Wow, this book is a really hard one to review because its a very character driven story, and more than that – its a story about characters that struggle with a lot of mental health issues. This is going to be an odd review – I can’t talk too much about the plot without giving away major spoilers, so its more of a quick character analysis.

The story focuses on a few characters that come together in unexpected ways; there’s the mermaid Coral who moves with her grandmother because she began experiencing the “Red Tide”, Brooke and her young friend Hope, who are staying at a treatment center, and Merrick, who is desperately holding himself together despite his parents and his sisters suicide attempts.

I was extremely confused as to how these characters relate to each other at first, something just didn’t add up correctly and I felt like I was missing something major. Maybe there was a chapter that got left out of my copy, or maybe i have a really old edition – but no, it all comes together eventually and once it does, every tiny detail makes sense, any my heart broke.

Coral is a mermaid turned human – which is kind of confusing until you “get it”, but her story is a sad one. Unwanted, dismissed from the family that is supposed to love her unconditionally, you just want to pick up the little mermaid and tell her how much she means to you.

Brooke and Hope were by far my favorite characters – Brooke struggled with being in yet another treatment center, balked at therapy, and preferred to keep her pain inside her. I saw a lot of myself in Brooke, and although i know everyones struggles with mental health are different, i could relate too and understand Brooke’s in a way that i dont usually get too. Then there’s her friend, the wonderful, heartbreaking, Hope. An eleven year old girl with pain beyond her years, Hope, for me, was the central character. She helps tie the different elements of the story together, and is always happy to be there for the people that need her – even though internally she struggles more than any of them.

Finally, there’s Merrick. I would have been happier if Merrick was just left out of the story completely, but i do understand his importance and the role he plays. Starting out as a love interest of Corals, Merrick devlops into a central character – but i still wasn’t a fan. His relationship with his father and the decisions he makes in regards to his parents, are that of a spoiled brat. He’s consistently whining about “being told what to do”, you’re still a child Merrick, of course you get told what to do. He also makes a lot of poor decisions in regards to his sister Amaya, and although they all come with good intentions, they’re once again, the decisions of a spoiled whiny child.

The pacing of this story is s-l-o-w. There’s not too much of a plot at all actually, its more about the internal struggles and daily lives of the core group. So if you like lots of action and plot twists in stories, this may not be the one for you. But if you don’t mind character driven stories, or books that get very very real about mental health, than i highly recommend this book. It’s such a beautiful story and i was almost in tears when I finished it.

I received an ARC of this one courtesy of NetGalley and Thomas Nelson.

Coral has always been different, standing out from her mermaid sisters. Worse yet, she fears she has been afflicted with the dreaded disease--Emotions.

First, a warning. It appears at the beginning of the book and as the author’s review on Goodreads. If you are triggered by loss, suicide, or mental health discussion or issues in books please skip this one.

What I Didn’t Like:
-This one is billed as a dark retelling of The Little Mermaid. I don’t want to spoil anything, but I didn’t see it that way.
-The storyline was hard to follow. Even after finishing it, when I should be able to go back and piece it all together, I feel like I’m still a little confused. There are details that seem out of place.
-The ending. Without spoiling anything I can just say I didn’t love this ending. Anything more than that would be a huge spoiler. Email me after you read it and we can vent about it.


What I Did Like:
-The cover is absolutely gorgeous.
-The betrayal of mental illness results in some moments that are beautiful in their acceptance and understanding. Again, I don’t want to spoil anything, but this takes a hard look at mental health and does a decent job of it.
-Brooke. She’s raw and real. She’s the most well written character in this book and I wanted more chapters of hers. I connected with her in a deep way.

Who Should Read This One:
-If you are looking for a book that explores mental health, I recommend this one. I wouldn’t say it’s a five star book if you were looking for a Little Mermaid book, ignore that selling point. Instead, if you want a book that takes a deeper look at the suffering that is depression and consequences that can have, pick this one up.

My Rating: 3 stars. If it was remarketed correctly so you knew exactly what you were getting into, it could be better.

