*I received a free, digital ARC of this title from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*

Coral is a story told in three perspectives:
1. Coral is a mermaid fighting the constraints and expectations of being a princess while her elder sister is dying of the Disease.
2. Brooke is learning about herself as she discovers the intricacies of her depression in a group home.
3. Merrick is finding his own two feet beyond his father’s rigid constraints, his mother’s absent attitude, and his own sister’s struggles with mental illness.

Going into this debut novel, I expected more of a The Little Mermaid (1837) vibe, considering all the Hans Christian Anderson quotes and references to Disney’s 1989 movie adaptation. These were both inspirations, but this definitely isn’t a retelling - it’s a deeper dive into the themes of depression and suicide.
All three of the protagonists are connected to incredibly deep, traumatizing mental illness (and to each other) in some way and how they each handle their situations is imperative to the narrative. I think the overall premise of the novel is definitely something that needs to be discussed and I thank the author for not shying away from such difficult topics - especially the difficulties surrounding suicidal thoughts. This will definitely be a novel to open up conversation (though I also imagine, with the content, it will be challenged at some point after its publication).
From a writing standpoint, though, I found the pacing to be incredibly slow. The three perspectives are important but they seem somewhat disjointed and awkward for the first ¾ of the book. I was lost in this structure and felt it didn’t allow for deeper character development. The characters jump from upset to in love in mere seconds, and timelines are played with, and it all seemed very jarring to me without the in between parts to build more backstory. The three main perspectives just seemed “meh” to me because of this and found myself more interested in some of the side characters’ struggles.
I’m sure many will love the references and I believe the hope the story provides is necessary, but I was a bit overwhelmed with the constant references to mermaids and arching metaphors to describe every emotional situation the characters encountered. I realize this is inspired by a mermaid story, but I can only handle so many “expanses of ocean” and “crashing like waves” before I get bored.
Overall, I’m giving Coral 3 out of 5 Awesome Austin Points. I think it’s going to be a novel to help spark dialogue, but it’s going to be tough for some teens to read with the constant shift in perspective and time. Hopefully you all love all The Little Mermaid references more than I did but, if you don’t like them, I hope you can see how imperative the content will be for anyone struggling in similar circumstances.

I plan to post this review to my blog on November 3, 2019.

I dnf-ed after the picking it up again fir the 3rd time. I'm sorry but I just couldn't make myself read this book.

I received a digital advanced reader copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I am usually a sucker for retellings, but this one was just okay. I am also a sucker for books written in multiple perspectives, and again this was just okay. I felt really confused most of the time. It jumped too much and too quickly from person to person and made me feel a bit whiplashed.

I felt something was missing from this story and I just can’t put my finger on it.. It just didn’t grab my attention. As I said before, I love retellings and this one did not really feel like a true retelling. Despite reading the phrase “the Little Mermaid” 100 times in the book. I wouldn’t have really compared like I usually do a retelling. I feel this is more of it’s own book than a retelling of the Little Mermaid.

Kudos, to the author for tackling such tough and sensitive issues such as suicide and mental illness. But there really should be more of a trigger warning for this title.

The writing style while wonderfully descriptive, was still a bit confusing. I wish it had been just a little easier to get through because I really wanted to love this book.

Thank you kindly to Sara Ella, NetGalley, and Thomas Nelson Fiction for allowing me to review this title.
This review will be posted on www.featheredfables.wordpress.com closer to the publication date.

I might have liked this more if it hadn't been advertised as a The Little Mermaid retelling. I was not a fan of the romance and the three POV's were not my favorite, either. It was all a bit confusing until the end, and while I know that the reader can't be in on all the details the whole time, I feel like it still could've been made a little less confusing. I love a mental health rep book and wish that this would've focused more on that and maybe done away with the romance aspect altogether.

A very very loose The Little Mermaid retelling. Heavy on the suicide and depression, I loved the approach to that and how it came across. It was dark and hard to read at times, but I feel accurate. The three perspectives threw me and the insta-love didn’t work. I wish it would have omitted that altogether (weird coming from me because I LOVE a good romance).

First, I really appreciate what the author is trying to do with Coral. Mental illness needs to be discussed more often, especially in YA, and the way that Coral is set up, with the different POVs and the mermaid aspects is ambitious and has potential. However, I don’t think it was executed well, which is a shame.

