't be buying this anytime soon, and I'd actually recommend going to your local library instead. I still look forward to whatever the author writes next, as I really did enjoy her style of writing. Crossing my fingers for a sequel!

ARC provided to me by the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Book: Crown of Coral and Pearl
Author: Mara Rutherford
Rating: 4 Out of 5 Stars

I would like to thank Netgalley and the publisher, Inkyard Press, for providing me with this ARC.

I must say that I was very impressed with this book. This is another one that I was only basing on the summary. I mean, the summary sounded good, but sometimes that can be a real let down. The writing is beautiful and the world is amazing. I love the idea of one group living in the ocean and another on land-in the same kingdom. There was just something about this that made it really magical.

What I really loved about this book was the relationship between sisters. Zadie and Nor live in a world in which the most beautiful girl in the village is chosen to marry the prince. Their whole lives have been centred about this and they have been taught to see beauty as being on the outside, not on the inside. The two sisters share a bond. Both are in the running, but they really don’t want it. Both of them have their hearts set on something else. When something happens, they are forced to live a life that neither one of them of them thought. I loved how Mara made their bond one of the main focuses of the story. I know romance is a major factor in this book, but I love the family relationships even more.

Mara’s writing is beautiful and stunning. I love how she put in little details throughout the story that really added to the world. Inside of us being told about the world in one setting, like it is with most fantasy, we get world building throughout the story. It just makes everything that much more wonderful and engaging.

The pacing was okay. To me, the pacing is what made me knock a star off. The ending felt rushed. Don’t get me wrong, it was good, but it seemed like Mara was aiming for a longer book and that didn’t happen. It felt like so much time was taken on other things and the final battle was just cut short. Hopefully, there will be a second book to pick up where this one left off-I really have no idea what’s being planned.

Overall, not a bad book. This one comes out on August 27, 2019.

This is one of the best books I’ve read in a long time. I liked every single one of the characters, except for the bad guy. I truly despised him, and was happy with the state Nor had him in when the book ended. His brother on the other hand... well I’ll just say I was a fan of Talin from the start. Even Zadie and Sami were great characters that I felt I got to know well, despite their being in only 40% of the book. The plot was very unique and I’ve honestly never read anything quite like it. Mara Rutherford had a way of weaving the story together that made it a very cohesive and enjoyable read. 5/5 stars, I would definitely recommend.

I received a copy of Crown of Coral and Pearl from Harlequin TEEN (US & Canada) through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

In this book beauty is a curse that will get you sent away to marry a stranger.

Nor has been scarred and is out of the beauty running but must take her place.

Wow, the villain in this one is a creeper!

Oh man, having finished this book I'm a little disappointed. This was one of my most anticipated books for the second half of the year. The premise sounds so incredible. There is a centuries-long pact between the ruling kingdom of Ilara and a small ocean community, Varenia in which the most beautiful girl is chosen from Varenia to marry the heir to Ilara every generation. Twins Nor and Zadie are the focus of the novel, Zadie is a front-runner to be this generations chosen girl ever since an accident left a small scar on Nor's cheek. The beginning of the book felt a little clumsy to me. There was a lot of worldbuilding vomit to give a quick rundown of how everything in Varenia works and their relationship to the rest of the world, Ilara in particular. The way it was written just didn't feel organic to me, it was merely a lot of facts laid out and then we moved on. The book does eventually find its stride in this, there's a lovely scene where the girl's mother tells the story of how the tradition of sending girls got its start. I thought Varenia was a beautiful community. The ocean-living and the hierarchy of members in the community was so interesting to read. I loved Nor and Zadie. Their relationship was so beautiful to read and they're each great characters on their own. Nor is headstrong and curious, while Zadie has been perhaps a bit forced into the role of the perfect daughter. Prince Ceren is by and far the most interesting character of the entire novel. Every scene he was in had my full attention and he felt like the most fully fleshed out character. I wasn't as sold on Prince Talin, he felt a little wooden to me. He fit the role of Prince Charming too well and while I always love a good forbidden romance, I wanted more from the relationship between Nor and Talin. The ending completely fell apart for me, all of a sudden it felt like the author realized the book needed to end soon and so just cut right to ending everything possible. It's also very clear that the story isn't finished. This is a standalone novel but the author has said she intended it to be a duology. There's so much that still isn't wrapped up at the end and so it made the finish feel a little flat because I have so many more questions and as far as I know they will not be answered. That said I loved reading 80% of this book, the characters and the settings were both really well done. I just wish it could have ended stronger because that's the final impression of the book and it really brought down my overall impression of Crown of Coral and Pearl.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with the ARC. I was very excited to get approved for this and thought this was a great read!