I love The Little Mermaid, but this retelling just didn't work for me unfortunately. I think that the character were flat in my opinion. I do think the author was trying to do something new with the story that could have been really cool, but I just didn't enjoy the execution. I will be trying more from this author though because I did enjoy the writing.

I received an arc of this title from NetGalley for an honest review. I tried to get into this story, but it felt a little too happy ending to me. However, I will keep it in mind for readers' advice.

I really really wanted to like this one. I love Disney retellings, I love Zoraida Cordova, and I love a good rockstar romance. But I was just missing that wow factor. Maybe because I am coming from reading several really awesome books back to back that this fell flat for me, but I realized about 50% in that nothing was really happening.

I love The Little Mermaid so I was really excited for this book in this series, but I didn't love this one.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for granting me free access to the advanced digital copy of this book.

I loved reading this book! The Little Mermaid is my other favourite Disney Renaissance movie, with the music being so much fun to sing. So this retelling, where the sisters are in a band, that their dad owns a record label, yeah, it was fantastic!

Ariel wants to have a break, to be a normal person, after being part of the band for so long. But her father puts her in a tough position, to stay on, and let her sisters go and have this break. So of course she needs just a little time of freedom.

It was so much fun to see Ariel on the road with this band, who don't know who she is, and just to relax and have fun with music. It was what she wanted to do before, even though she's going against her dad's wishes, and that's too bad, because she needs to live her own life.

The romance was so sweet, I really enjoyed her and Eric, as well as this story of her finding out who she wanted to be, what she wanted out of her life. It was a sweet and adorable read, that I had such a great time with!

Loved reading this book, and I can't wait to read more of this series!

✨ Series Info ✨
The Meant to Be series are all standalones and can be read in any order. They are closed door retellings of beloved Disney movies - this one is The Little Mermaid, and was my favorite so far!

✨ Review ✨
I was so excited for this book, but last year if it wasn’t on audio, I didn’t read it, and this book doesn’t seem to have an audiobook made, which is so heartbreaking!

However, I’ve been working on getting back into reading with my eyes, and I really loved this one, and thought it was such a clever interpretation of the story!

Ariel del Mar has been a pop culture icon since she was a child - her family business has been making her and her sisters pop icons. She meets Eric after sneaking out to a rock concert in Brooklyn. Then, after getting into a fight with her father, she joins his band’s tour to sell their merch at shows. It was fun to watch her join the “real world” after living a life of luxury.

I absolutely adored all of the characters. The band gave major found family vibes, and everyone was so quirky in their own way. But of course the real magic was in the building romance between Ariel and Eric! The tension was exquisite.

✨ Ramblings Semi-Related to the Book ✨
I’ve been on a musician romance kick lately. I think after being so disappointed by The Breakup Tour, this is exactly what I needed and the vibe I wished The Breakup Tour had been!

The connections made with the Disney version of The Little Mermaid were all so cute. I’ve read a few books lately that envision people who work in more pop culture settings - whether it’s musicians, fashion designers, or influencers - as kind of vapid hot messes. And while anyone can be a vapid hot mess, I just find it to be a very boring stereotype. So I really appreciated that Cordova leaned into how hard Ariel had worked and how knowledgeable she was about the music industry, even if she was lost when it came to doing things like laundry. It made her lovable and relatable.

I am a sucker for a good re-telling, especially when it involved a Disney princess. Loved the spin on the original story and it was a funny, cute, and easy read!

Couldn't get into this one - didn't realize how DISNEY it would be. But I'll remember for reader's advisory.

I am really enjoying reading the novels in the “Meant To Be” series. Kiss The Girl is a modern reimaging of The Little Mermaid. In this story, Ariel is a singer in a band with her sisters called Siren Seven. When the group disbands, Ariel realizes that she has lost her sense of identity and jumps at a chance to do something different when she crosses paths with another band with a handsome lead singer who just so happens to be named Eric. Kiss The Girl is a perfect summer romance with top-tier banter! Disney fans and romance fans alike will enjoy this title.

I ABSOLUTELY loved this Little Mermaid retelling!!! Full of a great cast of BIPOC characters, found and real family, on the road rockstar shenanigans, and tons of romance and family drama all rolled into one. Definitely my new favorite in the Meant to be series by a landslide!! It was also great on audio too! Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital copy in exchange for my honest review!

