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Fins #1
Forgive My Fins
Lily Sanderson has a secret, and it's not that she has a huge crush on gorgeous swimming god Brody Bennett, who makes her heart beat flipper-fast. Unrequited love is hard enough when you're a normal teenage girl, but when you're half human, half mermaid, like Lily, there's no such thing as a simple crush.
Lily's mermaid identity is a secret that can't get out, since she's not just any mermaid—she's a Thalassinian princess. When Lily found out three years ago that her mother was actually a human, she finally realized why she didn't feel quite at home in Thalassinia, and she's been living on land and going to Seaview High School ever since, hoping to find where she truly belongs. Sure, land has its problems—like her obnoxious biker-boy neighbor, Quince Fletcher—but it has that one major perk: Brody. The problem is, mermaids aren't really the casual dating type—the instant they "bond," it's for life.
When Lily's attempt to win Brody's love leads to a tsunami-sized case of mistaken identity, she is in for a tidal wave of relationship drama, and she finds out, quick as a tailfin flick, that happily ever after never sails quite as smoothly as you planned.
Lily's mermaid identity is a secret that can't get out, since she's not just any mermaid—she's a Thalassinian princess. When Lily found out three years ago that her mother was actually a human, she finally realized why she didn't feel quite at home in Thalassinia, and she's been living on land and going to Seaview High School ever since, hoping to find where she truly belongs. Sure, land has its problems—like her obnoxious biker-boy neighbor, Quince Fletcher—but it has that one major perk: Brody. The problem is, mermaids aren't really the casual dating type—the instant they "bond," it's for life.
When Lily's attempt to win Brody's love leads to a tsunami-sized case of mistaken identity, she is in for a tidal wave of relationship drama, and she finds out, quick as a tailfin flick, that happily ever after never sails quite as smoothly as you planned.
293 pages, Hardcover
First published May 19, 2010
About the author
Tera Lynn Childs
53 books3,109 followersTera Lynn Childs may pretend to be a goddess, but she’s really just a normal person. Well, maybe not normal. She is a writer, after all. Her works include the mythology-based Oh. My. Gods. series, the Forgive My Fins mermaid romance series, the kick-butt monster-hunting Sweet Venom trilogy, and the Darkly Fae fantasy series. Tera currently parks her laptop in the Seattle area and spends her time writing wherever she can find a comfy chair and a steady stream of caffeinated beverages. Learn more about her magical realms and find behind-the-book extras at teralynnchilds.com.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,732 reviews
September 23, 2012
This book is corny! In fact- a wave of sadness overcomes me when I realize the depths that this author has sunk to. Drowning her audience in a sea of underwater puns. See I can do it too!!
But seriously this book feels like it was written as an 11 year olds creative writing essay that just got out of hand. If the character is mean they are a sea slug if they are nice they are an angel fish. (Constantly!) It just gets ridiculous. But worst of all the characters are LAME!!
Lily clearly has a persecution complex that is entirely unfounded in reality. She is convinced that Quince (yes like the fruit) is out to ruin her life; this is motivation for half the plot of the book and most of the whining. Of which the latter is in great supply and the former is basically non existent. Unfortunately the only evidence of Quinces "Sea slugish" ways is a very brief moment where he points out that she has lip gloss on her cheek. Oh how I wish my enemies where so cruel!
If you are twelve have a poor vocabulary and are very, very bored jump on in, the waters just to your liking, if not then swim for cover!!
But seriously this book feels like it was written as an 11 year olds creative writing essay that just got out of hand. If the character is mean they are a sea slug if they are nice they are an angel fish. (Constantly!) It just gets ridiculous. But worst of all the characters are LAME!!
Lily clearly has a persecution complex that is entirely unfounded in reality. She is convinced that Quince (yes like the fruit) is out to ruin her life; this is motivation for half the plot of the book and most of the whining. Of which the latter is in great supply and the former is basically non existent. Unfortunately the only evidence of Quinces "Sea slugish" ways is a very brief moment where he points out that she has lip gloss on her cheek. Oh how I wish my enemies where so cruel!
If you are twelve have a poor vocabulary and are very, very bored jump on in, the waters just to your liking, if not then swim for cover!!
October 7, 2010
3.5 - 4 Stars - Also reviewed at: Lady Jayne's Reading Den
(Plot points mentioned deal with aspects contained in the book blurb)
Is it just guppy love or a love as deep as the ocean?
Yes, I have been indoctrinated from all the puns in this book. ^_^ The sea puns and mermaid fish slang were a little jarring, at first, but son of swordfish (as Lily would say), once I got into the flow, I was all bubbly smiley reading them and at times even chuckling. Though I can see how the steady stream of puns could be annoyingly corny and induce seasickness if one wasn’t partial to them.
Forgive My Fins is a cute, fun, quick and easy read. This is the first book I’ve read by Tera Lynn Childs. It was also my first mermaid story, other than The Little Mermaid. So, I can’t compare it to any other YA mermaid books out there, but I did like the different twist from the Little Mermaid.
Almost 18-year old Lily Sanderson, half-mermaid, half-human, has been secretly in love with Brody Bennett, swim champion, for 3 years. Quince Fletcher, on the other hand, has been nothing but an obnoxious, annoying blowfish of a biker-boy neighbour and definitely NOT Lily’s idea of a dream mermate.
When a case of mistaken ‘kisstaken’ identity at the Spring Fling ends up accidentally magically “bonding” Lily to Quince, Lily must reveal her secret to him and take him to her ocean home to meet Daddy dearest in the underwater kingdom of Thalassinia, to reverse this mistake of tsunami proportions. Brody is the one that Lily wants to spend happily-ever-after under the sea with! *cue Under the Sea music*
I really liked Quince, from the beginning, and his behaviour towards Lily reminded me of little boys who pull the girl they like’s pigtails to get their attention. Quince’s teasing manner, Lily’s fiery reactions to him, and him calling Lily “princess”, also reminded me of the sparks between Han Solo and Princess Leia, which I love.
One of the issues I had though, were the number of times Lily kept referring to “the bond”. I understood it was to show Lily being in denial about any attraction she was developing towards Quince, the bane of her existence, and blaming it on the effects of “the bond”, but after a while it just felt like Ms Childs was hitting the reader over the head with a baby whale with it. Ironically, the other issue I had was in relation to what I felt was a bit of a plot hole regarding mermaid bonding.
Despite those issues, however, I found myself smiling a lot reading this book, got a few yummy shivers, and definitely had a big smile on my face when I reached the end. If you are looking for a deep read then swim away from this one, but if you’re looking for something buoyant then dip your toes into this sweet and innocent tail…Oops! I mean “tale”. ^_^
(If the puns in this review annoyed you, then you should probably steer clear of Forgive My Fins!)
A few of my fave quotes:
‘"I don't believe it,” Quince says with absolute certainty. “I don't believe anything magical can make someone more in love.”
He looks me right in the eye as he says, “Love is already the strongest magic in the world."’
‘"Oh, Lily," He says shaking his head. "I know about love. About wanting and dreaming and wishing with every part of your soul. I know enough to recognize the parts that are real and the parts that are only in my fantasy." He turns his head slightly to face me, and I find myself saying, "L-like what?"
"Like when she cries and my heart tears into little shreds, and all I can think of is making her forget the source of her sadness." His face is blank, emotionless. His words - and the underlying emotion bombarding me through the bond - more than make up for it. "That's real."
My voice is barely a whisper when I ask, "And fantasy?"
"Believing she'll ever feel the same way."
"When he pulls back, his eyes glow with the love I know is shining inside. I’m sure my eyes are glowing just as bright, because I can feel the tears of joy sliding down my cheeks.
For several long minutes, we just smile at each other. I’m sure we look like stupidly in love teenagers – to Aunt Rachel and whoever else happens to be watching – but we know the truth. There’s nothing stupid about it."
"Lord love a lobster, he has a beautiful chest."
(Just had to toss that one in there! And it’s relevant to my visualisations below) LOL
My Lily (Taylor Swift):
My Quince (Cam Gigandet):
COPYRIGHT DISCLAIMER: I do not hold the copyright to any of the images used in this review. They are posted to add visuals to the review and for fun. If any of these images are yours and you would like me to remove them, please let me know, and I will do so as soon as possible. If I can identify the copyright, I will do so.
(Plot points mentioned deal with aspects contained in the book blurb)
Is it just guppy love or a love as deep as the ocean?
Yes, I have been indoctrinated from all the puns in this book. ^_^ The sea puns and mermaid fish slang were a little jarring, at first, but son of swordfish (as Lily would say), once I got into the flow, I was all bubbly smiley reading them and at times even chuckling. Though I can see how the steady stream of puns could be annoyingly corny and induce seasickness if one wasn’t partial to them.
Forgive My Fins is a cute, fun, quick and easy read. This is the first book I’ve read by Tera Lynn Childs. It was also my first mermaid story, other than The Little Mermaid. So, I can’t compare it to any other YA mermaid books out there, but I did like the different twist from the Little Mermaid.
Almost 18-year old Lily Sanderson, half-mermaid, half-human, has been secretly in love with Brody Bennett, swim champion, for 3 years. Quince Fletcher, on the other hand, has been nothing but an obnoxious, annoying blowfish of a biker-boy neighbour and definitely NOT Lily’s idea of a dream mermate.
When a case of mistaken ‘kisstaken’ identity at the Spring Fling ends up accidentally magically “bonding” Lily to Quince, Lily must reveal her secret to him and take him to her ocean home to meet Daddy dearest in the underwater kingdom of Thalassinia, to reverse this mistake of tsunami proportions. Brody is the one that Lily wants to spend happily-ever-after under the sea with! *cue Under the Sea music*
I really liked Quince, from the beginning, and his behaviour towards Lily reminded me of little boys who pull the girl they like’s pigtails to get their attention. Quince’s teasing manner, Lily’s fiery reactions to him, and him calling Lily “princess”, also reminded me of the sparks between Han Solo and Princess Leia, which I love.
One of the issues I had though, were the number of times Lily kept referring to “the bond”. I understood it was to show Lily being in denial about any attraction she was developing towards Quince, the bane of her existence, and blaming it on the effects of “the bond”, but after a while it just felt like Ms Childs was hitting the reader over the head with a baby whale with it. Ironically, the other issue I had was in relation to what I felt was a bit of a plot hole regarding mermaid bonding.
Despite those issues, however, I found myself smiling a lot reading this book, got a few yummy shivers, and definitely had a big smile on my face when I reached the end. If you are looking for a deep read then swim away from this one, but if you’re looking for something buoyant then dip your toes into this sweet and innocent tail…Oops! I mean “tale”. ^_^
(If the puns in this review annoyed you, then you should probably steer clear of Forgive My Fins!)
A few of my fave quotes:
‘"I don't believe it,” Quince says with absolute certainty. “I don't believe anything magical can make someone more in love.”
He looks me right in the eye as he says, “Love is already the strongest magic in the world."’
‘"Oh, Lily," He says shaking his head. "I know about love. About wanting and dreaming and wishing with every part of your soul. I know enough to recognize the parts that are real and the parts that are only in my fantasy." He turns his head slightly to face me, and I find myself saying, "L-like what?"
"Like when she cries and my heart tears into little shreds, and all I can think of is making her forget the source of her sadness." His face is blank, emotionless. His words - and the underlying emotion bombarding me through the bond - more than make up for it. "That's real."