For Full Review (including what I didn’t like): https://youtu.be/J_P6KzL-THc

I feel it necessary to reiterate the trigger warning that Ms. Ella released with this book as there is mention of self-harm, suicide, abuse, as well as various mental health issues. Having read this warning before diving in I wasn’t sure what to expect but what I found was a story that is incomparable to anything I have ever read before.  Three stories are weaved together to tell a tale of loss and the repercussions of difficult choices from both the afflicted and their caretakers.

First we meet our mermaid, Coral, who is burdened with trying to appease a family she no longer feels a part of while trying to care for a sister whose secrets may lead to a troubling end.  As her sister’s secrets are revealed Coral must face the unsettling reality that those secrets may not be her sister’s alone.

Brooke is living the aftermath of one of her worst fears coming to fruition. The overwhelming circumstances lead her to be justifiably resistant to any help from those charged with her care.  A few unexpected friends allow her the opportunity to discover herself and what’s important.

Merrick is a slave to his name.  With a rich and powerful father comes great responsibilities, that he has no interest in. The ennui he feels towards his privileged life takes a drastic turn when someone close to him almost loses a battle he didn’t know was being fought.  He must now accept responsibility he’s not prepared for to be the hero his family needs.

The issues that are dealt with in this book are very real despite the whimsical namesake heroine.  I challenge anyone to finish this book without a new awareness of those around them. Though the timelines of each story can seem a bit confusing, the end result is an awe inspiring revelation that made me gasp as all of the pieces fell together before my eyes.  If this is what happens when a fairy tale falls into Sara Ella’s hands than then I look forward to seeing what else she has in store for us.

If you had asked me at the start of 2019 which book release I was most looking forward to, I wouldn't have had to even hesitate before answering with this one. I've spent years looking for a little mermaid retelling that would finally do my favorite fairy tale justice, and I was convinced that Sara Ella would be the author to deliver it. After finishing Coral, I have to admit I'm feeling a little underwhelmed and disappointed. While it definitely had its positive aspects, it was not the story I was expecting, and this review is a little bittersweet to write.

What I Did Like:

Let's start with the positive.

I first and foremost have to applaud Sara Ella for tackling the controversial subject of mental illness in her little mermaid retelling. With more and more people struggling with these illnesses every single day, it's amazing when authors choose to try and represent this throughout their stories. As someone who struggles myself, I appreciated this. I admired the fact that she wrote about many different characters who struggle, and highlighted the fact that the way it affects each person is different from how it affects someone else. This is not a story that sugar coats what those struggling go through, and that was something I wholeheartedly appreciated and agreed with.

I love when authors are readers themselves, and this point is definitely obvious throughout the reading of Coral. The author incorporates many passages from the original story of The Little Mermaid by Hans Christian Anderson. And she also adds many passages from beloved young adult authors like Veronica Roth and John Green. I enjoyed how these passages always blended in perfectly with each portion of the story they were included in, and it showcased Sara Ella's true love of the young adult literary world.

I can't not talk about the writing in my positive part of the review. It is truly beautiful, and I found myself highlighting so many passages that spoke to me. I really enjoyed her writing style, and found that it kept me invested into the story even during the parts I wasn't necessarily enjoying. Along the same lines, I loved the way that each character mentioned is written raw and realistic; and how it literally felt that the reader could feel the emotions coming from each and every character throughout the story. The story is told from three differing viewpoints (Coral; the little mermaid, Brooke; a human girl who's been admitted into a treatment facility, and Merrick; a human boy who's struggling with his sister's illness and his father's harsh treatment of the family.) and I appreciated that each POV is written distinctly different. I never got confused reading one over the other as it was always quite easy to tell who's POV you were currently reading.

Now unfortunately I need to dive into the negative:

What I Didn't Like:

I really struggled with the timeline throughout the entire story. It feels choppy and not executed properly, and that the story jumps large time periods all over the place that really doesn't make much sense to the reader. For the first three quarters of the book, this was simply annoying and frustrating. However, when the big reveals happen in the last quarter of the book, it left me completely confused and I had no idea what was happening or where the author was going with her story. This would have been confusing enough if the story was told from only one point of view. However, with the fact that it was told from three POV's and that the story could jump weeks between changing from one POV to the next, it got extremely confusing.

