Review: Forgive My Fins (Fins, #1) by Tera Lynn Childs

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.

I just have to say that without a doubt that I'm a very big fan of Tera Lynn Childs' writing. I believe it's possible to be a one-hit wonder in the writing world just like it is everywhere else, but Childs is in no danger of falling into this category. After reading her Oh.My.Gods. series, I was hoping for the same fun, light reads that I had come to expect from Childs, and I was not disappointed with Forgive My Fins. I think I've found a new series that I'll be following in the future with a lot of anticipation.

We are introduced to Lily, our half human, half mermaid main character and I think a lot of readers will be joining her fan club after getting to know her. She's very easy to sympathize with and relate to. Although I can't claim to be a mermaid (even though Ariel and The Little Mermaid had me daydreaming as a little kid) I think most girls have had their share of crushes growing up. And Lily shows this in spades. As Lily pines for Brody Bennett (the swim god at her high school) I think every reader will be walking on egg shells right along with Lily as she tries to get up the courage to confess her love to the boy in question. And if that wasn't enough to stress her out, Childs decided to throw another wrench into her plans.

This wrench I was talking about happens to go by the name Quince and lives right next door to Lily. He's tall, well built, knows his way around a motorcycle (major cool points there), has blonde hair and blue eyes the color of the Caribbean. Can you tell I'm drooling over here? While Lily might find his teasing and constant meddling in her personal life irritating, I'm saying I'll take him off her hands if she doesn't want him! But I digress, because the fun didn't stop there, it was only just the beginning.

With just one kiss Lily's world is thrown upside down and in order to fix and figure things out she just might have to spend a little time with Quince and *gasp* get to know him a little better. Can you imagine the horror? Will she survive the torture? Will she finally find the courage to confess her feelings to Brody, or will she discover that just because you get what you want doesn't always mean that it's what you need or could it be that you might not have realized what you really wanted when it was staring you right in the face. Enter Childs' world and enjoy the ride!

I gave Forgive My Fins (Fins, #1) 3 shamrocks and can't wait to read more!!!