My voice is barely a whisper when I ask, "And fantasy?"
"Believing she'll ever feel the same way."
"When he pulls back, his eyes glow with the love I know is shining inside. I’m sure my eyes are glowing just as bright, because I can feel the tears of joy sliding down my cheeks.
For several long minutes, we just smile at each other. I’m sure we look like stupidly in love teenagers – to Aunt Rachel and whoever else happens to be watching – but we know the truth. There’s nothing stupid about it."
"Lord love a lobster, he has a beautiful chest."
(Just had to toss that one in there! And it’s relevant to my visualisations below) LOL
My Lily (Taylor Swift):
My Quince (Cam Gigandet):
COPYRIGHT DISCLAIMER: I do not hold the copyright to any of the images used in this review. They are posted to add visuals to the review and for fun. If any of these images are yours and you would like me to remove them, please let me know, and I will do so as soon as possible. If I can identify the copyright, I will do so.
October 13, 2010
This one wasn't for me. It was somehow too … pink, girly, fluffy and cute. The story itself was very predictable, which only made me want to shake the heroine and make her see what was going on already. Her absolute cluelessness really annoyed me.
And seriously, how can you be in love (and I'm referring to the I-love-you-so-much-I-want-to-marry-you-and-spend-the-rest-of-my-life-with-you kind of love here) with someone you rarely talk to and don't really know that well? I mean, having a crush, okay, but dreaming of marriage and wanting to tell that person your biggest secret? Ahm, no.
Concerning the love story concept: it is pretty common in YA literature, but I've seen it done better in other, contemporary novels (Something Maybe by Elizabeth Scott comes to my mind, for example).
The underwater-world had a very disney-like feel to it, and although I don't mind watching the occasional disney movie, it's not really what I'm looking for in a book.
This was my first real mermaid book, and it certainly won't be my last, but I'm sure that there are better ones out there.
And seriously, how can you be in love (and I'm referring to the I-love-you-so-much-I-want-to-marry-you-and-spend-the-rest-of-my-life-with-you kind of love here) with someone you rarely talk to and don't really know that well? I mean, having a crush, okay, but dreaming of marriage and wanting to tell that person your biggest secret? Ahm, no.
Concerning the love story concept: it is pretty common in YA literature, but I've seen it done better in other, contemporary novels (Something Maybe by Elizabeth Scott comes to my mind, for example).
The underwater-world had a very disney-like feel to it, and although I don't mind watching the occasional disney movie, it's not really what I'm looking for in a book.
This was my first real mermaid book, and it certainly won't be my last, but I'm sure that there are better ones out there.
June 22, 2011
Looking for a fun, quick, cute, summer read? Look no further! Forgive My Fins has it all and more!
Let's just say I'm head over tail for the whimsical mermaid tale!
Such a cute story. This is definitely a novel that will appeal to the upper ya crowd but at the same time, is something that I wouldn't hesitate to recommend to the younger ya and even mg readers.
I adored Quincy from the first spitball mention. Not really specifically because of the spitball, but because he seemed like the genuinely funny and incredibly sweet guy. Don't ask me how I got all of that out of a spitball, but I just did.
Lily was an excellent protagonist. I was a little worried that she might come across as stuck up, since she was a princess and all, but she's incredibly humble and insecure. She might have been fishy royalty, but teen girls won't have a hard time relating to her at all!
The novel was a bit predictable, but I still enjoyed the journey. I loved the whole bonding issue, which I don't want to get into much, since it could be potentially spoilery. But it was interesting to see how Childs invented her own mermaid mythology. Did not see that epilogue coming though, I'm hoping that may mean a sequel? One can hope anyway. And can I just say that I'm so excited to see mermaids! I've always been.
I loved Childs' writing style in Oh. My. Gods. and was glad to see that Forgive My Fins had that signature quirky, easy style. And I'm not embarrassed to admit that I giggled uncontrollably throughout most of this novel. It was so much fun to read.
Add this one to your summer read list!
Let's just say I'm head over tail for the whimsical mermaid tale!
Such a cute story. This is definitely a novel that will appeal to the upper ya crowd but at the same time, is something that I wouldn't hesitate to recommend to the younger ya and even mg readers.
I adored Quincy from the first spitball mention. Not really specifically because of the spitball, but because he seemed like the genuinely funny and incredibly sweet guy. Don't ask me how I got all of that out of a spitball, but I just did.
Lily was an excellent protagonist. I was a little worried that she might come across as stuck up, since she was a princess and all, but she's incredibly humble and insecure. She might have been fishy royalty, but teen girls won't have a hard time relating to her at all!
The novel was a bit predictable, but I still enjoyed the journey. I loved the whole bonding issue, which I don't want to get into much, since it could be potentially spoilery. But it was interesting to see how Childs invented her own mermaid mythology. Did not see that epilogue coming though, I'm hoping that may mean a sequel? One can hope anyway. And can I just say that I'm so excited to see mermaids! I've always been.
I loved Childs' writing style in Oh. My. Gods. and was glad to see that Forgive My Fins had that signature quirky, easy style. And I'm not embarrassed to admit that I giggled uncontrollably throughout most of this novel. It was so much fun to read.
Add this one to your summer read list!
December 13, 2014
This is one of those stories that I got to read before starting to write reviews, but if I remember well I love it, so I should say at least one word or two about it.
I am not sure why I like reading books about mermaids (I blame it on The Little Mermaid, and the way I loved it so much as a kid that it's still somehow stuck in my head).
So I picked up this book wanting to have a good time with it, I read it in one sitting and I had tons of fun with it.
It was cute, it was funny, sometimes just a bit silly, but enough to make me smile.
I am still thinking that I should read the next books in the series, but we will see - as there's plenty of fish in the sea, if you get what I mean.
Anyways, it got 5stars from me back then, it would probably be around 4stars these days, but if you need something fluffy to read, this might be great for you too.
Enjoy it! (Image source.)
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February 21, 2015
Pre-review before I finish the book: I know I'm at least 12 years older than the targeted audience but still...I can and will appreciate good teenagers' dramas. However! The stupidity and immaturity of the Main Character really is not endearing (I kept rolling my eyes at a lot of things said MC had said and done)...I'd been 17 years old once and I don't think teenagers at this age are that bad.
thoughts after I'd finished reading:
This time I can't even say 'Oh what a great big disappointment!' because I'd expected this book to be sucky even before I turned the first page. Why? Because I'd already read Tera Lynn Childs' YA paranormal novels which are based on the Medusa myths, and the two books I've managed to read aren't doing great neither.
See my short reviews for both Medusa myths retelling books here:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
This time, instead of Medusa and Greek myths, we have mermaid myth and a Little Mermaid retelling(?) style of teenage school drama/romance drama (not my favorite genres, but I was still willing to give it a shot).
The good things about Forgive My Fins are that (1) it's a quick and easy read, (2) the tone is humorous and (3) some of the romantic plots are in fact interestingly written. However, there are many flaws in the story's characters, plots and setting, those flaws just kept me rolling my eyes in disbelief:
(1) According to the author, there's a kingdom of merfolks somewhere near the American coastline, and somehow, the citizens of this ancient, magical kingdom under the sea happen to be able to all speak ENGLISH. *sighs*
(2) Lily, the female Main Character, is hopelessly stupid, boy-crazed and immature, which might have been acceptable if she's only an ordinary teenager. You see, I don't expect every single teenager to be smart and mature, but...*groans* Goodness! I'd once been a teenager but I don't remember being that clueless and stupid like Lily!
Furthermore, the real problem is,somehow our main character Lily is supposed to be the heir of the kingdom of merfolks and is expected to rule the kingdom as Queen in the future.
(3) the love triangle: I don't even want to go into the details... all I can say is that someone should have told Lily how silly it is to think you are going to spend the rest of your life with the first guy you had a crush on when you're 17 years old.
(4) According to the author, there's a supposed 'rule' about mermaids/mermen can only bond with one soul mate. However, It's not good to break the rules of your own fictional world, seriously.
Don't get me wrong, I can appreciate romance dramas among teenagers *when they are well written*, I can appreciate girls who care about dresses, boyfriends and dating. I mean, there's nothing wrong about wanting to hook up with a handsome guy and daydreaming about it! However, Ms. Child doesn't have neither the writing skill nor the insight to create a meaningful, cute, light-hearted story out of the material of her own choosing. So, 1.5 stars.
thoughts after I'd finished reading:
This time I can't even say 'Oh what a great big disappointment!' because I'd expected this book to be sucky even before I turned the first page. Why? Because I'd already read Tera Lynn Childs' YA paranormal novels which are based on the Medusa myths, and the two books I've managed to read aren't doing great neither.
See my short reviews for both Medusa myths retelling books here:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
This time, instead of Medusa and Greek myths, we have mermaid myth and a Little Mermaid retelling(?) style of teenage school drama/romance drama (not my favorite genres, but I was still willing to give it a shot).
The good things about Forgive My Fins are that (1) it's a quick and easy read, (2) the tone is humorous and (3) some of the romantic plots are in fact interestingly written. However, there are many flaws in the story's characters, plots and setting, those flaws just kept me rolling my eyes in disbelief:
(1) According to the author, there's a kingdom of merfolks somewhere near the American coastline, and somehow, the citizens of this ancient, magical kingdom under the sea happen to be able to all speak ENGLISH. *sighs*
(2) Lily, the female Main Character, is hopelessly stupid, boy-crazed and immature, which might have been acceptable if she's only an ordinary teenager. You see, I don't expect every single teenager to be smart and mature, but...*groans* Goodness! I'd once been a teenager but I don't remember being that clueless and stupid like Lily!
Furthermore, the real problem is,somehow our main character Lily is supposed to be the heir of the kingdom of merfolks and is expected to rule the kingdom as Queen in the future.
(3) the love triangle: I don't even want to go into the details... all I can say is that someone should have told Lily how silly it is to think you are going to spend the rest of your life with the first guy you had a crush on when you're 17 years old.
(4) According to the author, there's a supposed 'rule' about mermaids/mermen can only bond with one soul mate. However, It's not good to break the rules of your own fictional world, seriously.
Don't get me wrong, I can appreciate romance dramas among teenagers *when they are well written*, I can appreciate girls who care about dresses, boyfriends and dating. I mean, there's nothing wrong about wanting to hook up with a handsome guy and daydreaming about it! However, Ms. Child doesn't have neither the writing skill nor the insight to create a meaningful, cute, light-hearted story out of the material of her own choosing. So, 1.5 stars.
June 5, 2010
I rate this mermaid romance, which I have impatiently waited almost a year for, 3,5 stars altogether. It was really cute, but very predictable. In core it reminded me a lot of Something, Maybe and other regular YA which tell the story of a girl nursing a long time crush on a boy she doesn't really know that well. After 40 pages or so I was a tiny bit bored, but I held on tight - I was reading a mermaid-love-story! - and it got better again.
As far as I-am-a-mermaid-here-is-my-story books go, I liked both Teenage Mermaid (also predictable, because basically a retelling) and Ascension, which both offer a romantic plot, better. The last books of the Ingo-Series, especially The Deep, are also far more enjoyable, if it is the underwater world and the different thinking of the merfolk the reader wants to immerge in. Forgive my Fins has some interesting explanations about underwater breathing and the tolerance of the cold ocean water, but it stongly focusses on the romance part, the emotions, the joy and pain of teenage infatuation. Be it either high school spring fling or underwater castle: The text does not offer a lot of visuals. It rather feels like skipping the landscape pictures of a slide show and getting only glimpses of beautiful things until the family pictures come into view and are to be admired and scrutinized. So if you search for the next cute teenage romance with a likable heroine and a hunky hero who hides his feelings, choregraphed in front of a wet scenery for a change, you cannot go wrong by reading Forgive my Fins.