I commented already on the fact that I loved how Sara Ella was willing to tackle the topic of mental illness under the positives about this story. However, this did also have a negative side to it that I have to include as well. While it's amazing that more and more authors are choosing to represent the struggles that mental illness brings with it, this isn't always done in a positive light. Throughout Coral, mental illness is mainly represented as dark and depressing with very little light show shown throughout. I appreciate that the darker side of it was represented, but I feel like this could have been balanced a little bit better. Most of the characters seemed to let their illnesses define them, and I just wanted to see a little bit more represented of not letting your illness define you. I definitely have to advise a trigger warning on this title; for anyone who struggles with reading about depression, darker sides of mental illness, and suicide.

Finally, I can't express enough how much I didn't enjoy the direction the ending went in. I was disappointed that the actual under the sea parts ended up being such a small portion of the story, and I ended up feeling a little cheated on the fact that this wasn't a true little mermaid retelling in certain parts of the story. When all the plot twists and turns were finally revealed, I felt it didn't add up, and that certain components of the story are never truly explained to the reader, or resolved by the end of the story. I enjoy stories about unreliable narrators, as it makes you think twice about what you're reading and accepting at face value. However, certain parts of this story didn't add up for me, and I was left feeling disappointed and confused when I did finally finish reading it.

Final Rating: 3/5

If not for the muddled timeline, and the confusion that surrounds when the story finally unwraps, this would have probably been a higher rated title for me. However, these inconsistencies really annoyed me, and affected my enjoyment of the story.

I'm still glad I picked this one up, as I did really enjoy components of it. I will also still be recommending it, I will just be forewarning everyone to go in knowing what to expect, as it was definitely not what I was expecting.

Thanks so much to Thomas Nelson and NetGalley for the opportunity to advance read this!

I received a complimentary copy of this novel from the publisher (Thomas Nelson) via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own. I was not required to give a positive review.

This book took me on the ultimate journey. I’ll be honest, I found the three perspectives hard to follow at first, and I really had to take my time to fully grasp the depths of this story (though this could have completely been entirely on my part due to my mental health not being in the best of places during my reading experience). I found the characters to be hard hitting when it came to expressing their feelings (especially Brooke’s!) and the writing style was so well done. I’m beyond interested in reading more of the author’s work and can’t thank NetGalley enough for allowing me to read this arc!

While Coral by Sara Ella attempts to use a fairy tale retelling to discuss mental health, it never quite finds cohesion between the two. For one, Coral is a confusing book. The story is told from three points of view, and it takes most of the book for any connection between the three to become clear. The way the three points of view come together eventually is well done, but it just takes too long to get there. 

In addition, this is supposed to be a retelling of "The Little Mermaid," but it has almost nothing in common with "The Little Mermaid "aside from Coral being a mermaid and there being a sea witch. It's more along the lines of an "inspired" story, but I never thought the fairy tale aspects mattered once I reached a certain part of the book. The story could have worked just fine without the retelling element. 

The highlight, however, of the story is how Sara Ella handles suicide and mental health. She doesn't shy away from discussing it with raw, deep feelings. At times, this book came across a lot darker than I expected, but it also hinges on a lot of hope for those who are survivors of suicide or attempts. While reading, though, I never quite understood who the target audience was supposed to be. Yes, we need books that address mental illness and suicide and help people, but this book seems like it might do more harm for someone with suicidal thoughts than good.

While some aspects were a bit predictable and "The Little Mermaid" retelling angle didn't pull through for me, Coral has the potential to be a powerful story in the right hands.

To be honest, I mostly skimmed "Coral" by Sara Ella. While the plot on depression and suicide is a very important topic and the author was very well intentioned, the way it was inserted into the story came off preachy and trite. I wouldn't say the novel was problematic in how it handled the topic, like say "13 Reasons Why," it just didn't make for an enjoyable read. And my problem also was not that it was depressing. If anything, the story insisted on remaining light-hearted and inspiring through even the most depressing of scenes. I think to really get at the heart of suicide and depression, there needed to be more willingness to go to that dark place and bring the reader out—but also not in a melodramatic or sentimental way, but in a way that's nuanced and sincere. In the end, this story just didn't capture my attention and the tone was one I just couldn't enjoy. I'm sure this will be the right book for someone else who may well need it, but it wasn't for me.

