Wow. This is one of the best YA fantasy books I’ve read in years and honestly, I am a little disappointed that it isn’t talked about more!

I feel like this is going to be one of those raving reviews where I just talk and talk and talk about all of the positive aspects of this book … and it would be accurate to do that because there isn’t much that I didn’t enjoy!

There is a heavy romance subplot and I’ll be honest, at times I wasn’t sure where I wanted it to go. Okay, okay, actually I did. But damn, Mara Rutherford had me conflicted and section guessing myself a times! I really feel as those one of Mara’s strengths in this is writing nuanced and complicated characters, who have distinct positive and negative qualities. That said, I was totally invested in the romance of this book and am more than happy with where it’s gone!

The world building, as well as well as history/mythology in this book is fleshed out nicely and fully realized. Sometimes there will be grey areas in fantasy, where the world building is lacking and your mind is like “OKAY BUT WHY?”, however I didn’t feel that at all in this book. The mythology is closely tied to the world building and I feel as though Mara did a fantastic job of making sure readers have a good grasp of things before we loose ourselves in the story.

Needless to say, I highly recommend this book and am looking forward to reading the sequel!

I read this book from Netgalley. Thank you Netgalley.

Before I get into this review I want you to know, I loved this book so much and I would highly recommend you to just go out and read it now. If the Goodreads summary intrigued you at all and you like young adult books, definitely go read this book.
Also I am finishing this review very late and forget a lot of the details. Sorry!

Since I liked this book so much I have no idea where to start. I went into this book knowing absolutely nothing and I feel like that made the book even more enjoyable so I don`t want to give you too much and unintentionally spoil anything. I`m not sure if people will read this after already reading the book or beforehand.

In the beginning of the book we are introduced to Nor and Zadie, they are twin sisters and best friends. In the beautiful water village of Varenia girls don`t often have close friends since there is so much competition to be the most beautiful girl to become the next Princess and move to Ilaria. We learn how competitive life is for the girls and how the village is struggling economically. It is a beautiful location with precious pearls, but the populace is being taken advantage of.

I loved that there were so many layers to this book and I am looking forward to reading it again and then continuing on with the series. Also I really want to see if what I think is going to happen will happen.  (I forgot to post this, so It's been awhile since I typed this up. I have no idea what my prediction was because I didn't write it down.)

The good is really good--the sister relationship is great, the world building is awesome, the idea is pretty great, but I get turned off by insta-love, villains that aren't fully flushed out, and a deus ex machina at the end. Still, I really enjoyed it??

This book surprised me! I had low expectations going into this as I always try to keep away from any details. I loved the writing style, it instantly clicked with me. I also loved that the romance was a PART of the plot and not THE plot. It kept me on edge at all times and I enjoyed this read so much! I can't wait to get my hands on the second booK

I'm sorry to say I've been sitting on this book for FAR to long. An interesting story that had been captivated quickly. Whenever I thought I had something in the story predicted, I was wrong. This delighted me. I will be adding book 2 to the TBR to see this story through to the end.

Think back to Nor and all that has happened to her, not good, huh? She is now in a kingdom near her sister's place, which makes her long more and more to return to her own place and people. Wishes do come true and she's cast out from both worlds, with a war brimming. Not exactly ideal, huh?

Old enemies arise, that are much more powerful than before and Nor will fight tooth and nail to keep her kingdom and herself from falling apart. With help from a prince and her sister, can Nor survive?

After giving Crown of Coral and Pearl a chance, I have decided that this book isn’t for me at this time. I am sure YA fantasy fans (especially fans of Red Queen) will love this novel about sisterhood.

OK. So I LOVED this book.
It was added to my all time favorites list on Goodreads.
Such an amazing book.

This book was absolutely fantastic. I've already added it to our library collection on preorder and will recommend it to students.

Slow to start but I'm glad I stuck with it. While it wasn't the most compelling pace, or vivid settings, and the details were lacking, overall the story was fun and engaging and I finished it happily. I wouldn't mark it as a "must read" or anything but I don't regret the time spent reading.

i love the concept, but was not that into this book. im sure a lot of people would love it, but i couldnt connect to it.

This book came out of no where for me. I was just searching for a new audio to start while I have been doing virtual teaching. And stumbled across this beauty. And between the gorgeous cover and synopsis. I decided to give it a try.

