On Lily Sanderson’s eighteenth birthday she’ll become just a girl—still a mergirl, true, but signing the renunciation will ink Princess Waterlily of Thalassinia out of existence. That leaves plain old Lily living on land, dating the boy she loves, and trying to master this being-human thing once and for all.
Now that Lily and Quince are together, mer bond or not, she’s almost content to give up her place in the royal succession of Thalassinia. But just when she thinks she has everything figured out, the waves start to get rough. Lily’s father sends a certain whirlpool-stirring cousin to stay with her on land. What did Doe do to get herself exiled from Thalassinia and stuck in terraped form when everyone knows how much she hates humans? And why why why is she batting her eyelashes at Lily’s former crush, Brody?
The seafoam on the raging surf comes when a merboy from Lily’s past shows up—Tellin asks Lily for something that clouds her view of the horizon. There’s a future with Quince on land, her loyalty to the kingdom in the sea, and Lily tossing on the waves in the middle. Will she find a way to reconcile her love, her duty, and her own dreams?
Review:
After reading and really enjoying the fun and splashy prequel, Forgive My Fins, I was really excited to dive into this one. While it didn't entirely live up to my love of the first book, it was still a great read. This series is perfect for the summer because it is light and fluffy with just the right amount of drama and adventure to keep me hooked.
Mermaids are definitely one of my favorite “creatures” to read about and Tera Lynn Childs definitely makes them her own in the Fins series. There are a lot of new plot twists in this installment to the series and Lily is forced to make some difficult choices. I definitely think Lily’s character developed a lot in Fins Are Forever and I adore Quince. He is such a sweet guy and definitely not the typical bad boy. He’s always there for Lily and supports her no matter what. Lily has also become content with the fact that she will have to give up her claim to the throne on her eighteenth birthday so she can remain on land with Quince.
There were a few new characters introduced in this novel and a few from the prequel entered the scene in an even bigger way- particularly Lily’s cousin Dosinia. Lily’s plans for living a normal life on land come to a screeching halt when she learns her cousin Doe has been banished from Thalassinia and is going to be living on land and attending a human high school. At first Doe made me so angry, I had no idea how everyone could put up with her. She was rude, spiteful, and had no respect for Lily and her wishes whatsoever, but as I read more, a different side of Doe slowly emerged and I ended up actually liking her!
There were some slow moments in the plot, but, all in all, I was captivated by the story and this is definitely one of my favorite mermaid series. Tera Lynn Childs threw in a lot of new twists to the story that kept me wondering what was going to happen in the end. What decision would Lily finally make? Her descriptions of the underwater world known as Thalassinia were just as vivid and beautiful as in the first book. There was also mention of other mermaid kingdoms and I’m eager to find out more about those in (hopefully?) the third book.
If you’ve read Forgive My Fins and enjoyed it, I’m sure you’ll want to find some time to read this relaxing by the pool. It didn’t entirely live up to my expectations, but it was a fun sequel that I finished in a few hours.
Overall: 4 out of 5 stars
June 28, 2011/Katherine Tegen Books/272 Pages/Young Adult/Book Two
Source: Splash Team ARC Tour
Other books in the series: 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 – 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.