Having these books fall into my hands was a godsend given that we are looking to add more female leads to our library—tough ones at that, who have also experienced very harsh beginnings. This book has themes of suicide, self-harm, depression, emotional abuse, harassment, etc… which lends itself to a very well written character development. This can be extremely hard to do especially in a Young Adult book.

It is so hard to find books that are written well in character development, plot, and tough situations for any teen, but I think we’ve found a great one. The character design in this book is and was exquisite. I enjoyed reading all the descriptions, development, and love put into the characters from the very beginning. Many of the characters have found their way in the world that is so important to that character that I can’t help but love them. Coral has so many moments that make you love her and feel like you know her that the connection is so believable. It is like you actually know this girl—and this isn’t just because this is a retelling of The Little Mermaid, but because of how the author writes her.

There are many themes and ideas that come into this novel such as love, heartache, self-respect, protection, and more. I really loved delving into the world that the author created as it is such a magnificent creature in and of itself. The many traditions and customs that she created was great and I really enjoyed seeing that in a book—we don’t see that written so great often. The characters in this book caught my attention so much and I believe that students would be able to connect to the different characters as well (there is someone for everyone). This can be utilized for many grades and many different groups of people—it would be a great book club book.

This book is plugged as a loose retelling of The Little Mermaid, and that grabbed my interest. However, if I hadn’t known that going in, I never would’ve known that this book was supposed to be a fairy tale retelling.

Mental illness is a prominent theme in the book, so a trigger warning is needed, though the author did handle things in a delicate manner.

I enjoyed parts of the book, but the pace was slower throughout than I prefer. There are three POVs (Coral, Merrick, and Brooke), and it felt a bit disjointed at times. I found the human POVs a bit more engaging and easier to follow than the mermaid angle. It was a bit confusing, and even frustrating, that some things were repeated throughout the story, but they weren’t really defined until near the end, such as the “Red Tide.”

With the mental health angle, it’s apparent the author did her research. I really wanted to love this story, but I just found it to be “meh” overall. I did enjoy how things came together in the end.

CORAL by Sara Ella is a moving standalone that focuses on the challenges of anxiety and depression. This post DOES NOT CONTAIN SPOILERS.

Why I was interested: As someone who adores retellings -- especially of The Little Mermaid! -- and faces anxiety and depression, I was interested in seeing a mental health angle to the beloved classic. Plus, I really love mermaid stories.

Judge a book by it’s cover: The cover is lovely and focuses so much on the colors that are discussed within the story. Including Coral and Brooke on the cover is a nice detail along with their books and the message in a bottle.

What to expect: This story really, truly focuses on mental health. Suicide and suicidal-attempts does show appear in this story, forewarning, but it is handled with such care you really empathise with the main characters, Brooke, Coral, and Merrick. This standalone is at once heart-shattering but also healing with hope truly at its core. It was nice to be able to truly relate with characters who feel anxiety and depression; their emotions feel so raw and how it really feels to be battling with these “Diseases.”

Why you should pick this book up: CORAL truly understands the rawness of mental health and the stigma around it. However, it also really focuses on the hope of “after.” This contemporary-fantasy story is heartfelt and caring in all the right ways with just the amount of plot twists you’ll be happy to find.

Want more?: This book will be published on Tuesday, Nov. 12!

Thanks for stopping by!
MG, #MediaGalReads
https://marenaelizabethgalluccio.com/blog/

Coral is a deep, emotional and impactful read.

There was a lot that I loved about this story. It deals with the topics of depression and suicide which made it a much heavier read than I initially anticipated. I felt these sensitive subjects were handled in a respectful way and provided a lot of insight into some of the feelings and challenges that someone dealing with depression goes through. I applaud Sara Ella in addressing how depression affects not only the person who is suffering from this disease but also the family members who are impacted by it as well.

While I love the content and goals of this book there were some aspects of the plot that left me wanting more. Initially, having the story told from three characters perspectives was a bit challenging to follow. I wasn’t sure of the timeline involved which was a bit confusing and Brooke was really difficult for me to connect with at first. However, as the story unfolded and I understood more about each character the plot moved along quickly. Ultimately, I’d recommend this story to individuals who want a better understanding of how mental illness can impact someone’s life and the lives of those around them.

