LOVED this book! Definitely going in my library.

This story was the perfect retelling. It had the perfect amount of The Little Mermaid details throughout the book but was still very much its own story.

Eric and Melody (Ariel) together with their stories will definitely make you swoon!

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for a chance to read and review.

This is a middle of the road read, I didn't love it or hate it. I appreciate that het author did a decent job retelling The Little Mermaid (Disney version).

I'm a music lover so I liked that the focus of the story is on two musical groups and their different experiences in the world. There is a lot of dishonesty in the plot, which I didn't love.

With that being said, I do recommend it for romance readers who like retellings and musical stories.

I truly enjoyed reading this book, my first read by Cordova. I found the story is engaging and the characters are charming. The Little Mermaid theming is way overdone for me, even with the Hyperion (Disney) imprint....less is more. It doesn't really enhance the story and to some extent detracts. Still, an enjoyable read with some "can't put it down" vibes.

Thank you NetGalley and Disney Publishing Group for this ARC! I love the Meant to Be novels and was super excited to get the opportunity to read Kiss the Girl because The Little Mermaid was my favorite as a kid! I loved the modern take Zoraida put into the book and the little details thrown in as reference to the little mermaid. It’s like a little treasure hunt trying to find all the ways it relates to my childhood favorite!

This book gave me Ariel meets Hannah Montana vibes and I’m totally here for it!!

I also love how the characters you think would be the villain or hero may not be what they seem and how Zoraida changes the storyline a bit so it doesn’t follow the same story line as the little mermaid. It kept me wondering how things would turn out instead of already knowing what would happen.

I just love this series so much! All three of the books have been so clever in their connections to the Disney movies that they are tied to. Kiss the Girl is no exception. It plays on so many themes of Disney's The Little Mermaid while still working as a fabulous stand alone romance. It was fun to find all of the hidden references to the movie. I'm sure that I missed a bunch! Ariel and Eric are such wonderful people that the reader can't help but be swept away in the journey and cheer for them to come together in the end. Highly recommend for grades 10 and up.

I was excited to read this book. It sounds so cute and the cover was adorable. Sorry to say this book just wasn't for me. I am DNFing it at 18%. I was struggling to have a connection with the characters. I found it a bit too juvenile for my taste. While this book was not for me, it might be the ideal book for someone else, therefore I'm giving it three stars.

Book Releases August 1, 2023

Thank you to NetGalley and Hyperion Avenue for the E-ARC

All thoughts and opinions are honest and my own.

I have loved the previous entries in this series, but honestly this one is head and shoulders above them all in writing, plotting, and everything you could imagine. I will be pushing this on all my friends (sorry, y'all) without any reservations. I think I found a new author to follow!

DNF @ 20%

The Little Mermaid is my favorite Disney movie, and after reading the premise of Kiss the Girl, I was so excited! However, after roughing it through the first 20%, i just couldn’t read anymore.

This was… bad. The characters are 25 & 28, and this read like a lower YA novel. I just couldn’t bear with it. Hopefully this works for others, it just wasn’t for me.

Normally I don't care too much for retellings of fairy tales, but I've been on something of a Little Mermaid kick like many others, due to the new movie. So not only is this novel dropping with impeccable timing, it's also an outstanding addition to any Little Mermaid lover's bookshelf!

Ariel, a member of the "Siren Seven", has performed for basically her entire life and craves some time off to find out who she really is and what she wants out of life. Eric is the singer for an up-and-coming band about to embark on their first tour, and the two collide in a venue where he's the headliner and she's on the DL as a regular person for once. Cue an unexpected and totally delightful romance! This is an adorable must-read!

I was OBSESSED with The Little Mermaid as a kid. My sister and I watched the VHS every day after school for three months after we received it for Christmas. So that said I had very high expectations for this book and it absolutely met them. Very cute, very swoony, and very true to the original story (which is not how I felt about the previous installment in the TMB series). I definitely want to read more by this author, who I hadn't heard of before this book.

Kiss the Girl by Zoraida Cordova is a retelling of The Little Mermaid with Ariel, who is a rock star in a family band with her six sisters. When she learns that her father want to continue controlling her life by announcing a solo album, she runs away to live a life she’s never lived since being part of a band at a tender age. Instead of retreating from the music world, Ariel actually throws herself full force by supporting Eric Reyes and his band as they go on tour. During her time away from her sisters and controlling father, Ariel falls deeply in love with Eric as she comes to grips with how she wants to proceed with her career while still being challenged by many elders who don’t always have her best interest at heart. There were many charming moments between Ariel and Eric. It was obvious they had chemistry. I wasn’t so sure about the Hannah Montana moments where Eric didn’t recognize Ariel when she wasn’t wearing her signature “mermaid” look she wore on stage while performing. When her father meddles in her life one final time, Ariel makes a decision that would change her future and potentially her relationship with her father. Even worse, potentially ruin her romance with Eric. However, Disney is the leader in happily ever afters, so Ariel and Eric get the romance we all expect.
Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for the opportunity to read this romance in exchange for an honest review.

I have never been so excited for a book before in my life. The new Taylor Swift album was definitely on in the background while reading it.

This Little Mermaid retelling is full of music and all the ooey-gooey romance you could ever want. Ariel De Mar doesn't know what to do with her life after her father refuses to give her the gap year he promised. After a magical night with the lead singer of Star Crossed and is offered the opportunity to go on tour in a new way.