There are some problems with the writing here, large and small. First, I never connected with the characters. They seemed entirely defined by the people around them, their surroundings, or their mental illness. The writer left tons of things unexplained throughout the book, with no hints or nudges that it’s a mystery, leaving me to wonder if she just didn’t think about it. For instance, Merrick hates his father, even jumping to the conclusion that his father beat up his little sister readily at one point - why? We don’t really know. Merrick’s POV never refers to some event that happened in the past, hinting that it will be explained, or even show Merrick’s dad being anything worse than a little distant. The characters’ reasons for their actions didn’t really make sense except to move the plot forward. And plot? What plot? I don’t actually care if books are plot-driven or character-driven, but this was neither.

The overall tone of the book is dark, but Coral’s sections earlier on in the book especially doesn’t really match the tone of the writing. It’s like the author was trying to make it fun and whimsical, like the Little Mermaid movie, but it’s just jarring in a novel that’s largely about mental health, suicide, and death. I felt like every page, Coral’s inner monologue would reference something about the sea, i.e.:

“...as graceful as a manta ray's glide”
“The intrusiveness of his gaze wrapped Coral's nerves in jellyfish tentacles.”
“The earthquake inside her bones rivaled a shifting seabed.”

A little heavy-handed. Coral’s POV also referred to her as “the little mermaid” about six times too many. I was most intrigued by the mermaid aspect of the book, so it was disappointing when those sections were the most annoying. Some of my gripes make sense later on in the book, but I still think it’s lazy writing not to flesh out this portion of the book, or at least hint at later revelations about it.

The story kind of gets turned upside down right near the end, and I had a big problem with it. Nothing made sense throughout most of the book about Coral’s life, Brooke’s history, or how their POV’s connect with Merrick. This gets resolved near the end with this dramatic reveal, and I honestly felt cheated by it. I’ve seen books do a plot twist like this well, but it simply made me mad in Coral. It seemed to me that the author just misled readers by changing details so that there’s no way they would guess the twist, which means it came out of nowhere, with no breadcumbs that could be followed from earlier on in the story.

I don’t want to complain about this book forever, so I’ll quickly list the other negatives:
- I didn’t connect with the romance and thought it was unnecessary.
- There were huge sections of the book that jump forward in time or leave out details (to service the twist at the end, I think).
- Side characters that could have been explored and fleshed-out were only given a cursory glance. I would have loved to know more about the grandmother and what exactly happened between her and - - Coral to strain their relationship.
- The mermaid/underwater portion of the book is heavily emphasized (cover and all) but was not really a major part of the novel.

Again, I respect what the author was trying to do here, but I really struggled to even finish this book, much less enjoy it.

I only got to 55% in Coral, please keep in mind that being said, it is nothing wrong with the book itself but an error between my e-reader and the file. It will not continue any further and just makes a white screen past 55%. Therefore, what I have read of Coral, it is standing at a 4/5 stars. With huge potential for a 5/5 stars.

This Little Mermaid retelling is so far out of the box, it takes its own spin on it. The three main POVs we view in this book are all so completely different; Coral, Merrick and Brooke. It goes from one characters POV to the next, and jumps from partial storyline to the next. I love books that travel through this way. You get all three character POVs and then again and again. Each time it goes around I have more questions and more guesses to continue throughout the book.

I cannot wait for this book to come out, so I can finish it and know how it ends. I have already pre-ordered it.

~ I was given an advance reader copy of this title in exchange for an honest review, I'm not associated with the author or publisher in any way and the views expressed are completely unbiased and entirely my own. ~

My rating: 2.5*

I am always intrigued by fairy-tale retellings so was looking forward to this remagining of Hans Christian Anderson's 'The Little Mermaid', but unfortunately this one wasn't for me.

The narrative switches between three POV's, Coral, Brooke and Merrick's and while I enjoyed Coral's perspective for the most part, I found it difficult to engage with the latter two.

This story attempts to explore mental illness, and while this is admirable, I really wish the characters had more to them than that. For me, part of the complexity of navigating mental illness is that it can override your own personality, it doesn't necessarily become your personality.

In terms of writing style, while I understand the ambiguity that the author was aiming for with how the main characters experience the world, I think leaving readers in the dark about certain elements for too long is alienating and doesn't make for an enjoyable reading experience ultimately.

~ Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to review this title ~

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the electronic Advanced Reader's Copy in exchange for an honest review.

Okay, listen. I wanted so badly to love this book. In fact, I wanted to love this book so much and was so convinced that I would that I tried to win this arc in multiple giveaways. I requested the arc from the publisher. I even messaged the author and gave her some kind words of encouragement and stated how excited I was to read her book .

Yikes.

Alright, the warning note at the beginning is incredibly sweet and very heartfelt. After reading the author's note I was still excited for this story and I was feeling confident! I was wrong. And QUICKLY realized it.

