A really amazing book!! I enjoyed the characters and overall story. Very well paced too. Definitely recommend this

This book started out absolutely amazing and the premise was exciting, but I just did not like that ending.

What I do like is the setting. Actually, I love the setting! We start in Varenia, a town build in the ocean (think on stilts, not underwater), where the beautiful twins Nor and Zadie live. I really enjoy how much we learn about Varenia and customs. It is such a cool concept and I felt Rutherford explained and explored it perfectly.
Then we move to The Mountain. It is so dark and dank and creepy. The people are so different and, again, creepy. I love it!! I just think the detail that was given on both the main places of the story was incredibly well done.

I also really like Nor and Zadie. I love exploring sibling relationships especially strong positive ones. These two could have easily grown up competing with and hating each other, but they don't, they forge a strong bond of love and trust and it was a joy to read about. The things these two would do and actually do for each other warms my heart.
In fairness, I think the other siblings were interesting too -- but that'd be spoilers....

The pacing of this story is great too. The action, the politics, the relationships, the fear. All of it mixes to create a book that is hard to put down.

Now, the reason this is a three star read and not a four, is the last 10% of this book. I won't go into detail, obviously, to avoid spoilers, but it was too rushed. That is my biggest complaint. I didn't get any satisfaction or real closure. It does seem like there may be a sequel and I think I would read it, because hopefully I can get just a little bit of a wrap up there.

I recommend “Crown of Coral and Pearl” to fans of “Red Queen.” The overall plot and many of the details are similar:
1. Girl pulled away from her family to marry a prince but must hide an aspect of her physical appearance.
2. Weird competition to be the crown prince’s fiancée.
3. Girl has instalove connection with the prince’s half brother.
4. Prince’s half brother is tall, athletic, and compassionate while her fiancé is pale, weird, and conniving.
5. Suspicions that the fiancé/his mom offed the handsome prince’s mom.
6. Fiancé has evil invention and seeks to use the girl’s native people for personal profit.
7. Girl has to do some inept spying.
8. Girl develops exactly one mentor/friend at court.
9. Kingdom is in peril from outside forces.

Overall, I liked “Crown of Coral and Pearl” more than Red Queen, and I appreciated that it didn’t fall into some of the same traps. COCAP’s relationship between twin sisters felt new and believable. Nor is a nuanced character who doesn’t try to bulldoze through every obstacle in her life like most YA heroines these days. Similarly, Zadie isn’t a useless beauty as counterpoint but has strength to her.

It’s a good debut and not entirely predictable even if the subject itself has been done to death.

I love this book! And the way it ends is very interesting. It's a great concept. Some of it was a little predictable, but it doesn't make you lose interest. All in all would recommend and am excited for more.

I've had this book on my tbr for a while because the promise of a magical tale involving the sea and a pair of twin sisters with some court intrigue sprinkled in sounded awesome, and I was not let down in that regard. Nor and Zadie love each other so, so much, it's almost palpable through the pages. And that love does not falter, no matter what life throws at them, and no matter how far apart they are. I found that refreshing to read about, same as the vivid description of Varenia and their home amidst the sea in the first half of the book. Simply beautiful. I really felt like I was there; I could almost smell the salty ocean breeze.

Nor is a very likeable heroine, a bit naive sometimes in her choices, but never so much so that it would have bothered me. I greatly enjoyed her POV to be honest.
What I would have liked as well is some more development for both of the princes. As it stands, I don't really care much for either of them.
Ceren was more interesting to me, because there were moments that showed layering to his character, and I would have enjoyed to explore that further. And Talin .. well, I don't really feel like I know Talin that well. Which could go in either direction tbh; I'm hoping for a couple surprises in the next book, but I'm not sure how likely that is.
I'm not mad though; I didn't really get the feeling that this story tried to focus so much on the romantic aspects - seemed more like the side quest so to speak, and that's completely fine. In itself it is not something I'd like to see changed at all actually; this isn't the boys' story. Just some more background for them would have been interesting, but I do prefer for the focus to stay on Nor's family, her people, and the politics and history of Varenia and Ilaria.

