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3.58 AVERAGE
3.58 AVERAGE
Mermaids who create bonds through kisses. A unique concept if I may say so. I liked that the story was light and adorable. I liked Quince and his charm. All in all it was a good book, a little middle school-ish but still entertaining.
O.W.L.s Readathon 2020
I don't really read mermaid books too often, which is a little strange considering how much I loved watching Aquamarine, H2O: Just Add Water and The Little Mermaid growing up. So when I found out that one of the challenges in this readathon was to read something set at the sea, this seemed like a perfect time to finally read something mermaidish. Sadly this book was kinda blah. I just felt so bored and uninterested through most of it, and the only saving grace was the romance, but even that aspect was a little tough to slog through sometimes. I think the part that was the hardest for me to look past was how annoying, blind, and naive the MC, Lily, is. I honestly just wanted to shake her. Because of all of this, I don't feel compelled to continue the series.
I don't really read mermaid books too often, which is a little strange considering how much I loved watching Aquamarine, H2O: Just Add Water and The Little Mermaid growing up. So when I found out that one of the challenges in this readathon was to read something set at the sea, this seemed like a perfect time to finally read something mermaidish. Sadly this book was kinda blah. I just felt so bored and uninterested through most of it, and the only saving grace was the romance, but even that aspect was a little tough to slog through sometimes. I think the part that was the hardest for me to look past was how annoying, blind, and naive the MC, Lily, is. I honestly just wanted to shake her. Because of all of this, I don't feel compelled to continue the series.
I couldn't even finish this book. It was a huge disappointment. I thought the story started out promising but by about halfway I was sick of the main character Lily and the phrase "the bond." I really enjoyed the book Oh.My.Gods. and was looking forward to the spin of Mermaid finds out she is half human (not the usual other way around) but sadly this book was just annoying.
Just as the cover suggests, this book is colorful and light. I zipped through it because of its super fast pace and a compelling plot.
The ending was predictable, yet i still enjoyed the story and world. The main character Lily annoyed me most of the time due to her unrealistic denseness about certain things. At times i was yelling at her with my mind.
So if you are looking for a light weekend read, then this is the book for you!
Rated: B
The ending was predictable, yet i still enjoyed the story and world. The main character Lily annoyed me most of the time due to her unrealistic denseness about certain things. At times i was yelling at her with my mind.
So if you are looking for a light weekend read, then this is the book for you!
Rated: B
Lily Sanderson lives a normal teenage life with her aunt in Florida, but she has a secret. She is a mermaid princess, and she has to return to her father's kingdom and choose a mate before her eighteenth birthday or forfeit the throne. She's been in love with Brody, popular student and swim team star, for three years, but he doesn't know she exists. Meanwhile, Lily is frustrated by her relationship with next door neighbor, Quince, who is gorgeous but annoying. When Quince offers to help Lily get Brody despite the fact that he thinks Brody isn't the one for Lily, things get crazy. A kiss and a case of mistaken identity leave Lily bonded to Quince. The bonding give the two a deep emotional connection and begins transitioning Quince to a merman. Lily wants the bond severed, but no one, including Quince, seems to excited about that idea. As the story progresses, Lily develops feelings for Quince, and it becomes clear that he has loved her for a long time. Despite Quince's obvious merits, Lily stubornly clings to her crush on Brody.
This was a cute and easy love story, but it relies heavily on romantic cliches. Lily doesn't realize she is beautiful because her long blonde hair is too curly, her eyes are too big, and her lips are too pouty. Please. She is even a clutz to top it all off. However, my biggest problem with this book is my struggle to understand why Quince likes her at all. Her comments to him are harsh and sometimes cruel. She is superficial in her feelings and judgements, and she is the most selfish character in the book.
The story follos closely with the Disney version of "The Little Mermaid," but leaves out the depth and danger of the original tale by Hans Christian Anderson.