My interest, along with my heart, sank faster than a rock in the ocean. I hated the writing style. It was written in a way that I just can't describe other than to say...horribly. It was very confusing. I didn't understand the strange aspects with the colors going into chapter one and it frustrated me. I disliked the characters. It's bad when you're telling yourself "Just read the first chapter and maybe it will get better from there . Keep going and see how you feel after chapter one." . ...and then getting so turned off from the writing that you skip ahead to see how long chapter one is and decide another 12 pages is too much. DNF.

I appreciate the mental health awareness. My personal struggle with mental health is one of the things that initially pulled my heart into this novel. Always remember that you are not alone. Even when it feels that way. Please seek help if you feel you need it. You can be helped. I promise you can. Keep your head up and don't sink. Much love, my friends.

I should start by saying I never read the blurbs on the back of books mostly because of spoilers. I choose books based on the author and word of mouth. That being said, I was hoping for a light fun read loosely based on the story of The Little Mermaid. I knew as soon as I read the warning at the beginning of the book, that Coral is not that.

I struggled with this story from the beginning. I felt like I had missed something or was reading too fast because things were kind of confusing and some things weren’t really explained - for example, the Red Tide. I also struggled to get really invested in this story.

While this was not the story for me, I applaud Sara Ella for writing about this subjecting and trying to help those who are suffering from depression.

Thanks to NetGalley for providing a complimentary copy of this book.

Coral is a mermaid who struggles to fit in with her family. After a terrible tragedy, Coral fears she has been infected with the Disease whose only symptoms are emotions. Brooke is a teenage girl who struggles with her feelings of depression and anxiety and enters a new group home called Fathoms that is supposed to help her get a second chance. Merrick is the son from a wealthy family, and when his younger sister attempts suicide his mother disappears and his world comes crashing down around him.

I went into this book thinking it was going to be The Little Mermaid retelling, and although parts of the story are close, it is not a retelling of either Disney or Hans Christian Andersen's. That being said, I give Sara Ella so much credit on this story and bringing mental illness to light in a very real and understanding way. Once I started this book and began to get rid of the mindset of this being a retelling, I was hooked. As someone who has struggled with anxiety and depression before, I found Sara Ella's descriptions of anxiety attacks and depression to be extremely accurate. As much as I loved the narrative's being told from Coral, Brooke and Merrick's point of views, I fell in love with a lot of the secondary characters: Amaya, Jake, Grim, Nikki and Hope. Sara's depictions of how suicide survivors "move on" after is heartwrenching and right on the nose. I will say the ending does get a little confusing, and I did have to slow down and reread some pages.

I received an advanced copy from Netgalley and Thomas Nelson Publishing for an honest review.

I’m torn about this book!

I’ve not read any of Sara Ella’s work before, but I think she has done an incredible job in writing a book that addresses mental health issues and I really applaud her for the sensitive and heartfelt way she has done this. It’s evident from the writing that she really cares about her subject matter and the potential impact on her readers,

On the whole I liked the book, but it didn’t completely bowl me over. I think in part this is because of the three perspectives. Coral’s section of the story didn’t always ring true IMHO and I found myself puzzling over some of the logistics of her underwater home. The reason for this does become evident later on though. I’d give this a solid three and a half stars and would look out for more from this author as I think she is a great writer.

Thanks to the publisher for the opportunity to read a digital advanced reader’s copy in exchange for an honest review.

A really great mermaid story! Highly recommend, the characters were awesome and the story was well paced

This book is a heavy hitter. I went in mostly blind, and I was all over the place emotionally. It was a great read and didn’t shy on what needed to be said.

<i>“No one would ever tell a cancer patient to ‘just get over it.’ Why people think they can tell those with a mental illness as much is baffling.”</i>

Coral is a book about suicide, mental health, depression, anxiety, death. If any of this is hard for you, a trigger, please consider carefully before picking this book to read.

This is by far one of the hardest books to rate/review. Coral presents some very important subjects. I can see how it is a good book to read, it makes you think about your own life, your feelings. Dig deeper into yourself and truly think "am I okay?". This is a hard subject to talk about. Being depressed myself and have gone through the journey Coral did, I know what it's like. How important it is to have someone truly see you, to know that you are not find even if you keep smiling and telling everyone you are. Please seek for help if you ever struggle with your mental health, have suicidal thoughts, anything. You are <i>not</i> nothing. You are everything and worth so much more than you think.

Anyway, back to the book Coral. I went in thinking I'm reading a retelling of the little mermaid. And in some level I guess that's what this is but then again it's nothing like it.
The story started out great but then there appeared more povs. Not just Coral but two more. Merrick and Brooke. And if I'm being completely honest, this drew me off hard. I got so confused about everything. Who is this? Why are we reading of them?