I've been flip-flopping about what to rate this book until the very last minute (still kind of am tbh). The story flows wonderfully; it's a quick read, probably something that can be devoured in one sitting if that's what you feel like, because it sure does not get boring. But I feel like I need the rest of the story to put this into context and find the right rating. So for now it's 3/5 stars, with the potential to be raised to 4/5.
Overall a well-rounded story with likeable characters, a sweet sibling relationship and interesting world-building.

Sidenotes: - I switched between reading my kindle version and listening to the audio book (which I purchased on my own) when I was on the go, and I can highly recommend the latter as well. The narrator is fantastic.
- Even with some questions unanswered and me knowing there will be a sequel (that I will most certainly read!), I believe this can very well be read as a standalone tale if you want to. There is no huge cliffhanger, the ending is just hopeful and open enough to allow you to imagine how it continues yourself, or wait for the next book. Both works in my opinion.

**I received an e-copy of Crown of Coral and Pearl from Harlequin through netgalley.com
Opinions are my own

Loved this! Never related more to a character in my life. Really enjoyed the twin relationship and the romance. What a lovely tale. Will be reading more from this author!

I had seen this posted on Goodreads and was looking forward to reading. I was excited to receive a copy via NetGalley.

Crown of Coral and Pearl is a heart wrenching tale of Varenia, a civilization on the water built on beauty and harvesting pearls, and Ilara, the ruling queendom made of stone. Varenia has been at Ilara's mercy for generations, harvesting pearls for trade in order to feed themselves and preparing their beautiful daughters to marry the princes of Ilara. If you even so much as had a scar, you were seen as unworthy of this "honor." Varenia believes in their duty so much, their daughters are taught little else. Nor and Zadia are twin sisters who have an inkling that they can change their fates after Nor is scarred as a child and deemed unworthy. In a parent-trap style switch, Nor is sent to Ilara in Zadia's place, and she finds Ilara is not what they've been told.

For a debut novel, Crown of Coral and Pearl was beautifully written, however, it does seem to speed up in the second half. Critical events happen in rapid succession, but it leaves me wanting so much more. The novel was originally to be a standalone, but Mara Rutherford is working on the sequel.

I really loved the story and how it fights the misconceptions of beauty, as well as the Queendom that exists in place of a Kingdom. I look forward to the sequel's release in 2020 as Mara has created a beautiful world.

"Crown of Coral and Pearl" was one of my summer reads but it took me a little longer to get into than expected.

We start with Nor and Zadie, a set of twins who have been raised to protect their beauty over anything else in order to be chosen as the bride for the Prince of Ilara. What comes to pass is series of emotional turmoils, separation, and discovery. Not all is as it seems in the strange New Castle and Varenia is in danger of extinction.

Overall, I enjoyed this novel however I felt it took quite a long time to progress to a point of action. Then once the action was happening the reader was quickly shuffled along through the panic and left on the edge of a cliff. While I understand that this is just the first in a series, the ending felt truly rushed. The romantic relationships also felt rather rushed with how few interactions had occurred. Still, I am interested to see how this story will progress.

Overall, I'd say this book is only slightly better than average, but man it didn't feel like that while I was reading.  The highs were so high-- with a great sea-village setting, interesting commentary on beauty and the place of young women in society, interesting political world-building...  lovely.  Also, the author takes great pains to have multifaceted characters, and even the villain has seemingly decent people that love him, albeit in complicated ways.  
There weren't a lot of low points, but when they came along they were jarring.  Most of what I consider to be low points stem directly from the naivete of the main character, Nor.  Rutherford writes her in a way that is very true to how one would expect a teenager with her sheltered, community-driven upbringing to act, but sometimes for this jaded adult reader it was like watching a slow-motion train wreck.  ("You don't have to tell the villain the truth!  For the love of all that is holy, if you try to kill someone/something, make sure it's really actually dead before you walk away!")  
Finally, the ending feels very, very rushed.  While this was intended to be a standalone, it definitely leaves things wide open for a sequel, and it seems Rutherford is writing one.  I'll be sure to check it out if and when she does.

