Kiss the Girl offers an interesting premise but ultimately falls short in execution. The plot, while promising, feels overly familiar and lacks the depth needed to engage readers fully. Character development is minimal, leaving protagonists feeling one-dimensional and their motivations unclear.

Much like Hannah Montana: The Movie, this book relies on the consumer’s absolute suspension of belief. Am I really to believe that this woman takes off a wig and wears less makeup and suddenly no one can recognize one of the biggest pop stars in the world? In order for the book to work, I have to.

I loved noticing how movie elements were incorporated into the story. I always enjoy seeing the creativity that goes into the Meant to Be collection. The story was, of course, what I expected, but still fun and enjoyable.

Other non-Little Mermaid songs this book evoked were “Can You Feel the Love Tonight?” from The Lion King and “Reflection” from Mulan.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you for the opportunity to read and review Kiss the Girl. I recommend this book to young adults who enjoy a fun romance.

*Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC of this title. All thoughts and opinions are my own and were in no way influenced by receiving this copy.

I think I need to let the Meant to Be novels go. They are so cringe-y and focus way too hard on being close to the source material (ie, the disney movie) over creating their own unique story to tell. Also for a book titled "Kiss the Girl" the kissing plot was so underwhelming and when they actually kissed it was on the set for a music video??? How anti-climatic.

I love the Little Mermaid but this was seriously not for me.

Give me all of the Little Mermaid retelling!!

How fun was this that Ariel and her sisters were a girl band! When their band has their last concert Ariel takes on a new identity and ends up joining another band in which the lead singer is…,, ERIC!

This story was equally light and meaningful and I really appreciated that.

This book is the perfect adorable romance for all the 90’s Little Mermaid fans! It’s a beautiful contemporary story young people in the music business and all of the little mermaid details and Easter eggs will warm your heart. 5 stars!

I thought this was fun, and I’m impressed with all the Disney parallels. I’m not sure what I expected regarding the storyline with a modern twist, but the music industry felt like a decent choice. The heart of the novel was very similar to the movie: Ariel was searching for herself throughout the novel, figuring out what she wanted without the voice she built a reputation on, and falling in love with Eric. But I felt like not having an Ursula character really switched up the conflict and slowed down the plot, and not in a good way. King Triton was her keeper in the beginning of the movie, causing her to run away, but he saves Ariel at the end out of love and understanding of her dreams, which doesn’t happen here. He’s portrayed as the bad guy from the beginning and then nothing else really happens..?

I received an advance review copy for free via Netgalley and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

I mean, this is an utter delight. One of the few times I thought about getting something from Etsy made about a fake band. Fun, sweet, and a great retelling of the little mermaid.

Such a cute adaptation of the Little Mermaid adult love story. I love music and this series. The book is predictable as fairy tales should be. It’s a clean adult love story with some cussing, but not over done. Great addition to the series.

I've enjoyed the Disney retellings that have been published in this series so far, but this one fell a bit flat for me. I love The Little Mermaid, but this felt like it relied too much on the story and not enough on developing the characters and storyline. It was still enjoyable, but my least favorite of the three I've read.

Written by Zoraida Córdova, this reimagination of the Little Mermaid is a fun read. It's the third book in the new Meant to Be series published by Penguin Random House where Disney Princesses become real, modern girls. In this version, Ariel is Ariel del Mar, a rock star in the family band with her sisters. Managed by their father, the Del Mar girls have been famous since they were children with their band, the Siren Seven. Ariel is the lead singer and as the sisters agree to a farewell tour, they all plan to go their separate ways, at least for a time.

Ariel's father wants her to begin her solo tour right away but she has other ideas. Sneaking out of their Manhattan penthouse, she goes to hear another band and gets into a night-long conversation with the lead singer, Eric Reyes. He doesn't recognize her and at the last minute, finds he needs to replace one of the roadies. Offering the job to Ariel (who has given him her real name of Melanie), he's thrilled when she takes the job.

While her father is most decidedly not happy with her decision and pulling out all stops to get her home, Ariel enjoys her time 'incognito' and manages to become closer and closer to Eric.

Recommended for all Disney fans, teens who like romance, and anyone else looking for a light, satisfying read.

Note: I received an ARC from NetGalley

I love the Meant to Be series, so much. If the Shoe Fits is one of my more recommended books at work for various reasons. But this book felt different. It was a struggle for me. I spent months looking into if the audiobook was finally out, attempting to read the physical book, attempting to read it on Kindle. When I saw the audiobook finally was, it took so much of me to press play every time I had time, even opting to just... not listen to anything.

There was nothing inherently wrong with this, it just didn't vibe with me. I'm sorry.

This book was a fun little twist on the "Little Mermaid" story. I loved it and honestly can't wait to read other books by this author. The characters we flawed and for some readers that makes them relatable even when we're not famous singers trying to escape our lives for a minute. I would suggest this book for both adults and young adults who want a fun romance with a fairy tale twist.

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.