Review: Forgive My Fins by Tera Lynn Childs

Title: Forgive My Fins

Series: Fins

Author: Tera Lynn Childs

Publisher: Templar

Publication Date: 1 July 2011

Synopsis: From Amazon

When a mermaid has her first kiss, she 'bonds' for life with the person she kisses. For Lily, a mermaid princess living in secret on land, this means she has ended up accidentally bonded to her obnoxious neighbour, instead of to the boy of her dreams. So begins a tidal wave of relationship drama, as Lily discovers that happily-ever-after never goes as smoothly as you
plan it to.

REVIEW:

This book turns The Little Mermaid tale on its head. Written in first person narrative from Lily's perspective, she is already aware that she is a mermaid. Not just any mermaid either but the royal princess. Born to a human mother and Mer father, Lily has spent most of her life in the ocean. Major changes occur when a mermaid princess reaches her 17th birthday. Before life altering decisions have to be made Lily chooses to spend time on land as a human, having lost her mother at an early age she stays with her Aunt.

Lily is a wonderfully 'real' hormonal teenage with the added problem of having a secret identity. Her complete obsession with Brody was ridiculous looking at it from the outside. She had him on a pedestal and could not see his faults at all. I couldnt really understand why she was so blinkered when it came to him, yes he is hot but in reality he is an arse.

Quince on the other hand is totally perfect *swoon* although he does bring Lily's mean streak out. He is accepting of Lily and the development of their relationship is just so CUTE. It amazed me how other people were able to see just how fabulous Quince was yet Lily only saw the bad.

So here we have Brody who is an arse and pretends to be cool and Quince who pretends to be an arse yet is totally adorable underneath. So not so much a love triangle as Lily learning to see people for who they really are.

Lily's relationship with her Aunt Rachel was lovely to picture. Loving, caring and nurturing and a solid link to the Mother Lily lost. Through Aunt Rachel's memories Lily is able to learn more about her Mother and Father's relationship and apply that knowledge to her own life.

The weaving of mermaid mythology and the origins of mermaids in history added depth to the narrative. The wonderful use of mermaid quips and imagery brought the story to wonderfully tactile life, such sensory descriptions were beautiful to picture in my imagination. The play on words using fish in place of other words was such fun, making me giggle my way through the book. The anatomy and physiology of the Mer-folk was well explained and added realism to the story.

The word that keeps running through my head when I think of this book is CUTE cos that is exactly how I feel about it. The romance provided some real 'awww' moments and Lily's own journey of self discovery was delightful to follow. I cannot wait to find out what happens next after that astounding cliff-hanger at the end of this book.
Are you really going to make me wait an entire year for the next book *sniff*