This book was on my TBR list, so I was excited when I got the chance to read the ARC!
Crown of Coral and Pearl is the story of two twin sisters, Nor and Zadie, who are raised to believe their ultimate worth is found in their physical beauty. For generations, a bride for the prince on the mainland, Ilara, is chosen from Varenia due to their extreme beauty. When Nor is scarred as a child, she gives up her dream of ever stepping foot on land. However, after her sister Zadie is chosen but later injured, Nor is forced to go to Ilara in her place as the prince's bride. Upon her arrival at the castle, Nor discovers things are not as her village was led to believe. The king is dying and her soon-to-be-husband is an evil psychopath, but the prince's charming brother helps her in uncovering the dark secrets of the kingdom. As the truth of the kingdom's history is revealed, Nor realizes she will have to face the evil that threatens to destroy her people, or die trying.
I loved the overall story and plot of this book! I didn't realize this was the author's first published book and thought it was an excellent read. Nor and Zadie are both lovable characters and I was rooting for them the entire time. The supporting characters were great but slightly one-dimensional. I would've liked to see more from them and how they felt or related to the story. I had an over-all feeling throughout the book that I was missing why some characters acted the way they did, so I wish the customs of Ilara were explained a little further. Prince Ceren was awful. I thought this story would go the way of many YA fantasy books before it and take on the enemies to lovers trope, but I was pleasantly (or not so pleasantly) surprised that it didn't. Ceren stayed the evil, awful prince. I felt slightly bad for him at first when Nor explained how he was brought up as second best next to his brother, but his behavior escalated to the point where there were no excuses for how evil he was. His brother Talin made up for it, and I was happy to see the connection between him and Nor grow throughout the story. I am definitely looking forward to more books in the series, I think there is so much to be expanded on, especially with all the info we're left with in the last chapter.

"Nor and Zadie: coral and pearl. Both precious to our people, both beautiful enough to adorn the necks of queens. But whereas a pearl is prized for its luster, its shape, its lack of imperfections, coral is different. It grows twisted. In its natural form, it can hardly be considered beautiful at all."
In the village of Varenia, girls are raised on the belief that beauty is power. For every so often, a Varenian girl will be chosen to be sent off to marry the Prince of Ilara and become the next Queen, the highest honor to receive in their small village. When Nor and Zadie are born, there is no doubt in anyones mind who will be chosen when the time comes. But a terrible accident leaves Nor with a scar on her cheek when she is young. No longer having a chance to be picked as the most beautiful girl in Varenia, Nor accepts her fate and watches as Zadie is groomed by their mother for the future that undoubtedly awaits her. So it comes as no surprise when the elders pick Zadie to go ashore. But Zadie does not want to go and when she suffers a grievious injury before she is set to sail to Ilara, Nor is sent in her place instead.

And so, Nor heads to Ilara to be wed to a man she has never met and rule a land she has never been to before. What starts out as excitement very quickly turns to dismay as Ilara proves to be nothing like what she expected. Growing up on the ocean, Nor is used to sunshine and openness and when she learns she will be living inside a mountain, she can't help but long to go home.
"There is no hope for any of us, child. We are all trapped in this mountain like lobsters in a cage, waiting for our turn to die."

On top of that, she quickly finds out that the man she is to be wed to, is a horrid, cold man with many secrets and a beyond alarming obsession with the pearls her village harvests. Nor soon learns that there is much more going on than what her people have been lead to believe and that they are in danger.



Wow! There was just so much amazing-ness in this!😍 Nor and Zadies relationship was so beautiful! I'd say almost the first half of this book focuses on the relationship between the two and what it was like growing up in a place that values beauty above all else and I absolutely loved reading of their sisterly bond. The world building was excellent. I felt like I was right there with Nor the whole time as she navigated new lands and new people. There's tension! Twists and turns! Some romance(but not an overpowering romance)! Wonderful growth with our leading lady. A villian whom you want to like but then he goes and does awful things, and no why did he do that I almost thought I liked him! A shocking ending! Literally, I gasped when I read it. This was a beautifully written YA Fantasy and please give me the sequel now!😅


*I received this book for free from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.*

If there was a way for me to post 3 1\2 stars I would for this book. I loved the concept of this book, but I found it was lacking for of a magical attribute I personally seek out. However, this book portrays a wonderful sister relationship I've never seen before. The love Not and Zadie have for each other really made this book for me. This is a very quick read and I would definitely recommend if your looking for great sibling relationships.