I was expecting a fun mermaid read. This was everything but fun. It was gut wrenching, tragic, depressing, but not fun. And that’s okay. I think these type of stories are incredibly important. They show us that we are not alone. 

Everything with Hope broke my heart. She’s such a beautiful girl, I hate she was plagued with so much pain. 

Brooke broke my heart too. 

Coral’s POV was fascinating to me. I LOVED how it ended up intertwining with Hope, Merrick, and Brooke’s stories. 

I also love Nikki and Grim. 

The relationship between Merrick and his father, Hiro, was very real. I think a lot of children feel the same way about their parents as Merrick does with his dad. I also thought it was interesting to see how Merrick worshipped his mother, Lyn, although she is also just human. I think it’s really really cool to see such authentic parent/child relationships in a YA book. Those seriously seem to be pretty limited for whatever reason. 

I will say that this is an incredibly heavy book to read, so please be wary if you suffer from depression and/or suicidal thoughts. Please stay safe.

This book is multiple points of view and the story follows are 3 main characters…Coral, Merrick, and Brooke. Coral is the misunderstood mermaid. Her father and sister views emotions as weakness, a disease. Merrick who fells like he can never live up to the expectation his father has put on him. He wants to do things his own way and not be forced into his father’s mold. Brooke is letting her struggles from pas stop her from healing and moving. She doesn’t want help and tries everything to resist the treatment and care that she is receiving.

Coral is a Little Mermaid retelling but it’s no the typical fairytale retelling. This book tackles some tough topics depression, mental illness, suicide. Each character is dealing with their own personal struggles. Through out the story they each go through their own healing. In the end this book is leaves the reader with a very powerful message.“You are not nothing.”

Thoughts: I really liked how Sara weaved the story together and how all out multiple points of view come together in the end. Even though we don’t get the characters from the animated movie making an appearance….we still get little easter eggs from the original fairytale and the Disney movie.

This story is so important. It reminds us that mental illness is real and it wears many masks. That people may look ok on the outside but not on the inside. It’s so important to be there for the people you love and to remind them that they are loved. That they are not nothing and they are not alone.

*Thank you again to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC of this book!*

𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘢 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘺 𝘤𝘰𝘱𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘯 𝘩𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘸. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘭𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘮𝘺 𝘰𝘸𝘯.

𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗯𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝗮 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗳𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗺𝗲𝘀𝘀. 𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗿𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄 𝗶𝘀 𝗹𝗼𝗻𝗴—𝗜’𝗺 𝘀𝗼𝗿𝗿𝘆. 𝗜’𝗹𝗹 𝗯𝗼𝗹𝗱 𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝘀𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲𝘀 𝘀𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗱𝗼𝗻’𝘁 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘄𝗵𝗼𝗹𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴. 𝗢𝗿 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝗶𝘁 𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗶𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂’𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗱.

𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗯𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝗶𝘀 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗱𝗲𝗽𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘀𝘂𝗶𝗰𝗶𝗱𝗲. 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝘀𝗲 𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗴𝗲𝗿 𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝘆𝗻𝗼𝗽𝘀𝗶𝘀, which I know many people are appreciative of. This book doesn’t hide the fact that it deals with these things. 𝗜 𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗹𝗮𝘂𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗮𝘂𝘁𝗵𝗼𝗿 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁. 𝗔𝗻𝗱 𝗜 𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗹𝗮𝘂𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗮𝘂𝘁𝗵𝗼𝗿 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗮𝗰𝗸𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘀𝘂𝗰𝗵 𝗮 𝗱𝗶𝗳𝗳𝗶𝗰𝘂𝗹𝘁 𝗶𝘀𝘀𝘂𝗲.

𝗛𝗼𝘄𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿, 𝗜 𝗮𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗳𝗲𝗲𝗹 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗯𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗯𝗲 𝗾𝘂𝗶𝘁𝗲 𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗴𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗼 𝗽𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝘄𝗵𝗼 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝗮𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗯𝘆 𝘀𝘂𝗶𝗰𝗶𝗱𝗲. I don’t think I could in good conscience recommend this book to those people. It was quite a dark, depressing book with little to no light.

I also wouldn’t recommend this book to people not affected by those things. It was that badly written. So 𝗯𝗮𝘀𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗜 𝘄𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗿𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗲𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗯𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝘁𝗼 𝗻𝗼 𝗼𝗻𝗲.