I, for my part, have decided against reading Fins Are Forever, though. I will await the next mermaid-themed book (The Forbidden Sea) I have on preorder now - hoping it will offer the perfect mix (mystery, love, thrill, a believable, well-depicted underwater world) and I heartily thank Tera Lynn Childs anyway for writing a mermaid book in times that clearly favour faeries, vampires and angels.
As far as I-am-a-mermaid-here-is-my-story books go, I liked both Teenage Mermaid (also predictable, because basically a retelling) and Ascension, which both offer a romantic plot, better. The last books of the Ingo-Series, especially The Deep, are also far more enjoyable, if it is the underwater world and the different thinking of the merfolk the reader wants to immerge in. Forgive my Fins has some interesting explanations about underwater breathing and the tolerance of the cold ocean water, but it stongly focusses on the romance part, the emotions, the joy and pain of teenage infatuation. Be it either high school spring fling or underwater castle: The text does not offer a lot of visuals. It rather feels like skipping the landscape pictures of a slide show and getting only glimpses of beautiful things until the family pictures come into view and are to be admired and scrutinized. So if you search for the next cute teenage romance with a likable heroine and a hunky hero who hides his feelings, choregraphed in front of a wet scenery for a change, you cannot go wrong by reading Forgive my Fins.
I, for my part, have decided against reading Fins Are Forever, though. I will await the next mermaid-themed book (The Forbidden Sea) I have on preorder now - hoping it will offer the perfect mix (mystery, love, thrill, a believable, well-depicted underwater world) and I heartily thank Tera Lynn Childs anyway for writing a mermaid book in times that clearly favour faeries, vampires and angels.
February 14, 2011
I don't think rating out of 5 stars gives enough room for judgment.
I prefer the standard school grading scale...Maybe a B-.
It was a light, cute, fun book! The cover is obviously stunning. I love the greens and the blues. I'm not sure what she's supposed to be blowing out of her mouth, though. Is there something I missed in the book?
Anyway, we are presented with Lily Sanderson: half-mermaid, half-human. She's nothing spectacular with her blonde hair (yay!), pale-skin, and freckles. And she's got this really annoying (see: intriguing) neighborish boy, Quince, watching her every move. Naturally, he's in love with her and sees her for the beautiful mythical creature that she is, instead of the freak she assumes to be. But she has her eyes on superjock manslut Brody, with his abundance of luscious curls and hey, he swims like Michael Phelps. Lily is convinced that he will be her mermate in life, once she kisses him with her fishy bondage-wielding lips.
Lily is an okay heroine, but suffers from extreme lack of awareness. She's stubborn and naïve and insecure. I didn't love her, but she was tolerable.
Quince is my favorite character in the novel, though he comes off as quite the doormat. He's got some really cute lines though. Go Quince! Lily's obsession with Brody gets annoying and is rather unwarranted (as most high school crushes are), as there's no real chemistry between the two.
The world is enjoyable, but extremely similar to that of The Little Mermaid. Trident-wielding (I realize I've used this word twice) King? Check. Secret Grotto where the light from the world above shines in? Check. I liked it, though.
A solid effort from Tera Lynn Childs. There is a cliffhanger, and I'm definitely looking forward to seeing where this story goes in "Fins are Forever," due out next year.
I prefer the standard school grading scale...Maybe a B-.
It was a light, cute, fun book! The cover is obviously stunning. I love the greens and the blues. I'm not sure what she's supposed to be blowing out of her mouth, though. Is there something I missed in the book?
Anyway, we are presented with Lily Sanderson: half-mermaid, half-human. She's nothing spectacular with her blonde hair (yay!), pale-skin, and freckles. And she's got this really annoying (see: intriguing) neighborish boy, Quince, watching her every move. Naturally, he's in love with her and sees her for the beautiful mythical creature that she is, instead of the freak she assumes to be. But she has her eyes on superjock manslut Brody, with his abundance of luscious curls and hey, he swims like Michael Phelps. Lily is convinced that he will be her mermate in life, once she kisses him with her fishy bondage-wielding lips.
Lily is an okay heroine, but suffers from extreme lack of awareness. She's stubborn and naïve and insecure. I didn't love her, but she was tolerable.
Quince is my favorite character in the novel, though he comes off as quite the doormat. He's got some really cute lines though. Go Quince! Lily's obsession with Brody gets annoying and is rather unwarranted (as most high school crushes are), as there's no real chemistry between the two.
The world is enjoyable, but extremely similar to that of The Little Mermaid. Trident-wielding (I realize I've used this word twice) King? Check. Secret Grotto where the light from the world above shines in? Check. I liked it, though.
A solid effort from Tera Lynn Childs. There is a cliffhanger, and I'm definitely looking forward to seeing where this story goes in "Fins are Forever," due out next year.
December 13, 2010
Too fluffy for my own liking.
It would have been a cute read if it weren't for the clueless heroine. Lily, I get that you're half-mermaid but you've lived with humans for the last 3 years and should have a clue about the opposite sex and relationships at least by then. How could you not know Q liked you? He annoyed you endlessly to get your attention!
It was just too predictable for me. No surprises to get me hooked.
Only Quince was this book's saving grace. And even Quince won't get me reading the sequel.
It would have been a cute read if it weren't for the clueless heroine. Lily, I get that you're half-mermaid but you've lived with humans for the last 3 years and should have a clue about the opposite sex and relationships at least by then. How could you not know Q liked you? He annoyed you endlessly to get your attention!
It was just too predictable for me. No surprises to get me hooked.
Only Quince was this book's saving grace. And even Quince won't get me reading the sequel.
January 20, 2023
So so cute!!!!! I just read the entire series and this was the best one for sure!
March 25, 2012
I thought I was going to like this book and that it was going to be good. I never thought I would love it, read it so fast, and then start on the next in the series immediately after I put this one day. But I did. I loved it so much I think the time it took me to read it is probably up there in the top ten for record time reading.
I loved that it was a tale of a fish-out-of-water (literally) who after three years has finally gotten use to the mainland and its people(so she thought) but then, when she is finally deciding what to do with the rest of her life and getting prepared for her role in the water life throws her a little tail spin and she spends two weeks on an adventure that changes the way she sees everything.
I’m so use to reading novels about a world within our own—and still on land for that matter—but I was shocked, awed, and happy to find a book about the mixture of land and sea and was curiously reading all the description of the under water land to get the picture of this beautiful kingdom.
Then there was the humour and emotion that filled the pages. I love when a writer can channel both of those emotions onto the page so one minute you’re rooting for her when she insults Quince and the next your laughing when he dishes out the same. She can even make getting lip gloss on a cat funny and entertaining.
Lily, who although is not a normal human girl, is normal enough in our society that we relate to her. We laugh with her and share the same humour and share the same experiences—although granted there aren’t a lot of us that are undercover princesses. But I think she, and of course Quince, are really what make this novel, and hopefully series, so good.
Good:
Lily—She’s funny. On top of that she’s so emotional, especially when it comes to Quince, that the emotion just radiate throughout her hair causing it to be uncontrollably frizzy and funny
Quince—He is my dream man. I like the guys who are rough around the edges, while be chiselled and funny, and basically gets on your nerves so much that you just want to slap him then kiss him. Then he turns around and can be the most romantic, kind, well mannered and generous person that you can’t help but look at him awe stricken. And he rides a motor cycle. *Sigh.
Bad:
It maybe could have used a little more detail about her kingdom. More about how it physically looks, the architecture, the culture, the people.
Overall (Writing style, story line, and general):
Overall I was immersed into this novel and couldn’t help it, nor did I want to. Child points out a pretty good issue especially in relation to our modern day society and that thinking that we love someone when we love them from afar. Its not really possible. I don’t believe that you can love someone without any real meaningful interaction when you actually get to know someone. And then there is the point of maybe looking even closer to home. That love might be on your neighbour’s door step.
Overall I found no issue with her writing style, the only thing might have been that I would have loved to have read more about her kingdom, more description of its beauty, culture and architect—it had really amazed me.
But, I don’t think I can really have any vital complaints. I never had to re-read something to make sense of it, or try and get her meaning out of something she wrote. It was all pretty straight forward without losing the emotion, humour or anything that really mattered. I could picture everything that happened in my mind, and exactly how all the characters actually looked. I thoroughly enjoyed this aquatic read.
Viewer Type Recommendation:
If you are a mermaid lover, or someone who loves a romantic comedy (of sorts) this is one for you.
If you liked this you'll probably love:
Hush, Hush, 1-800-Where-R-U series, The Mediator Series, Jessica’s Guide to Dating on the Dark Side
View more of my review and others at my blog: www.mynotsovacantshelf.blogspot.com
I loved that it was a tale of a fish-out-of-water (literally) who after three years has finally gotten use to the mainland and its people(so she thought) but then, when she is finally deciding what to do with the rest of her life and getting prepared for her role in the water life throws her a little tail spin and she spends two weeks on an adventure that changes the way she sees everything.
I’m so use to reading novels about a world within our own—and still on land for that matter—but I was shocked, awed, and happy to find a book about the mixture of land and sea and was curiously reading all the description of the under water land to get the picture of this beautiful kingdom.
Then there was the humour and emotion that filled the pages. I love when a writer can channel both of those emotions onto the page so one minute you’re rooting for her when she insults Quince and the next your laughing when he dishes out the same. She can even make getting lip gloss on a cat funny and entertaining.
Lily, who although is not a normal human girl, is normal enough in our society that we relate to her. We laugh with her and share the same humour and share the same experiences—although granted there aren’t a lot of us that are undercover princesses. But I think she, and of course Quince, are really what make this novel, and hopefully series, so good.
Good:
Lily—She’s funny. On top of that she’s so emotional, especially when it comes to Quince, that the emotion just radiate throughout her hair causing it to be uncontrollably frizzy and funny
Quince—He is my dream man. I like the guys who are rough around the edges, while be chiselled and funny, and basically gets on your nerves so much that you just want to slap him then kiss him. Then he turns around and can be the most romantic, kind, well mannered and generous person that you can’t help but look at him awe stricken. And he rides a motor cycle. *Sigh.
Bad:
It maybe could have used a little more detail about her kingdom. More about how it physically looks, the architecture, the culture, the people.
Overall (Writing style, story line, and general):
Overall I was immersed into this novel and couldn’t help it, nor did I want to. Child points out a pretty good issue especially in relation to our modern day society and that thinking that we love someone when we love them from afar. Its not really possible. I don’t believe that you can love someone without any real meaningful interaction when you actually get to know someone. And then there is the point of maybe looking even closer to home. That love might be on your neighbour’s door step.
Overall I found no issue with her writing style, the only thing might have been that I would have loved to have read more about her kingdom, more description of its beauty, culture and architect—it had really amazed me.
But, I don’t think I can really have any vital complaints. I never had to re-read something to make sense of it, or try and get her meaning out of something she wrote. It was all pretty straight forward without losing the emotion, humour or anything that really mattered. I could picture everything that happened in my mind, and exactly how all the characters actually looked. I thoroughly enjoyed this aquatic read.