And man. I really got pulled in. The way Mara wrote this world just pulls you in so deeply and you get lost in how vivid and beautiful it all is. Even if things are dire in it.

The characters are so complex and well written too. I felt for them in the good and bad times. And rooted for them when they struggled to change things are make a difference.

Plus there were not only some fun romances in this one. But I also loved the sisterly dynamic too.
They were so close and had each others backs so much in this book. That you just couldn't help but adore them both.

My only real complaint about this book is that I didn't relaize there was gonna be a second one haha.
And that it hasn't been available on audio even though book 2 came out the week after I finished this one. So that was super disappointing.

But aside from that this book was amazing. And I highly suggest to everyone to give it a shot.

CROWN OF COARL AND PEARL is a for sure
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐5 STAR READ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Excited to try a new author and learn about a new world. It was better than I could have expected- even with a slow start for me. Need book 2.

5/5 Thank you publisher and NetGalley for the early copy! This was a fantasy YA novel that I flew through. I loved the main character, Nor, and the world-building. I cannot wait to dive into the second novel.

My thanks to NetGalley and Harlequin TEEN (US & Canada)/Inkyard Press for a copy of this book to read and review.

Not a bad book, but not quite one for me. The world was interesting, but the MCs and bad guy were kind of one-note and boring. It always amazes me when there is a tyrant or a tyrant-to-be being formed in a book, everyone is afraid of them, they do clearly evil things that hint at criminal insanity and no one even tries to have them killed. Heck, there have been numerous attempts on many dictators in real life, yet these book Bad Guys are safe from all attempts at harm?

Please note I DNF'd at 56%. I realize from other reviews that an attempt is eventually made, but I am surprised it came after the halfway point and not before the MC h was even in the picture.

I think the two main things to me that I didn't enjoy about the book was it feels very slow moving and the MCs were all kind of cardboard, we don't really get to know them as anything other than the trope they represent.

It's not a bad book, but it is not one I enjoyed or looked forward to picking up to continue. The world itself seems like an interesting one I would like to explore and the plot isn't a bad one, the MCs just need a tad more dimension to them.

2, not one I wouldn't recommend but it wasn't ringing my bells, stars.

In a world on the sea where women are prized by beauty alone not for any real skill, identical twins Zadie and Nor are groomed to be candidates as brides for the prince. Except everyone knows that Nor is not really a candidate since she has a scar prominent on her face and nobody would send her as an example of their people's beauty. But soon, the choice is out of Nor's hands for her future and she must be brave to get through the challenges her life takes.

I guess this could be called fantasy, but it almost wasn't, which I know makes no sense (sorry, I don't know how better to describe it). The story takes place in a fictional kingdom/country at war, but there was no magic used. I really enjoyed the concept in the story that what one group of people saw as magic and mystery, another group learned about as science and logic. It was a very cool dichotomy that made me think about different interactions between groups in the real world. I loved how Nor was so capable in this strange setting due to her daily life on the sea, whereas these "better" were scared of water and expected monsters and other mishaps to rule their lives.

The ending was very abrupt and a little confusing, I had no idea it was about to end with all that was actively going on and the turns I didn't really understand. The plus side is that the sequel is already out because I would be very unhappy if I had to wait a year+ to see what happens next.

I thought this book set up its world and atmosphere so well; the two lands we visited felt so different and distinct. I did feel like the synopsis of the book gave a little too much away-when it came time for certain twists and turns, they didn't have the surprising impact they could have had. Other than that, I thought this was a really fun fantasy story!

Unfortunately I've just lost interest in this book. I just don't think it's a book I need to spend time on anymore, and I don't think my review would be positive.

I loved the world building in this book and the strong, feisty female characters. I was not a fan of how women and their beauty were treated, but I'm hoping that this is an issue that will be solved in the sequel.

Really solid read. Enjoyable with a pretty exciting ending. Loved Nor’s relationship with her twin sister, especially. And how atmospheric the world it. Really liked the subtle magic here with the pearls and coral.

It took me a minute to get into this book. While I enjoyed seeing Nor in her element and at home with her sister, for me, it took a second for the story to really start. She left for Ilara later than I would have expected.

The romance aspect was a little too insta love for me. There wasn’t as much build up as I usually like. Plus not a lot happened with it.

Looking forward to seeing where the story goes in the sequel.