𝗙𝗼𝗿 𝗽𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝘄𝗵𝗼 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘀𝗲 𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗴𝗲𝗿 𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀, 𝗜 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗴𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝗱𝗼𝗲𝘀𝗻’𝘁 𝗴𝗶𝘃𝗲. There are deaths by suicide in the book.

𝗛𝗲𝗿𝗲’𝘀 𝗮 𝗹𝗶𝘀𝘁 𝗼𝗳 some of the 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗯𝗹𝗲𝗺𝘀 𝗜 𝗵𝗮𝗱 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗯𝗼𝗼𝗸:
* What genre is this? Fantasy? Magical realism? Contemporary/realistic fiction? It tried to be so many things. AND THEN at the end the plot completely changed! It was a completely different story!!! WHAT THE HECK!
* What the heck is the timeline? It’s like the author just wrote random scenes, including different scene ideas for how people met, and then strung them together any which way. So it ends up feeling like there’s two different stories going on.
* Then the timelines were forced together st the end to have a big reveal that just made me feel cheated and mad and so confused. It doesn’t make any sense.
* There were 3 POVs. 2 were past tense 3rd person, 1 was present tense 1st person. Again, what the heck?
* Badly written. Fragmented sentences. So. many. one. word. sentences.
* Too depression heavy. Where’s the light?
* I didn’t want the couple to end up together. And when I wish that in a book, it means I don’t like the characters, and that’s a bad thing, since I am a character-driven reader.
* It’s like the author tried so hard to write a story about finding joy in life despite depression, but had no idea how to make a story around it. So the message got lost deep in the mess this book is.

Last, I’m going to make a quick comparison to A Court of Mist and Fury. I didn’t like that book. But at least it was well written. And the depression in ACOMAF was handled very well. It talked about it well in Coral too (I understood what the characters were feeling. I’ve never been suicidal, but I have felt the darkness of depression.), but it was too heavy, and the characters were defined by just their depression, and the rest of the confusing story got lost to the depression and suicide. ACOMAF had a believable, interesting story, and wove depression in. Coral focused so hard on the depression, and then tried to write a story around that.

I feel bad giving this book 1 star. But the only thing I appreciated was the author shedding light on the two topics.

I received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for a review.

3/5 stars

I really wanted to enjoy this book, and in a way I did. I loved the author's writing and will definitely read future books. However, the author starts the book off with a trigger warning. I have never been suicidal and I've never been as depressed as many people can get, or if I have it's lasted a short while and I've pulled myself out. However, I am a Veterinary Technician. My career of choice is one of the highest for depression, suicide, and compassion fatigue. Which is why reading is escapism for me. Reading about tough subjects just isn't than enjoyable to me because I'm reading to escape reality, not read about more tough reality. That's why I stick primarily to Fantasy and Sci-fi with some other fun genres mixed in. So I guess the 3 stars is just my own personal experience, but I believe this book will be powerful. I believe many will see themselves in the characters. It just wasn't entirely for me.

Before we begin, let me just advise everyone to heed Sara Ella’s warning. This story deals heavily with mental illness, depression, self-worth and suicidal thoughts and attempts. If any of these subjects can be triggering for you, pick up a different book.

Coral was an interesting ride. I, like many of the people I’ve seen talking about Coral, thought that the story was a retelling of The Little Mermaid. I didn’t realize just how loose of a retelling it was going to be, but in all honesty, I’m not mad about it. However, if you’re picking up Coral because you’re desperate for a Little Mermaid retelling, be aware that the mermaid aspect is heavily outweighed by the mental health aspects.

As someone who deals with some minor mental health issues (hello, anxiety), I was floored by the obvious level of research and care that Ella put into writing Coral. The fact that she made a point to start the book with a trigger warning, shows that she did not take the subject matter that she was tackling lightly. She took on a very deep and potentially painful subject matter and wove it into a beautiful and heartbreaking story full of pain and hope.

The writing style of following three main characters got a little confusing, especially with the time jumps, but after the first couple of ‘chapters’ it became easier to follow and piece together. The twist was epic but predictable. In fact, I had the ‘twist’ figured out a little over half-way through. Even though I had it all ‘figured out’, it didn’t deter from the enjoyment of the story and I found myself still eagerly reading to see how, what I believed was happening, was going to play out!

