Mara Rutherford

"A fabulous interweaving of fantasy, politics, and sisterhood -- this unusual, tense tale will have you on the edge of your seat!" --#1 New York Times bestselling author Tamora Pierce on Crown of Coral and Pearl The Cruel Prince meets Ash Princess in this thrilling fantasy, the much-anticipated sequel to Crown of Coral and Pearl. Ever since Nor was forced to go to a nearby kingdom in her sister's place, she's wanted nothing more than to return to the place and people she loves. But when her wish comes true, she soon finds herself cast out from both worlds, with a war on the horizon. As an old enemy resurfaces more powerful than ever, Nor will have to keep the kingdom from falling apart with the help of Prince Talin and Nor's twin sister, Zadie. There are forces within the world more mysterious than any of them ever guessed--and they'll need to stay alive long enough to conquer them...

Kingdom of Sea and Stone

Tamara Turner

Ah, yes. The nice little thing that happens in duologies where the first book is significantly better than the second one.
Nice trope(?) or something idk.
All right, I'll get on with it. 
I read the book a few months ago but didn't really feel like doing a review back then, so like forgive my forgetting
I know there was a cat called Foxglove that Nor was afraid of at first. And a witch. And that Nor has a pretty wholesome ending (I won't tell what she chooses in the end because I don't feel like marking this as having spoilers)
You might be thinking "Well of course you don't remember what happens since it's been so long since you've read the book!"
Thing is, I remember almost everything that goes on in the first book, and I read that one two years ago...
So it just might not a 'me' problem.

Megan Lapides

This was a big no from me. And I'm so disappointed because I really liked the first book. The characters lost their unique characteristics and started to blend together. There was also little to no character development with anyone. The plot was very slow moving and not a lot happened. I also felt like the ending was wrapped up too quickly and nicely for my liking.

Paige Green

Disclaimer: I received this e-arc from the publisher. Thanks! All opinions are my own.

Book: Kingdom of Sea and Stone

Author: Mara Rutherford

Book Series: Crown of Coral and Pearl Book 2

Rating: 3/5

Recommended For...: fantasy, political intrigue, romance

Publication Date: October 6, 2020

Genre: YA Fantasy

Recommended Age: 16+ (romance, slight violence and gore, war)

Publisher: Inkyard Press

Pages: 368

Synopsis: Ever since Nor was forced to go to a nearby kingdom in her sister’s place, she’s wanted nothing more than to return to the place and people she loves. But when her wish comes true, she soon finds herself cast out from both worlds, with a war on the horizon.

As an old enemy resurfaces more powerful than ever, Nor will have to keep the kingdom from falling apart with the help of Prince Talin and Nor’s twin sister, Zadie. There are forces within the world more mysterious than any of them ever guessed—and they’ll need to stay alive long enough to conquer them…

Review: Overall, this was an ok book. The book did well to keep the world building up and the book gave me a conclusion to this series, which I kinda wanted to know from the get go.

However, this book plot was more “will they? Won’t they?” than the stuff I cared about from the first book. The book went hardcore ya cliché in this one, which isn’t a bad thing but definitely isn’t for me. The characters, I feel, weren’t that well developed in this one from the first book, and the pacing was so so slow for me.

Verdict: It’s not for me, but it’s still a good duology.

Samantha Bass

Jumping into this book was difficult. I hadn't read Crown of Coral and Pearl in almost two years, so it was difficult for me to orient myself on what happened and where we were.

But I managed to find my way. Thankfully, Mara put some backstory at the beginning to help remind readers what was happening. I always appreciate when authors take the time to incorporate that into their books rather than just diving in and letting us sink. We get a quick recap between Nor and Zadie back home, which was brief but enough to remind me what happened. Once I knew what was going on, I was interested to see where we were going.

Going into this book, especially with the events that happened in Crown, I was ready for the violence. But violence I did not get. This book was way more about politics than even the relationships. While new, I felt like it slacked on building Nor's relationship with Talin and Zadie. Instead, we focus on restoring Talin's younger sister, Zoi, as Queen and making the country better. We meet new characters from a new country and then basically leave them after working up relationships between the two groups. I could see what Mara was trying to do, but it didn't feel right to me reading.