I really enjoyed Crown of Coral and Pearl. First off I love the cover and the overall idea of the novel that being said I need more. I need the characters to be flushed out more, their relationships as well. I loved the world building and the differences between the two locations within this novel. Cant really go in depth without spoiling anything. Overall a great first book, looking forward to a more fleshed out second. 4 out of 5 stars.

"Nor and Zadie. Coral and pearl. Powerful and beautiful because of each other, not in spite of each other."

Nor and Zadie are identical twins that have grown up in the ocean village of Varenia. Every generation, the village sends their most beautiful girl to marry the crown prince of Ilara, the mountain kingdom that rules over Varenia. As a result, beauty is prized above all else in women of the village. Nor and Zadie are both beautiful, but Nor has a small scar on her face from a childhood accident, and so Zadie becomes the favorite to be sent to Ilara. When an accident befalls Zadie, however, Nor must take her place. Once arriving in Ilara, Nor realizes everything is not what it seems.

I adored this book! The sisterly relationship between Nor and Zadie is at the heart of the novel. You can really feel how much they love each other and will do anything for each other. Their mother, however, is a different story. You can see how the strife for beauty and perfection takes a toll on the twins, especially as Zadie is groomed to become a princess and Nor is free to do as she pleases. There was a lot of discussion on the value of beauty, and I thought it was very thought provoking.

What's cool about this novel is that the setting is split between an ocean village and a mountain fortress. They were two complete opposite settings, and yet I felt like Rutherford did a great job making me feel like I could really picture each one. The ocean village was beautiful, sparkling, and full of life whereas the mountain was cold and looming. It's made clear how the mountain and the ocean upbringings affect the characters. The writing is easy to get into, and vividly describes the world.

Overall, this was a compulsively readable YA debut! I'm looking forward to more from Mara Rutherford in the future!

As soon as I started Crown of Coral and Pearl by Mara Rutherford I knew I would be hooked. I absolutely loved the the twists and turns the plot took. I love trying to predict how a book will go and being completely wrong in a good way.

Rutherford's development of the sisters and other characters flows well throughout the story. I love the lingering doubt she leaves you with about specific characters. It makes you want to read the next one immediately to find out what happens next. Let's just say the story ended completely different from how I thought it would go.

There are a few YA tropes I wish she would have done away with like not being super descriptive about how people looked or mannerisms or the way they spoke. I honestly just needed more. And maybe more about the world will become clearer and better developed in the next book. But for now I was a bit disappointed with weak structure of the world and the poor descriptions of almost everything.

I also could have used more character relationship building. It seemed that the characters didn't take much time to get to know one another and I understand that first impressions are important, but the relationship between many of the characters seemed predetermined. (which obviously it is) but it shouldn't feel that way. .

The plot was amazing though and I can't wait to see what happens next!

A poignantly written YA novel about growing up, about how one society's views on beauty mold and shape the lives and minds of not only the young people, but of the adults that push it on their children.
Zadie and Nor are two beautifully identical twins living in a floating community, Varenia, dedicated the remembrance of two Royal, forbidden lovers who died hundreds of years ago. To honor Ilara, a nation that lost their princess, they are forbidden from stepping foot on land until another princess is born to wear the crown. So they send their most beautiful daughters to become become to Queen and hopefully birth a daughter. Hundreds of years later, they are still stuck following the demands of Ilara, all while starving themselves.
With so much hinging on perfection, one small scar is all it takes for Not to no longer be considered worth for a prince's notice. So when Zadie is chosen their mother is ecstatic, but dreams as dashed for the Zadie who loves a boy from Varenia.
Seeing a way to change Fates, Nor takes Zadies place on a possibly dangerous mission if the prince should find out.
When Nor finds out that her adventure is not the dream she thought it would be and that she is instead going into a pot of vipers full of intrigue and murder. Who will she turn to when she is so far from home? When the handsome prince she is to marry turns out to be a vile snake, will she stay and marry him knowing the fate of her village rests in his hands? It's a read that will have you remembering that beauty is in the eye of the beholder and is only skin deep.

