Publisher: Jester Ink Press
Release Date: July 1st, 2014
Source: e-book
Date Read: 8/27/14 to 9/8/14
290 Pages
Rating: ✰✰✰1/2
Halen knows the sparks igniting under her fingertips are dangerous. She has spent her entire life trying to quell the tingly feelings that make her destroy things, but now that she is back in Rockaway Beach, where she watched her father drown, the flames have become impossible to tame.Halen is trying to hold on, but when she is thrust into a mysterious new world, the underwater realm of Elosia, she unravels the secrets of her past and can't help but ignite. As she explores Elosia, she realizes her life has been a lie. And when those who have deceived her come to her for help, Halen must choose—walk away or unleash the magick that could destroy them all.
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I have actually been anticipating reading Coral & Bone for a pretty long time now. If you don't know me, I'm actually a huge fan of mermaids/selkies/sirens/etc., which is why I had my eye on this one for the longest time. So, when Xpresso Reads emailed about reviewing this book, I immediately jumped at the chance. And now, after finishing it, I have some mixed feelings. Overall, I did enjoy the premise a lot, but there were still a few bumps along the way.
First, let me tell you that the whole idea of mermaids doesn't really play a huge role in the story. In fact, the mermaids are kind of the bad guys, but that's because they've been tricked into thinking that way. But sadly they barely show up. Anyways, our main character, Halen, is pretty special, aka she has special "magick" powers because she is a blue moon siren. AND she has a mission. Well, a mission no one told her about until, well, maybe a little too late. So now she's dragged into this whole saving the world thing, which is done by defeating this super evil siren who's trapped in another dimension.
I'm not sure if anyone read the Solus series, Wings of Arian, but it really reminds me of an upgraded version of that book.
Okay, so first off, I actually really liked how Halen discovered the whole realm of Elosia (some other realm besides Earth). The reason I say this, is because unlike some MCs, Halen actually questions what's going on and doesn't blindly go into something. Instead, she's pretty cautious about her surroundings, since she did end up there by accident.
Another great thing was that the romance wasn't over the top. Even though I knew who was pairing up with who, there was no "I love yous" or love triangles. Though there was this one Truth or Dare scene that involved kissing, which was slightly embarrassing imo, just because everyone is 15?
Also, Halen's friendship with Tage is pretty awesome. They weren't best buds in the beginning, but they learned to like each other anyways.
And on that note, the twist that was supposed to be a twist didn't end up being a twist to me. (This may be because I am SUPER SMART, because ya know). I pretty much guessed it right at the start though.
I did have a problem with the different realms, and the different species (??). First off, I don't think the book did a very good job explaining what exactly the Tari was, like whether they were a group of mixed species, or a specific species. And also, I thought that everyone that lived in Elosia was a siren, but apparently they hate sirens????? So where did the sirens come from? And I know that the shifters use to live in Etlis, so yeah. And then who lives in Elosia? Are they just called Elosians???? And they look exactly like humans??? Even sirens look exactly like humans, except that can also use magic? QUESTIONS. MY BRAIN.
Yeah, so as you can see, I have yet to find THE YA novel or series about mermaids. But this one was still worth reading.
Teasers!
But anyways, I DO have a couple of teaser images for you! Just in case you actually want to know what some of the writing is like, and what not. Plus they are actually pretty cool looking!
Click on them for full size!
Anyways, I still really enjoyed being a part of this blog tour! Thanks again to Giselle @ Xpresso Reads for letting me read and review Coral & Bone!