Viewer Type Recommendation:
If you are a mermaid lover, or someone who loves a romantic comedy (of sorts) this is one for you.
If you liked this you'll probably love:
Hush, Hush, 1-800-Where-R-U series, The Mediator Series, Jessica’s Guide to Dating on the Dark Side
View more of my review and others at my blog: www.mynotsovacantshelf.blogspot.com
September 9, 2013
This book was beyond cute. I haven't read a good mermaid book in over a year, so I was past due for one. And this was the perfect series for me to pick up. I have already started the second book because I didn't want the story to be over when I finished the first one. I have been reading so many new adult contemporaries lately (which I still love) that it was nice to switch it up to a cute paranormal young adult book.
Lily is a mermaid that is living on land for a while. Her dad is king of her mer kingdom, but he seems like the most loving, most understanding dad out there. Seriously, he was great. Lily seems just like a normal girl, except she has powers, like she can affect the temperature of water and she can craft minor items of clothing and stuff like that, and she loves salty baths. Lily goes to high school where she has a crush Brody, a guy on the swim team. She also has a best friend and an annoying next door neighbor Quince. It becomes apparent pretty quickly who the real love interest was going to be but that didn't bug me. I loved Quince and even though Lily "couldn't stand him" they were still beyond adorable together.
Lily accidentally bonds with Quince and she has to take him to her kingdom to sever the bond so she can bond with Brody. The whole book is about their adventures back and forth between land and her mer kingdom. I loved Quince. He kind of butts heads with Lily but he makes her passionate and fiery about life. I think he makes her a more lively and interesting person, or mermaid. I was so annoyed with Lily a few times when she kept making choices for the two of them. She kind of made up for it at the end but I just wanted to shake her and get her to see how great Quince was. I really liked Lily. She is responsible, and loyal and a great person. But man oh man is she stubborn. Quince gets her though, and he likes her despite all of her quirks. Lily made a decision at the end of the book that broke my heart. She kind of made up for it but I really just wanted her to go about things differently.
What I really liked about Forgive my Fins is that it was a journey for Lily more than anyone else. I know that sounds backwards, it should be a journey for Quince since he was being introduced to a completely new world, but it was much more growth for Lily than for Quince. He seemed to take everything in stride, but Lily needed a bit of a wake up call. I loved watching her progress, and sometimes her setbacks, and I loved watching her mature and grow. Another great thing about this book is that the ending is not a cliffhanger. It can be seen as a standalone almost because the second book picks up a different plotline. Something completely new happens, but it follows the same characters. I can't wait to see where Lily and Quince will end up next!
Lily is a mermaid that is living on land for a while. Her dad is king of her mer kingdom, but he seems like the most loving, most understanding dad out there. Seriously, he was great. Lily seems just like a normal girl, except she has powers, like she can affect the temperature of water and she can craft minor items of clothing and stuff like that, and she loves salty baths. Lily goes to high school where she has a crush Brody, a guy on the swim team. She also has a best friend and an annoying next door neighbor Quince. It becomes apparent pretty quickly who the real love interest was going to be but that didn't bug me. I loved Quince and even though Lily "couldn't stand him" they were still beyond adorable together.
Lily accidentally bonds with Quince and she has to take him to her kingdom to sever the bond so she can bond with Brody. The whole book is about their adventures back and forth between land and her mer kingdom. I loved Quince. He kind of butts heads with Lily but he makes her passionate and fiery about life. I think he makes her a more lively and interesting person, or mermaid. I was so annoyed with Lily a few times when she kept making choices for the two of them. She kind of made up for it at the end but I just wanted to shake her and get her to see how great Quince was. I really liked Lily. She is responsible, and loyal and a great person. But man oh man is she stubborn. Quince gets her though, and he likes her despite all of her quirks. Lily made a decision at the end of the book that broke my heart. She kind of made up for it but I really just wanted her to go about things differently.
What I really liked about Forgive my Fins is that it was a journey for Lily more than anyone else. I know that sounds backwards, it should be a journey for Quince since he was being introduced to a completely new world, but it was much more growth for Lily than for Quince. He seemed to take everything in stride, but Lily needed a bit of a wake up call. I loved watching her progress, and sometimes her setbacks, and I loved watching her mature and grow. Another great thing about this book is that the ending is not a cliffhanger. It can be seen as a standalone almost because the second book picks up a different plotline. Something completely new happens, but it follows the same characters. I can't wait to see where Lily and Quince will end up next!
August 21, 2010
Forgive My Fins is really fast. Has a very modern setting and it's about mermaids of course. I haven't read a lot of books with mermaids (maybe one or two) so it was different, not bad, just different.
The premise of this book was interesting. It's easy to see where the book is headed a few chapters in but that has never fazed me. It just felt over simplified. The plot was all about breaking the bond, getting Brody, breaking the bond, getting Brody, est. Childs could at least put in one sub plot. This book is basically a mermaid romance, I thought there would be some action but there wasn't really any. Not that there has to be any just expected some.
I might've liked it better if Lily wasn't so inconsiderate and spiteful to Quince. There is innocent banter that I liked but still she rarely gives Quince the benefit of the doubt. See if Quince were a girl and I was reading it from his point of view I would think he was an idiot for giving this girl a chance from the way she treats him half the time. As it is though I liked Quince a lot and he is very sweet. Lily does redeem herself and she does the right thing in the end.
Though I've been mostly complaining about this book I did like it. It has some funny scenes and loving ones too. Also Lily isn't all bad. I think I might try to read the second and maybe finish the series though I'll probably be at a legal drinking age by the time all the books are done.
Just as a side note Lily has blond hair. She isn't brunette like the cover shows.
The premise of this book was interesting. It's easy to see where the book is headed a few chapters in but that has never fazed me. It just felt over simplified. The plot was all about breaking the bond, getting Brody, breaking the bond, getting Brody, est. Childs could at least put in one sub plot. This book is basically a mermaid romance, I thought there would be some action but there wasn't really any. Not that there has to be any just expected some.
I might've liked it better if Lily wasn't so inconsiderate and spiteful to Quince. There is innocent banter that I liked but still she rarely gives Quince the benefit of the doubt. See if Quince were a girl and I was reading it from his point of view I would think he was an idiot for giving this girl a chance from the way she treats him half the time. As it is though I liked Quince a lot and he is very sweet. Lily does redeem herself and she does the right thing in the end.
Though I've been mostly complaining about this book I did like it. It has some funny scenes and loving ones too. Also Lily isn't all bad. I think I might try to read the second and maybe finish the series though I'll probably be at a legal drinking age by the time all the books are done.
Just as a side note Lily has blond hair. She isn't brunette like the cover shows.
November 7, 2012
Reviewed by Jennifer Rummel for TeensReadToo.com
Lily has a secret; she's a mermaid living on land due to the fact that her mother was human. Her father is king of the seas, which makes her a Thalassinian Princess. Since finding out about her mother's lineage, Lily began to understand why she doesn't feel at home in the sea. She moved in with her aunt and started attending Seaview High School in order to find the perfect mate.
She's convinced she's found him. All she has to do is persuade him that she's the only girl for him.
She better do it fast, because mermaids mate for life at a very early age. When she comes up with a plan to share her secret and the rest of her life with him, her uber-annoying neighbor foils everything.
Now, she's forced to return home to Daddy and straighten out this huge mess, all because she kissed the wrong boy. Can she still convince her true love of her affections and hope that he returns them before her birthday?
This mermaid story is amazing with its romantic tension, clever, snarky dialogue, secrets, and an underwater world. All of this adds up to a magical tale written by one of my favorite authors.
Lily has a secret; she's a mermaid living on land due to the fact that her mother was human. Her father is king of the seas, which makes her a Thalassinian Princess. Since finding out about her mother's lineage, Lily began to understand why she doesn't feel at home in the sea. She moved in with her aunt and started attending Seaview High School in order to find the perfect mate.
She's convinced she's found him. All she has to do is persuade him that she's the only girl for him.
She better do it fast, because mermaids mate for life at a very early age. When she comes up with a plan to share her secret and the rest of her life with him, her uber-annoying neighbor foils everything.
Now, she's forced to return home to Daddy and straighten out this huge mess, all because she kissed the wrong boy. Can she still convince her true love of her affections and hope that he returns them before her birthday?
This mermaid story is amazing with its romantic tension, clever, snarky dialogue, secrets, and an underwater world. All of this adds up to a magical tale written by one of my favorite authors.
April 10, 2018
Update: 2.5/5
So I read this when I was in high school and I absolutely loved it. Now I really can't stand Lily's character. I didn't mind the plot, it was kinda a cheesy but in a cute way for the most part. I really could've done without Lily's stupid obsession over Brody. God it was so toxic and disgusting. Also, this girl keeps going on about how her cousin is "boy crazy" when Lily herself won't fucking shut up about how her and Brody are meant to be. There was no evidence to support this claim that Doe was boy crazy either besides Lily saying she was and Doe hitting on Quince a couple times. I am so fucking over the description of boy crazy. Come on, you can find something better than that. Besides constantly thinking of Brody, Lily never once shuts up to find out how her friends are or even talk to Quince. I really hated how she assumed he was always trying to pick on her. Yeah he was a little weird in the beginning, but honestly he only was trying to get her attention. He deserves someone better lol.
So I read this when I was in high school and I absolutely loved it. Now I really can't stand Lily's character. I didn't mind the plot, it was kinda a cheesy but in a cute way for the most part. I really could've done without Lily's stupid obsession over Brody. God it was so toxic and disgusting. Also, this girl keeps going on about how her cousin is "boy crazy" when Lily herself won't fucking shut up about how her and Brody are meant to be. There was no evidence to support this claim that Doe was boy crazy either besides Lily saying she was and Doe hitting on Quince a couple times. I am so fucking over the description of boy crazy. Come on, you can find something better than that. Besides constantly thinking of Brody, Lily never once shuts up to find out how her friends are or even talk to Quince. I really hated how she assumed he was always trying to pick on her. Yeah he was a little weird in the beginning, but honestly he only was trying to get her attention. He deserves someone better lol.
October 25, 2012
Forgive my Fins is a painfully predictable novel, in which I guessed the plotline in less than 5 pages. It was an extremely fast read, in which nothing even had a bit of depth. Not even the main characters.
It's about a half-human/half-mermaid who lives on land and accidently gets "bonded" to the so-called obnoxious, arrogant boy next door who, SURPRISE, turns out to be her true love. A very common romance concept often daily applied to YA books.
Now straight onto the painfully unbearable characters:
Lily
Lily was an annoying heroine. She was just plain shallow and even though she's sixteen years old, still calls her father "Daddy", which most teenagers incidentally do not do in real life. Typically, she has a crush on a surfer boy, coincidentally the most popular boy in school, whom she has no chance of ever getting together because we're talking about high school here. Can it be more cliche?
Quince
Quince was frustrating as well,he never ever saw what Lily for she was for- an over-protected, bratty Daddy's princess who hurt him daily. Instead he just fell for her, goodness knows why, and daydreamed about her for THREE years.
Some of the characters were stereotypes stripped plain from society. Courtney for example, is the typical jealous, ex-girlfriend envious of the heroine. Brody- the typical, self-centered hottie who's the most popular boy. Dosinia- the spiteful, jealous cousin who despises the heroine. Very original.
