Publisher: HarperCollins
Released: May 19th 2010
Format: Hardcover and Kindle ebook (owned)
Source: My local library and Amazon.com (US)
My Read Count: 2 (as of this review)
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.Tera Lynn Childs is officially my favourite mer-author. This book has so many awesome things about it - I don't even know where to start!
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 – when 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.
Okay. Let's start with something simple. The fact that Lily Sanderson is half-mermaid gives rise to plenty of sea slang. You get things like son of a swordfish, damselfish, (don't be such a) guppy, that blowfish, holy crab cakes and the like from this spunky mer-girl. It's so freaking hilarious.
Except for the fact that we're both fiery, Lily's personality is different from mine in many ways. It's like having a best friend (in this case, Lily), and the only way you can be there for her when she's feeling blue is to continue reading this book. You can't help but wish for Lily to be happy and end up with Brody at the beginning of the novel. Also, Childs' writing just pulls you in from the beginning; immersing yourself into this story isn't hard.
Enter Quince. Oh, that guy. Lily is completely convinced he's an annoying jerk and he gets on her nerves all the time. I couldn't see what was really bad about him when he made his first appearance, though, but neither was I expecting him to ever care for Lily that way. Only when something goes wrong for Lily in the cafeteria do you see a side of Quince that instantly makes you fall for him. This is one of my favourite parts:
With a muttered curse, Quince wraps his arms around me and squeezes. It feels remarkably like a hug."Don't cry," he whispers in my ear. "Please." I don't know if it's his soft words or the fact that my face is now hidden by his broad chest, but I just let go...."Shhh," he soothes.
Oh, and this is totally random, but this is one of the lines which made me burst out spontaneously into laughter (cue in weird looks from people around me):
"Huh," Quince says, like he just saw a monkey riding a dolphin or something.
Ha ha.
I also absolutely love the way he calls her princess. Quince is like, the perfect guy any girl could ever hope for. And it's obvious that Lily and Quince are attracted to each other. But with that fiery, stubborn personality and mindset Lily has, you can imagine what her reaction to Quince is. It became sort of like a let's-sit-back-and-watch-the-romance-unfold kind of story, and a really amazing one at that. When things get out of control on land, Lily has to return to Thalassinia to seek help. That's where she's more comfortable and you see more of the princess in her.
I love Thalassinia. I could totally picture the palace and the merfolk in it. Lily's world beneath the water just takes your breath away. She's faced with more challenges there, and those moments are when you can see the bond between her and Quince growing. It's incredibly sweet.
Just when you think things are going well for both of them, Childs dishes out some bad news. It's remarkable how she's written Lily with so much depth; you see Lily becoming more comfortable and happy than she was on land, yet her flaws take over and fill her with doubt like any other person. She just refuses to accept the plain truth when it's presented to her. There have been so many points throughout the story when my heart ached for what Quince and Lily were going through, and I actually had to blink tears away.
The ending: Completely heartbreaking, which then proceeds to sew you up nice and whole again, leaving you feeling like you've just watched the best romance movie ever. Take my advice and pick Forgive My Fins up. You'll wonder why you didn't do it earlier after reading it!
Five starfish, without a doubt!
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Tera Lynn Childs is the award-winning author of the mythology-based OH. MY. GODS. and GODDESS BOOT CAMP, the mermaid tales FORGIVE MY FINS, FINS ARE FOREVER, and JUST FOR FINS (July 3rd, 2012), and a new trilogy about monster-hunting descendants of Medusa beginning with SWEET VENOM and SWEET SHADOWS (September 4, 2012). Tera lives nowhere in particular and spends her time writing wherever she can find a comfy chair and a steady stream of caffeinated beverages.
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