A modern-day Little Mermaid where she’s a singer and he’s a guitar player. I genuinely can’t believe it hasn’t been done already because now that I’ve read it, it seems like it was always right there.

Ariel is part of a famous music group made up of, you guessed it, seven sisters. Eric Reyes is a singer songwriter who wants to make it big. When Ariel decides she needs a break from her life and overbearing father, she joins Eric’s band as the merch girl… but without telling any of them who she actually is.

I had a fun time reading this one and loved what Zoraida Córdova did with the story we all know and love so well. I really think she not only did it justice, but brought a fresh take to it and enriched the love story between the two. I mean, for starters, Ariel can speak in this one… But Córdova really does do more than just give this mermaid a voice. She makes her sing.

I'm always game for a fairytale retelling, and the latest in the Meant to Be series doesn't disappoint; Cordova did a fantastic job.

I have been enjoying the Meant To Be series and this is my favorite one so far. This is a retelling of the Little Mermaid and while the Disney influences can be a bit strong in the book (bordering on heavy handed Disney adult), it did not matter because the core of this book is so charming and fun.

If you’re looking for a book about a girl finding her voice and falling in love, this is for you. The cast of characters surrounding Ariel and Eric really gave the book so much of its heart. What I enjoyed most is the strengthening of the connection between Ariel and her sisters - that was a beautiful touch that I don’t want to give away.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for a digital arc of this book in exchange for an honest review. Rounding up to 4 stars!

To start, I have (now) read all the published books in the Meant to Be series. To be honest, I thought this series would become a must-read for me, but as we are on the third book, the hit-or-miss factor of the various authors is really starting to become apparent. And to be even more honest, I have to admit that I almost didn't give this one a chance after reading book two in the series.
This was cute. I read it in one sitting and let my brain take a break from the world while on a snow day. It was an easy read and not particularly layered or complex. But I also found the writing to be a bit stilted and certainly cheesy at times (I feel like The Little Mermaid easter eggs were honestly a little too in-your-face most of the time;
I really preferred the more subtle nods, like when one of Ariel's sisters gives her a baseball cap with a little crab on it).
I also want to add that there are very few romance writers I regularly read anymore (Emily Henry is the big one for me), and I think because I've taken this step away from the genre, it is a bit more apparent when dialogue/plot isn't as strong.
In general, if you are a fan of Disney Princess retellings, this one is a quick read, and the music parts definitely held my interest. And while this isn't a must-read romance for me, I did find that it was a step up from By the Book. I will certainly be reading book number four (Christina Lauren! I have high hopes!), so I am not totally out.

I have been disappointed by Disney’s Meant to Be series. This book promised to be a cute take off of The Little Mermaid, but I found the book lacking the charm of the classic movie. Also, the pacing was off. It seemed to take 100s of pages for anything to happen, and then the romance was rushed. I would have preferred if the book was entirely unrelated to the movie and the author spent more time developing the characters.

This was the first book I read from Cordova. I enjoyed the retelling of The Little Mermaid in this fun adult RomCom form. While it wasn’t my precise style of book, it made me laugh and I will definitely keep an eye out for her future books. If you enjoy Disney, love a HEA, and need a good comfort easy read, this will hit the spot perfectly.

✨Book Review✨
Kiss the Girl by Zoraida Córdova
⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
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This third book in the Meant to Be series was cute, but definitely my least favorite of the three I have read so far. I did love the ways in which this book gave little mermaid vibes without being a literal retelling of the story. I also really liked the ending and the messages it brought. In general, this story was just a little too generic for me though. I would still definitely recommend it to anyone who feels they would like a Little Mermaid themed rom com, but this one just didn't really stand out to me the way the others did. I also really wish this were an audiobook, as I wanted to listen to the second half. I don't understand why they didn't turn this one into audio!

Two great loves of mine, Zoraida and The Little Mermaid. This is one I wish I had the audiobook of as well, and would love to hear a bigger production with some music. Maybe a podcast version where they produce sound clips of the music. I adore this book! It hit all the right marks for what I wanted opening this; Zoraida’s writing style, seeds of my childhood fairytale love, and romance.

This was fun and entertaining, but I still love the first book in the series best. Maybe it is because I am such a sucker for Cinderella retellings, but the subsequent books in the "Meant to Be" series just haven't hit the same. I will say that I haven't read many Little Mermaid retellings, so that aspect was fun, new, and different.