This was a cute and easy love story, but it relies heavily on romantic cliches. Lily doesn't realize she is beautiful because her long blonde hair is too curly, her eyes are too big, and her lips are too pouty. Please. She is even a clutz to top it all off. However, my biggest problem with this book is my struggle to understand why Quince likes her at all. Her comments to him are harsh and sometimes cruel. She is superficial in her feelings and judgements, and she is the most selfish character in the book.
The story follos closely with the Disney version of "The Little Mermaid," but leaves out the depth and danger of the original tale by Hans Christian Anderson.
A story about merpeople sounded interested so I grabbed this one to give it a read. While I didn't dislike the book I have some issues with it's general premise; Royal teenagers are required by law to find and permanently bond with their one true love before they turn 18 or they lose their right to be heir to the throne though this law only seems to apply to the girls because it's pretty clear that the current king has never bonded with anyone. I also have a problem with the way everyone but the protagonist of the story seems to know exactly what she's feeling/really wants/should do even when she's certain it's not and she ALWAYS ends up being wrong.
Over all it wasn't terrible, but I'm not rushing to find the second book in the series either.
Over all it wasn't terrible, but I'm not rushing to find the second book in the series either.
RATING: 1.5 stars.
While I really like mermaids (look at all the mermaid related books I've read this year) I was never particularly interested in this book. "Forgive my Fins" always seemed to me to be the type of fluffy, cute paranormal romance I only enjoy reading occasionally. Let's just say I prefer my mermaids to be darker and less human than Cleo, Emma and Ricky (if you're wondering what I'm talking about, it's the Teen TV show H2O).
Still, this finally came out on paperback and I did enjoy a couple of fluffy teen romances this year so I thought "why not"? I read the synopsis and I liked the idea of enemies turned lovers (oh the potential).
I guess I was expecting this book to surprise me in a positive way, like "The Ghost and the Goth".
Unfortunately that didn't happen. "Forgive my Fins" is just as fluffy, sweet and full of clichés as I feared. Not to mention it has a thin plot, cookie-cutter characters and weak world-building.
The story is pretty standard. The main character, Lily (who I found annoying most of the time) is a half-mermaid living with her human aunt. She is actually also a royal princess of the seas (her father is the king and he has a trident) and decided to 'explore' her human side before being called to her duties. So she's been experiencing high-school, with all it's ups and downs including a crush on the popular kid, Brody, who she think may just be her life mate. And you know why that is? Because he is a good swimmer. I kid you not.
Then there is the leather-clad bully who seems to target only Lily with his mocking words. Of course the reader understands immediately (like, by page 5 or something) that he likes her but Lily doesn't, obviously. Because if she had brains it would be a short-story. But even with this premise the author could have written something interesting if only she had explored the chemistry between the two main characters.
So basically you have the start of a pretty standard love-triangle that only gets more ridiculous when Lily ends up 'mated' to the leather-clad hunk (whose name is Quince, the poor guy) by accident. She doesn't want it but her Dad wants her to try at least, which results in many trips to underwater realms, silly tests in desert Islands and other unrealistic stuff. All the while the reader nods sagely because it is so obvious she likes the bully.
So story-wise? Weak. Pretty weak.
Then you have the characters. Most of them are pretty stereotyped and one-dimensional: Lily's best friends, Brody, Aunt Rachel, Lily's dad (who is like a copy of Ariel's father... no really). Lily is too dumb to live and honestly not very charismatic. Not to mention she seems to have personality shifts; for example right at the beginning of the book she tells us mermaids aren't good at human subjects like math and sciences, but later on she is able to explain the mechanics (in very scientific lingo too) of breathing underwater as a mermaid.
Quince is, by far, the best character in the book (so of course, some of the best lines are his). So character-wise? Could improve. A lot.
Last but not least: world-building. Again, not brilliant. Merpeople are basically humans with fins. They live in cities and have houses, parties, love sushi (even use chopsticks) and don't even think of luring unwary sailors to their deaths. They're... fluffy. There was no mystique in Child's mermaid world. It was rather boring and ordinary.