Oh, and of course the puns. Oh my god, how many puns can you insert into a novel. It reached the point of inducing vomit-worthy feelings in me. All that fishy terminology was making my head ache. Don't mistake me, I have an obssessive love for puns, but there is a fine line between overusing the puns and rocking them.
All in all, I think this book could have used more angst, doesn't hurt you know, and the characters should have had a bit more depth. Not act like cardboard cut-outs.
It's about a half-human/half-mermaid who lives on land and accidently gets "bonded" to the so-called obnoxious, arrogant boy next door who, SURPRISE, turns out to be her true love. A very common romance concept often daily applied to YA books.
Now straight onto the painfully unbearable characters:
Lily
Lily was an annoying heroine. She was just plain shallow and even though she's sixteen years old, still calls her father "Daddy", which most teenagers incidentally do not do in real life. Typically, she has a crush on a surfer boy, coincidentally the most popular boy in school, whom she has no chance of ever getting together because we're talking about high school here. Can it be more cliche?
Quince
Quince was frustrating as well,he never ever saw what Lily for she was for- an over-protected, bratty Daddy's princess who hurt him daily. Instead he just fell for her, goodness knows why, and daydreamed about her for THREE years.
Some of the characters were stereotypes stripped plain from society. Courtney for example, is the typical jealous, ex-girlfriend envious of the heroine. Brody- the typical, self-centered hottie who's the most popular boy. Dosinia- the spiteful, jealous cousin who despises the heroine. Very original.
Oh, and of course the puns. Oh my god, how many puns can you insert into a novel. It reached the point of inducing vomit-worthy feelings in me. All that fishy terminology was making my head ache. Don't mistake me, I have an obssessive love for puns, but there is a fine line between overusing the puns and rocking them.
All in all, I think this book could have used more angst, doesn't hurt you know, and the characters should have had a bit more depth. Not act like cardboard cut-outs.
January 1, 2018
I was not a very big fan of this book.
I felt like the main character was childish, immature, and just whiney. She was shallow and full headed, even when we could see that she was being an idiot. Talk about a spoiled princess!
The first problem I had with this book was that Lily was so obsessed with a guy, who she had barely talked to, and when she did he sounded either stoned or just plain braindead. How in the hell could you ever like that or think he would be suitable to run the mermaid world?! He could barely even talk without sounding like an idiot.
Second thing is that she kept pushing Quince away when she was obviously developing feelings for him, all because she somehow thinks she can get Brody, the absolute idiot I mentioned above. She just could not accept the fact, even when he was showing her how much he liked her, and in my opinion she sure as hell didn't deserve that affection from him.
Third thing was the tests. Where the hell did those even come from?! I feel like the author ran out of ideas and was like "Oh, I see this in books a lot, yes this is a great idea" when in reality it was stupid in this storyline. If you can't think of something that actually fits the storyline, then just stop writing it.
Fourth and final thing that I hated about this was that at the end, she decides that she loves Quince, after the bond is already broken, and ruins her dads goals of her becoming the queen. Shes known this since birth, and now she screws it all up because she was being shallow and just had to have the bond broken. And now her father has to find someone else to be heir, train them, and the line royal line won't be in their family anymore. GREAT JOB LILY YOU DUMB BITCH. God, and she thinks Doe is bad, when the rest of us think shes the worst.
Anyways, rant over. I will not be continuing this series ever. Sorry.
I felt like the main character was childish, immature, and just whiney. She was shallow and full headed, even when we could see that she was being an idiot. Talk about a spoiled princess!
The first problem I had with this book was that Lily was so obsessed with a guy, who she had barely talked to, and when she did he sounded either stoned or just plain braindead. How in the hell could you ever like that or think he would be suitable to run the mermaid world?! He could barely even talk without sounding like an idiot.
Second thing is that she kept pushing Quince away when she was obviously developing feelings for him, all because she somehow thinks she can get Brody, the absolute idiot I mentioned above. She just could not accept the fact, even when he was showing her how much he liked her, and in my opinion she sure as hell didn't deserve that affection from him.
Third thing was the tests. Where the hell did those even come from?! I feel like the author ran out of ideas and was like "Oh, I see this in books a lot, yes this is a great idea" when in reality it was stupid in this storyline. If you can't think of something that actually fits the storyline, then just stop writing it.
Fourth and final thing that I hated about this was that at the end, she decides that she loves Quince, after the bond is already broken, and ruins her dads goals of her becoming the queen. Shes known this since birth, and now she screws it all up because she was being shallow and just had to have the bond broken. And now her father has to find someone else to be heir, train them, and the line royal line won't be in their family anymore. GREAT JOB LILY YOU DUMB BITCH. God, and she thinks Doe is bad, when the rest of us think shes the worst.
Anyways, rant over. I will not be continuing this series ever. Sorry.
January 29, 2011
**slight spoilers -- don't read after the first paragraph**
This is a super fast read and much like a candy bar, you are done and wondering where it all went. Well, at least this won't spend a life time on my hips. I still think about this one wistfully and how cute and sweet it is. This is just so much fun! There are so many adorable puns and cute ways Lily has about cussing -- my favorite, son of a swordfish! This is a pretty clean book with only some G rated kissing and not much else, although Lily does fantasize about it a lot. If you enjoy Kelly McClymber Salem Cheerleader series, you will really enjoy this one.
The story introduces us to Lily Sanderson (her name is the first of many fish puns) and her life on Florida coast where she is trying to blend in with the locals even though she is a mermaid princess of Thalassinia and discover her half human side. Lily has one goal and that is to kiss the hot hunk Brody she has set her sights on to help her rule her kingdom. Of course, nothing goes according to plan and her first kiss which bonds her to the gentleman for life ends up with her annoying neighbor, Quince.
Quince is all wrong for Lily, or so she thinks. Quince has been in love with her since he first met her, but doesn't let on. It is only when Lily explains the seriousness of that first kiss, that he truly understands what Lily is and will become. Just like any fairy tale, this one has a happy ending, but not exactly what you might think. Lily shows true maturity in realizing that she care about Quince, but can't condemn him to her lifestyle until they work their way through many issues.
This is a super fast read and much like a candy bar, you are done and wondering where it all went. Well, at least this won't spend a life time on my hips. I still think about this one wistfully and how cute and sweet it is. This is just so much fun! There are so many adorable puns and cute ways Lily has about cussing -- my favorite, son of a swordfish! This is a pretty clean book with only some G rated kissing and not much else, although Lily does fantasize about it a lot. If you enjoy Kelly McClymber Salem Cheerleader series, you will really enjoy this one.
The story introduces us to Lily Sanderson (her name is the first of many fish puns) and her life on Florida coast where she is trying to blend in with the locals even though she is a mermaid princess of Thalassinia and discover her half human side. Lily has one goal and that is to kiss the hot hunk Brody she has set her sights on to help her rule her kingdom. Of course, nothing goes according to plan and her first kiss which bonds her to the gentleman for life ends up with her annoying neighbor, Quince.
Quince is all wrong for Lily, or so she thinks. Quince has been in love with her since he first met her, but doesn't let on. It is only when Lily explains the seriousness of that first kiss, that he truly understands what Lily is and will become. Just like any fairy tale, this one has a happy ending, but not exactly what you might think. Lily shows true maturity in realizing that she care about Quince, but can't condemn him to her lifestyle until they work their way through many issues.
October 7, 2010
Absolutely adorable.
Forgive My Fins is a cute light read that is perfect to just relax with.
The characters are all enjoyable, the plot is fun and I've always loved Tera Lynn Childs writing style.
My favorite thing about this book was Quince. What a sweetheart, there were some really, really humorous scenes that made me smile.
Overall, this was an enjoyable experience.
Super cute!
Forgive My Fins is a cute light read that is perfect to just relax with.
The characters are all enjoyable, the plot is fun and I've always loved Tera Lynn Childs writing style.
My favorite thing about this book was Quince. What a sweetheart, there were some really, really humorous scenes that made me smile.
Overall, this was an enjoyable experience.
Super cute!
July 5, 2011
The Gist
Lily Sanderson never thought that going to the surface would cause such trouble. But when she realized that her dead mother had been a surface-dweller Lily feels as though she has to try out life on land, for both her and her mother’s sake. After being on land for three years (living with her Aunt Lauren) three things have happened. One: she fell in love with the swimmer/news anchor/most-popular-guy-at-school, Brody. Two: gets a new best friend, who she trusts with everything…except her mermaid secret. And three: makes an enemy of her next door neighbor, Quince. With her eighteenth birthday looming over her head, Lily knows that she needs to choose someone to bond with soon, or risk losing the throne to her underwater kingdom Thalassinia. Bond: the first time a mermaid kisses someone they form a magical bond. Thalassinia: a magical underwater mermaid kingdom ruled by King Whelk, a.k.a. Lily’s father. In order to keep her position as princess of Thalassinia she must bond before her eighteenth birthday. And she already has some one picked out. Brody Bennett. And the only thing keeping her from her perfect mermate? Quince Fletcher. Instead of Brody kissing her and forming the bond – like he was supposed to – Quince does. Little does he know that because of the kiss he has to go with her to Thalassinia to perform a separation ritual. Separation ritual: cutting the bond between two mermates. The separation is irreversible. Lily doesn’t know why Quince kissed her or why he doesn’t want to go through with the separation, but the one thing she’s certain of is that they have to separate as soon as possible. So she can forget all about Quince and bond with the person she actually wants to bond with – Brody.
What We Think
Reviewed by Dream Catcher
This was quite the interesting book. Let me tell you this first: I only read this book in the first place because I thought it would be so bad it would be hilarious. In a way, it was. Some things were so corny I was laughing hysterically (earning many stares from various family members and friends). But, actually, I was pleasantly surprised by this book. I thought it’d be a pathetic excuse of writing, but I kind of liked it. First things first: I have to complain about something for the North Star’s sake. The name BRODY. She hates this name beyond belief – one of the reasons why she refuses to read this book – and I’m not crazy about it either. But after reading about it for 292 pages you get used to it. Now that that’s out there I can move on. To plot. There was some plot but not much. But for this book that was okay. It’s a romance. And for a romance (I find that the majority of romances are mostly fluff) it had enough of a plot for me. To make up for the small-ish plot, the whole idea of bonding mermaids was certainly original. I mean, who’s ever heard of something like that before? It’s unique. And I respect that. Points for that. The characters were both good and bad. Lily was a little dim and very obsessive (of Brody) but other than that she wasn’t that bad. Brody was awkward and…I dunno…annoying? He was the character I liked the least out of all of them. He’s not the sharpest tack if you know what I mean. He’s all brawn no brain. So it was annoying that Lily was so infatuated with him. But I suppose that was exactly what Tera Lynn Childs was going for. Good job there. Quince was awkward at times but also a really great character the other times. He certainly made the story interesting. Lily’s best friend Shannen was an interesting character. She seemed sensible and smart, but I was never really sure with her. Overall, the characters were pretty good. I liked the style of writing in this book. There was detail but there wasn’t too much. So that was good for me. DIALOGUE: one of the most important parts of a book. Most of the time the dialogue wasn’t half bad. But other times it was stiff. Something no living breathing person would say. Most of the awkward, stiff dialogue bits came out of Quince’s mouth. It was Tera Lynn Child’s attempt to make Quince the sweet, adorable boy everyone wants to date. But it just ended up making things the opposite of realistic. But the occasional flawed dialogue didn’t ruin the entire book for me. I really didn’t mind it all that much. I mean dialogue is hard to get exactly right. And mostly her’s was pretty good. So I’ll cut her some slack. All in all I didn’t think the book was all that bad. To tell you the truth I actually enjoyed reading it. It wasn’t some great literary genius but it wasn’t bad. I wouldn’t recommend it to people but if someone told me they were thinking about reading it I wouldn’t try to talk them out of it (I’d probably tell them to go ahead and read it, actually). So does that make it an ehh book? Maybe…but I’m thinking of more of a just-above-ehh book.