** I received a free copy of this book via NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving a review. **

This book was so intense! It started out a bit slow as the world-building created the story, but after the first third the pacing shot forward to create an interesting tale that was borderline horrifying at times, in the best way. I recieved my copy from the publisher through NetGalley, but my opinions are my own.

This book tells the story of a pair of twin sisters, who live in a impoverished floating village. The most beautiful girl is always chosen to leave the village to marry the prince and one day become Queen. The sisters mother always told them that they had to stay beautiful however possible, but once one of the sisters, Nor, is permanently scarred it becomes clear her sister , Zadie, will be chosen. After another accident, Nor is forced to go in her sister’s stead to marry the prince.

I was originally drawn to the magnificent cover of this book and the description sounds so interesting. The first 3rd takes place in the village and creates the world by slowly revealing everything that has happened up to this point. Then once she leaves the village the reveals shift to focus on other people. This really helped solidify the personality of Nor and made the novel easier to digest.

The plot mostly revolves around deception, so there are many points where the main character will have lied to someone they should have(and the reader already) trusted and then it just ends up making everything worse. That being said the main character is also really bad at keeping secrets and most of the time the main villain is able to figure everything out. This contradiction was interesting to see play out, but for someone that dislikes this trope I can see that this would be aggravating.

For the most part there were very few surprises in the narrative, everyone was either black or white morally with no grey characters. The bad guys are sometimes pitied more than hated through and there were times I thought that someone would flip, but nothing happened. The main love interest is also a pretty one-dimensional character and the romance that happens in this book is insta-love, but I hope that future books flesh-out his character and allow the the couple to really interact with each other.

The actually plot is what really made me like the story, it was really interesting as the main character tried to survive the court politics and for most of the time I was completely unaware where the story would go. It was far from predictable. It also fully set-up a sequel which am now highly anticipating. It was just given a title, Kingdom of Sea and Stone and it should be released sometime in 2020.

I had a really good time with is novel and it was a pretty easy read, so for what it is it did great. It was dark and so many interesting things happened that I really enjoyed being this world. Hopefully the sequel is able to fix some of the problems and it will be a perfect book. Leave a comment down below if you have any dark fantasy recs, I am always looking for more! Happy Reading!

4 stars

Honestly, I didn’t have the highest of hopes for this-maybe that’s why I enjoyed it so much.

I love the sisterly relationship between Nor and Zadie. And I’m very happy Ms. Rutherford really took the page time to build their relationship. It helped me get really invested.

A world/culture living on water was really interesting. And it was a nice contrast to the Ilareans. Your physical environment does influence you and i liked what she did with that. There were difference in food, dress, health, etc.

There isn’t a magic-system-at least not yet. But there are almost supernatural elements. I am very eager to find out about more with that.

The romance. Honestly, it felt a little off to me. I think it would be better a little slower. Talin is a compelling character and a nice love interest. Actually, Talin’s conflicting feelings with his brother was so real. It added a great layer to the conflict. Speaking of his brother-Ceren was fascinating. He was super creepy and made my skin crawl. Then, he would have these moments of humanity-or what seemed like humanity. I’m pretty sure he’s a sociopath, but Ms. Rutherford wrote him so well.

I think this story would’ve been made better by additional POVs-at least one more (perhaps Zadie’s). It would help flush out the story and world. Plus, it would help raise the stakes. With only one POV I basically know Nor won’t die. But that’s just my opinion.

There was a thing at the end which I called-or at least half called. I am definitely excited to see where the story goes. I do really hope this is just a duology, because I’m not sure there’s enough there for more. Plus, the world could use more fantasy stand alones and duologies.

Many thanks to Netgalley for providing me an e-ARC of this title for the purpose of review. I adored this book and eagerly look forward to other works by this author or other installments in this series. I was up well into the night reading this long after my brain was saying "Kitty, go to sleep." There was always some new little detail I wanted to know about and follow through on and the writing was very immersive and of noteworthy quality among YA fantasy. Only the romance (which isn't a massive part of the story) didn't click with me.

The world building and court drama was detailed enough to give real texture and provide a context for the proceedings, but not info-dumpy. Another reason for my high rating is that I typically dislike dramas of the court and find them frequently tedious, yet the handling of it here had me hanging on every word.

