Forgive My Fins by Tera Lynn Childs

Pages - 333

Published by Templar Publishing in July 2011

Water calms me. It's like chocolate or hot tea or dulce de leche ice cream. After a rotten day, I lock the bathroom door, fill Aunt Rachel's old-timey bath with steaming water and bath salts, and then sink into a world where my problems all melt away. 

Goodreads Summary

Unrequited love is hard enough when you're a normal teenage girl, but for Lily Sanderson, there's no such thing as a simple crush.

Lily has a secret, and it's not her huge crush on gorgeous swimming god Brody Bennett, who makes her heart beat flipper-fast. 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 she discovered three years ago that her mother was actually a human, Lily finally realised why she didn't feel quite at home in Thalassinia, and she's been going to Seaview High ever since. Living on land has its problems--like her obnoxious biker-boy neighbour, 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 finds out, quick as a tailfin flick, that happily ever after never sails quite as smoothly as you planned.

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This was a delightfully cute book that warmed my heart. At  the beginning I was convinced that if was younger than YA as it seemed so innocent in nature, but as the book progressed it filled it's YA shoes. Although I am still convinced that the tweenie age bracket will be yearning for this one too. 

This is one of the best mermaid books I have read so far within the mermaid genre, and believe me, lately there have been a lot! There are no added extras, you have an idea where the plot is going, and you're happy to  swim along for the ride. 

From the beginning I loved Quince. As much as the author tried to put us off him, I could see beneath his annoying surface and see he was a keeper! Lily took so long to see the truth, I found at times I wanted to shake her so that she could see what a wondrous creature stood before her. She is just a little bit self centred and just can't see how amazing Quince is, when everyone around her can.  I didn't like Brody at all, but I have never been fond of Golden Boys! 

I loved the setting of Thalassina - it was AMAZING! It sounded like an awesome place to visit, the way the author described it, made it easy to imagine in my head. 

The epilogue was a bit of shocker. I honestly didn't expect that to happen. And if I'm honest, the ending surprised me too. I came away thinking that Tera Lynn Childs might be a tricksy character in real life.  

If you are looking for a mermaid YA book, then this one would definitely be at the top of my list to recommend.