Real Teen Rating~ B- : Check it out from the library.
Reviewed by Living Destiny
So Dream Catcher and I made this deal where we traded silly, cheesy books. I gave her The Ghost and The Goth to read, and she gave me Forgive My Fins. It wasn’t horrible, but it wasn’t wonderful either. In fact, it was surprisingly like The Ghost and The Goth. Not in plot or anything, but just in how good it was.
So the characters themselves were not very good. In fact, I really only liked Quince. Lily was not horrible, but she was pretty shallow sometimes, and that’s really irritating. Brody is a gross name, and he was super shallow all the time. Quince was tough and bad boy-ish, but he was sweet too. He was my favorite character, of them all.
The idea for the story wasn’t too bad. I liked the idea of ‘mermates’, although it would really worry me to have to find one. Imagine if you picked wrong! Or if you fell into a situation like Lily’s. I also liked the thought that there’s another world underneath the water. The idea of mermaids is really interesting to think about. It was written in a weird way though. It really bothered me that Lily made all these water references instead of regular references. It’s just bizarre and it doesn’t flow well in sentences. Some of the descriptions are a little too long and over done. Like at one point she’s describing eating food, and it takes up half a page. To eat one bite. Serious overkill. I found the dialogue to be, for the most part, ok, but some of the conversations were a little awkward. But overall, it was much better than I thought it was going to be. Just like The Ghost and The Goth.
Real Teen Rating~ B- : Check it out from the library.
Reviewed by ShoreWhisperer
So I finished this book an hour ago and loved the ending. I had been talking about the book all day, on a positive note I loved the concept of this book. The alternate mer-world is really fascinating. On the other hand I didn't like the other stuff. I strongly disliked Lily. Half the time I was yelling at the book. There were too many flaws in her character. First off, she is WAY to oblivious to everything. I am oblivious to things like her but there is a point where even I can notice things as obvious as Quince Fletcher. She was also really shallow and I know that was her character but it was unbearable to me. Her constant crying and whiny tone throughout the book and not to mention her violent outbursts peeved me to no end. Let's just say if Lily was real, we WOULD NOT be friends. Then there was Brody. Brody is maybe the most awkward love interest ever. He is never in the book, and the times that he is it's just weird. He came off as awkward rather than the Mr. Perfect Prince Charming kind of guy. I didn't like him (which was probably the intention) but I would have been content with that if he was more present in the book. My favorite character was Quince, that is probably because i am a teenage girl but who wouldn't love the sensitive biker guy? Sadly, Quince is not realistic at all but he had the most logic out of all the characters. He thought things through, and didn't come off as a love sick teenager, he sounded like a guy who genuinly loved this girl. His sweetness got to a point sometimes that was unbelievable. The descriptions of the mer-world were fantastic. The way that I pictured Thalassinia was just amazing, all the colors, I wanted to live there! The author painted beautiful pictures that made you love the sea, even if you are a land-lover. The only complaint I would have is that some of the descriptions were weird and almost quirky. At one point she says "The smell of Quince" that was extremly cheesy and almost swoon-like. At another time she described Brody's arm hair and that kind of just really creeped me out. That was another thing, this author REALLY liked hair. I don't know what it was but whether it was Lily or Quince or Peri, we always got a description of hair and multiple times too. I just thought that was odd. The whole concept of a mer-mate was original and I enjoyed the concept, I love fantasy stuff like that and this is the epitome of fantasy romance novels. So, I enjoyed the book overall, it made me very emotional because I "strongly disliked" Lily but I found myself laughing and feeling upset like any good book makes you feel.
Real Teen Rating~ C+: Well I guess it was good.
Lily Sanderson never thought that going to the surface would cause such trouble. But when she realized that her dead mother had been a surface-dweller Lily feels as though she has to try out life on land, for both her and her mother’s sake. After being on land for three years (living with her Aunt Lauren) three things have happened. One: she fell in love with the swimmer/news anchor/most-popular-guy-at-school, Brody. Two: gets a new best friend, who she trusts with everything…except her mermaid secret. And three: makes an enemy of her next door neighbor, Quince. With her eighteenth birthday looming over her head, Lily knows that she needs to choose someone to bond with soon, or risk losing the throne to her underwater kingdom Thalassinia. Bond: the first time a mermaid kisses someone they form a magical bond. Thalassinia: a magical underwater mermaid kingdom ruled by King Whelk, a.k.a. Lily’s father. In order to keep her position as princess of Thalassinia she must bond before her eighteenth birthday. And she already has some one picked out. Brody Bennett. And the only thing keeping her from her perfect mermate? Quince Fletcher. Instead of Brody kissing her and forming the bond – like he was supposed to – Quince does. Little does he know that because of the kiss he has to go with her to Thalassinia to perform a separation ritual. Separation ritual: cutting the bond between two mermates. The separation is irreversible. Lily doesn’t know why Quince kissed her or why he doesn’t want to go through with the separation, but the one thing she’s certain of is that they have to separate as soon as possible. So she can forget all about Quince and bond with the person she actually wants to bond with – Brody.
What We Think
Reviewed by Dream Catcher
This was quite the interesting book. Let me tell you this first: I only read this book in the first place because I thought it would be so bad it would be hilarious. In a way, it was. Some things were so corny I was laughing hysterically (earning many stares from various family members and friends). But, actually, I was pleasantly surprised by this book. I thought it’d be a pathetic excuse of writing, but I kind of liked it. First things first: I have to complain about something for the North Star’s sake. The name BRODY. She hates this name beyond belief – one of the reasons why she refuses to read this book – and I’m not crazy about it either. But after reading about it for 292 pages you get used to it. Now that that’s out there I can move on. To plot. There was some plot but not much. But for this book that was okay. It’s a romance. And for a romance (I find that the majority of romances are mostly fluff) it had enough of a plot for me. To make up for the small-ish plot, the whole idea of bonding mermaids was certainly original. I mean, who’s ever heard of something like that before? It’s unique. And I respect that. Points for that. The characters were both good and bad. Lily was a little dim and very obsessive (of Brody) but other than that she wasn’t that bad. Brody was awkward and…I dunno…annoying? He was the character I liked the least out of all of them. He’s not the sharpest tack if you know what I mean. He’s all brawn no brain. So it was annoying that Lily was so infatuated with him. But I suppose that was exactly what Tera Lynn Childs was going for. Good job there. Quince was awkward at times but also a really great character the other times. He certainly made the story interesting. Lily’s best friend Shannen was an interesting character. She seemed sensible and smart, but I was never really sure with her. Overall, the characters were pretty good. I liked the style of writing in this book. There was detail but there wasn’t too much. So that was good for me. DIALOGUE: one of the most important parts of a book. Most of the time the dialogue wasn’t half bad. But other times it was stiff. Something no living breathing person would say. Most of the awkward, stiff dialogue bits came out of Quince’s mouth. It was Tera Lynn Child’s attempt to make Quince the sweet, adorable boy everyone wants to date. But it just ended up making things the opposite of realistic. But the occasional flawed dialogue didn’t ruin the entire book for me. I really didn’t mind it all that much. I mean dialogue is hard to get exactly right. And mostly her’s was pretty good. So I’ll cut her some slack. All in all I didn’t think the book was all that bad. To tell you the truth I actually enjoyed reading it. It wasn’t some great literary genius but it wasn’t bad. I wouldn’t recommend it to people but if someone told me they were thinking about reading it I wouldn’t try to talk them out of it (I’d probably tell them to go ahead and read it, actually). So does that make it an ehh book? Maybe…but I’m thinking of more of a just-above-ehh book.
Real Teen Rating~ B- : Check it out from the library.
Reviewed by Living Destiny
So Dream Catcher and I made this deal where we traded silly, cheesy books. I gave her The Ghost and The Goth to read, and she gave me Forgive My Fins. It wasn’t horrible, but it wasn’t wonderful either. In fact, it was surprisingly like The Ghost and The Goth. Not in plot or anything, but just in how good it was.
So the characters themselves were not very good. In fact, I really only liked Quince. Lily was not horrible, but she was pretty shallow sometimes, and that’s really irritating. Brody is a gross name, and he was super shallow all the time. Quince was tough and bad boy-ish, but he was sweet too. He was my favorite character, of them all.
The idea for the story wasn’t too bad. I liked the idea of ‘mermates’, although it would really worry me to have to find one. Imagine if you picked wrong! Or if you fell into a situation like Lily’s. I also liked the thought that there’s another world underneath the water. The idea of mermaids is really interesting to think about. It was written in a weird way though. It really bothered me that Lily made all these water references instead of regular references. It’s just bizarre and it doesn’t flow well in sentences. Some of the descriptions are a little too long and over done. Like at one point she’s describing eating food, and it takes up half a page. To eat one bite. Serious overkill. I found the dialogue to be, for the most part, ok, but some of the conversations were a little awkward. But overall, it was much better than I thought it was going to be. Just like The Ghost and The Goth.
Real Teen Rating~ B- : Check it out from the library.
Reviewed by ShoreWhisperer
So I finished this book an hour ago and loved the ending. I had been talking about the book all day, on a positive note I loved the concept of this book. The alternate mer-world is really fascinating. On the other hand I didn't like the other stuff. I strongly disliked Lily. Half the time I was yelling at the book. There were too many flaws in her character. First off, she is WAY to oblivious to everything. I am oblivious to things like her but there is a point where even I can notice things as obvious as Quince Fletcher. She was also really shallow and I know that was her character but it was unbearable to me. Her constant crying and whiny tone throughout the book and not to mention her violent outbursts peeved me to no end. Let's just say if Lily was real, we WOULD NOT be friends. Then there was Brody. Brody is maybe the most awkward love interest ever. He is never in the book, and the times that he is it's just weird. He came off as awkward rather than the Mr. Perfect Prince Charming kind of guy. I didn't like him (which was probably the intention) but I would have been content with that if he was more present in the book. My favorite character was Quince, that is probably because i am a teenage girl but who wouldn't love the sensitive biker guy? Sadly, Quince is not realistic at all but he had the most logic out of all the characters. He thought things through, and didn't come off as a love sick teenager, he sounded like a guy who genuinly loved this girl. His sweetness got to a point sometimes that was unbelievable. The descriptions of the mer-world were fantastic. The way that I pictured Thalassinia was just amazing, all the colors, I wanted to live there! The author painted beautiful pictures that made you love the sea, even if you are a land-lover. The only complaint I would have is that some of the descriptions were weird and almost quirky. At one point she says "The smell of Quince" that was extremly cheesy and almost swoon-like. At another time she described Brody's arm hair and that kind of just really creeped me out. That was another thing, this author REALLY liked hair. I don't know what it was but whether it was Lily or Quince or Peri, we always got a description of hair and multiple times too. I just thought that was odd. The whole concept of a mer-mate was original and I enjoyed the concept, I love fantasy stuff like that and this is the epitome of fantasy romance novels. So, I enjoyed the book overall, it made me very emotional because I "strongly disliked" Lily but I found myself laughing and feeling upset like any good book makes you feel.