Why I am in love with this book:
~Dual POV
~Little Mermaid Retelling
~Forbidden Love
~Secret Identities
~Music
~LatinX Author
~The Father is the Villain
~Immigrant Families

Thank you, NetGalley and Hyperion Avenue for the opportunity to arc-read this book in exchange for an honest review.

I'm loving Hyperion Avenue's Meant to Be series, and Kiss the Girl did not disappoint. This modern reimaging of The Little Mermaid brings the perfect amount of new story with just the right amount of nods to the Disney movie. If you love Disney princesses, Disney's The Little Mermaid, music tours, bands, and culture, I think you'll love this. Plus, with a forbidden romance, forced proximity, and two people finding their voice along with themselves, this romance is divine.

Ariel del Mar is part of Siren Seven, a glitter and sequins filled pop girl group. She and her six sisters are on their farewell tour when their dad, and manager, tells her that even though she thought she was getting some time off, he wants her to record a solo album. All she wants to do is get away though, so she sneaks off to see an up and coming band on their first tour stop. When she inadvertently crashes into the life of the band’s lead singer, Eric, she finds herself touring with them as their new merch girl. Without the sequins and Ariel’s stage persona’s signature red wig, the band doesn’t recognize her. What happens next is a story of found family, self-discovery, and of course romance. This “The Little Mermaid” retelling is imaginative and compelling. There are enough call backs to the original material that fans will be satisfied, but the overall story is creative and different. The music as the background really adds to the depth of the story as well. Highly recommend.

What a fun re-telling of the Little Mermaid! Every book in this series is better than the last!

Ariel del Mar is tired of living the life her mega-mogul father has created for her and her sisters, aka the Siren Seven. When the group finishes its last world tour, she's ready for a break. But when her dad informs her she will be striking out solo immediately, Ariel knows she has to make a change.

Enter Eric Reyes, the charming front man for a new and upcoming band. After a chance encounter and a whirlwind night, Ariel, who introduces herself as Melody (fun nod to the Little Mermaid 2!), joins the band as their new merch coordinator. Without her glam makeup and red wig, she's unrecognizable - except to the band's manager, who was burned by Ariel's father in the past. Can Ariel find the independence she's looking for on the road? Will she be able to break away from the clutches of her father?

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this ARC!

This book was cute, but I felt like the explanation for the set up was a bit too dragged out, and yet still a little confusing. I was really excited to read this and just felt eh about it. The parts with the sisters was fun, and I could see this being a great movie more than this book

Thoroughly enjoyed this book! The next installment of the Meant to Be series did not disappoint! I can’t wait to get my hands on a hard copy and to see what this series brings next!

Thank you Zoraida Córdova, Hyperion Avenue, and NetGalley for this arc in exchange for my honest review!

I love the Meant to Be series and Kiss the Girl is my favorite of the series so far. I really enjoyed this modern day retelling of The Little Mermaid. The author included so many fun easter eggs from Disney’s adoptions of the The Little Mermaid that fans will immediately pick up on. One of the small details I thought really helped tie everything together were the social media posts and media headlines that were included in between some of the chapters. It was a cute and quick way to add additional details to the story without having to draw it out. The friendships in Kiss the Girl were so sweet. I loved the found family aspect as well as the actual close family relationship between Ariel and her sisters.

While this book may be part of a series, it is a standalone book. The Meant to Be series is made up of standalone books by different authors that reimagine the Disney stories we already know. If you haven’t read them yet, I definitely recommend them! Kiss the Girl will be available August 1, 2023.

Rating: 4.5 stars

3.7
There's so, so much about this that works, overall...but the devil is in the details, as they say, and the details don't mesh well here. Further, I genuinely liked the story but it doesn't vibe little mermaid, which has to be at least something of the point?

You had me at “Little Mermaid,” my favorite of Hans Christian Andersen’s original poignant fairy tales. In this modern retelling, glam rock girl band sensation Siren Seven have just come off a two-year farewell tour under their music mogul father’s direction; the payoff is supposed to be a year’s hiatus to pursue other interests, but King Triton, I mean, Teodoro del Mar, intends to launch his youngest daughter’s solo career in just six months. Melody, who goes by the stage name Ariel, agrees–IF her sisters can have their full year off–but a disagreement forces her to walk away. She begins using her first name, and without her signature (red) wig, is no longer recognizable. She has a magical encounter with Eric, the gorgeous Colombian frontman to a band setting on on their first tour. Bumping into the right person at the right time enables her to join the Star Crossed tour selling merch–as long as she doesn’t reveal who she is or hook up with Eric, the lead singer. Melody’s musician expertise proves invaluable even as a it’s a challenge to hide her knowledge of venues and tour buses. The Ursula character is represented by the manager of Star Crossed, a woman who identifies Ariel, strikes a deal with her that renders her voiceless, in a sense, and has a history with her parents and their former band.

In true Disney fashion, everything is clean-cut, multicultural, diverse, and sanitized (there is sensual kissing but everything else is romantic longing or behind closed doors.) But: the author knows Disney, has a strong musical background, and hails from Ecuador, and Zoraida Córdova represents South American culture beautifully. In this fractured fairy tale, the princess is a pop princess and the setting is modern United States, but it all rings true and the allusions to the original, from premise to dialogue to costuming, provide great fan service. Aligning the novel’s characters with their animated counterparts was part of the ride. This is a fun read for adult fans of Disney and has young adult crossover potential.

I recieved a free advance reader’s review copy of #KissTheGirl from #NetGalley.