The heroine, Nor, is a largely enjoyable character. She's strong, adventurous, and not afraid to go sneaking across dark corridors and down hidden pathways of a mysterious castle to figure out secrets.

I notice the story seems to have different phases. The first phase being about Nor, her family, and the island village of her people. Nor's bond with her twin sister is a stand-out aspect here. I felt a mounting excitement as Nor gets ever closer to being free to explore a new setting.

The second phase takes place in that new setting- a castle in the mountains, a kingdom full of treachery. There is an air of mystery to the proceedings here. New characters seem to be hiding information pertaining to her homeland, and Nor is trying to figure out what's really going on as quickly as possible but with subtlety.

What I consider the third phase is when everything is out in the open- the goals of enemies and allies alike, and things get more frenetic in pace (though the book was always quite fast-moving, I felt.) There are some decent action sequences and Nor is fairly and unexpectedly skilled at combat. The romance is also given some opportunity to blossom.

Unpopular opinion, but I found Nor's love interest, Talin, to be bland, no flavor. His moments with Nor and the dialogue therein were always very predictable and by-the-book. Their little romance held no interest for me.

Prince Ceren, awful creature that he is, was much more interesting and the mental sparring and struggles between he and Nor were entertaining and tense to read about. I wouldn't mind if he could have some continuing role in the series as there was some depth of intrigue there. An evil character for sure, but seeing a desperate villain, a villain who comes off as hapless and doomed? I love the uniqueness of that, so in my book he's interesting as far as villains go. Super unpopular opinion- I was actually shipping him with Nor for some time, though he ended up crossing too many lines and is unforgivably problematic. Super super unpopular opinion- I would totally be up for more confrontations between them, were the opportunity to somehow present itself.

The ending leaves a lot of room for future growth but it also provided clean enough closure. To my understanding, there will be a sequel that continues to follow the sisters. I'm interested in it, but would probably prefer a fresh cast building upon the groundwork of this setting. Overall, a very solid read and I was hooked from beginning to end.

Hello everyone!



Have you ever wanted to be the ruler of a kingdom?


Crown of Coral and Pearl by Mara Rutherford follows a young woman who is thrown headfirst to the imperial court to save her village.




“You have the power to do anything and everything you dream of, more than any person I’ve ever known.”

~Crown of Coral and Pearl



In her debut work, Rutherford conveyed an intriguing plot that delved into the often dangerous balance between love of country and duty for country. Rutherford's vivid imagery transported readers directly to the Varenian's floated village on the sea where the great expanse of water is all encompassing and the sounds of the ocean crash through the pages. As a reader, I love when authors create an original landscape and this particular element completely immersed me in the protagonist's, Nor's, world.



“Nor and Zadie. Coral and Pearl.
Powerful and beautiful because of each other, not in spite of each other.”

~Crown of Coral and Pearl



The theme of duty for the greater good at the cost of the self prevailed throughout Crown of Coral and Pearl. Because of the decline in the village's harvesting of pearls that the Varenian's subsist on, Nor's twin sister, Zadie, is chosen to wed a prince and become the next queen. However, Zadie holds a love for a fellow villager that drives her to harm herself in order to create a large scar to dissuade the decision of the elders. Since Zadie's picture was sent off to the imperial court, Nor is sent in her sister's place.




"What lies beneath the surface of shallow waters? Nothing. It's only when you go deeper that the ocean comes alive. The deeper you go, the more mysteries and surprises await."

~Crown of Coral and Pearl


At New Castle, the author's outstanding world building capabilities continue to expand along with her established environment. It is a place of cold and cruel exchanges that comprise of the court's cat-and-mouse games. This was such a juxtaposition to the sun kissed pages from the beginning of Nor's tale that demonstrated Rutherford's creative flexibility. From the moment she steps forth on this unfamiliar land, Nor beings realizing that above her kingdom, she must save herself. The process of Nor's self discovery as she tries to save the people she holds dear will appeal to readers of the Red Queen series by Victoria Aveyard and Amber & Dusk by Lyra Selene.



”I’m the perfect seashell you pick up from the ocean floor, only to turn it over in your hand and see the crack.”

~Crown of Coral and Pearl



I thoroughly enjoyed traversing through Rutherford's imagination and I am greatly anticipating the continuation of this duology!