Real Teen Rating~ C+: Well I guess it was good.
August 29, 2020
This book is a wonderful start to this amazing story...
PARENT NOTE: Clean from what I remember I finished this yesterday and I read the second one before writing this review... whoops.
AGE RECOMMENDATION: 10 and up... NOTE that the second book is 13 and up... read that review here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
VIOLENCE: Very little is any.
SWEARING: None that I remember (comment if you find any and I will change this).
ROMANCE: Clean.
PARENT NOTE: Clean from what I remember I finished this yesterday and I read the second one before writing this review... whoops.
AGE RECOMMENDATION: 10 and up... NOTE that the second book is 13 and up... read that review here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
VIOLENCE: Very little is any.
SWEARING: None that I remember (comment if you find any and I will change this).
ROMANCE: Clean.
August 23, 2019
Final Rating: 3 Stars
July 2, 2010
There were several things I liked about this book. I don't think I've ever read a YA story about mermaids (they may be the next vampires, who knows?) so I had nothing to compare this to. Therefore I went in with a pretty open mind and as far as a story about mermaids goes, I liked it. Childs did a good job of creating the mermaid kingdom of Have-No-Idea-How-to-Pronounce, and her mythology backstory was very creative and original.
Childs is also the kind of author who pays attention to "the little things." She's even gone so far as to create mer phrases/slangs, which were sometimes a little cheesy (to be absolutely honest), but still fun and cute. Childs does cute very well.
Honestly, I've read a lot of other reviews that say that Forgive My Fins is a little on the predictable side. I would have to disagree. There were actually several times throughout the story when I was really surprised by the turn of events. Some of the time, I could guess what was going to happen next, but several times something would happen that I didn't expect.
The story was well-crafted, definitely, but not always sharply executed. For example, a big chuck of the story revolves around a mistaken case of "bonding" (I'll leave you to read the book/other reviews to see what that means), and apparently, bonding is a big deal...but it doesn't seem to have much of an effect on the characters. This is just an example, but the point I'm trying to make is that there were some pretty obvious holes in the story that Childs created. Yes, this is a *book*, not a legal brief, but sometimes the plot seemed kind of clunky, as though it wasn't strung together very strongly. It was a little strange at times. The only other thing about the plot I'll say is that I'm actually disappointed by the ending. It's not what I expected, but (and I'm not Tera Lynn Childs, and this is not my story--I am aware of that) it seems like what happened was a poor way to end the story. Like the ending of Sapphique, the ending here just didn't make a whole lot of sense if you take the whole story into account.
But besides that, I have only one other criticism of Fins. Unfortunately, it is a tsunami-size criticism: the main character. If there is one thing I'd like to say to authors - as a reader - it's this: If you set up your story as a 1st person narrative, make sure your character is likable!. Now, you can take my comments with a grain of salt, you can read other reviews where people fawn all over Lily and call her fun and easy to sympathize and relate with...not me. I absolutely, 80% of the time HATED Lily as a character and as a narrator. You know, all this time I thought that Katsa from Graceling was the most arrogant, self-absorbed biatch in fiction...no, it's Lily Sanderson. Lily (unlike Katsa, who to her credit actually possessed a brain) is shallow and stupid. Seriously, Lily is the most self-absorbed, shallow seawitch I have read in a long, long time. And you know what? By the end of the book, she's just as self-absorbed. She's one of those characters who seems absolutely unaware that anyone else on the planet exists. And nobody stands up to her, either. That's what made this book even more aggravating - everybody lets her be in charge and act obsessive. This is a girl who *actually* said to a boy (the long-suffering love interest, by the way): "It's not about you. It's about me. That's all." (120). And then when the long-suffering love interest has the audacity to voice his feelings, she says to him "You think this is about you? I never knew you were so self-centered. You're just jealous."
Wow, I just got worked up all over again. Yep, I have absolutely nothing in common with Lily. Why? Because if I treated people the way she does, my parents would have given me the spanking I deserved. Oh, and she goes through all but the last 50 pages of the book stubborn and set in her ways, then all of the sudden, poof! she sees the err of her ways. Now, I said that she doesn't undergo a character change. Because she doesn't. Realizing you made a mistake is just step one. You have to actually change your attitude, and she still doesn't. Even up until the last chapter, she can't seem to figure out that another person in the universe exists. Good gracious, what a character!
But of course, I'm used to being in the minority on certain books. I don't like Brightly Woven when everyone else does, and I love The Dark Divine when everyone else whines about it. So you know, don't let me stop you from reading Fins. It's a cute summer read, and I just couldn't turn off my MFT-minor filter. I just couldn't get past the main character. But hey, you just might!
**I will say that Fins is an absolutely clean book, and that is always good in my book. That's why this got 3 stars instead of 2.
Childs is also the kind of author who pays attention to "the little things." She's even gone so far as to create mer phrases/slangs, which were sometimes a little cheesy (to be absolutely honest), but still fun and cute. Childs does cute very well.
Honestly, I've read a lot of other reviews that say that Forgive My Fins is a little on the predictable side. I would have to disagree. There were actually several times throughout the story when I was really surprised by the turn of events. Some of the time, I could guess what was going to happen next, but several times something would happen that I didn't expect.
The story was well-crafted, definitely, but not always sharply executed. For example, a big chuck of the story revolves around a mistaken case of "bonding" (I'll leave you to read the book/other reviews to see what that means), and apparently, bonding is a big deal...but it doesn't seem to have much of an effect on the characters. This is just an example, but the point I'm trying to make is that there were some pretty obvious holes in the story that Childs created. Yes, this is a *book*, not a legal brief, but sometimes the plot seemed kind of clunky, as though it wasn't strung together very strongly. It was a little strange at times. The only other thing about the plot I'll say is that I'm actually disappointed by the ending. It's not what I expected, but (and I'm not Tera Lynn Childs, and this is not my story--I am aware of that) it seems like what happened was a poor way to end the story. Like the ending of Sapphique, the ending here just didn't make a whole lot of sense if you take the whole story into account.
But besides that, I have only one other criticism of Fins. Unfortunately, it is a tsunami-size criticism: the main character. If there is one thing I'd like to say to authors - as a reader - it's this: If you set up your story as a 1st person narrative, make sure your character is likable!. Now, you can take my comments with a grain of salt, you can read other reviews where people fawn all over Lily and call her fun and easy to sympathize and relate with...not me. I absolutely, 80% of the time HATED Lily as a character and as a narrator. You know, all this time I thought that Katsa from Graceling was the most arrogant, self-absorbed biatch in fiction...no, it's Lily Sanderson. Lily (unlike Katsa, who to her credit actually possessed a brain) is shallow and stupid. Seriously, Lily is the most self-absorbed, shallow seawitch I have read in a long, long time. And you know what? By the end of the book, she's just as self-absorbed. She's one of those characters who seems absolutely unaware that anyone else on the planet exists. And nobody stands up to her, either. That's what made this book even more aggravating - everybody lets her be in charge and act obsessive. This is a girl who *actually* said to a boy (the long-suffering love interest, by the way): "It's not about you. It's about me. That's all." (120). And then when the long-suffering love interest has the audacity to voice his feelings, she says to him "You think this is about you? I never knew you were so self-centered. You're just jealous."
Wow, I just got worked up all over again. Yep, I have absolutely nothing in common with Lily. Why? Because if I treated people the way she does, my parents would have given me the spanking I deserved. Oh, and she goes through all but the last 50 pages of the book stubborn and set in her ways, then all of the sudden, poof! she sees the err of her ways. Now, I said that she doesn't undergo a character change. Because she doesn't. Realizing you made a mistake is just step one. You have to actually change your attitude, and she still doesn't. Even up until the last chapter, she can't seem to figure out that another person in the universe exists. Good gracious, what a character!
But of course, I'm used to being in the minority on certain books. I don't like Brightly Woven when everyone else does, and I love The Dark Divine when everyone else whines about it. So you know, don't let me stop you from reading Fins. It's a cute summer read, and I just couldn't turn off my MFT-minor filter. I just couldn't get past the main character. But hey, you just might!
**I will say that Fins is an absolutely clean book, and that is always good in my book. That's why this got 3 stars instead of 2.
July 2, 2011
I was completely wrong about this book. I thought I would enjoy it, but I wouldn't love it, or anything like that. I thought it would be a fun quick read, one of those books that you read once and enjoy, but never read again. I was SO WRONG.
I don't think there was anything about this book that I didn't like. The characters were awesome, the plot was exciting, and the setting and world building were AMAZING. Seriously, the world of Thalassinia under the sea was a pleasure to read about. I could really imagine that Thalassinia was a real place under the sea (if such places existed) and it was EXACTLY what I imagine a magical under sea kingdom to be like. I loved how Tera included everything to make it believable, from the sea life plants and the food, to the buildings and the statues inside the palace. Even the high school and Lily's home with her aunt on land was awesome.
I really liked Lily, though at times she could be quite self centred and sometimes she didn't see the obvious things that were right in front of her. Despite this, I enjoyed reading about her, and I think that Tera really captured how a teenager thinks and speaks, and she really made Lily seem like an normal teenager who is also a mermaid. I liked her narrative, and all her awful sea life puns, like 'blowfish' and 'angelfish' were awesome and really helped to set the scene.
As is becoming almost expected of all paranormal young adult titles nowadays, there is a love triangle in Forgive My Fins, though I didn't mind. It wasn't a usual love triangle, it was more of a 'girl lusting after a boy, a different boy is in love with the girl'. I loved Quince, he was so cute, and some of the things he does for Lily are adorable! I know I've already said this, but for Lily not being able to see what is going on with Quince, she is so blind...
I don't think there is anything I can fault with Forgive My Fins. The only thing I will say is, that the ending is evil! The book finishes nicely and I would be quite happy without another book, and the story is finished and I have no questions. And then, suddenly, I turn the page, and there's an epilogue that leaves me on a HUGE cliffhanger. So, don't say I didn't warn you when you read Forgive My Fins and then find yourself needing the next book in the series...
I would recommend Forgive My Fins to all fans of YA, though I do think that it should probably be targeted at the younger end of YA, because at times it did seem like a little bit of a middle grade novel. Not that there's anything wrong with that, I'm just sayin', you know, in case you were expecting something suited to older teens...
*Thanks to Templar for sending me this in exchange for an honest review! :) Also, head over to http://cheezyfeetbooks.blogspot.com for a guest post and giveaway of a shiny UK copy! Open to UK residents only and ends on July 16th :)
I don't think there was anything about this book that I didn't like. The characters were awesome, the plot was exciting, and the setting and world building were AMAZING. Seriously, the world of Thalassinia under the sea was a pleasure to read about. I could really imagine that Thalassinia was a real place under the sea (if such places existed) and it was EXACTLY what I imagine a magical under sea kingdom to be like. I loved how Tera included everything to make it believable, from the sea life plants and the food, to the buildings and the statues inside the palace. Even the high school and Lily's home with her aunt on land was awesome.
I really liked Lily, though at times she could be quite self centred and sometimes she didn't see the obvious things that were right in front of her. Despite this, I enjoyed reading about her, and I think that Tera really captured how a teenager thinks and speaks, and she really made Lily seem like an normal teenager who is also a mermaid. I liked her narrative, and all her awful sea life puns, like 'blowfish' and 'angelfish' were awesome and really helped to set the scene.
