Coral & Bone (Siren Chronicles, #1)

by Tiffany Daune

Alix Reid (Editor) and Nathalia Suellen (Illustrator)

Unleash the Magick

Halen tried to tame the sparks beneath her fingertips. She’s fought her entire life to hide the destructive force that rises with her emotions. But when she returns to Rockaway Beach where she witnessed her father drown the sparks turn deadly. And when faced with the threat of hunters who want to destroy her and those who want to harness her power to vanquish a malevolent demon and his mermaid coven, she must decide who to trust and when to run. Only the lines are not so clear when she encounters a mysterious boy who calls to her rising sparks drawing her into his chaotic underwater world—a realm filled with darker secrets than her own.

Made popular on the reading platform Wattpad, Coral and Bone is the Watty award winning first book in a paranormal trilogy The Siren Chronicles by Tiffany Daune.

A thrilling young adult urban fantasy with an original twist on the supernatural. Fans of The Mortal Instruments by Cassandra Clare and Beautiful Creaturesby Kami Garcia will love this paranormal world filled with captivating shapeshifters, dragons, siren hunters, evil mermaids, and dark magic.

• ISBN10: 0993653707
• ISBN13: 9780993653704
• Publish Date: 3 July 2014
• Publish Status: Active
• Out of Print: 8 March 2017
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Jester Ink Press
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 284
• Language: English

Reviews

[Raven]

Netgalley provided this book for free in exchange for an honest review.

They really mean it when they tell you not to judge a book by it’s cover. The cover for Coral & Bone is stunning, but the contents inside are sorely lacking. It feels like it was written by a tween to cater to a tween. The story isn’t bad, but it’s poorly executed. The author created two new worlds and added things to our current one, but the history that was made is thin, a lot of things are left open, and descriptions for the worlds are cliche and poor.

The characters are awful. The few that were interesting had roles so minor they aren’t worth even mentioning. The main character, Halen, was super annoying. I hated her name and just chose to call her Helen as I read. Her emotions were all over the place. I’ve had pregnancy hormone related mood swings that flip flopped less than she did. “No no! I can’t do it! I don’t want this! I am strong and confident! How dare they treat me like this! I can do this! I can’t do it!!!” All in the same chapter. She was a complete Mary Sue. Stronger than anyone else and her only “flaw” was that she couldn’t control her powers because of her anger from everyone lying to her, at least until she suddenly could control them after about 12 hours of training and trying. The characters were so hard to like, that you aren’t invested in what happens to them at all.

The story is poorly written, things happen because of convenience, not because they are woven into the thread of the plot properly. The story itself isn’t bad, but the writing kills it. It’s hard to get into, overly simplified to make it dull, and doesn’t have a hook to keep you in. The climax is spottily written, things happen too quickly, then slow, then pick up again in a blur of nonsense. The entire thing leaves you horribly disappointed.

I feel cruel, but perhaps honesty needs to be so from time to time. With dull, unremarkable characters and a story that tries too desperately to be epic and mysterious, this isn’t a book I really find to be all that entertaining. I can’t deny that it does get better towards the end, but just as it starts to shine, it’s tarnished by the horribly written climax. I can overlook the punctuation errors, being that I read a galley (however, other reviews make me think those weren’t repaired for the release) but I can’t overlook the fact that most of this book’s problems could’ve been repaired/avoided had there just been a story and flow editor or collection of beta readers before its actual release. This book had a chance to really shine, but it wasn’t polished nearly enough, leaving this diamond as an unrecognizable stone.

This review was originally posted on Fictively

[Angie]

I really need to stop reading mermaid books; I really do not like them. I was sucked into Coral & Bone because of that cover! It promised dark mermaids! I mean, she has a skeletal hand in her hair and her eyebrow is made of smoke! But my goodness, this was one frustrating read, because nothing makes any sense! None at all! I honestly have no clue what's going on here!

Coral & Bone starts off with Halen hearing voices and having electricity tingle her fingers. Then a boy shows up at her house with a knife, so she and her....friend? roommate? acquaintance? (I really don't know the nature of their relationship) run for it, straight into the ocean! Because...obviously they'll be safe in the ocean...with deadly mermaids...and where the strange boy can still follow them....but they have the added issue of deadly mermaids. Immediately, things make no sense. Of course, Halen is rescued, and she's taken to Elosia where things make even less sense.

The world building of Coral & Bone is the worst. I understand nothing. This is a mermaid book, but not really, but it is. Elosia is some other dimension where Elosians live. They hate mermaids. They also hate sirens, which are the half human children of Elosians. But they're also mermaids? I think? They can breathe in water and die if they stay on land too long. So what is the difference between Elosians and mermaids?! Are mermaids only in our realm, while Elosians are the mermaids of the alternate realm? I have no idea! I just know they hate their half human children and mermaids, and...that's about it.

Then the whole plot is centered about Halen being the chosen one to fight some evil siren name Asair. Well, okay, that's pretty typical. But...Halen didn't know she was a siren until they rescued her from the deadly mermaids and the boy with the knife. She has no clue about anything, but everyone is telling her that she's their only hope or everyone is going to die. Then she's told that her parents kept all of this a secret to protect her, and her mother wanted to keep her human longer, even though her magical powers were manifesting. Umm...you can't make her stay human just by telling her she's human, and then tell her she has to save the world with no training and no knowledge of her heritage. And instead of anyone teaching her anything, they just talk in circles and continue to withhold information, then get frustrated that she sucks at magic. Seriously people.

Let's talk about Asair a minute. He's like the most evil of evil, and only Halen can stop him because she's like him, but not evil (yet). But this dude is locked away in yet another dimension and can't get out. He's been in there for 100 years with no problem. So Halen has to LET HIM OUT. Like, she's the only one who can open the portal to his dimension. Why not just leave him there?! I get killing him is probably a more permanent solution, but Halen has no idea what she's doing and will probably die or screw up and everyone else will die. It's not like anyone else can mess with the portal to his prison, so LEAVE IT ALONE!

Coral & Bone also has a nonsense ending, which I do not even being to understand. Was that one of those twisty surprise endings? Or a cliffhanger? I don't have the slightest idea. Honestly, I don't actually care either way. This book just doesn't make any kind of sense no matter the conclusion.

Read more of my reviews at Pinkindle Reads & Reviews.