Coral and Merrick's povs are written in third person and past tense. Brooke on the other hand is written in first person and in present. It was so hard to try and keep track of every new turn of their stories, every new character. And just when you thought you figured it out, something new popped up and threw you off the trail and you were back to the beginning.
At some level I understand it now but then again I don't. They all have something in common and there are bits and pieces you just need to put together to figure it out. In the end I did. And when that time came, there still manage to pop up something new which again threw me off and I thought this all was just some fantasy and Coral would end something like there's yet another new character who had made this all up about their life and made up bunch of different personalities for themselve.

All in all I think this is an okay book about some really serious and important subjects. But I can't help but think that it could have been made in some easier and less confusing way.

I received a copy of this book from Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

I almost dnf this book but I am so glad I did.

The writing is gorgeous and tackles a really difficult subject in a compassionate way.

Once I got past the very confusing start, I fell in love with the characters.

This was a very difficult book to read. Not so much because it covered difficult topics like suicide and losing family but it was just written in a very strange way. It is hard to discuss the strangeness without spoilers but I will do my best.

Coral is about Coral, a mermaid who has the disease (the disease is feelings). Her father is cruel and her sister is sick too. None of this really matters much because she is yeeted out of the mermaid life nearly at the beginning of the book and it stops being relevant. There is a reason in canon why she’s a mermaid, but I don’t think it justifies it. On it’s own without the other POVs Coral’s story is terrible and inconsistent. She takes no time to get used to human life. The mermaid world is very underdeveloped and it just really doesn’t fit with the other narratives. It should have been left out entirely and only mentioned in passing.

Brooke and Merrick also each have their own narrative. With so much jumping around I felt it difficult to actually connect with any of the characters. Brooke’s narrative is purposefully super vague which makes it a bit dull to read and makes Brooke feel empty as a character. Merrick’s narrative is the most enjoyable and I really wish the book had just focused on his struggles with Amaya, his mother and father.

This is a book with a twist, and the entire story is sacrificed to achieve it. It’s definitely hinted at enough that you sort of know before it’s revealed, but when it IS revealed all you can think is that the book would have worked better if it didn’t try so hard to surprise you.

The multiple POVs really cause the story to suffer rather than prop it up. Both Coral and Brooke feel like thin excuses for characters. Coral toes the “manic pixie dream girl” storyline. Merrick has the best plot but even then his character is sort of bland. I really wish there had been time to really flesh one of the characters out instead of jumping from POV to POV.

I will say that the subject of suicide and depression was handled beautiful. The book is also incredibly quotable. It’s clear that Ella put a lot of effort into understanding her own and others’ experiences with depression. She wrote a book that could be uplifting to them. Show them that recovery is HARD but can be done. This is the one thing she does incredibly well.

It’s clear that when writing the twist and the mental health awareness message took priority over any plot or characters. The pacing is SLOW and the characters are paper thin. I admire what Ella was trying to do, and I think she could have been really successful…but Coral as a whole just wasn’t.

I love mermaids. I love fantasy. I did not love this book. I just couldn't get into it. I did not finish it.

I'll be honest and say I did not finish Coral. I tried, but I just couldn't get into it. I wanted to like the mermaid aspect, but there was something about the language of it that I couldn't get past. This book may be great for people who enjoy that kind of fantasy element, but I am not one of those people.

"...love isn’t cruel or controlling. I know true love is patient and gracious and understanding . It’s the kind of love that accepts you, tears and wounds and brokenness."

This book was well worth the wait (and I didn't even have to wait till release day! Thank you, Netgalley, for a review copy of this book!). Sara did a wonderful job with her presentation of different mental illnesses, and her hard work researching and her careful writing really showed. I appreciated her tackling such a difficult subject and doing so in a careful manner. Her book truly was encouraging.

One of my favorite parts was the different POVs of Brooke and Coral. I loved seeing their different yet similar views and how it tied together was perfect! Hope was such a fantastic character as well. Her love for others and enthusiasm was so real but her struggle with depression was also real. Typically, when I read about characters with mental health issues, they are constantly dark and gloomy and generally unemployable to read about. Not Hope. Hope was a vibrant character!

While I appreciated her theme of true love and how love can heal, I did have to disagree slightly with where that love is found. I believe that true, pure love can only be found in Christ and true healing can be found only in Him. Other people can love us, yes, but we can only truly be saved and healed by Christ.

Overall, a fantastic read, and I'd definitely recommend it!