The characters in Crown of Coral and Pearl by Mara Rutherford are engaging, but the plot is recycled to the point of predictability. The heroine, Nor, is the scarred, strong, no nonsense, I-don’t-need-a-man-to-complete-me, and always needs to be her sister’s savior type. Her twin sister, Zadie, on the other hand, comes across as the pretty, weak, always looking to be saved, I-need-this-particular-boy-only-or-my-life-will-end type. Every twenty years or so, the girls of the ocean village get prettied up in an attempt to be the one chosen to marry the prince of a far away land. Of course Nor doesn’t want to be chosen and of course her beautiful twin sister is picked. But, when her twin sister makes it clear that her heart belongs to someone else, Nor does whatever is necessary to save her from unhappy marriage, even if that means going into the belly of the beast herself… Filled with love triangles and clinches that perhaps the jaded among would find annoying, this book would be a good choice for younger readers just entering the world of Young Adult Literature. No extreme language, no extreme scenes. ****This review is based an arc copy received for free via Netgalley**** |