As is becoming almost expected of all paranormal young adult titles nowadays, there is a love triangle in Forgive My Fins, though I didn't mind. It wasn't a usual love triangle, it was more of a 'girl lusting after a boy, a different boy is in love with the girl'. I loved Quince, he was so cute, and some of the things he does for Lily are adorable! I know I've already said this, but for Lily not being able to see what is going on with Quince, she is so blind...
I don't think there is anything I can fault with Forgive My Fins. The only thing I will say is, that the ending is evil! The book finishes nicely and I would be quite happy without another book, and the story is finished and I have no questions. And then, suddenly, I turn the page, and there's an epilogue that leaves me on a HUGE cliffhanger. So, don't say I didn't warn you when you read Forgive My Fins and then find yourself needing the next book in the series...
I would recommend Forgive My Fins to all fans of YA, though I do think that it should probably be targeted at the younger end of YA, because at times it did seem like a little bit of a middle grade novel. Not that there's anything wrong with that, I'm just sayin', you know, in case you were expecting something suited to older teens...
*Thanks to Templar for sending me this in exchange for an honest review! :) Also, head over to http://cheezyfeetbooks.blogspot.com for a guest post and giveaway of a shiny UK copy! Open to UK residents only and ends on July 16th :)
July 13, 2010
I started out liking this book. It was a cute and sweet story. It made me smile a few times. It was light, without too much going on, but still I wanted to read more. It was predictable. I kind of knew what was going to happen (and trust me, I almost never do!), but that didn't even matter because it was so, so cute.
Lily ends up having to spend more time with Quince, her neighbor who she claims is out to get her. She kind of hates him (in a neighborly way of course) and let's him and everyone else know. All the time. We can all see it, her friends can see it, but she can't see that Quince it pretty much going all grade school on her. He shows he likes her by throwing a paper ball at her forehead (yes, sweet displays of love like that!).
Lily uses sea terminology for everything. Everything. Think of all our little phrases and terms that we say in an average day and then make them sea themed. That's what it was like. It was cute at first, then it got annoying, then it was cute again.
I didn't like the way the book ended. I didn't understand why they went through all that trouble and then for nothing. I didn't get the "sacrifice" that she made. It did not see real. I felt like it was glossed over. Let's make everyone ignore how selfish Lily is so we can have a happily ever after!! Which wasn't happy by the way. I sense a break up pretty soon.
Speaking of Lily, ugh!!!! Why, why, why? Is it so hard to make a main character likable?? If you want me to go along with this girl's emotions, then you shouldn't make her a total witch. Wow. I've read one other mermaid book and have come to the conclusion that mermaids are self-centered meanies. Me, me, me, that's it. Halfway through the book I wanted to stop reading because I couldn't take Lily and her self-centered delusions of love. She was seriously a little on the psycho/stalker side of "love". Would it have been so hard for her to stop and consider other people's feelings while she had her future so carefully planned out (without the guys consent, mind you.) Even at the end, it was still all about HER!!!
So I can't recommend this book lest you want to be annoyed. It was clean, some kissing, some "bad" (implied) words in seaspeake. :P But Lily was just too annoying for me to ignore. I wish it could have been different because I really thought this book started out well.
Lily ends up having to spend more time with Quince, her neighbor who she claims is out to get her. She kind of hates him (in a neighborly way of course) and let's him and everyone else know. All the time. We can all see it, her friends can see it, but she can't see that Quince it pretty much going all grade school on her. He shows he likes her by throwing a paper ball at her forehead (yes, sweet displays of love like that!).
Lily uses sea terminology for everything. Everything. Think of all our little phrases and terms that we say in an average day and then make them sea themed. That's what it was like. It was cute at first, then it got annoying, then it was cute again.
I didn't like the way the book ended. I didn't understand why they went through all that trouble and then for nothing. I didn't get the "sacrifice" that she made. It did not see real. I felt like it was glossed over. Let's make everyone ignore how selfish Lily is so we can have a happily ever after!! Which wasn't happy by the way. I sense a break up pretty soon.
Speaking of Lily, ugh!!!! Why, why, why? Is it so hard to make a main character likable?? If you want me to go along with this girl's emotions, then you shouldn't make her a total witch. Wow. I've read one other mermaid book and have come to the conclusion that mermaids are self-centered meanies. Me, me, me, that's it. Halfway through the book I wanted to stop reading because I couldn't take Lily and her self-centered delusions of love. She was seriously a little on the psycho/stalker side of "love". Would it have been so hard for her to stop and consider other people's feelings while she had her future so carefully planned out (without the guys consent, mind you.) Even at the end, it was still all about HER!!!
So I can't recommend this book lest you want to be annoyed. It was clean, some kissing, some "bad" (implied) words in seaspeake. :P But Lily was just too annoying for me to ignore. I wish it could have been different because I really thought this book started out well.
June 18, 2011
Originally posted @
The YA Bookworm
I LOVE MERMAIDS! when i was a kid i adore mermaids! even though there are some myths that says that mermaids are bad, i didn't grasp the idea... so i was so glad that there is a YA book about mermaids.
this novel is actually my first YA book that is about mermaids, and for my first, this one didn't quite disappoint me.
a new concept of mermaids were introduced here, cause mermaids can be bonded just by Kissing someone, and that kiss will eventually turn the Boy/girl that they kissed into a mermaid/merman too and you get to live under the sea with all the fishes and with your fellow mermaids too. so the concept is really something new right? something fresh and unconventional and reading this one is like breathing through fresh air.
when i was reading this book, i feel like everything around me is very vivid and i feel like I'm surrounded by vibrant colors, what i'm trying to say is that reading through Lily's thoughts is like reading through a very childish and young girl who has a crush on a boy for about a year or so, but never get to confess her feelings for him most likely i get to feel like I'm this girl that is experiencing the same thing and having Juvenile thoughts as well.
another thing i really liked about this book is *gasp* QUINCE! HAAA! he reminds me of puck form the Iron Fey series, he is this very humorous boy, who does nothing but ruin Lily's life but i really like Quince. he is this person who has humor but he has a certain depth that is just so adorable he's the kind of guy that will make you feel warm and giddy and fuzzy and dazed *blushes*. (LILY IS ONE LUCKY GAL)
reading Forgive my fins is like reading a novel that knowing what is in front of you, BUT you still wanna read and experience the whole novel. and to me this is one fresh novel and I'll read the next book from the series mainly because of Quince. :">
I LOVE MERMAIDS! when i was a kid i adore mermaids! even though there are some myths that says that mermaids are bad, i didn't grasp the idea... so i was so glad that there is a YA book about mermaids.
this novel is actually my first YA book that is about mermaids, and for my first, this one didn't quite disappoint me.
a new concept of mermaids were introduced here, cause mermaids can be bonded just by Kissing someone, and that kiss will eventually turn the Boy/girl that they kissed into a mermaid/merman too and you get to live under the sea with all the fishes and with your fellow mermaids too. so the concept is really something new right? something fresh and unconventional and reading this one is like breathing through fresh air.
when i was reading this book, i feel like everything around me is very vivid and i feel like I'm surrounded by vibrant colors, what i'm trying to say is that reading through Lily's thoughts is like reading through a very childish and young girl who has a crush on a boy for about a year or so, but never get to confess her feelings for him most likely i get to feel like I'm this girl that is experiencing the same thing and having Juvenile thoughts as well.
another thing i really liked about this book is *gasp* QUINCE! HAAA! he reminds me of puck form the Iron Fey series, he is this very humorous boy, who does nothing but ruin Lily's life but i really like Quince. he is this person who has humor but he has a certain depth that is just so adorable he's the kind of guy that will make you feel warm and giddy and fuzzy and dazed *blushes*. (LILY IS ONE LUCKY GAL)
reading Forgive my fins is like reading a novel that knowing what is in front of you, BUT you still wanna read and experience the whole novel. and to me this is one fresh novel and I'll read the next book from the series mainly because of Quince. :">
December 26, 2010
Cute, light-weight, fluffy, girly-girl read.
I had a decent time reading this one, but at times it was a bit cheesy. The characters were decently likable, but at times extremely annoying. I might have liked this one a little more than some of you, but I think it is my inner child smiling. "The Little Mermaid" was my absolute favorite movie as a child, if I would have read this in my pre-teen years, I would have been in love! But, seeing as I am an old maid now, it wasn't as thrilling. But, I have to say if you look at the cover and read the description, you should know pretty much what you're getting-so I can't really be all that picky about it.
Lily is a princess, a mermaid princess living on land to find her bond mate to bring back to her kingdom to rule by her side as King of the mermaid people. Everything was going according to plan, Tell Brody she loves him, get him to kiss her to create their bond, and live happily ever after. Only there is a Big problem in her plans, Quince is his name. He tricks her into kissing him, creating a bond and slowly turning him into a merman. She is determined to break the bond, she hates him... or does she?
I believe the expression is 'there is a fine line between love and hate' and that is what we have going on all during this book.
While reading, you'll probably guess all the twists and turns way before you read them, but it's still cute. I believe 'cute' is the perfect one word to sum up this book.
Note: I believe there is a sequel.
I had a decent time reading this one, but at times it was a bit cheesy. The characters were decently likable, but at times extremely annoying. I might have liked this one a little more than some of you, but I think it is my inner child smiling. "The Little Mermaid" was my absolute favorite movie as a child, if I would have read this in my pre-teen years, I would have been in love! But, seeing as I am an old maid now, it wasn't as thrilling. But, I have to say if you look at the cover and read the description, you should know pretty much what you're getting-so I can't really be all that picky about it.
Lily is a princess, a mermaid princess living on land to find her bond mate to bring back to her kingdom to rule by her side as King of the mermaid people. Everything was going according to plan, Tell Brody she loves him, get him to kiss her to create their bond, and live happily ever after. Only there is a Big problem in her plans, Quince is his name. He tricks her into kissing him, creating a bond and slowly turning him into a merman. She is determined to break the bond, she hates him... or does she?
I believe the expression is 'there is a fine line between love and hate' and that is what we have going on all during this book.
While reading, you'll probably guess all the twists and turns way before you read them, but it's still cute. I believe 'cute' is the perfect one word to sum up this book.
Note: I believe there is a sequel.
July 18, 2010
I absolutely loved this book! It captured my heart from the very beginning. I’ve always loved mermaids and fantasized about castles under the sea. Forgive My Fins did not disappoint my fantasies in any area. It captured the lure and beauty of mermaids perfectly. I couldn’t get enough of the mermaid fantasy that Tera made up. I couldn’t stop smiling as I eagerly turned the pages. Lily’s and Quince’s banter amused me, and had me laughing at times. And I loved all the sea talk and slang that Lily used! This book is amazing. The sea world that Tera created is stunning, and magically beautiful. This book was such a fantastic, magical, fun read. I love, love, love it!! I cannot wait for the sequel!!
July 10, 2015
This was a cute, sweet little story. There's not much sweeter than a pretty mermaid looking for her merman. Unfortunately, for it I'm all about dark and dirty kinda books right now. Which is why I can only give it three stars. I did realize this was YA but it felt more like a middle grade book to me. My preteen daughter would most likely love it.
January 2, 2016
Cute story - perfect for the younger YA Readers.
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