All in all, Coral was an amazing read and I would recommend it to just about anybody, just please heed the trigger warning. Always put your own mental health first.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC.

Coral brings up topics that need to be out in the open. We need to be a world that embraces those with mental illnesses. For that reason, this is a fantastic book.

The beginning is admittedly a bit slow going. It took me a few chapters to get into it and really see what was happening. The ending also has its confusing moments, but the author does clear that up. At the same time, I wonder if that confusion at the end was necessary?

The characters were great. Very real with real reactions to everything that happens. You really do feel their emotions with them- the mark of a good writer!

Scenery and descriptions were slightly lengthy, but it wasn’t too much.

All in all, great book! I loved the ending. Would definitely recommend it.

As a student of psychology and mental health as well as being a lover of fairytales, I was hopeful for this Little Mermaid retelling, but it fell far short of the mark for me. I appreciated the author trying to speak to mental health issues in a healthy way, but there were too many main characters and stories trying to be woven together to do it well. The characters were rather one-dimensional and after just a few pages I was sick to death of all the sea related metaphors and descriptors. I ended up skimming most of the novel and then gave up.

I was provided with an ARC of this book by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

**Thank you to Thomas Nelson Publishing, Sara Ella, and Netgalley for providing me this ebook in exchange for an honest review**

First off, I want to give a GIANT trigger warning for this book. Depression, anxiety, suicidal ideation, and suicidality are all major themes in this book and can be hard for some to read. Please be mindful of your mental health while reading this book, and please seek help if you are in need. A great part of this book is that Sara Ella begins the book with a long trigger warning, which is so helpful.

Coral loosely follows the original The Little Mermaid fairy tale. There are three points of view in this book: Coral, a mermaid princess who feels out of place within her family. Human emotion is considered a "Disease" in the mer-world and her eldest sister falls to the Disease after falling in love with a human prince. Merrick is a troubled young man who's world falls to pieces when his 10 year old sister attempts suicide. He sets of on a journey to help her in the only way he can think of. Lastly, we have Brooke, a young woman who has entered treatment for depression and suicidal ideation. Her story is that of redemption and regaining mental health stability in a world she doesn't feel she belongs. All three separate stories become forever entwined after mutual loss and love.

There is a lot to unpack in this novel. As someone who's professional background (outside of reviewing books!) is in Clinical Psychology, I feel qualified to say that Sara Ella provided a realistic and haunting explanation of the affect of depression and suicidal ideation on the self and the family unit. There are a lot of bad examples of mental health and those who suffer from the disease in the media in society, but I see Sara Ella working to dispel the presumptions and biases and applaud her.

One thing I will say is that the timing and pacing of this book seem off. There was a point where I was very confused about the timeline, and I recognize this is due to trying to keep the big reveal from being realized too soon, but this makes the book more confusing than necessary. It's a good twist, but not worth the initial confusion. Also, the ending didn't seem to wrap up the story as much as I wanted. I felt disappointed in the lack of clear ending and I feel some ends are still loose.

Overall, Sara Ella has woven a story of life, love, and struggling with internal demons - something we can all relate to whether we want to admit it or not. It starts a conversation about healing and recovery from illness, but also continues the conversation about those who succumb to the disease and move on from this life. Again, please be aware of your own mental health when reading this book.

Heart felt, hard hitting, deep as the ocean.

I appreciated the insight that this story gives to a lot of very important subjects - such as depression, anxiety, suicide, toxic relationships, manipulation ect. Topics that are so important and need to be represented more in modern literature.

Having said that. this felt like three different stories, jam packed into one, which left me feeling that each character wasn't getting the chance to shine to their full potential. Their interwoven stories weren't done seamlessly from the start and it felt very disjointed between chapters, going from one character to the next, to the next. It really only starts to make more sense and feel more streamlined in the last quarter of the book, which for most readers nowadays is a little too late, sadly. But I am glad that I persevered to see the story line collide and actually come together so beautifully.

If you aren't a fan of multiple character perspectives, done from a chapter to chapter basis, then this will not be for you. However fans of stories that tackle mental health and overcoming life's hardest challenges, will enjoy this book.