Overall: if there was a word to describe this book it would be... pink, I guess. This is a badly paced teen romance. I do admit it has it's cute moments but if you're looking for well-written fluff, look elsewhere. This book needed more story and character development to be a truly interesting read.
While I really like mermaids (look at all the mermaid related books I've read this year) I was never particularly interested in this book. "Forgive my Fins" always seemed to me to be the type of fluffy, cute paranormal romance I only enjoy reading occasionally. Let's just say I prefer my mermaids to be darker and less human than Cleo, Emma and Ricky (if you're wondering what I'm talking about, it's the Teen TV show H2O).
Still, this finally came out on paperback and I did enjoy a couple of fluffy teen romances this year so I thought "why not"? I read the synopsis and I liked the idea of enemies turned lovers (oh the potential).
I guess I was expecting this book to surprise me in a positive way, like "The Ghost and the Goth".
Unfortunately that didn't happen. "Forgive my Fins" is just as fluffy, sweet and full of clichés as I feared. Not to mention it has a thin plot, cookie-cutter characters and weak world-building.
The story is pretty standard. The main character, Lily (who I found annoying most of the time) is a half-mermaid living with her human aunt. She is actually also a royal princess of the seas (her father is the king and he has a trident) and decided to 'explore' her human side before being called to her duties. So she's been experiencing high-school, with all it's ups and downs including a crush on the popular kid, Brody, who she think may just be her life mate. And you know why that is? Because he is a good swimmer. I kid you not.
Then there is the leather-clad bully who seems to target only Lily with his mocking words. Of course the reader understands immediately (like, by page 5 or something) that he likes her but Lily doesn't, obviously. Because if she had brains it would be a short-story. But even with this premise the author could have written something interesting if only she had explored the chemistry between the two main characters.
So basically you have the start of a pretty standard love-triangle that only gets more ridiculous when Lily ends up 'mated' to the leather-clad hunk (whose name is Quince, the poor guy) by accident. She doesn't want it but her Dad wants her to try at least, which results in many trips to underwater realms, silly tests in desert Islands and other unrealistic stuff. All the while the reader nods sagely because it is so obvious she likes the bully.
So story-wise? Weak. Pretty weak.
Then you have the characters. Most of them are pretty stereotyped and one-dimensional: Lily's best friends, Brody, Aunt Rachel, Lily's dad (who is like a copy of Ariel's father... no really). Lily is too dumb to live and honestly not very charismatic. Not to mention she seems to have personality shifts; for example right at the beginning of the book she tells us mermaids aren't good at human subjects like math and sciences, but later on she is able to explain the mechanics (in very scientific lingo too) of breathing underwater as a mermaid.
Quince is, by far, the best character in the book (so of course, some of the best lines are his). So character-wise? Could improve. A lot.
Last but not least: world-building. Again, not brilliant. Merpeople are basically humans with fins. They live in cities and have houses, parties, love sushi (even use chopsticks) and don't even think of luring unwary sailors to their deaths. They're... fluffy. There was no mystique in Child's mermaid world. It was rather boring and ordinary.
Overall: if there was a word to describe this book it would be... pink, I guess. This is a badly paced teen romance. I do admit it has it's cute moments but if you're looking for well-written fluff, look elsewhere. This book needed more story and character development to be a truly interesting read.
And just as I started thinking no one had written any fun books about mermaids, I find this one!! Love it. :)
Why don't I read love stories more often? Why aren't there more Mermaid books? Both great questions Forgive My Fins has answered.
Answer one: Because there aren't enough Quince's in the world of YA.
Answer two: Because only Terra Lynn Childs can make their world come to life and all other authors bow to her power.
Loved it!
Long review TK.
Answer one: Because there aren't enough Quince's in the world of YA.
Answer two: Because only Terra Lynn Childs can make their world come to life and all other authors bow to her power.
Loved it!
Long review TK.