I wanted new relationships, old relationships to build, and other connections between characters. While I did like the magical element of the plot, it didn't line up well with everything going on on the sidelines. I almost feel like there should have been another book so this one could be spent on the emotional and magical aspect between people and then moving into political, rather than trying to cram it all into one.

But, there are also a lot of things that I really liked too! I liked Nor's continuing development. I liked that we got to see new cultures and people. We get more history and mystery with magic. And, we get an interesting political battle that I know I was looking forward to in Crown of Coral and Pearl.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book and thought it was a great end to the series. Though I still wish there was another book.

Kelsey Holtaway

** spoiler alert **
           A mid- three maybe? 

This is the second and final installment in this duology and i think keeping this at two books was the right call. 

First i enjoyed how easy it was to pick up where we left off. I read the first one soon after it came out and i was worried I’d be totally lost, but the author does a good job of refreshing your memory without repeating the first book. 

I also really enjoyed all the new characters introduced in this book. That, for me, was the best part. 

Which leads me to what i didn’t enjoy. Nor’s relationship with Talin felt SO stale and any chemistry built in the first book totally went out the window in this installment. I wanted so bad for Nor to ditch Talin and go for Roan, and it felt like we were being led down that path by the author. But in the end, Nor and Talin are still together and their last scene together still feels way too melancholy for me to care about them. And the problem is we spend too much time with their weird push and pull, which just makes me dislike Talin and their relationship even more. 

Talin also supports his mother, Talia, who is clearly another villain but somehow isn’t treated as one by the author, despite his mother’s on and off-page choices. 

I think it would have been much more interesting for Nor to take off with Roan and Adriel and carve out a new plan for Varenia. 

All in all- i think this was safe, but wished the author took it in the direction she was clearly hinting at.

The Cruel Prince meets Ash Princess in this thrilling fantasy, the much-anticipated sequel to Crown of Coral and Pearl. Ever since Nor was forced to go to a nearby kingdom in her sister's place, she's wanted nothing more than to return to the place and people she loves. But when her wish comes true, she soon finds herself cast out from both worlds, with a war on the horizon. As an old enemy resurfaces more powerful than ever, Nor will have to keep the kingdom from falling apart with the help of Prince Talin and Nor's twin sister, Zadie. There are forces within the world more mysterious than any of them ever guessed-and they'll need to stay alive long enough to conquer them... "A fabulous interweaving of fantasy, politics, and sisterhood - this unusual, tense tale will have you on the edge of your seat!" -No. 1 New York Times bestselling author Tamora Pierce on Crown of Coral and Pearl

Anyaconda

This was a disappointing second book in a duology. Whereas I couldn't put the first book down at all, this took me ages to finish. Everything was kind of flat and meh and lost the spark and flair the first book had.
All loose ends were tied up and we got more of Ceren's backstory and reasoning why he became who he is.
Roan was the only interesting character besides Nor, who ended up doing a one-woman show to save the day. 

Thanks Netgalley for providing me with an eARC in exchange for an honest review.
2.5 out if 5 ⭐

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Anya ✨

“A fabulous interweaving of fantasy, politics, and sisterhood — this unusual, tense tale will have you on the edge of your seat!” —#1 New York Times bestselling author Tamora Pierce on Crown of Coral and Pearl The Cruel Prince meets Ash Princess in this thrilling fantasy, the much-anticipated sequel to Crown of Coral and Pearl. Ever since Nor was forced to go to a nearby kingdom in her sister’s place, she’s wanted nothing more than to return to the place and people she loves. But when her wish comes true, she soon finds herself cast out from both worlds, with a war on the horizon. As an old enemy resurfaces more powerful than ever, Nor will have to keep the kingdom from falling apart with the help of Prince Talin and Nor’s twin sister, Zadie. There are forces within the world more mysterious than any of them ever guessed—and they’ll need to stay alive long enough to conquer them…

Kingdom of Sea and Stone

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